I think there's a lot of underestimating Biden going on as well...
posted to MetaFilter by billyfleetwood at 6:08 PM on October 1, 2008

...because it does not say what you expect it to say, no matter what you expect it to say.
posted to MetaFilter by Brian B. at 4:11 PM on September 18, 2008

America is sick of Ivy League theorists spinning their vast and glorious plans by way of the fawning media machine.

Oh, it is to laugh. Let's look at this.

I'm getting a little worrn out on hearing the Ivy League implicated as shorthand for the liberal boogeyman. Firstly, I'm not sure how many people even know what the Ivy League is - it's an athletic conference, made up of only eight schools: Brown, Columbia, Cornell,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Miko at 11:02 AM on September 16, 2008

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

Hmm.. do you have a Paypal account? I'll chip in some money for supplies. We could have a MeFi sponsored classroom.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Ugh at 8:16 AM on September 1, 2008

The problem with Obama going really, really negative is the unspoken but widespread discomfort when Blacks speak truth to power in America. Martin Luther King, for instance, has been "whitewashed" to the extent to where all people are taught is his "I have a dream" speech, but King's many speeches and rallies on behalf of social justice issues like workers' rights have been completely flushed down the mainstream memory hole. Had Obama issued any substantive challenges or... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by DaShiv at 6:35 AM on August 29, 2008

I am a woman and a philosophy teacher. There are a number of issues you are asking about all at once. Let's separate them.

1. Who are the great women philosophers?

Here are several lists.
Medieval era, 500-1600
Modern era, 1600-1900
Geocities page that covers 600 BCE - 1500 CE
Wikipedia has a mixed list of historical and contemporary women philosophers
A page with photos and portraits... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by LobsterMitten at 1:03 AM on August 12, 2006 marked best answer

Thanks back to everyone who said thanks to me!

Scheptech, the question "why men have historically oppressed women?" is an interesting one but I think it is quite separate from the question about philosophy in particular. (Obviously the fact that they have is relevant for understanding the history of women in philosophy, as I said above and as it seems everyone acknowledges. But the question you think is so pressing, why... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by LobsterMitten at 4:46 PM on August 12, 2006

I'm sorry you're feling poorly. I go through a bunch of stages really, the major one of which is really that it's okay to still love someone, what you're mostly getting used to is not being loved back. That is, it's okay to love someone who doesn't love you and give your feelings time to naturally ease off of their own accord (not just force an "okay I don't love this person anymore" feeling on yourself) you just need to be clear that 1. your love isn't reciprocated 2. feelings are not actions.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jessamyn at 9:23 AM on June 23, 2008 marked best answer

A Cat Playing The Theremin
posted to MetaFilter by homunculus at 3:16 PM on April 14, 2008

p.s. of all my female friends, the only two i know that do this do not have healthy body images or sexual relationships.

Jesu Cristo, there is so much emotional and political baggage in this thread that I'd be surprised if the OP is still reading this far. My favorite is how a bunch of you probably are also tewtally convinced that you're like, "really sex-positive, to the max." What, did I stumble into 1973?

Dear... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Side Pony at 2:14 PM on October 15, 2007

procrastination is this.
posted to MetaFilter by kitkatcathy at 12:17 PM on April 8, 2008

They're the symbol of an underground gift network:
Tsuyoshi lifted his arm and offered a hand signal, his fingers
clenched like a cat's paw. The man showed no recognition of the gesture.
Tsuyoshi shrugged, and smiled. "It doesn't matter. Sometimes a man
really needs a coffee. Now you have a coffee. That's all."
"Well..." The man cautiously sipped his cup, and suddenly smiled.
"It's... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by juv3nal at 4:47 PM on March 28, 2008

Also check out the working towards the splits section of the stretching FAQ.

And read the whole thing first.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Arthur Dent at 3:10 PM on March 17, 2008 marked best answer

Damn, I knew it. After 13 years together and five years of marriage, my husband and I have lost our civilization-destroying powers. All we do is work and sit around saying stuff like,

"What do you want to have for dinner?"

"Pasta?"

"I had pasta for lunch."

and

"You wanna watch something tonight?"

"Is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by digaman at 6:14 AM on March 13, 2008

If 500 people favorite this comment, I'll disable my account.
posted to MetaFilter by hermitosis at 3:54 PM on February 10, 2008

I'm sure many of you will have seen the similar letter to Dr. Laura.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 12:45 PM on March 2, 2004

You know what I hate? I hate it when people say entymology when they mean etymology.
That really bugs me.
posted to MetaTalk by Floydd at 8:28 AM on January 10, 2008

Two words: morning wood.

I once had to go
At my girl's place,
Christ, I had to pee.
She showed me her restroom,
Isn’t it good?
Nope: Morning wood.
posted to MetaFilter by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 2:01 PM on September 15, 2007

I've been in a lot of workplaces where sexism — not just jokes about sex, but the honest belief that women were inferior beings whose only real job was to get men off, and who certainly didn't belong at work — fell into the same category as farts. They were both things to keep quiet about when clients were around, and it was acknowledged that a few people "couldn't take a joke" about either, but between friends they were both fair game for conversation.

I have... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by nebulawindphone at 10:47 AM on August 5, 2007

Save the money and don't declaw the little guy. Since you asked about the money, it'll be a couple hundred dollars to get it done, and you can save the money by just trimming every three weeks or so and buying a scratch mat with some catnip.

If you just want to be cruel to the cat, I recommend a box, a hammer, and a radioactive isotope.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Loto at 2:00 PM on February 23, 2007

I had to say this. I'm sorry because I only made it about halfway down the comments page before I got incensed and had to make this point. I'm sorry because, in all likelihood, somebody has already made this point previously. I'm sorry because I knew that I would have to make this point before I even clicked on any of the links. I'm sorry in a dad-shaking-his-head kind of way that I have to make this point to people who are otherwise well-informed, well-intentioned, and, well, well-thinking. But... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Tiresias at 1:46 AM on January 26, 2007

Klang- I am sad that I need to point out that rape and physical violence toward women are in no way comparable to Security Theater. Some estimates place the number of women who will be raped or sexually assualted (in America) at 76%. I think you'd agree that the odds of an explosion on an airplane are far lower. Even if you prefer the estimates that put that number closer to 25%, that is still a lot of women. And the vast, overwhelming majority of rapes are perpetrated by acquaintances, not... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bilabial at 5:36 AM on December 22, 2006

Yep, Tut went to pieces. He was whole until Carter's excavation.

The problem: Resin. Lots of oils and and other goop were poured into the coffins as part of the closing rituals. The Egyptians didn't quite grok exactly why their mummification worked, so they didn't grok that pouring liquids (thus, adding moisture) in wasn't a good idea.

Now, time passes -- over three millennia, as a matter of fact, and Carter shows up. He spends a long time... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by eriko at 11:51 AM on November 29, 2006

Very well then. Let us discuss this thing called... 'Love', then.

Earlier this year (around Valentines Day, as it so happened to be) 'Love', such as it was, had been on my mind a great deal. It was the season, I suppose. And whilst I dwelled on this subject, I began to consider what it meant to 'be' in love. Others have offered their opinions, and I have read them, and found these musings to be enlightening to my own explorations. However, I disagree... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Effigy2000 at 4:12 AM on August 7, 2006

The Complete Works of Shakespeare. I have to qualify this by saying that you won't enjoy him if you don't understanding him. At it takes work -- at first -- to understand him. Though the work will pay off a thousand times over.

For the first few plays you read, you'll have to look up many words (which will easy if you have a good edition, because the definitions are on the same page as the text). After a while, you'll hardly have to do this. You'll learn Shakespeare's... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 5:57 AM on July 21, 2006