I've always loved the song 'Summertime' from the musical Porgy & Bess. I think that part of that appeal is because it has always been open to a wide variety of musical interpretation. I've been trying my hardest for years to find other songs that match that level of artistic license but still maintain it's original beauty. Anyone have any other suggestions of similar songs that I can get my lugholes listening to?
posted to Ask Metafilter by floanna at 3:15 PM on October 23, 2006 (32 comments)

What pop songs mention Canada, or a place or city in Canada?
posted to Ask Metafilter by beelerspace at 7:47 AM on December 9, 2006 (95 comments)

A murder was confessed to me. I am a minister. What is my legal obligation: to report the crime to the authorities, or to maintain the confidentiality of the confession? This is not hypothetical.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Anonymous at 4:29 PM on October 20, 2006 (158 comments)

When is the right time to have kids? My partner and I (24 and 23, respectively) have been together for six years, and are both senior undergraduates. We know that now isn't the right time for kids, but we can't help but feel that it should be soon.
posted to Ask Metafilter by arcticwoman at 9:44 PM on November 17, 2005 (26 comments)

What kind of wall art is appropriate for a kinda stuffy but very friendly office environment?
posted to Ask Metafilter by whimsicalnymph at 4:17 PM on October 4, 2006 (24 comments)

Supporting my girlfriend in her decision to have an abortion -- what do I need to do?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Anonymous at 11:07 AM on October 3, 2006 (31 comments)

What are the best incredibly cheesy yet persistently feel-good, over-the-top possibly-80's songs you can give me?
posted to Ask Metafilter by dorothy humbird at 8:16 PM on October 2, 2006 (102 comments)

How do current feminists connect with the issues raised by the Second Wave? Feminist bloggers respond to Carol Hanisch, author of the 1970 essay The Personal Is Political [pdf]. In her new introduction, she writes, "But they belittled us no end for trying to bring our so-called 'personal problems' into the public arena... Our demands that men share the housework and childcare were likewise deemed a personal problem between a woman and her individual man. The opposition claimed if women would just 'stand up for themselves' and take more responsibility for their own lives, they wouldn't need to have an independent movement for women’s liberation." In response, the 17th Carnival of Feminists includes posts addressing how the internet can be a consciousness-raising medium, why we blame individual women for making "bad" decisions rather than blaming a system that forces them to choose, whether women should shut up and go with the flow as Democrats marginalize us in order to win elections, and what "the personal is political" might actually mean. (Many many many other great posts linked from Bitch|Lab on other feminist topics, too.)
posted to MetaFilter by occhiblu at 1:08 PM on June 24, 2006 (133 comments)

Sometimes AskMe takes you in a surprising direction, and this thread is one of those times: a college student asks if he should take advantage of a contraband answer key to check his graded homework, and the community is nearly unanimous in its ethical condemnation of the practice. That is, until a philosophy professor and professional ethicist answers to the contrary. Probably not sidebar-worthy, but a neat example of how an issue that seems at first to be black-and-white bleeds a little gray once the experts join the fray.
posted to MetaTalk by Saucy Intruder at 12:32 PM on September 25, 2006 (39 comments)

What would be a good way to calculate "fuck-you money"?
posted to Ask Metafilter by ElfWord at 7:27 PM on September 28, 2006 (34 comments)

Help me understand the power dynamics in play when two men pass each other on the sidewalk.
posted to Ask Metafilter by occhiblu at 7:49 AM on September 27, 2006 (110 comments)

Inspired by the question about male power dynamics on the sidewalk, what similar interactions happen between women that men would be totally unaware of?
posted to Ask Metafilter by twirlypen at 4:42 PM on September 27, 2006 (48 comments)

What are some secrets of the human body?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mach3avelli at 11:49 AM on June 3, 2006 (62 comments)

"You cannot, for instance, praise the shoes of just one player. You must praise the entire group's shoes."^[1] Assassin games have been featured before on MetaFilter, but here's one with a twist. To assassinate your target, you must compliment them with their specific compliment. But you don't know your target, or even who's part of the game, so innocent bystanders can get caught in the crossfire.
posted to MetaFilter by fvw at 4:29 PM on September 21, 2006 (26 comments)

I need a really dramatic, beautiful instrumental song, possibly with a big crescendo.
posted to Ask Metafilter by saucy at 7:10 AM on September 22, 2006 (29 comments)

"I would like to do better, to be better than I am". He's the French New Wave maverick and Academy Award winner (at 26, for his first short) who, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz -- with considerable personal pain and the admission that "no description, no picture can reveal the true dimension" of what happened in the camps -- made what François Truffaut called "the greatest film ever made", duly censored by French authorities. Four years later he baffled audiences with "the first modern film of sound cinema", shattering the rules of chronology to describe the “anguish of the future”: even if all he ever wanted was "to stop death in its tracks" (French language link), only for one minute. But he is also the unabashed lover of la bande dessinée who learnt English by reading comic books and in the Seventies dreamed (French language link) of making "Spider-Man" into a movie (the Hollywood studios were not convinced), the MGM old-school musical and operetta nut so in love with design that "half of the fashion photography of the past 40 years owes a debt" to him. Now, Alain Resnais' new work, just shown at the Venice Film Festival where his buddy David Lynch was awarded a lifetime achievement Golden Lion, is a French film inspired by an English play with 54 short scenes, music by the X-Files's Mark Snow. (more inside)
posted to MetaFilter by matteo at 11:10 AM on September 8, 2006 (20 comments)

Help me find a cheap fix for a lumpy futon mattress.
posted to Ask Metafilter by anjamu at 5:13 PM on September 6, 2006 (11 comments)

For the last 5 years (age 18-23), I've identified myself as a gay man. Came out to my friends and family and was living okay. Now, for the last year, I've basically come to realize I'm not gay. I've lost all attraction to men and I kinda fell for a woman. I haven't talked to anyone about it (including "her"), and am now realizing I need to come out (er, again). Any ideas how to handle it with my friends, family, and "her"? I'd obviously like to minimize the humiliation, anger, hurt, etc.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Anonymous at 6:34 PM on September 6, 2006 (27 comments)

Do you know where you are? With Google Maps and Google Earth so commonplace now, GPS everywhere, and with websites such as our own Metafilter making use of latitude and longitude did you ever stop to think about how all this latitude, longitude and height above sea level works? The UK's Ordnance Survey explains it all in A Guide to Coordinate Systems in Great Britain. Discover that different coordinate systems might differ by as much as 200m, and that your house may be moving as much as 1m up and down each day relative to the centre of the Earth, and many other bits of geographical interest.[more inside]
posted to MetaFilter by edd at 4:48 AM on September 6, 2006 (4 comments)

So there've been two attempts at a Calgary gathering (1 and 2) - anyone up for a third?
posted to MetaTalk by RGD at 4:07 PM on September 3, 2006 (15 comments)

You have been together and/or married for a long time. You are still very much in love. How do you do it? What advice can you give someone just starting out?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Anonymous at 3:10 AM on September 6, 2006 (35 comments)

You are an American female born in 1983 or 1986. What music resonates for you? For why I want to know, there's
posted to Ask Metafilter by lhauser at 9:29 AM on September 5, 2006 (38 comments)

Becoming Mary Poppins - A look at the original author P. L. Travers, Walt Disney, and the differences therein. Via the New Yorker.
posted to MetaFilter by loquacious at 6:22 PM on September 2, 2006 (27 comments)

Pop-psych or self-help book recommendations? I'm looking for popular non-fiction books concerning facets of normal human development that are actually interesting to read. I'm mainly interested in mother/daughter relationships, issues affecting teenage girls, romantic relationships, and bereavement, but I'm open to other topics as well. Suggestions?
posted to Ask Metafilter by occhiblu at 7:20 PM on August 31, 2006 (15 comments)

I'm a 12th grade senior in a public high school and live in a town where over 95% of graduates go to college. Can I get away with not going? Spare the politeness and call out my 17-year-old naivete. Some lengthy text follows, sorry in advance.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aye at 6:14 PM on August 31, 2006 (66 comments)

The dance craze that's sweeping the nation! Lyrics by languagehat.
posted to MeFi Music by cortex at 8:57 PM on August 30, 2006 (34 comments)

What songs use the "song on the radio within the song" effect?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Iridic at 11:18 AM on August 30, 2006 (80 comments)

I don't know what to do about my moms apartment. It is uncleanable in it's present state and she won't get rid of anything.
posted to Ask Metafilter by haikuku at 8:27 AM on August 28, 2006 (24 comments)

My baby is six weeks old. Increasingly, I have the feeling she's not very fond of me, which isn't unexpected since I'm coming to realize that I don't really love her either.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Anonymous at 11:47 AM on August 19, 2006 (53 comments)

HELP!! What began as a minor infestation is now a siege! Red and black ants have all but infested our apartment. Please, please, please help us eradicate them.
posted to Ask Metafilter by EatTheWeak at 11:33 PM on August 19, 2006 (18 comments)

I just escaped from prison - and I'm blogging about it! Farah Damiji, 39, a former magazine editor from the UK, megawealthy scion of a real estate dynasty and "international conwoman", was given a 3.5 year sentence last year for credit card fraud and identity theft. She was given a day pass from Downview Prison in Surrey to attend an educational event and never returned. That's when an English magazine found out that Ms. Damiji was blogging about her jailbreak on her Myspace page. Her Majesty's Home Office is not amused.
posted to MetaFilter by huskerdont at 1:37 PM on July 27, 2006 (38 comments)

Artist trading cards (ATC's) have three rules they shouldn't be sold, they are to measure exactly 2.5" by 3.5", and on the back they must have the artist's name, contact information, title of the ATC and it's number in the series. Since M. Vanci Stirnemann started this hobby in 1997 it has spread the world over. [previously on metafilter]
posted to MetaFilter by bigmusic at 11:12 AM on August 16, 2006 (13 comments)

Can you see me now? is a chase game played online and on the streets. Players are dropped at random locations into a virtual map of the Banff Centre. Tracked by satellites, Blast Theory's runners appear online next to your player. The runners use handheld computers showing the positions of online players to guide them in the chase. From the good folks at Blast Theory and the Mixed Reality Lab.
posted to MetaFilter by greatgefilte at 4:11 PM on August 14, 2006 (8 comments)

Calling all audiophiles and music know-it-alls: Help a biologist explain evolution to college kids, using music as an analogy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by caution live frogs at 9:33 AM on August 15, 2006 (29 comments)

Can microbes make us fat? Of the trillions and trillions of cells in a typical human body — at least 10 times as many cells in a single individual as there are stars in the Milky Way — only about 1 in 10 is human. The other 90 percent are microbial. These microbes — a term that encompasses all forms of microscopic organisms, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa and a form of life called archaea — exist everywhere. New evidence suggests microbes in our bodies can determine how efficiently we process food and affect our hunger centers.
posted to MetaFilter by caddis at 2:35 PM on August 13, 2006 (29 comments)

CBC Blogging Manifesto Tired of waiting for CBC, Canada’s national public broadcaster, to come up with a blogging policy, CBC bloggers – including the infamous pseudonymous blogger A. Ouimet – charge ahead and write one themselves.
posted to MetaFilter by joeclark at 10:18 PM on August 13, 2006 (12 comments)

What are some good movies for an almost-four-year-old kid?
posted to Ask Metafilter by The corpse in the library at 3:05 PM on August 13, 2006 (44 comments)

I just found a site, dimeadozen.org, that I think might make a good Metafilter post. It's got torrents of tons and tons of live concerts. (I'm listening right now to the Tom Waits show in Nashville that I saw last weekend.) The problem is that it requires you to sign up for an account, and there's a limited number of account slots available each day. Would this still make a good post?
posted to MetaTalk by UKnowForKids at 11:06 AM on August 11, 2006 (26 comments)

So I have this new Dell computer and I need to know what the hell I should do with it. (Much more inside.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by sperose at 11:09 AM on August 9, 2006 (15 comments)

Are there memory / brain games I should play with my three year old?
posted to Ask Metafilter by crazyray at 12:05 AM on August 9, 2006 (14 comments)

Do you know your close-up con games? Some classics: the Tip, the Jamaican Switch, the Wire (and its incredibly complicated cousin, the Rag), the Texas Twist, the Pigeon Drop, the Spanish Prisoner (or Nigerian Scam) and the ancient pig-in-a-poke. Also, learn the argot of the classic con artist, view some videos of card scam moves and discover some patter as well, or just see how the language of the con has been used in one of the more famous papers in sociology.
posted to MetaFilter by blahblahblah at 7:23 AM on August 8, 2006 (23 comments)

I feel compelled to point out Ringle Bock Jell as delicious community inspired music.
posted to MetaTalk by boo_radley at 5:56 PM on August 4, 2006 (20 comments)

I need inexpensive but fun ideas for a birthday party attended by 3-4 year-olds.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eustacescrubb at 6:23 AM on August 8, 2006 (12 comments)

Secret agent Huub Lauwers was parachuted into occupied Holland in 1941 to relay intelligence back to London. His capture by the Germans marked the beginning of the Englandspiel, a deadly game of cat-and-mouse intelligence that cost the lives of over fifty agents. Lauwers frantically tried to inform the SOE that he had been caught, but the Baker Street Irregulars just didn't get it. Or did they? [more inside]
posted to MetaFilter by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:46 PM on August 6, 2006 (16 comments)

My name is Georges. On the ground lies a golf ball. In my hands, a driver. I know nothing about golf. Help me develop habits to hit the ball perfectly every time I step up to it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mach3avelli at 2:13 PM on August 7, 2006 (16 comments)

laundryroom swapmeet "I live in an apartment building. We have a laundry room. The laundry room has a table. People put things on the table, and other people take those things away later. It's a laundry room swapmeet. I take pictures of the things and write about them. Hilarity more-or-less ensues." Awesome. [via mefi projects]
posted to MetaFilter by mathowie at 10:58 AM on August 3, 2006 (28 comments)

IT people and sysadmins, hope me: I need to keep my interweb addiction under (some form of) control at work. What I'm thinking is that you might be able to give me some cautionary tales/practical information on tracking net usage that will scare me enough so that I'm motivated to think twice before whiling away my working day on Mefi et al.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Anonymous at 4:00 AM on August 3, 2006 (17 comments)

What are your favorite literary passages that you've memorized?
posted to Ask Metafilter by sixacross at 2:39 AM on August 1, 2006 (113 comments)

im in ur sub base killin ur d00dz. Eerie photos of a decomissioned Russian submarine base. [via]
posted to MetaFilter by dersins at 2:04 PM on July 27, 2006 (38 comments)

WinMX is back (kind of). It was such an unbelievably awesome file sharing program that its makers had to pull their peer caches after being served a cease and desist order in September 2005. Now it has been reincarnated as MXpie. Even better . . . it's not spyware or adware.
posted to MetaFilter by augustweed at 1:12 AM on July 25, 2006 (46 comments)