Is there a difference between "discover your passion" and "discover what you want to do"?

I ask because I hear people talk about their Passion (with a capital P), as if everyone has one whether they know it or not. As it it's a special glowing ball inside each of us. Yet I see no evidence that this ball necessarily exists.

To me, it's more likely that we have things we like and things we dislike. A like becomes a passion when... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 12:22 PM on September 4, 2008

I ain't never known of a lad of such spunk
As the alligator fighter, young Devin Funck
Who battled a beast way down in Slidell
And Devin lost his arm, but Devin lived to tell
That in the water of Crystal Lake, lurking below
Was a half ton monster by the name of Big Joe.
He was a 12-foot lizard from his teeth to his tail
And he was spoken of in whispers down in Slidell.
But Devin had no fear and Devin... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Astro Zombie at 4:22 PM on August 23, 2008

This sounds like a Kids In The Hall sketch. I can just imagine Kevin MacDonald walking into a library and suddenly doubling over, yelling "Oh, God, not again!". With Dave Foley, in drag, as the poop-jaded librarian.
posted to MetaTalk by stavrogin at 10:31 PM on August 20, 2008

How, exactly, do we all know this? (NB: honest question)
posted by MarshallPoe at 11:54 AM on August 8

Because at this stage in history, all conflicts are over scarce resources. The ascendance of China and India more than doubles the number of people competing for the resources that 15 years ago were consumed primarily by North Americans, Europeans, and the Japanese.

Oil and energy are not the only resources.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Pastabagel at 9:39 AM on August 8, 2008

Please don't encourage author fights. The consequences can be terrible. (Search for "fight" & note the body count.)
posted to MetaTalk by Pronoiac at 1:33 PM on August 11, 2008

If someone sees a pattern of gender-based slights or dismissals, they should definitely speak up.

There doesn't seem to be much agreement that in this post, a pattern has been demonstrated. Like TPS, I'll be on the lookout for it, too. It's not okay to insult an entire gender with generalizations and presumptions.

Insisting on strict gender roles in society cuts both ways and is limiting for both genders. Yes, it's possible for there to be sexism... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Miko at 2:21 PM on August 6, 2008

I think hipsterdom is particularly interesting because I agree with the author that it's the dead end of Western civ. But he doesn't say anything compelling about the phenomenon at all.

Here's my explanation for hipster self-hatred. All previous countercultures since you could really begin to speak of a counterculture--I would say, since the Romantics--have been fundamentally grounded in an appeal to authenticity. The Romantics prided themselves on their ability to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by nasreddin at 8:45 AM on August 1, 2008

I once saw a cyclist plow into a pedestrian at the intersection between Soldier's Field Road and Harvard in Cambridge/Allston. The pedestrian picked himself up, helped the cyclist up, asked the guy if he was okay, then calmly threw the bike into the Charles River.

So while people in cars can be reckless douches, cyclists need to remember that if they are reckless douches, their vehicle is light enough to be picked up and tossed away.

There was no... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by robocop is bleeding at 12:06 PM on July 30, 2008

One good thing about living in the U.S. is that you can, within reason, own as many firearms as you like. And you can recoup the investment in firearms you've "outgrown," by selling them, which gives you money to spend on other weapons you come to prefer. So, think of this purchase as buying your first handgun, so that the choice is not fraught with the pressure to find the "perfect" weapon, before you really know what you want. Your first gun will... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by paulsc at 12:19 AM on July 18, 2008

This is why, living in Austin, I miss the Houston Press. Investigative reporting. For more fine examples from the Press, see these:

Run Over by Metro

Catching Elevators

Thrilled to Death

Quiet Rage

All the Austin Chronicle ever features is entertainment news, but I guess since we have no problems in Austin and all we... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by fiercecupcake at 6:45 AM on July 18, 2008

It is my understanding that in tall buildings that "don't have a 13th floor," the physical 13th floor is labeled as the 14th floor and so-on. Economics being what they are, I find it hard to imagine even the most superstitious of building owners letting an entire floor go to waste like that.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Juffo-Wup at 3:53 PM on July 17, 2008

Here's a true story about how awesome Pixar is.

As some of you know, when the trailer first came out, my girlfriend, Courtney, burst into tears at the trailer. She was emabrrassed but somewhat amused by this, as so she made a video of herself watching the trailer on her computer, knowing she would start crying every time that little robot said his own name.

After a few months, she started to get trickles of emails from people at Pixar who said... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Astro Zombie at 12:18 PM on July 1, 2008

As the person who initiated this thread, and who has refrained from commenting largely because I've remained in awe over how this monster has not died, there seems a strong corollary between how readers and other blog-related people have reacted to Boing Boing's actions and how, say, those within circles of fandom treat and exclude and feel the need to praise those within their clique. One of the best overviews of this subject can be found in Justine Larbalestier's book, The Battle of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ed at 11:52 PM on July 1, 2008

I would like to announce that I too have a new policy:

From now on, when anybody makes a reference to George Orwell or any of his works - no matter how instructive or aposite that reference is - I am going to unilaterally assume that they are referring to The Moon Under Water, his essay on what the perfect pub should be like. I will then proceed to engage in lengthy and heated argument with that person about ambience, range of guest ales, seating quality and generosity... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by flashboy at 5:34 AM on July 2, 2008

Agreed, starduck, on the incredibly creepy feel I get listening to these. The absolute creepiest, however, has to be this mp3 of an Emergency Action Message(EAM), apparently broadcast from Andrews AFB. A message very much like this may just hearald the end of the word -- or, for those with a biblical bent, the seven trumps may just be read out in phonetic alphabets.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by eriko at 7:30 PM on December 19, 2001

Like Hip-Hop, it won't die off at all. Just become mainsteam, i.e. irrelevant :)

Nothing to see here, move on.

...to...steamcrunk! The new, hybrid aesthetic that has all the internet hipsters imbibing potent brews of laudanum and grape soda from elaborate blown-glass contraptions while listening to music on victrolas run at half-speed.

You heard it here first, folks.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat at 8:28 AM on May 8, 2008

Most of these craft projects are really easy -- few of them take more than a couple of hours. Just about anyone should be able to learn to weave paracord with very little practice.

If you'd like to try any of these crafts, there are several places to get paracord online (I'm not affiliated with any of them, I just shop there). Supply Captain, County Comm, and TAD Gear all sell mil-spec 550-test paracord in many different colors. One Stop Knife Shop even has some with... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by vorfeed at 10:07 AM on April 28, 2008

Also, for a little more fun....camera blocking that morning.
posted to MetaFilter by nevercalm at 6:42 PM on April 4, 2008

DARPA is working on the solution
posted to MetaFilter by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:49 PM on March 17, 2008

I'm thinking this, and I'm inclined to be sympathetic. There are three possibilities:

1.These postings could be a complete put-on, a total calculated stunt.
2. These postings could reflect a genuine identity but contain an incredible amount of 3. prevarication (there are a lot of factual inconsistencies).
Or they could be completely, bizarrely true, at least in the main.

If it's anything other than 1, we have an OP here... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Miko at 9:08 AM on March 10, 2008

Cool post, thanks hadjiboy.

I understand that there will always be poverty, but seriously, send over a few thousand shovels, a few tens of thousands of feet of pipe, and some blueprints, and let them at least have some dignity. Christ.

Pasta, you're brilliant as ever.

I moved to South Africa last year to do some pro-bono work with one of the biggest NGOs doing relief and development work in the third... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by allkindsoftime at 1:40 AM on February 29, 2008

MATHOWLIE

For Cortexamyn

I

I saw the best minds of mefi generation destroyed by
madness, starving hysterical naked,
clicking themselves through the blue pages at dawn
looking for an angry fix,
angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly
... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rumple at 4:12 PM on February 15, 2008

* The Office (2001-2003): The Dance | Gareth Strikes | David Begs For His Job Back | Jelly Stapler | David's Second Date | My Mother's Breasts

Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights (2001): Late night phone calls | Lord Love Rocket | Season 1 episode 4 Clip

* The Armando Iannucci Shows (2001): The First episode | Twats | Excess | Except for viewers in Scotland

Dead Ringers (2002-): George Bush | Deal or no Deal | Russel Crowe Skit |... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Foci for Analysis at 1:42 AM on January 24, 2008

I'd just like to point a few things out.

It is not uncommon for a stripper to actually like a customer or become friends with him. Occasionally, the friendship will make the strip club transaction - fantasy for money - uncomfortable for a dancer, but not always. And many dancers meet their boyfriends/husbands in the clubs. So while it is not a dating service, that does not preclude the possibility of a romantic development.

I danced for... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rosiesugars at 1:25 AM on December 31, 2007

And the insistence that 9/11 falls under the criteria of 'senseless acts' really needs to be rejected by honest people. It was a major covert operation planned over a period of at least two years and then executed flawlessly in the bright light of day. It radically transformed world affairs, threw the world's sole superpower on the defensive, and legitimized Islamic radicalism literally overnight. It is probably one of the most effective military operations ever carried out simply in terms of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by nixerman at 8:50 AM on September 11, 2007