The Case of the Mystery! A hard-boiled detective novel, by Phillipe!!
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 3:58 PM on October 7, 2008

VA General Assembly names Dr. Ralph Stanley "Outstanding Virginian 2008".
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 3:29 PM on October 2, 2008

Actually, I was messing around with some 50-state-strategy numbers last night. There were eleven states that W. carried by more than 60% in 2004. Here's where they were last night for McCain, according to pollster.com.

IN...60.1% > 47.7% (21% drop)
ND...62.9% > 52.5% (16% drop)
AL...62.5% > 55.1% (12% drop)
NE...66.6% > 59.5% (11% drop)
UT...71.1% > 63.9% (10% drop)
WY...69.0% > 62.0% (10%... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 11:13 AM on September 24, 2008

Delmoi -

DC lost the rights to Superboy, as opposed to Superman. Man of Steel good, Boy of Steel right out. As I understand it, they can even have, say, a soap-y CW drama about Clark Kent's teenage years as long as they never ever use the SB word.
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 1:25 PM on September 23, 2008

Does it still have that gay black guy in it?

Because he was fabulous. I really liked that guy.

John the Baptist? Sure, he'd have to be in there, how bad a translation could it... WHAT THE SHIT!?
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 7:12 PM on September 18, 2008

Lippincot's Magazine (1870) on Louisiana Hoodoo
posted to Ask Metafilter by ormondsacker at 8:59 AM on September 18, 2008

Robocop - Hoodoo, voodoo, or voudou, depending. "Juju" is a different set of beliefs - if you check period references to juju, they're all confined to the African continent.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ormondsacker at 12:57 PM on September 18, 2008

Second Benet. In particular, I'd point out that the Reader's Encyclopedia has been heavily revised over the years to follow the changing canon, and earlier editions are available for cheap. Like your first link, they can be a fascinating resource for now-forgotten works that were considered literary gold in 1948/1965 (c.f. the 1948 edition's absolute obsession with Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata).... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ormondsacker at 9:20 AM on September 10, 2008

Holy crap, this is on Metafilter? Per one of the panelists, who writes for the local alt-weekly, "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" by The Gap Band was strongly considered, but ultimately dropped because of concerns about celebrating a bombing in Oklahoma, and all that. They had to scramble for a replacement, and reluctantly decided on the All American Rejects despite concerns about transience and (I'm reading between the lines here) suckage.

The Flaming Lips are, of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 7:21 PM on September 4, 2008

dw - Inhofe's kid a bully? You astonish me.

Navelgazer - Sorry, I was actually referring to the upcoming, er, "Fantastical Film Freakout", not the play, although it's possible Coyne & co. caught your act.

Also, in my second link, if you'll click on the full "original image here" link, that's Hizzoner and, I believe, Councilman J. Brian Walters from Ward 5 and the Southern Hills Baptist Church... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 8:20 PM on September 4, 2008

It all comes down to, I think, what you're initially looking to get out of the series.

Colour of Magic: For completists. First book in the series. All-out parody of assorted fantasy tropes and novels, some largely forgotten these days. Has kind of a Simpsons Season 1 Syndrome thing going where it doesn't really resemble the rest of the series. Some characters & concepts survive to become more important, some are swept under the rug.

Mort:... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ormondsacker at 8:52 AM on September 4, 2008

It's a recondite Holmesian reference, and will always be a recondite Holmesian reference. Daniel Pinkwater can go to hell.
posted to MetaTalk by ormondsacker at 8:53 AM on August 27, 2008

F_H_T:
Nothing personal against D. Pinkwater, sirrah. It's just fun to take drunken swings at beloved cult children's-book authors. That's right, you heard me, Bill Peet! Fuck you!
posted to MetaTalk by ormondsacker at 1:04 PM on August 27, 2008

Here's some (non-biblical) rabbinical tradition on Noah and the Ark - God caused all animals, including the sprits of those not yet created, to gather at the ark so that Noah didn't have to hunt them; lions guarded the entrance; and something called the "Reëm" and the giant King of Basham swam alongside because they were too large to fit.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ormondsacker at 11:59 AM on August 17, 2008

And it's still more Jewish folklore than the bible per se, but here's the full text of the relevant section of the Haggadah. (Scroll down to "The Inmates of the Ark".)

In googling around, it turns out one of the big debates in "creation science" circles is whether that "reëm" paddling along behind the ark was some kind of dinosaur (possibly a triceratops). Creationists have the funnest debates.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ormondsacker at 3:55 PM on August 17, 2008

I always enjoy the black art of tweaking pop-culture references juust enough for non-American audiences. Abbott & Costello Laurel & Hardy; Spiro Agnew Bill Clinton; "C'mon, Giles, it's telly television-watching time! Passions The Simpsons is on and Timmy Bart's down the well!"
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 8:01 AM on August 6, 2008

jouke is right - I'm asking this on behalf of a friend who speaks decent German, but has no idea how to handle a German company named after an eighteenth-century Dutch immigrant and a French sheep.

creasy boy - that answer sounds promising - have you encountered the company itself?
posted to Ask Metafilter by ormondsacker at 5:38 AM on August 5, 2008

Thanks all, and thanks to jouke for the offer.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ormondsacker at 10:53 AM on August 5, 2008

I'd go on to say that he looks like he COULD be a good example of a fiscally conservative public servant

As mentioned, he's facing state campaign finance charges. Last week, in a separate matter, the IRS moved that he be fined and jailed for failure to comply with a federal investigation. (Story here) Mr. Rinehart is not likely to be in office a hell of a lot longer, comic or no comic. He's going to be out a fortune in campaign signs, though -... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 10:38 AM on July 19, 2008

Also, here's another good write-up on the Rinehart situation, pre-federal-charges and pre-comic, by local GLBT political blogger James Nimmo. Includes some info on Rinehart's campaign manager (who carried a gun in his boot because "gays were after him"), thoughts on the all-pervasive good ol' boy cabal, and a charming little photoshop of Rinehart as Freddie Mercury for some reason.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 11:05 AM on July 19, 2008

"With all precincts reporting, Republican Dist. 2 Commissioner Brent Rinehart finished third in a three-man race."
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 12:02 PM on July 30, 2008

Akage no An ("Red-headed Ann") on YouTube. Featuring Eiko Yamada as Anne Shirley, Kazuhiko Inoue as Gilbert Blythe, and a young Hayao Miyazaki on storyboards.
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 7:17 PM on July 29, 2008

Okay, here's the American Experience transcript that Herb Stempel's wikipedia article quotes several times. There's a lot of background in there, including the tidbit that Stempel took his big dive on the question "What motion picture won the Academy Award for 1955?". (Correct answer was "Marty" - "one of his favorite movies".)

So Herb Stempel was the guest of honor at the College Bowl national quiz championship in '97. He rushed through... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 2:47 PM on July 29, 2008

Are there any other words in English that include two Fs next to each other?

Affirmative.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ormondsacker at 11:46 AM on July 29, 2008

WCityMike -
The one where Mike Royko's utterly appalled that that mild-mannered kid in the corner who gabs about the movies could have come up with this trashy boob-fest? Good times.

According to this, Box 10, Folder 119 of the Chicago Newberry Library's Royko collection contains the only extant copy of "FOX! The Adventures of a Suburban Guerilla" (screenplay by Roger Ebert and Mike Royko, Sept. 1974).... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 1:42 PM on July 24, 2008

While I admit that I wouldn't like "unreliable narrator" gimmicks to be overused, Ebert comes off sounding almost betrayed by the revelation, as if it risked undermining his entire preferred art form.

"Because we see the events in flashbacks, we assume they reflect truth. But all they reflect is a point of view, sometimes lied about. Smart films know this, less ambitious films do not. [...] The wonder of "Rashomon" is that... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 2:14 PM on July 24, 2008

"I don't know what a six-star hotel is," Schulze says, clearly agitated. "Who assigns six stars? If people talk about six stars, they obviously don't know ratings and they don't know the business. The six-star conversation is ridiculous. It's a joke."
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 2:23 PM on July 21, 2008

Oldest English-language joke in the book (courtesy of The Oxford Book of Humourous Prose):

There was in a certain town a widower who wooed a widow to have and wed her as his wife, and at last they were agreed and betrothed. And when a young woman, being servant with the widow, heard thereof she came to her mistress and said to her:
'Alas, mistress, what have you done?'
'Why?' said she.
'I have heard say,' said the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 12:09 PM on July 16, 2008

yhbc-
Clearly John McCain's version is the cruder, more sexist original, before it was cleaned up for Plantagenent sensibilities.
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 2:06 PM on July 16, 2008

Well, Miss Squirrel is already a Marvel character. Meet Squirrel Girl.

And then there's Rainbow Girl's evil twin Roy G. Bivolo over at DC.
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 8:18 AM on July 16, 2008

Hee, hee.

"Suggested Oklahoma City to Denver route:
- Oklahoma City to Fort Worth, TX Approx Duration 4h 14m
- Fort Worth to Springfield, IL Approx Duration 20h 10m
- (Bus) Springfield to Galesburg, IL Approx Duration 2h 15m
- Galesburg to Denver, CO Approx Duration 15h 37m"

Yahoo Maps Oklahoma City to Denver travel time: 9 hours, 57 minutes
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 8:06 AM on July 11, 2008

eritain - I live in Oklahoma City. I was thinking of visiting Denver later in the year. I had vaguely considered using Amtrack. Reading the thread prompted me to actually check out scheduling, and the result amusingly illustrated how underdeveloped Amtrak currently is in fly-over country. (Again, that 10-hour car trip involves a 42-hour (excluding delays and three station layovers) train and bus trip, including a 20-hour non-stop jaunt in the wrong direction.) If I wanted to use Amtrak... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 8:41 AM on July 15, 2008

...and one random guy's Little Brother gets damaged and tells him to do minorly anti-authoritarian stuff like play in the streets and make out with a pretty girl, whose Little Sister reports him. I know the one you're talking about - it's in one of the big anthologies. Will keep checking.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ormondsacker at 10:10 AM on July 14, 2008

Nice get, yz. Can I note that this guy sucks at plot summary?
posted to Ask Metafilter by ormondsacker at 2:00 PM on July 14, 2008

How about giving each team an auction-style fan? More visible than a raised hand, and you don't get the cacophony problem you get from noisemakers or shouting or slapping the table. If you can arrange a back-up judge / scorekeeper to help you spot, it may go smoother.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ormondsacker at 8:49 AM on July 8, 2008

Also, you may have too many people for the cool electronic buzzers to handle, but if you want to give it a shot, you could always contact your local college quiz bowl team, and see if they'll loan/rent you a system for the day.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ormondsacker at 9:01 AM on July 8, 2008

In an astonishing coincidence, my own guiding philosophical lights are Fethullah Gülen, L. Ron Hubbard, and Colbert rox, lol. I hope you'll all give your time and effort to help me become your next King of Australia [citation needed].
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 2:54 PM on July 7, 2008

C'mon, any 'Murkin with a sense of history knows about Ned Kelly. He's this guy, right?
posted to MetaTalk by ormondsacker at 1:03 PM on July 3, 2008

malthas,

There was ruinous trench warfare by the end of the Civil War. See this 1864 Harper's Weekly illustration of Union trench jockeys (note sandbags, gun-slits, and humorous helmet hat-on-a-stick gag). One of the great morale benefits of Sherman's March was that he was actually on the move and fighting while Grant and Lee crouched bleeding in the dirt for nine months.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 2:20 PM on July 2, 2008

alex-
Sure, but the guy in the etching isn't about to break cover - he's sitting with his back to the enemy, watching a card game. It's my understanding that if you knew you were going to be stuck in the trenches for the foreseeable future, the helmet-on-a-stick maneuver was more of an idle pasttime. At most, you get a bored enemy soldier to waste a bullet.

Good discussion, everybody.
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 8:58 AM on July 3, 2008

Something that's apocalyptic rather than post - Brockmeier's The Brief History of the Dead, in which an Antarctic expedition sponsored by Coca-Cola goes terribly wrong, and humanity quietly comes to an end in the background.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ormondsacker at 12:19 PM on June 27, 2008

A while back, I looked up this username at blogspot and found it was being used by an auto-redirecting purveyor of highest quality ass garters, with a long history of leaving enigmatic blog comments about anabolic steroids anabolic making making quality anabolic. Checked the AskMe archives for instructions, got him evicted, and took over the space myself. Which is why there's only one post, okay, I'll get back to it someday, god!
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 9:03 AM on June 27, 2008

For just a coke or creampie shake or such, I give them the max of the change or 20%. How often do you get the chance to make someone's day marginally more pleasant for $0.70 U.S.?
posted to Ask Metafilter by ormondsacker at 1:44 PM on June 25, 2008

And I think Pullman is a bit hard on Lewis; he's always banging on about how Susan is supposedly excluded from Narnia because she has become an adult woman, signified by her wearing stockings and lipstick...

That idea seems to get around. See also:

“There comes a point where Susan, who was the older girl, is lost to Narnia because she becomes interested in lipstick. She’s become irreligious basically because she found sex. ..... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 9:12 PM on June 23, 2008

I know our mythic history, King Arthur's and Sir Caradoc's
I answer hard acrostics, I've a pretty taste for paradox.
posted to MetaTalk by ormondsacker at 11:44 AM on June 20, 2008

No - no professional sports team? Oklahoma City already has the OKC Blazers, the greatest minor-league hockey team in the world. Over the years, the Blazers have dominated the likes of the Amarillo Gorillas, the Austin Ice Bats, and the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs - largely due to the awe-inspiring mustache of coach Doug Sauter. For several years there, the Blazers' mascot was a giant, foam-headed replica of the city's own beloved Coach Sauter, and his beloved mustache.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 8:57 PM on June 12, 2008

And there's the Rera Cise, who call themselves Tokyo's only Ainu restaurant. (Menu page) I believe they once called themselves the only Ainu restaurant in the world, but now the wiki on Ainu cuisine lists three more. In the world.
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 9:33 PM on June 6, 2008

That's an adorable baby banhammer, baby jess.
posted to MetaTalk by ormondsacker at 3:47 PM on June 3, 2008

Clearly the only way for fans to save Dollhouse is to send in tens of thousands of some random crap that they guess will be associated with the series in eight months. At the moment, I think they're wavering between ball bearings (3/16" if possible), strawberry Twizzlers, and photos of a funny cat.
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 9:06 AM on June 3, 2008

Argument from popularity.

(Stephen King)
posted to MetaTalk by ormondsacker at 6:36 PM on May 28, 2008