The Question:
What Is YOUR Best Photography Tip, Secret, Trick, Lesson, Technique, or Hack?

Your Answer:
Photography is not a hobby. It's an art form.

You aim for hobby, you get hobby. Aim for art.


When you claim something with such certainty, it shouldn't be such a big deal if someone comes around and denies it with subsequent certainty.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by clearly at 5:05 PM on August 24, 2008

Why do they all want me to go outside? What the FUCK am I going to click on out there?
posted to MetaFilter by fungible at 5:51 PM on August 1, 2008

I turned 40 last year. In the last couple of years, I've lost 50 pounds, quit smoking, quit drinking, am 3/4 through a degree in multimedia done completely through distance education, have built a small business that services academics, and in the next few years I'm planning to:
* move with my husband (but not my teenage children) around the country living in an area for a couple of years to explore it
* take a year off and walk the Australian national trail (hopefully... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by b33j at 11:38 PM on July 31, 2008

First -- Happy Birthday.

You sound really cool. You've already achieved -- or so it seems to me, from what you've written -- what most people do not ever achieve; you appear to be happy. It looks from here that you're having fun.

Continue with this.

Age -- bah. It's all crap. You're very young. I've met people in their twenties who are old, people in their sixties who are young. I don't know the source of the quote,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by dancestoblue at 12:39 AM on August 1, 2008 marked best answer

Comfort murders passion and walks grinning in the funeral.
posted to Ask Metafilter by zoinks at 12:44 AM on August 1, 2008

LFR—
I'm in the same boat as you. I'm 42. No kids, no desire for kids. No clear-cut goals. I'm a freelancer, so even climbing the corporate ladder is not an option, unless I decide to become an employee somewhere.

I don't have any answers. I try to make everyday life interesting, and occasionally succeed. And while I don't have clear-cut goals, I do like to think I'm open to serendipity. For a variety of reasons, 40 wasn't the birthday that made me sit back... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by adamrice at 8:09 AM on August 1, 2008

I like all the Astro Zombies and Greg Nog too. I was in the Olive Garden the other day (hate all you want, but you can't beat that unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks lunch baby!) and I wanted to say to the host that seated us, "There is this cool series of comics online called 'I am a Host at The Olive Garden' that you should really check out cause they rock." but I was too chicken. So then I just gorged myself on soup salad and breadsticks in shame. They were delicious!... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by ND¢ at 8:23 AM on July 29, 2008

Wow, there must be something in the water lately.

Really, there is no guarantee that you will ever have a significant relationship. There, I said it. There is no bill of rights that we are swaddled in at birth that guarantees that we will be pretty, or that we will be loved, or that we will have a good time. Many people who don't deserve it wind up in one long "satisfying" relationship after another, many who seem perfectly lovable never wind up finding... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hermitosis at 6:15 AM on November 2, 2007

As a woman, I didn't think this was "boyzone" at all. It's no different than any other site that sees if you can identify plastic surgery. Breast implants are only as sexualized as you make them. To me, it was fairly sterile, and more medical than jerk-off material or something. To me, this is like being offended by National Geographic.

I realize that people are going to talk about and complain about whatever they want, but for whatever it's worth, the... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Nattie at 4:02 PM on July 10, 2008

I see "boyzone" as being a less mean-spirited and more unconscious thing than out-and-out sexism and so if I have used that term, that's what I have meant. It's when a group of guys get together and start acting and talking like some young guys might when there are no women present. First it's a simple little exercise in lighting farts, then the girlie mags get broken out and suddenly it's a circle jerk. And I am like, oops, this is not my beautiful house, where's the exit?... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by oneirodynia at 4:10 PM on July 10, 2008

I wish I could figure out how to read the code, because for now I'm just taking their word for it.

This might help.
posted to MetaFilter by effbot at 4:17 PM on June 20, 2008

Wow that was interesting. And while some might find the slang annoying I always like to see how peoples is messing about with the written word.

I found the article damn funny at times, and it reminded me of a store I used to frequent when I was living in New York's Lower East Side (later renamed "The East Village" by real estate marketers).

The neighbourhood was pretty funky back then, block after block of partially burned out and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Mutant at 2:30 AM on June 19, 2008

> The truth is things AREN'T any different now than they were 30-40 years ago.

Actually, in many places, they're significantly safer now. (Although I don't think that even at the height of the crime problems in NYC that children were ever a major target. If you're going to mug someone, a 9-year-old with a couple of bucks and a train token isn't exactly the way to go.)

I think what's happened is that as cities have actually... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Kadin2048 at 9:14 PM on April 11, 2008

Still I wonder. . .Is human society growing more, or less, safe? All the modern monsters--child abductors, school shooters, serial killers--do they represent something new, or have we changed the way we relate to a violent potential that has always been inherent in human beings?

Please refer to this thoughtful comment, as it says what I would have said, better, and without throwing any chairs through windows.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beaucoupkevin at 11:04 PM on April 11, 2008

Here is where I renew my call for t-shirts for tall and/or fat people.

Here is where I renew my call for t-shirts for people with boobs. Crew-necked, straight line t-shirts are terribly unflattering on a well-endowed woman.

But I'm not waiting on Matt to come up with a MeFi hoodie! Gonna knit one myself!
posted to MetaTalk by orange swan at 6:14 PM on March 19, 2008

MetaFilter: I was playing Santa Claus, you asshole.

I love you boobs.
posted to MetaTalk by jessamyn at 6:49 PM on March 19, 2008

Dear Metafilter,

Please print your new shirt on these tees, because omg they are they are the most comfortable shirts EVER.

Also, please print some shirts for us smaller mefites!

:-*
posted to MetaTalk by numinous at 9:00 PM on March 19, 2008

Here is where I renew my call for t-shirts for tall and/or fat short and small people. (S or smaller, please). A reasonable extra charge is not a barrier.
posted to MetaTalk by desjardins at 6:11 AM on March 20, 2008

You give up on relationships by doing something else and not asking people out and saying "no, thank you" when someone asks you out. Honestly this is not the problem. The problem is that there's a lot of baggage associated with making these decisions that can manifest itself in all sorts of problematic ways

- people give you a hard time about your decision and try to browbeat you into thinking your life shoudl be another way
- you become... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 9:38 AM on March 20, 2008 marked best answer

[few comments removed - QUIT BEING DORKS AND ANSWER THE QUESTION FOR FUCKS SAKE]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 3:30 PM on March 17, 2008

Many fruit allergies cross react with latex allergies so definitely try and swap to nitrile gloves. Examples are kiwifruit, papaya, pineapple and banana, if you're allergic to those you'll also likely react to latex (and if not now, then it will develop over time). I suggest nitrile because I find the gloves are thicker, harder, less stretchy, and much less likely to break. So they'll help eliminate your other problem.

As for how to get some, I suggest you try to get... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by shelleycat at 5:37 PM on March 14, 2008

Well, I was overflowing with theories until I read that you're a gay male. I'm a (more-or-less) straight female, so YMMV. I find submissive guys all over the place and I think it's because I tend to be generally assertive. Plus, submissive men looking for women are a dime a dozen.

However, I've known many (mostly straight) male tops, and they generally fit your personality profile in your last paragraph to a T. You sound like you don't pressure people in social... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by desjardins at 5:46 PM on March 12, 2008

By the way, you probably think you're a nice guy, and that being dominant is somehow in conflict with that. To the contrary, your partners think you're being very, very nice. Dominant does not equal asshole. You won't magically become some overbearing jackass just because you like to pin guys down and...

I'm sorry, I need pictures before I can pontificate further.
posted to Ask Metafilter by desjardins at 6:44 PM on March 12, 2008

Should I eat the...

black bean soup?
deviled eggs?
wheat bread, yellow mustard, fat free mayo, precooked breaded chicken patty, american cheese sandwich?
beef past the sell-by date?
raw chicken and onions?
6-7 day old cooked chicken?
raw pancetta?
rotten-egg-smelling pork?
squirrel-knawed cookies?
blue cheese in fridge for a month?
tuna sandwich?... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Locative at 1:21 AM on February 26, 2008

The sleep-disruptive effect of ethanol will be in the first few pages of any sleep textbook. It is attributed to its effect on neurotransmitters, particularly GABA-A receptors. Alcohol activates these receptors potently but then leaves the body quickly, producing a withdrawal syndrome that includes disordered sleep.

Some people have noted that benzodiazepines or barbiturates mitigate this effect. I read one novel where the hard-drinking protagonist took a Seconal, a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ikkyu2 at 9:17 AM on February 24, 2008 marked best answer

It's the ones with the math that I shun;
Those are far too abstruse to be fun.
By the time I detect
That the math is correct,
I have long since forgotten the pun.
posted to MetaFilter by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:49 AM on February 5, 2008

Feisty felons whose heists are revered
Sovereign souls that society cheered
Either way, please admit
That your rule is forfeit
English vowels, let's be honest, are weird
posted to MetaFilter by Wolfdog at 12:02 PM on February 5, 2008

If they really want to cut down on obesity, they should stop the massive sugar and corn (corn syrup) subsidies.
posted to MetaFilter by small_ruminant at 10:22 AM on February 1, 2008

PLEASE.
posted to MetaFilter by koeselitz at 11:48 AM on February 1, 2008

I think this is going to be fairly specific but:
- work out
- watch a sappy movie (distract myself)
- hang out with some good friends
- drink with some good friends
- flirt with fun/cute boy
- do something good for someone else - REALLY - random acts of kindness seem to cheer me up
- splurge on something for myself - e.g. clothing
- read an engrossing book (distract myself)
posted to Ask Metafilter by n'muakolo at 6:34 PM on January 28, 2008

One reason that I think that Obitfilter turns bad is that there is generally nothing to discuss in the links, because someone sees that a famous person died and posts a single link to the story announcing their death. What do you say about that? A period, praise, derision, or something about how non-famous people die all the time so why do you care. There just isn't much to say about a msnbc story saying that some random famous person died. I think that the answer is to hold Obitfilter to... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by ND¢ at 7:55 AM on January 23, 2008

I don't know whether you really think that a better-written post would have kept that thread from becoming a trainwreck; but if you do, I don't think you understand why that post became a trainwreck at all.

Maybe I am being overly optimistic, but I don't think that people want to have the same old tired discussions over and over again. I think that if given something interesting to talk about, that people will talk about that. I had an English... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by ND¢ at 8:41 AM on January 23, 2008

Is there any way to informally discourage the exact same comments from being posted every time a celebrity's death is memorialized in post form?

Yes. We could not feed the trolls.

It's amazing how many people post things like 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35. How long have we had the internet now? And how long has MeFi been around? And we... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 8:55 AM on January 23, 2008

I agree with ND¢, but I personally feel we should hold obit threads to an even higher standard than a regular FPP. It should take time to craft a fitting tribute to somebody that has died. An obit post should draw people in who didn't know the deceased and what they were all about. It should give people some tools to mourn, by allowing them to discuss facets of the person's life, review what made them stand out, and allow others to see why they will be missed. Otherwise, I could post about the... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by iamkimiam at 9:00 AM on January 23, 2008

“I think that the answer is to hold Obitfilter to the same standard that we hold all other posts. If you are going to make a post about a person's death, you better make it interesting. Interviews, biographical information (besides Wikipedia or IMDB), something. If "OMG Larry Hagman died at 2:13 today!" is posted with a link to a one line news story, delete it. When someone can come up with a collection of links on the topic of the person and their death and why it matters, then let... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Smedleyman at 1:45 PM on January 23, 2008

vapidave writes "Actually, what we need is to ignore celebrities, they are no more valuable than you.
"There are lots of real people.
"Look around."

flapjax at midnite writes "'Celebrities' is a stupidly belittling term, and that's what we need to ignore. The man in question was an actor. A good actor.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by bugbread at 12:17 PM on January 26, 2008

Grrlscout That's my point. BoB wasn't surprised. Dissapointed, naturally, but I don't think any of them were wailing about it being mean.

Which is why I say the article is *massively* biased in favor of the assholes. The author included numerous incidents that aren't, actually, griefing. It sets up a false frame, and poisons the well for actual discussion of griefing.

Look at the incidents included in the article:

1)... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sotonohito at 10:43 AM on January 25, 2008

I'm going to put this in bold, italic, all caps, in a quotebox in hopes that perhaps some of the defenders of the noble and studly griefers will actually read and comprehend.
GRIEFING IS NOT MOCKING PEOPLE. MOCKERY IS NOT GRIEFING.
This isn't about poor, oversensitive, little losers who can't stand being made fun of. Its about actual disruption of games, etc.

Not Griefing: Making fun of furries.
Not Griefing, but... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sotonohito at 4:17 AM on January 26, 2008

Hey my dear friends, enemies, acquaintances , fellow internet goof-offs and chuckleheads. Hi, how are you? Well, I hope. I suspect we can't answer or resolve many of the questions this thread has raised in the course of one long angry conversation. I also firmly believe that if a large group of people here (ladies, it seems) say they often feel uncomfortable, then, if we care about any sense of community, no matter how attenuated, we need to all figure out a way to work that out. A bunch of... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Divine_Wino at 8:36 PM on January 24, 2008

PONY REQUEST:

deadceleb.metafilter.com

or maybe..

obituary.metafilter.com

I've never really enjoyed the obit posts on the blue. As someone said in the Heath thread, people are always rushing to post the news FIRST, I NEED TO BE FIRST TO POST ABOUT THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE CELEBRITY BECAUSE THE METAFILTER NEEDS TO KNOW.

THEY NEED TO KNOW NOW, AS SOON... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by localhuman at 3:54 PM on January 23, 2008

I speak from a great deal of experience when I say that unmedicated bi-polar addicts are the best sex you will ever have so go for it. But get out once plates start being thrown.
posted to Ask Metafilter by cmonkey at 12:03 AM on January 17, 2008

xanthippe: His sisters, aunts, and most importantly, his mother, all welcome me and give him lots of positive feedback about me. (I am fairly certain that these women are not idiots and therefore have some intuition regarding our actual relationship, though it is not spoken of; for his part, a few uncles and cousins are in on it, but being a man, he inclines to believe it’s only between men and the women are clueless.) I strongly suspect that his family would be accepting and welcome... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by koeselitz at 7:49 AM on January 18, 2008 marked best answer

All answers here seem excellent; just one further comment, for men AND women inviting someone on a first date. It is *really* classy to arrange for payment to happen on the sly. Talk to the maitre d' before you are even seated, hand him/her your credit card and ask to be presented only with the receipt. No check comes to the table at all.

At this point the guest can still ask, can I help with that, and you get to make the extremely classy statement, "no it's all... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nax at 9:09 AM on January 19, 2008

Yeah, she can't not expect to get some really rude comments when she does stuff like that--but you can choose not be one of those rude people.

Or, you could choose not to care about something that was obviously:

1. In jest
2. Not about you
3. Not about womankind as a whole
4. Very specifically about one person, in one specific situation, in one specific medium

You... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Ynoxas at 8:36 AM on January 19, 2008

And I'm getting tired of some women claiming sexism every time a man mentions that a woman has a body. That's not sexism. At worst, it's objectification, and may be paired with sexism, but it's not in itself sexism.

Sexism is the belief that men and women are different in essential ways and that these differences make one sex or the other inherently superior (and at tasks not generally associated with reproduction or our bodies), or treating the two genders... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jb at 8:37 AM on January 19, 2008

If you don't like it, flag it.
If flagging it doesn't work, try turning off the computer.
Consistency is for oatmeal, not metafilter.
posted to MetaTalk by nomisxid at 3:01 PM on January 15, 2008

It's good to laugh at human folly. It's good to laugh when the only other options seem to be anger, or hatred, or despair. It's good to laugh at ourselves. It's good to laugh at people and things who would divide us or lead us to believe that there's anything that should take precedence over an awareness of our common humanity. It's good to laugh at institutions and governments and received wisdom. It's good to laugh at those who are more powerful or wealthy than us, particularly when they're... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:21 PM on January 15, 2008

I am older than you, also female. I don't share most of your posted fantasies about favorite restaurants and growing old together, however. What I sense from your post is a little bit of desperation which is probably palpable to potential love interests. Can't you just enjoy that guy with a house in the country without automatically ruling him out because you "know" you don't want to live in the country? You have already married the guy in your mind before you even went out on one... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by 45moore45 at 9:28 AM on January 13, 2008

snark is fully intended here to illustrate a point:

Soon after, I met a potential date who briefly mentioned that he loved going to work on his country house on weekends and wanted to retire there. Since I now know what I want, and I'm not going to compromise on something that took me precious years to figure out, I didn't pursue that potential.

Well good for you, instead of having to "sacrifice yourself" and be... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brandon Blatcher at 10:32 AM on January 13, 2008

And why, when people design toys and games for girls, are they always so lame? Game designers take out all of the fun stuff, and leave us with hair, makeup and cattiness.

What we need is a first-person shooter especially for women. It will be called Mission: the Mission. Karma lives on Market St. in San Francisco, but she needs to reach her knitting circle on 25th and Valencia. Armed only with a few SWEET balls of wool, a pair of sharp needles, a pair of Fiskars scissors... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by freshwater_pr0n at 10:10 PM on January 3, 2008