A 60-something father has begun lying to me, in manipulative ways. My mom blows it off as not a big deal, as do my siblings. Is there anything I can do? Is everyone in denial?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Anonymous at 9:16 PM on May 1, 2007 (17 comments)

Many years ago I witnessed a murder and was the victim of attempted murder. The murderer was caught, and sentenced to 40 years-to-life. His first parole hearing is scheduled for 2008. I need to know what to expect.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Anonymous at 7:41 AM on May 2, 2007 (13 comments)

Last Sunday, the Dodgers pulled out a win against the Padres in a game that took 17 innings to finish. I remember hearing that, a couple of years ago, MLB changed the rules so that you couldn't buy alcohol after the seventh inning, perhaps to curb drunk driving. This particular game emptied out both bullpens and last 4 hours, 55 minutes. Can a brother a get a drink in extra innings?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by phaedon at 5:55 PM on May 2, 2007 (12 comments)

So I wrecked my friend's car...
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Heminator at 11:38 AM on April 30, 2007 (63 comments)

How to introduce a little kid to grown-up movies?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Andrhia at 8:28 AM on November 11, 2006 (41 comments)

Hip hop history— It's the Rub! Along with a handful of other shows, Brooklyn hip hop lovers The Rub compile a history of hip hop. Eleven parts through 1989.
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 6:56 PM on April 28, 2007 (14 comments)

Chinese Public Art The Workers' Paradise has always produced propaganda artwork. Lately, though, the subjects are sometimes at odds with tradition.
posted to MetaFilter by Kirth Gerson at 5:38 AM on April 28, 2007 (13 comments)

I'm researching why and when people use online dictionaries instead of (or in addition to) paper ones, and vice versa. I'd love some feedback from MeFites as to which they prefer and why.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by esperluette at 11:44 AM on April 29, 2005 (52 comments)

Is it possible to be hard of hearing, without having anything wrong with your ears?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by humblepigeon at 2:01 PM on April 23, 2007 (42 comments)

Folk metal rock boogie instrumental, driving down the highway throwin' the horns.
posted to MeFi Music by Wolfdog at 7:43 AM on April 10, 2007 (6 comments)

My lyric-writing "system" has often been dozens of little stickies on the desktop, thoughts, ideas, scribbles... and then sometimes when I'm frustrated I'll make a song made up of various combinations that seem to make sense. Like this one!
posted to MeFi Music by ORthey at 11:37 AM on April 15, 2007 (8 comments)

These are the sort of things that occur to me as I go for my daily walk. Four-and-five-part harmony plus solo, bass and vocal percussion. Recorded in GarageBand using my MacBook's built-in mic.
posted to MeFi Music by the_bone at 10:44 PM on April 21, 2007 (11 comments)

Joseph Frank Keaton Jr. was born into vaudeville. He quickly became a popular and controversial part of his family's stage act; an act that had his father violently hurling the "disobedient" child across the stage into scenery, the orchestra pit, or even into the audience, only to see him emerge amazingly unharmed. After the boy took an unplanned and particularly clamorous fall down a hotel stairwell, an astonished Harry Houdini cried out to the parents, "What a buster your kid took!" And thus, as legend has it, did little Joseph Frank Keaton Jr. become Buster Keaton.

At 22, Keaton made his cinematic debut with mentor Fatty Arbuckle. Afterward, he immediately founded Buster Keaton Studios, releasing a series of brilliant short (and later longer) comedies. Dozens of these are freely available to stream or download at the Internet Archive, including Steamboat Bill Jr, Convict 13, The Electric House, and his seminal The General (alt), which, despite completely failing at the box office, would be later hailed by many as one of the greatest films of all time. [more inside]
posted to MetaFilter by churl at 7:54 PM on April 25, 2007 (58 comments)

I stumbled across this incredible photograph and discovered Dar Robinson. One of his first professional stunts was jumping 100 feet into the ocean for Papillon. He jumped from one plane and into another in free fall over the Mojave desert. He jumped 1200 feet attached to only an 1/8-inch cable from Toronto's CN Tower. He set the world record (one of the 20+ he ultimately held) for free fall from a helicopter (music warning) in 1979. His unique falling stunts (1:56 & 2:36 in, Charles Durning in a wig & Hawaiian shirt warning) used a decelerator instead of air bags which allowed for camera angles that showed the ground, unique for pre-cgi days. He never broke a bone in his body during his 19-year career, making his untimely death from a non-stunt motorcyle accident on location all the more ironic, although lack of adequate medical services contributed (scroll down to filming hazards). Commemorated with a tv documentary and given an honorary Oscar in 1995, there is surprisingly little on the internet about him or his work.
posted to MetaFilter by ambulance blues at 9:13 AM on April 26, 2007 (16 comments)

Connie Meskimen of Hot Springs, Arkansas has a down-to-earth explanation for climate change! What the scientists and the Fifth Column environmentalists bent on wrecking American industry hope that you'll overlook!
posted to MetaFilter by Mayor Curley at 10:14 AM on April 24, 2007 (102 comments)

Photography/video filter: On the American Choppers show, I saw "Mikey" shoot his camera, "what looked like a cannon rebel xti" at like something like 20 frames per second and with some tech help turned it into a short movie.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by snsranch at 9:16 PM on April 23, 2007 (7 comments)

Are Harley-Davidsons for poseurs and mid-life crisis yuppies only, or can low key folks like me ride on without fear of getting that stigma assigned to them too?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Tommy Gnosis at 1:38 PM on April 23, 2007 (36 comments)

The Power of the Penis [YouTube],[NSFW]. I'm sorry for making my first post ever a single link YouTube post, but this Atlanta Public Access TV clip is the most educational video I have ever seen. Alexyss Tylor hosts a show on 'Vagina Power 'and 'Penis Power' with her mother. It's about 9 minutes of true insight - women, don't let men hit the bottom or use their penis as a weapon! Separate the love, the orgasm, and the penis, OK? Make sure he buys you the shrimp plate though!
posted to MetaFilter by waitingtoderail at 3:00 PM on April 17, 2007 (293 comments)

$78 Million worth of Red Tape. An amazing (and lengthy) LA Times article that provides an extremely rare glimpse into the finances of a major motion picture, with a line item dissection of the $160 Million disaster Sahara. The items include $230,000+ for bribes to local officials, $2 Million for a 45 second plane crash sequence cut from the final film, and 3.8 Million to a total of 10 different screenwriters for a movie that eventually went on to be one of the largest (in pure dollar terms - not adjusted for inflation) financial disasters in film making history.
posted to MetaFilter by jonson at 5:38 PM on April 16, 2007 (73 comments)

Is there a city with an awesome public transportation system that won't break the bank?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by english lit.ter bug at 12:45 PM on March 4, 2007 (39 comments)

How are the route numbers selected for public transit?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by gursky at 5:06 PM on April 5, 2007 (10 comments)

SF Muni Metro: Naming conventions?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by sellout at 1:59 AM on April 16, 2007 (7 comments)

Fruit Crate Label Art from the 1910s Thru 1950s (via)
posted to MetaFilter by Kwantsar at 3:01 PM on April 14, 2007 (34 comments)

Mathematica Policy Research Inc. released the findings of their study on government funded abstinence programs. The results? Not so great for the abstinence programs, or the federal & state governments which combined spend $80+ million funding the programs. The major findings were that the abstinence programs they studied had no correlation with a decreased level of sexual activity in the population of teens they surveyed. Interestingly, one of the programs they studied was a voluntary after school program consisting of daily 2.5 hour sessions with enrollment beginning at grade 3 and continuing into the 8th grade, and even that program didn't produce a significantly higher number of abstinent teens. The study was ordered by Congress. You can read the full study here (pdf, 164 pages.)
posted to MetaFilter by nerdcore at 2:45 PM on April 13, 2007 (60 comments)

How do I deal with cat-calling from construction workers outside my office?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by infinityjinx at 11:00 AM on April 11, 2007 (94 comments)

How dangerous is the business end of a Macbook MagSafe laptop power cable to a small child?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Caviar at 10:04 AM on April 11, 2007 (25 comments)

The recent post about Joshua Bell was merely the tip of the Unannounced Performance iceberg, a phenomenon I've often marveled at. The Beatles famously did it in 1969 on a roof. Mos Def got arrested for it last year. REM reformed in 2005 at a wedding, something the Police did at Sting's 1992 nuptials. Sometime after midnight in Union Square NYC on Nov. 5, 2005, Arcade Fire blew a few lucky fans' minds. Bruce Springsteen jammed with a street musician in 1988. In 2000, Weezer took to the stage under the name Goat Punishment and U2 used to sneak onstage disguised as The Dalton Brothers. In 2005 it was rumored they'd played a Beatlesque rooftop gig in NYC, but you can't believe everything you hear. I could go on all night with tales of secret gigs and surprise busking sessions, but I'm sure you've got plenty of rare musical moments to share in the comments.
posted to MetaFilter by ktoad at 5:14 PM on April 10, 2007 (56 comments)

The opening track from my upcoming LP. Handclaps, ooh bop bops, fiddles, and flutes.
posted to MeFi Music by ludwig_van at 3:31 PM on April 10, 2007 (7 comments)

A Short Post In Which I Suggest: 1. Good Design Doesn’t Need Explanatory Diagrams, and 2. A Thorough and Simple Search Mechanism Would Prevent Many Double Posts.
posted to MetaTalk by Milkman Dan at 10:26 AM on April 10, 2007 (71 comments)

See here and here and here. I'm posting this to music because Cortex insisted.
posted to MeFi Music by buriednexttoyou at 11:49 AM on April 9, 2007 (31 comments)

Sexy Witch: "This is a blog about sexy witches. Here you will find witches of all types: elegant, attractive, pretty, cute, hot, naughty or femme fatales; real life witches; people dressed up as witches: for halloween or fancy dress balls; fictional witches: witches in novels, plays and poems; movie witches; cartoon witches; witches in art: carved, painted, sketched and engraved: they are all here, or will be in time." (Some Images Not Safe For Work)
posted to MetaFilter by LeeJay at 4:58 AM on April 8, 2007 (14 comments)

A parody of A Day in the Life, penned earlier today by the highly overrated gentleman known as It's Raining Florence Henderson in response to disturbing revelations. Apologies to John. Paul can stuff it.
posted to MeFi Music by cortex at 9:08 PM on April 6, 2007 (34 comments)

A rambling instrumental with banjo, whistling, and a few other ingredients. Mix well and serve chilled.
posted to MeFi Music by ORthey at 10:34 PM on April 1, 2007 (14 comments)

Claude Laundry hates litterbugs and has the spontaneous camera footage to prove it.
posted to MetaFilter by debralee at 4:38 AM on April 5, 2007 (40 comments)

Are real estate prices in Cleveland too good to be true?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Grundlebug at 9:48 AM on March 14, 2007 (13 comments)

Picnik. Free, online photo editing tools.
posted to MetaFilter by loquacious at 5:53 AM on February 1, 2007 (8 comments)

Alanis Morissette covers "My Humps". This is a single link YouTube post. Thank you.
posted to MetaFilter by tristeza at 1:15 PM on April 2, 2007 (189 comments)

[NSFW] “[T]onight's orgy is fairly typical. . . . Within an hour or so, the guests—23 white couples and 3 black couples—have arrived, all of them here specifically to have sex with single black men often a decade or two their junior. There are 12 such men in the house tonight. They call themselves Mandingos. And this is a Mandingo party.”
posted to MetaFilter by jason's_planet at 7:22 AM on March 31, 2007 (232 comments)

Civil War Posters, Soviet Children's Books, 19th Century Shipping Posters, and much, much more are all part of this Flickr user's amazing collection of printed ephemera.
posted to MetaFilter by jonson at 9:42 AM on March 31, 2007 (13 comments)

Embrace the Suck. Intensive military activity creates an incubator for slang. By bringing together people from geographically diverse backgrounds, putting them into stressful circumstances, and teaching them a new language of jargon and acronym, the armed forces create fertile ground for new idioms - many of which return home in civvies when the conflicts are over. In the Civil War, World War I and World War II, in Korea and in Viet Nam, servicepeople created or popularized now-familiar terms like shoddy, hotshot, cooties, tailspin, fleabag, face time, joystick, SNAFU, FUBAR, flaky, gung ho, no sweat, flame-out, and many, many others. Now, the GWOT brings us a new generation of 'milspeak'. Military columnist Austin Bay has published an early collection of neologisms from Gulf War II. On NPR, Bay explains what The Suck is, how to identify a fobbit, and why Marines look down on the attitude of Semper I.
posted to MetaFilter by Miko at 1:47 PM on March 31, 2007 (65 comments)

I Saw You: Missed Connections Comics - a flickr project in which artists illustrate posts from Craigslist's Missed Connections. Possibly NSFW. (via)
posted to MetaFilter by Ufez Jones at 1:43 PM on March 30, 2007 (17 comments)

In 1977 Chris Haynes, a set decorator for The Six Million Dollar Man was setting up a scene to be filmed on location in the spookhouse ride of a Long Beach, CA amusement park called The Pike. While moving the various interior props around, Haynes discovered that the paper mache "mummy" hanging in the corner of the ride was in fact a homicide victim, a fact that had gone unnoticed by years of amusement park visitors. The story of how Elmer McCurdy's body was shot to death in 1911, only to be re-discovered & buried over six decades later, makes for an interesting read.
posted to MetaFilter by jonson at 10:41 PM on March 29, 2007 (26 comments)

One Pancake at a time. I don't think pancakes get much more ridiculous than this.
posted to MetaFilter by blasdelf at 9:03 AM on March 24, 2007 (57 comments)

I got fired via voicemail. Am I allowed to publish this voicemail to the web?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Mijo Bijo at 6:23 PM on March 23, 2007 (27 comments)

Help me distance myself from my family (and not feel guilty).
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Anonymous at 11:19 PM on March 22, 2007 (17 comments)

You really shouldn't miss the snazzy ukulele stylings of the great Roy Smeck, strummer and showman extraordinaire, who was not only fast as greased lightning, but for whom the ukulele also occasionally functioned as a wind or percussion instrument. The man was indeed a wizard of the strings: just give him a slide and watch him lay down that Hawaiian sound. And as you'll see here, he was still going strong in his later years. [most links to YouTube]
posted to MetaFilter by flapjax at midnite at 5:30 AM on March 23, 2007 (15 comments)

College/DepressionFilter: How do I avoid further destroying my life?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Anonymous at 5:56 PM on March 16, 2007 (50 comments)

The Codex Seraphinianus, that rare and amazing volume, has been scanned in high-res glory and posted to Flickr. If you are lucky enough to afford it, copies are available. Previously.
posted to MetaFilter by suckerpunch at 9:17 AM on March 20, 2007 (59 comments)

Where can I find more podcasts like the TED talks?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by alby at 1:54 AM on March 18, 2007 (19 comments)

Help me squish my food!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Cat Pie Hurts at 10:40 AM on March 22, 2007 (44 comments)