There Were No Mirrors in my Nana's House is extraordinary, and I think fairly universal.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 6:56 AM on August 7, 2008

I'm also going to chime in and say that you don't have to be nuts to talk to the people in your head. I do it all the time- I carry on conversations with them; they carry on conversations with each other. On occasion, I laugh out loud at the things they're saying.

Occasionally, they've been disruptive enough to keep me from falling asleep, if they have an argument, or a particularly pressing bit of information they feel they must share. Then I write it down, because... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 8:35 AM on July 28, 2008

It could be an autism spectrum disorder- Sensory Integration Dysfunction produces kids who make eye contact, cuddle, are social, etc., etc., but who like to have really structured environments and often lag behind linguistically because of proprioception issues. My daughter only had about 10 words when she turned three; she's in 1st grade now and ahead of other six year olds with occupational and speech therapy. Find out if there's a First Steps program in your area who can evaluate your child-... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 1:31 PM on July 26, 2008

OFF and ON are used as direction notes- take the camera OFF whatever you're shooting at this particular moment, or ON this point (do whatever)

She steps away from Vic and Lemonhead, approaches Danny and Dutch. Off Vic and Lem turning away to do some policing --

Your example means, our camera is focused on Vic and Lemonhead while Claudette walks away. Then, move the camera to focus on (probably in this case) Danny and Dutch, allowing Vic and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 10:11 AM on July 23, 2008 marked best answer

It looks like a sewer access cover. We had one outside our old apartments- no idea why it was a dome, but it took 8 kids and 4 jump ropes to remove it so we could climb down into the tunnel. (Don't ask.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 6:24 AM on July 21, 2008

If you think you feel trapped now, imagine how trapped you will feel when you have two kids and you're bound to her for life. My helpful advice for you is dump her, move away so you don't get weak and give in again, and move on with your life.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 5:35 PM on July 14, 2008

My father skipped my son's first birthday party because he was pissy over a Sears bill my mother, his ex-wife, had left for him to pay.

Guess which one of my parents I still talk to.

(In other words- leave your kids out of it. They'll figure out what's going on eventually. Please don't make them pick sides.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 2:01 PM on July 14, 2008

Dude. "Gone with the Wind".
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 8:00 AM on July 4, 2008

Using this example:

Women who smoke are no more likely than men to get cancer...

Women who smoke are not more likely than men...

The difference is that the first could read "Women are just as likely..." but the second one, you cannot (and maintain meaning.)

So I think "no more than" is more an equivalency, she wrote some letters, maybe... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 9:20 AM on July 3, 2008

Dude, let me be the one to tell you, you are living in a romantic fantasyland of what it means to be a writer. There are 37 of us in Debut 2009. We all have our first novels coming out next year.

We have a software engineer, a software tester, several teachers, several lawyers, a magazine editor, a PR flack, a Guard coach, a children's theatre director, a doula and a sales rep among us. Out of 38, THREE of us ONLY write for a living. Two, because they got a huge... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 8:10 AM on June 30, 2008

Cherry salsa, nom nom nom.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 3:02 PM on June 20, 2008 marked best answer

You've kind of ruled out the two main ways casual sex happens. A drink or two doesn't mean sloppy drunk- we call it a social lubricant for a reason. But if you absolutely require teetotaler casual sex, put an ad in your local alt weekly ISO casual encounters.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 7:28 AM on June 20, 2008

Do you use an inhaler? I get ulcers that sound like what you're describing if I don't rinse my mouth really well after using my asthma inhalers.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 7:45 PM on June 19, 2008

LEGOs and art supplies. That kid goes through more scotch tape...
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 8:04 AM on June 16, 2008

Well if it makes you feel any better, people often say that my (m) husband and (f) I look like siblings. After being asked twice, "Are you sure?" after telling different people that we're not, I've changed my answer. *Now* when it comes up, I offer an amused, "Well, I don't *think* we are, but you know how wild the 70s were."
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 10:38 PM on June 4, 2008

Shut your mouth a lot about the things that are unchangeable and and immutable- like the food issue.

Manipulate the situation a lot- visit them, don't let them visit you, so you're not put in a position to correct other people's children, for example; turn off your cell phone and shrug off their irritation that you aren't calling/going wherever at the last minute. "Oh, I'm sorry, my phone was off." Say it often.

And speak up about the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 11:03 AM on May 21, 2008

Try a benadryl. One of the main components of my allergies is acid reflux; heartburn medication eases the discomfort, but taking my allergy medications tends to eradicate it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 6:08 AM on May 17, 2008

Kassie Evashevski
(She inked the Twilight film deal for over a mil.)
United Talent Agency
9560 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500
Beverly Hills, Ca 90212-2401
Main Phone: 310.273.6700
Main Fax: 310.247.1111
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 5:04 PM on May 13, 2008

I straight up told my father that if his side of the family continued to tell racist jokes, and use racial epithets at family gatherings we would no longer be attending, period. I have no idea what he SAID to them, but when we come for a cookout? No racism to be heard anywhere.

You can, and you have a right- even an obligation- to say "Not in front of my child." It's up to them to pick- their bad habits, or your company. If they choose their bad habits, it... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 1:18 PM on May 6, 2008

So I took everybody's advice and mashed it all up. And after a long afternoon in the music store, we're coming home with a pink Flea uke, and she's crazy excited about learning it first so she can learn guitar next. Thank you all so much for your suggestions and your good links. You've helped make a tiny little six year old the happiest girl in the world!
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 8:20 PM on May 3, 2008

My relationship with my first agent was AWESOME, except in the end, I didn't really write stuff she wanted to represent, and I drove myself crazy trying to write something she did. We were great friends, I am deeply, deeply grateful for all the time she spent helping me edit my first novel, but we weren't a great fit. I was too afraid to speak up for myself, and she was still new enough that she didn't quite know her niche yet. Got on like houses on fire, though, and I still enjoy her company. I... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 2:33 PM on April 25, 2008 marked best answer

I have this problem a lot and just washing less helps. Instead of washing every day, I wash every third day (every other day when my hair is short and prone to getting oily,) and I always use a conditioner. On non-washing days, I make sure to tie my hair up in a towel so my scalp doesn't get wet.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 2:02 PM on April 23, 2008

Balmex and commando. My son got crazy, crazy diaper rash just from sweat and heat, the same kind of rash you're describing. And what we had to do was cream up the rash while it was still moist, and let him go without diaper or underpants as often as possible.

Since adults don't get to walk around bareass as much as toddlers do, I would suggest very loose, breathable boxers, and very loose pants whenever you must be dressed, and nothing or perhaps loose jam shorts with... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 1:59 PM on April 23, 2008

It was about three years after I had my last smoke that my brain quit smoking. The intervening time, I allowed myself to be bitter that I wasn't smoking, pissy that I couldn't have a smoke, mournful, grieveful, whatever- as long as I didn't actually smoke. That psychological hold is hard to break, and it really helped me to just be angry about giving up something I still enjoyed. Indulge the stages of grief, that's my advice.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 11:16 AM on April 23, 2008

Strange Horizons Magazine implores you to NOT start here- their list of horror stories they've seen too often.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 7:08 PM on April 19, 2008

My 14 year old son has ADHD and he regularly whips my ass at chess. He says it's very busy in his head, because he's processing all the possible moves, and potential moves, so it's easy to focus on. I notice he dances sometimes when he's playing, but he has no problem finishing a game.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 3:42 PM on April 19, 2008

As someone who bought the Vista laptop from Dell, then begged piteously for them to give me a copy of XP instead, and someone who has answered at least two Dell Vista Downgrade questions here, as well as walking three people in my regular life through the process of downgrading- you'll regret NOT buying the XP laptop.

At the very least, understand that your laptop with Vista may or may not open older programs, depending on how it feels, or how the window blows. Sometimes... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 8:27 AM on April 17, 2008

Your gums are receding around beads of tartar that are building up on your teeth. From the darkness of the tooth beside it, it would appear you are experiencing some root damage due to this. My suggestion is to

1) Research someone who specializes in "gentle dentistry." I'm not sure how you go about finding a dentist in the NHS system, but gentle dentistry is just a newer school of thought that understands that going to the dentist is scary.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 3:39 PM on April 16, 2008 marked best answer

I don't continue if someone's told me they've heard it before. However, I have a stutter, which is mostly conquered by practicing what I'm going to say before the occasion arises, so I don't have to struggle to find the words. Practicing helps me get the words out smoothly, but it has the unfortunate side effect of making me forget whether I told a friend something, or if I have only practiced telling them.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 8:52 AM on April 16, 2008

You can name your kid Pilot Inspektor if you want.

However, your question can't be answered as posed. Does your husband have a brother named Mark Joseph Smith? If so, only HE is entitled to the social numbers that follow Junior and Senior.

If following Judith Martin's guide to etiquette, becomes Sr. when his father dies, and thus *his* son, if also named Mark Joseph Smith, becomes Jr., eliminating social numbers entirely.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 1:58 AM on April 14, 2008

It's one of those lines that in theory is true- we sure would hear about it at home if four American tourists just disappeared, especially young, attractive ones. But that doesn't mean they would ever get found, a la Natalee Holloway.

It's not true irony, or good foreshadowing- it's a ping line. The character believes it is true and he is safe, but oh noz! the audience knows he is not safe and will soon die! Other ping lines for... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 6:52 AM on April 12, 2008

Ping lines are most often found in horror movies and films based on actual events. In the case of the latter, it's a way for a screenwriter to ease suspension of disbelief. You sit down to watch Titanic, and you're immediately removed from the story because you know how it ends. Out pops the ping line to acknowledge, yeah, yeah, we know- the ship sinks, and it relaxes an audience and allows it to participate.

They actually function in the exact... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 7:04 AM on April 12, 2008

At first, it's hard because you relate to everybody and everything, but you get used to it remarkably quickly. It becomes an interesting exercise, a puzzle to solve, a toy to take apart- you depersonalize the victims and separate yourself almost by instinct- except for that One Thing.

Everybody has a One Thing that forces them to confront man's inhumanity to man, your own mortality, every fear you ever had. It's the one that will stick with you, and give you nightmares-... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 9:07 AM on April 9, 2008

It could be the flour. It used to be that flours had specific, graded gluten levels in them. Now they're all willy nilly and you have to specifically look for high gluten flour for crusty breads and low gluten flour for softy things like rolls and cakes. If she's using All Purpose, it may be much higher gluten than it once was. Try Swan or Soft-a-Silk cake flour instead.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 6:25 AM on April 8, 2008

I believe the "attorney pointing" you're talking about is actually from a series of photos of Ted Bundy defending himself in the Kimberley Leach case.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 5:32 PM on April 2, 2008

I lied- the pointing attorney is not Ted Bundy- the man leaning over the table right before the Order starts is Ted Bundy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 5:37 PM on April 2, 2008

However, as I discovered with my DC subscriptions- you won't get them before, or even concurrent- with them hitting the news-stand. They do it as a courtesy, not to be competitive, so you usually get them a couple weeks after everyone else buys them at the comic book store.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 2:53 PM on March 31, 2008

They're wishing you good luck!.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 2:18 PM on March 28, 2008 marked best answer

I'm a writer, and to practice I do critique at writing sites like Critique Circle. Not only does it keep my craft skills sharp, reinforcing grammar and what not, it also helps me hone my art skills- learning what to do, what not to do, what's cliche, what's novel...
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 9:35 AM on March 28, 2008

"I'm so sorry for your loss, you have my deepest sympathy."
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 8:26 PM on March 26, 2008 marked best answer

For shits and giggles, I *did* contact Heinz and the answer I got was:


Thank you for taking the time to contact us. As per your inquiry, please find enclosed a link to the television add you reference. Additionally, please note that the whitch's hat is not named.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhqd1CoTjDo&feature=related">Same YouTube link...

Sincerely,


Gina D.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 8:44 AM on March 25, 2008 marked best answer

You need to put in the disk and reboot it. Hit whichever key your boot up tells you to enter the BIOS . Change your boot order so that your CD drive boots first. (This will help with both of those.)

Then reboot.

The XP installer will come up- even though it says you don't HAVE to nuke the drive from orbit, I've had to do this twice in the last year, on two different Dell Inspirons. The install never takes correctly if you don't format the hard... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 9:19 AM on March 24, 2008

I sometimes fill- not if you're parked in the back forty, but if a lot is relatively empty. I'm using your car as a guide to make sure I'm parking in my lines. Sorry, I had no idea it bothered you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 5:30 PM on March 17, 2008

By the time you paid the lawyer and the experts, how much of that 3X would you have left? I'd take the money in hand.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 6:29 PM on March 16, 2008

Cut the tag, then rub the remains with a steel wool pad to fray and soften it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 11:09 AM on March 13, 2008

My best friend, Methodist, raised Baptist, says:

"Fellowship means to hang out and eat food together and enjoy one another's company. We call the small reception halls "fellowship halls" in small southern churches for precisely this reason. We do our eating there. We say we'd like to invite you all to come fellowship with us after the service."
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 5:37 PM on March 10, 2008

Jeff from The Wiggles.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 11:47 AM on March 4, 2008

If you'd sent that e-mail to me, I'd be pissed, too. Regardless of whether you think she's overreacting, she doesn't have a dog for a reason, and she doesn't appreciate cleaning up after yours. Not only did you insult her with your opening, your response to the substance of her complaint was that it might not have even been your dog, and if it was, oh well. Oh, and by the way, mockity mock mock by repeating her phrasing.

She was hot when she wrote her letter, but she was... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 4:23 PM on March 3, 2008

Generally, when one publishers a picture book, the House selects an illustrator. They get an advance + royalties, just like the author does. However, since you want to self-publish, you'll probably have to commission each piece of work for the books.

No professional illustrator is likely to take a percentage of sales on a self-published piece.

For more information about writing (and illustrating) for children, check out the blue boards at Verla... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 3:00 PM on February 29, 2008

Oh, and Dixie Chicks' Not Ready to Make Nice has a well-documented story behind it that could definitely segue into conversations about American culture and critical thinking.
posted to Ask Metafilter by headspace at 10:40 AM on February 27, 2008