via DaddyTypes.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 1:00 PM on July 18, 2008

My mom had a pram for me; musta been one the last ones.

Oh no, they're still for sale.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 2:15 PM on July 18, 2008

If I could favorite this a dozen times, I would. Really great find. Thanks for sharing.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 12:42 PM on July 10, 2008

Amyms, this is a really, really great post. Thank you.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 11:46 AM on July 10, 2008

Not only did I find the linked article a (you'll excuse the term) gripping read, but there is another article in the sidebar -- To Hug a Porcupine which deals with horrific failings in the Florida Foster Care system, and one couple who adopted three brothers (adopted at the ages of six, five, and almost four) who turned out to have reactive attachment disorder due to abuse that took place while they were in foster care. It left me weeping. Great writing about great topics. I will check out... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 8:10 PM on July 3, 2008

The more times I watch this (and its been a lot of times because my toddler son loves it), the more I realize the real genius is in the small details: the face of the guard in the DMZ, the bookends in Munich - the guy in the stripey shirt on the right who just can't dance at all, and his counterpart on the left who is doing some kind of traditional beerhall dance; little kids holding up other little kids (Zambia, Phillipines) who are also dancing, the couple at the front... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 2:42 PM on June 27, 2008

Lakshmi Tatma on Wikipedia, with a good description of the surgery.

Photo from Feb 8, 2008 showing Lakshmi with her new baby sister Sarawati.

ABC News Story, also from February of this year, showing her standing up.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 12:38 PM on June 27, 2008

I very much wish that all art on the web were presented this well. As someone who studies the period, being able to zoom in so closely on the costume details is a great boon.

Thank you!
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 9:29 AM on June 5, 2008

"I made 'Bo Diddley' in '55, they started playing it, and everybody freaked out. Caucasian kids threw Beethoven into the garbage can."

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posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 9:56 AM on June 2, 2008

Mr Asprin was a fairly influential early member of the SCA. I've never read any of his work, but I'm indebted to him for helping craft a group which has added so much to my life.

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posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 3:59 AM on May 23, 2008

What I remember most is a battered tricycle they had on display in a glass case.

Shin's Tricycle

The Father's Story

A children's book (also called Shin's Tricycle -- from the Publisher's Weekly review in the Amazon link: "The narrator is a father of three; as the bomb drops on the city, his three-year-old son, Shin, is riding his cherished tricycle. Barely... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 1:15 PM on May 5, 2008

Good timing. Burroughs is coming here to Portland (ME) to do a reading in the next few weeks and I've been looking forward to going to see if the myth and the man match up, so to speak.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 4:28 AM on May 2, 2008

There is no way I'd approve of a male teacher hugging my male sons. I don't know about other parents, but I don't like any men touching my children who are not close family (even my boss of 10 years). Maybe that makes me paranoid, but either way I don't like it, and as long as I am responsible for their safety and well being, I'm sure I will continue to not like it. I'm certain that many if not most involved parents feel the same way.

Whew. So many... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 8:28 PM on April 21, 2008

Man, this is about as far from a vibrating broomstick as you can get -- and yet it continues to appear, day after day after day.

Sorry Chuck, its now a triple-double.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 2:02 PM on April 18, 2008

Well, crap.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 7:32 AM on April 17, 2008

Maybe a life of public transport, but slavery?!? Don't make a mockery of the word.

The problem being, of course, that existing public transport is poor to nonexistent in most parts of the US, and even if the money from your gas tax were to go directly into creating more public transport, the infrastructure wouldn't just appear overnight. Even Busses would take a certain amount of time to build.

Of course, a certain segment... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 9:23 AM on April 16, 2008

Links like this are why I still read Metafilter after all these years. Thanks so much for posting this.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 11:32 AM on April 11, 2008

Now that I've become a mom, death has become my greatest fear - not the pain of death, but the loss, the idea that if I died today my son would miss me yet never know what he missed.

I did kind of wish they had explained more why Brian and Melissa's father was no longer in the picture. Is he dead? Just a deadbeat dad? Those children have experienced so much loss, and for Brian, especially, being, in effect, sent into exile from what family he has left.....
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 2:58 PM on April 10, 2008

Great post -- two things I'd like to highlight that I think are getting lost (generally, not just on MeFi) in the hubub about this - facts taken from from this link.

They are raising funds to drill deep bore holes to access possible subterranean water reservoirs.

Two of every Three children born in the village die before their fifth birthday due to contaimination in their current source of drinking water.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 5:06 AM on April 8, 2008

I'm glad that this is out in flash, because its a great idea and a great game, and I know this guy is going to be very successful.

However, I can't play it because it makes me feel utterly stupid. It took me about a hundred tries to get Level 4 (because I'm a stupid moron girl who doesn't understand science or gravity apparently) and now I don't want to play anymore, because failing those 100 times has left me feeling so .... stupid.

They needed... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 10:12 PM on April 6, 2008

Neurodiversity Previously on Metafilter
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 10:37 AM on April 4, 2008

The courts will usually quash this stuff when it's brought to their attention.

Yes, after Kathleen has had to spend her own hard earned money to defend herself and get it brought to the court's attention. That, for me, is the most frustrating part - that crap like this can cause people thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars simply on a whim or out of a desire for some kind of revenge.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 1:26 PM on April 4, 2008

Yeah, but, you couldn't hear them.

Not really their fault. They were using the most sophisticated equipment available at the time - indeed, for two US Tours special amplification equipment was built specifically for the band. They did they best they could with what was available at the time.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 9:56 AM on March 26, 2008

"Human judges can show mercy. But against the laws of nature, there is no appeal."

Rest in Peace, Mr Clarke. I hope you were right, and that there is hope for us all after all.

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posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 3:26 PM on March 18, 2008

I haven't watched this and I'm not going to (I already know and yet I don't need to know), but I do want to highlight the what is happening to these children now link that elpapacito posted above. This documentary was first shown in November 2007 and it does seem like that there was some pretty immediate action, including this The Campaign for Bulgaria's Abandoned Children website, where, if you poke around, you will find this update (dated 2/24/08)... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 8:55 PM on March 16, 2008

Very nice post.

The "news" here, really, is twofold

- The fund has never paid out on a claim for an autism spectrum disorder, so (whatever the underlying cause of the child's final disorder) that is news.

- The idea that at least some cases of the collection of symptoms we call autism could in fact be a mitochondrial disease.

What some parents of children with autism spectrum disorders... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 12:16 PM on March 7, 2008

In high school (this would have been in the early '80s - I believe the original D&D was published in 1974, so it had been around for nearly a decade by the time we found it during the Regan Era), a friend described his role-playing books and paraphernalia to his mother as follows: Its a shared set of rules for imagining.

Now, some twenty-mumble years on, that same friend is teaching his four year old granddaughter the basics of the game. He... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 10:47 AM on March 4, 2008

Tribute strip from the always fabulous Order of the Stick
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 6:34 PM on March 4, 2008

Gary Gygax, Game Pioneer, Dies at 69 (NY Times Obit)
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 12:29 PM on March 5, 2008

Excellent. Thanks.

Side note: I wish I could find some indication if it is Frank Oz performing Cookie here, or if its is David Rudman (who does most of Cookie's Sesame Street performances now)?
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 12:01 PM on February 15, 2008

"Man, as long as he lives, is immortal. One minute before his death he shall be immortal. But one minute later, God wins." - Elie Wiesel

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posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 7:06 AM on February 11, 2008

Scodger, this is a very interesting post ... thank you!!


But! Your last link, on the sidebar, contains one of the most disturbing "news" photos I've seen -- headline something like "Dog gives birth to mutant creature that resembles human being". Man. That photo is going to stick with me into the wee hours, let me tell you.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 10:46 PM on January 18, 2008

At the risk of oversharing, I guess I'll tell you that I went through about 80% of the pushing stage of labor in this position, although at 9 months pregnant you're really up on your toes a bit more because your stomach and breasts overbalance you somewhat.

My midwives were totally impressed. Apparently they try to encourage many moms to do this, but few can. I had been practicing, though, because once you think about it a bit, it really is the most natural position to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 9:18 PM on December 29, 2007

I grew up drinking the stuff you buy labeled as Poland Spring Water straight out of my tap. So, yeah, now I buy it bottled from time to time, mostly to have clean water on camping trips and to make sure my baby boy gets "the same" water when we're traveling (lest we risk a GI diaper explosion in the carseat. Yech.).

Porpoise, watch out for Nalgene. Nalgene's Lexan bottles are made of polycarbonate plastic (PC), a plastic known to leach the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 5:13 AM on December 18, 2007

Brevator -- the charges were (IIRC) related to his possession of some vintage images:
From Wikipedia

"Reubens was arrested again in 2002 in connection with an investigation involving child pornography. Public news stories concerning his case cast doubt upon the suggestion that Reubens intentionally acquired child pornography, as he stated that he was a collector of "erotic artwork" and that he had a sizable collection... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 5:43 AM on December 17, 2007

Wonderful post, Marxchivist. Just exactly what I still read MeFi for. Thanks for sharing.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 6:52 AM on December 3, 2007

dhartung this is (I think) the true end of this story.

This woman needs help. The most disturbing part to me, honestly, is either the fact that she already has two (I think, its hard to tell, but at least one and most likely two) real, actual daughters, and that she's apparently being considered as an adoptive parent to a "sibling group".

I love Metafilter, but I'm not sure that mocking truly crazy people is what this site should be... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 12:17 AM on November 14, 2007

As the owner of a toddler, I've been watching this story float around the web with some interest.

The videos are cute, but really they could be videos of my son's classroom playing with a favorite toy. At our house, hugs to toys, elaborate "night night tuck-in" games, and in general treating loved toys as though they were "real" is pretty much par for the course. The real "meat" here (if there is any) is the finding about the toddlers... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 10:27 PM on November 13, 2007

And I just want to hear the recording

The recordings start almost exactly at the 11 minute mark.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 9:51 PM on October 19, 2007

"You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children."

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posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 12:46 PM on September 7, 2007

I use something like this (not *nearly* so complex) to organize my duties at work - I get tons of "please can you do this for me" type requests via phone; each call gets a card, and a needs to be done by date, then they get filed by date. As a task is completed, the card is ripped up - very satisfying.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 8:19 AM on August 27, 2007

Its possible that some might think this is a double, because individual speeches archived here have been used in many mefi posts, but I got a bit lost here this morning and thought the whole site was worthy of attention. But, maybe not. I'm rusty at this.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 10:16 AM on August 22, 2007

Aerial Archaeology in the American Southwest
Dorset, England
UK in General
New Zealand
Using Google Earth
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 11:29 AM on August 17, 2007

Oh goody. Countrywide has been our mortgage lender for years. We're signing papers to refinance our house (not sub-prime by any means) tonight with Countrywide, in fact.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 1:02 PM on August 16, 2007

It's is SO AMAZING to see drag shows where they don't just phone it in, letting their makeup and outfits be "the show" and doing nothing but lazy lipsynch. This belongs at Wigstock, it's that great.

I'm confused. Miss Black America seems to be a real pagent, (albeit with a lousy website). Oprah was Miss Black Tennesee in in 1971.

Where are folks getting "drag show" out of this? (Besides,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 11:13 AM on July 24, 2007

I wish for Hanas, and for her mother and brother and father also, a long and happy life. I hope that by the time she is old enough to read that peace will have returned to her country.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 3:08 PM on July 23, 2007

I just want to thank psmealey and all the great commenters for the post and the nifty supporting links. Nice job.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 10:22 AM on July 6, 2007

Also, I'd like to see what one of these guy looks like after traveling that far (I wonder if they're still recognizable as duckies?).

The second photo (scroll down) in the second link shows some survivors.
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 8:14 AM on July 2, 2007

I have a number of friends who have undergone IVF. Without exception, the maximum number of embryos that the doctor would implant at any one time was two. Two. Not six. Not four. Two.

There is a certain logic to me that a couple who has tried so hard to have a child would be unwilling to then turn around and abort what could be a healthy child. That's why, I think, we have to put some responsibility on the doctors who implant... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 4:35 AM on July 2, 2007

Predictably, the chapter on Waifs of the City's Slums nearly did me in ... its the mommy brain , I guess. The Sweaters of Jewtown and Chinatown are also ... eye opening.

Compare and contrast with the shiny-clean experience of NYC's Tenement Museum.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by anastasiav at 7:42 PM on June 1, 2007