How do I, as a man, show my son a caring and feminine side to life? I've raised my son in classic, tough-guys-don't-cry fashion. I worry that I haven't given him the tools to form the best relationships with the opposite sex or to be more caring and compassionate and I want to redress the very male influences in his upbringing. Are there any other single fathers out there who have the same concerns? How have you dealt with them? Are there any good resources you would recommend? Any women who have experience of young men mainly raised by their fathers? What are your thoughts? Am I worrying unnecessarily?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rikatik at 3:40 AM on May 13, 2008 (31 comments)

"So I hit up a garage sale over the weekend and bought a genuine, working-condition Atari 2600, with a huge stack of games nearly mint in their boxes, for a song. I thought I’d scan the box covers and give you all a look back into the fun of yesteryear."
posted to MetaFilter by sveskemus at 3:19 PM on April 21, 2008 (74 comments)

“…if I had to design a mechanism for the express purpose of destroying a child’s natural curiosity and love of pattern-making, I couldn’t possibly do as good a job as is currently being done — I simply wouldn’t have the imagination to come up with the kind of senseless, soul-crushing ideas that constitute contemporary mathematics education.”
posted to MetaFilter by blasdelf at 7:34 AM on April 10, 2008 (80 comments)

"Inevitably, after I finish speaking, the strong opinions come. It happens the same way every time: People listen and then they say what they've been feeling. Videogames are not good for you. Videogames are a waste of time. They isolate children. Kids never go outside to play. They just sit there and stare at the TV all day."

The Myth of the Media Myth: Games and Non-Gamers.
posted to MetaFilter by flatluigi at 3:36 PM on March 30, 2008 (130 comments)

Why is green the iconic color of poison?
posted to Ask Metafilter by L. Fitzgerald Sjoberg at 9:41 AM on March 22, 2008 (39 comments)

Way back in 2003, I posted a link to a video that showed an octopus transforming itself to look like its surroundings. If you read the thread, there was some doubt about it and I think we all wished that web video was better at the time. Well, a friend posted a link to a TED talk recently that shows this same octopus at a much higher resolution. The relevant footage appears near the end of the talk.
posted to MetaFilter by stefnet at 6:29 PM on January 30, 2008 (30 comments)

What's the best way to create an office jukebox with a web interface?
posted to Ask Metafilter by jmprice at 8:43 AM on December 14, 2007 (15 comments)

In Praise of Idleness, Why Crunch Mode Doesn't Work, and The Five Day Work Week. via
posted to MetaFilter by anotherpanacea at 8:00 AM on December 14, 2007 (24 comments)

The Avant Garde Project is a bunch of experimental outofprint music digitized from LPs. Free. Available in Flac and 192 kbps MP3. Start off at the Archive.
posted to MetaFilter by sushiwiththejury at 9:44 AM on November 30, 2007 (14 comments)

"If the emergence of techno and the proliferation of its related genres thrust DJs and producers into the spotlight, it also spawned artists who, like Kraftwerk before them, chose to remain anonymous and distant. The Scottish duo Boards of Canada (Marcus Eoin and Michael Sandison) is a case in point, an even more enigmatic presence on the UK's electronic music landscape than Aphex Twin and Autechre. Eoin and Sandison have consistently minimized their role in the commercial side of music-making and have avoided its attendant lifestyle: They've shunned city life for the rural seclusion of their Hexagon Sun studio and its local collective of artists. They claim to record primarily for themselves and their friends. They have reportedly amassed an enormous archive of unreleased music dating back to the early '80s (numerous apocryphal BoC tracks make the rounds). They seldom give interviews or perform live."
posted to MetaFilter by bigmusic at 9:11 AM on November 26, 2007 (70 comments)

What fictional evil has great corporate branding? I'm knitting myself sweaters and want to use the merchandising logo of fictional and cinematic dystopian/corrupt/evil corporations or organizations.
posted to Ask Metafilter by cowbellemoo at 1:09 AM on November 20, 2007 (96 comments)

Collective Perception
posted to MetaFilter by Soup at 3:08 PM on November 18, 2007 (38 comments)

What single book is the best introduction to your field (or specialization within your field) for laypeople?
posted to Ask Metafilter by limon at 5:40 PM on September 8, 2007 (240 comments)

Like a missing entry from Adam Pennyman's Catalogue of Obsolete Entertainments, the game Rez (previously on MeFi) combines abstract visuals with 21st century call-and-response musical theory (subscription site) for a synesthetic experience that changes through the player's on-screen interactions. Playing through four levels; Earth, Mars, Venus, Uranus, and Eden the player's avatar evolves within a sentient computer network as you attempt to free the core AI from suicidal depression. Woefully underpromoted upon release everywhere except Japan, and with few merchandise opportunities available to it, the game slipped into obscurity and attained cult status, retaining almost full value on the second-hand Dreamcast and PS2 markets. Unfortunately for the second-hand market, HD Rez has recently been announced for X-Box Live Arcade in early 2008 in glorious Hi-Def and 5.1 surround. Rejoice!
posted to MetaFilter by Molesome at 2:14 AM on November 15, 2007 (25 comments)

Bilingual homophonic translations
posted to MetaFilter by fermezporte at 11:05 AM on November 11, 2007 (33 comments)

Disney doesn't have a stranglehold on jazz and animation. Michal Levy has, using geometric shapes, created animation to John Coltrane's Giant Steps.
posted to MetaFilter by ashbury at 9:13 PM on November 10, 2007 (22 comments)

AEROTONE. | Hello!
posted to MetaFilter by hama7 at 7:33 PM on November 10, 2007 (20 comments)

The Super-K is a neutrino observatory in Japan; it is 1000 meters underground, contains a lake of 50,000 tons of pure water & every inch of the the 41 meter high walls are lined with over 11,000 photomultiplier tubes. It is also one of the most amazing man made objects I've ever seen images of. Super high res photos available here. More photos of the construction & recent restoration. Via.
posted to MetaFilter by jonson at 10:51 PM on July 3, 2007 (49 comments)

Help me construct the ultimate home cleaning/maintenance schedule. I want to know how often things need to be cleaned, changed, or updated in your home?
posted to Ask Metafilter by bove at 9:15 AM on November 6, 2007 (19 comments)

It's getting colder and darker by the day. Give me your strategies for coping with winter!
posted to Ask Metafilter by agent99 at 5:53 AM on November 7, 2007 (25 comments)

During its run, Mystery Science Theater 3000 riffed on over 50 short films. Almost all of them are now on YouTube or Google Video. See the list (shamelessly cribbed from here) inside for links.
posted to MetaFilter by cog_nate at 12:38 PM on October 24, 2007 (148 comments)

The Superset: Who is the superest hero of them all.
posted to MetaFilter by chunking express at 11:11 AM on October 23, 2007 (38 comments)

What's your equation? (via)
posted to MetaFilter by bonehead at 8:10 AM on October 19, 2007 (52 comments)

fghdfhdfg
posted to MetaTalk by goliche at 5:21 PM on November 22, 2001 (50 comments)

New contender for world's worst poem. Yes, the mighty William Topaz McGonagall seemingly unassailable position as writer of the sublime The Tay Bridge Disaster is under serious threat...
posted to MetaFilter by fearfulsymmetry at 3:32 PM on October 8, 2007 (50 comments)

Photos of Car Burnouts in Garnock make for a surprisingly good website. Makes me wish I had a similarly simple yet satisfying hobby. I mean, at this boy's I was collecting beermats for some bizarre reason. The kids of today have got it all...
posted to MetaFilter by MUD at 4:59 PM on October 7, 2001 (10 comments)

The Faces of War, a fascinating document of the prosthetic masks used to cover serious facial injuries from the battlefield. Before plastic surgery was widely practised and used to reconstruct the horrific facial injuries of the First World War soldiers, men with the most serious facial injured were often hidden away from society.

Men such as those recorded in watercolour, and in pastels (warning: some may find these images disturbing); patients of Harold Gillies, pioneer of facial reconstruction at Queen's Hospital, Sidcup, the wars major centre for facial reconstruction and plastic surgery.
posted to MetaFilter by chrisbucks at 7:08 PM on October 1, 2007 (24 comments)

Starbucks saved his life , and now Tom Hanks is saving his bank account. A story of a middle-aged man with a successful career in advertising, was fired from his high-paying job, was divorced by his wife, and was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and found himself getting back to basics working for $10.50/hour at Starbucks, finding himself, and loving it. How does he manage to deal with such a huge downgrade from his previously life? Well, turns out it doesn't matter too much, as it's soon to be a movie starring Tom Hanks.
posted to MetaFilter by Tommy Gnosis at 2:50 PM on September 27, 2007 (77 comments)

An Unfortunate View From the Sky. The U.S. Navy has decided to spend as much as $600,000 for landscaping and architectural modifications to obscure the fact that one its building complexes looks like a swastika from the air.
posted to MetaFilter by brain_drain at 10:24 AM on September 26, 2007 (70 comments)

My son is entering that awkward teen stage and wants to put aside childish things. To that end, he would like to change his rather "kiddish" gamertag to something more intimidating (and less likely to be berated by his older sibling). Obviously, he's not looking for something like "Fluffy Wumpkins." He asked me to help him with suggestions for cool, edgy, threatening names. So, Hive mind, any ideas? Bonus points if it sounds particularly impressive or humiliating to the enemy after, "you were killed by..."
posted to Ask Metafilter by misha at 11:35 AM on September 25, 2007 (101 comments)

Eunice Norton (1908-2005) wiki, great-great-grandstudent of Beethoven, gives a detailed, analytical tour of Bach's Well Tempered Clavier #12 in F, Bk I (part 1, part 2, part 3) and #13 in F#, Bk I (part 1, part 2) in a 1989 video.
posted to MetaFilter by tss at 10:40 AM on September 23, 2007 (6 comments)

Now that Labor Day is here, and Summer is on the way out. I thought it might be an auspicious time to discuss the Whistler Mefi ski trip proposed in this thread. The tentative date is for the weekend of December 15-16.
posted to MetaTalk by [expletive deleted] at 3:52 PM on September 3, 2007 (35 comments)

Some good, some great, some really cute (mildly nsfw)
posted to MetaFilter by quintessencesluglord at 6:25 PM on September 6, 2007 (40 comments)

So I've made it to 29 without learning how to drive. I'm in British Columbia, Canada, which has a multi-stage licensing process. I've got my learner's, but no car to learn/practice with before taking the road test for my "N". Help me choose a driving school!
posted to Ask Metafilter by sanitycheck at 3:35 PM on August 27, 2007 (6 comments)

Internet Commenter Business Meeting (NSFW flash video)
posted to MetaFilter by aerotive at 8:32 PM on August 18, 2007 (29 comments)

Has anyone ever done time in prison for harassing a whale?
posted to Ask Metafilter by jason's_planet at 8:23 AM on July 10, 2007 (10 comments)

Do puns exist in every language?
posted to Ask Metafilter by jknecht at 10:06 AM on June 2, 2007 (27 comments)

Parallels is a 10 minute dance video comparing current B-Boy poppin and lockin to vintage clips of African and global dance, jazz and swing, martial arts, and athletics. It's an excerpt from Detours - An Experimental Dance Collaboration, a video by dancer extraordinaire David "Elsewhere" Bernal. Via beans, beans, good for your heart [more]
posted to MetaFilter by madamjujujive at 12:04 PM on May 27, 2007 (11 comments)

"My deepest sympathies for posting this. I lack all attempts at rhythm and meter, and don't even have a nice English accent to back things up!"
posted to MeFi Music by chrismear at 9:10 PM on May 23, 2007 (49 comments)

John Cage gives a little concert on a 1960's gameshow called "I've Got a Secret." (Flashvid)
posted to MetaFilter by converge at 9:07 PM on May 18, 2007 (33 comments)

Spend a bit of your Sunday getting a little more acquainted with Indonesian musical culture. Balinese gamelan. And a little more. See how they make some of those fabulous-sounding gongs. And here's the fabulous Kecak. And more Kecak. And just for good measure, howsabout a little Angklung karaoke? Meanwhile in Sumatra the gals are playing the dishes! [all links YouTube]
posted to MetaFilter by flapjax at midnite at 7:56 AM on May 13, 2007 (25 comments)

Jesus of Nazareth - a theological biography by Pope Benedict
posted to MetaFilter by kyleg at 12:28 AM on May 13, 2007 (63 comments)

The Kansas City Sheet Music Collection is an enormous catalog of zoomable, high-rez scans of old sheet music. See how the popular music of years past was marketed with Black and Native American imagery as well as exotica. There are lovely and fanciful calligraphic designs, songs of World War 1 and, uh, vegetables. There's even a little ditty by Mark Twain. Plus some undeniable truths and the age-old question.
posted to MetaFilter by flapjax at midnite at 8:47 PM on April 13, 2007 (8 comments)

The Criterion Contraption: Matthew Dessem is going to watch every last DVD in the Criterion Collection and blog about it. Illuminating and knowledgable film writing. You can start, if you wish, with the entry on my favorite film, The Passion of Joan of Arc, or pick from the complete index.
posted to MetaFilter by Falconetti at 9:24 PM on March 19, 2007 (55 comments)

I see no SF meet-up on the calendar, but one should be. I vote Mission-area. Thoughts?
posted to MetaTalk by wool sock at 12:43 AM on February 26, 2007 (122 comments)

Here's my version of this most haunting of American folk songs. It's very stripped-down: just voice, drone, a bass drum and a shekere. In the time-honored folk tradition, I've made a few minor lyrics changes here and there, and the melody I'm using is different from the Dock Boggs or Stanley Brothers versions of the tune. Anyway, it's one of my very favorite traditional songs. Hope you enjoy.
posted to MeFi Music by flapjax at midnite at 3:36 AM on January 31, 2007 (17 comments)

How do I make the audience like me?
posted to Ask Metafilter by RokkitNite at 2:39 PM on March 25, 2006 (16 comments)

Cause This is Thriller, Thriller Night. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" has always been a classic. Everyone's seen the original. MeFites have seen the Lego version, the Bollywood version, and from the streets of Lexington, KY. But you might have missed it at a University of Washington talent show. In a kid's closet. Or performed by a cute 2 year old. Or even from the cast of Final Fantasy. Regardless, you simply can't miss the rendition by some bored workers in an office parking lot and break room. Or my favorite, bride, groom--an entire wedding party--at the reception.
posted to MetaFilter by kenneth at 5:02 PM on January 28, 2007 (50 comments)

Pompous Ass Words is a site dedicated to identifying words that shouldn't be used, on the grounds that doing so makes you sound like a pompous ass. With humorous citations and links to examples of pompous word usage by the media.
posted to MetaFilter by amyms at 8:09 PM on January 27, 2007 (202 comments)

Vancouver Meetup?

I have claimed, on many,many,many occasions that I will be at a meetup, but, as yet, have not showed. I'm not so flaky as to not turn up for one I've organised myself, surely? (I'm not.) Anyone interested?
posted to MetaTalk by Jon Mitchell at 5:13 PM on January 21, 2007 (27 comments)