• "Please don't beat me. I'm having my period." ~ Mama Wangari
• "It is being both black and gay [which is problematic]." ~ Zanele Muholi (Nehanda Nyakasikana) [NSFW]
• "Sisters at heart, these women are: from Kibera to Loresho." ~ WM
• "My vagina wants an Uzi" ~ Larissa Klazinga (Amanda Atwood)
• "You are from Kenya? So are you Kikuyu or Luo?" ~ Wangui

Blogs of women from Africa. That is all.
posted to MetaFilter by hadjiboy at 6:29 AM on April 17, 2008 (29 comments)

Today is the 202nd birthday of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, one of the world's greatest engineers and a personal hero. I gaped at the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol when the shock of recognition dawned on my jetlagged brain. This was the man that laid the foundation for Britain's global economic might, built the first underwater tunnel, Paddington Station and inspired engineers everywhere. His legacy lives on in his works, a university, a museum or two among others.
posted to MetaFilter by infini at 5:44 AM on April 9, 2008 (34 comments)

Is there a consensus on the grammatical relationship between emoticons and punctuation?
posted to Ask Metafilter by mkultra at 8:37 AM on April 8, 2008 (37 comments)

Why do bookstores and libraries make me poop?
posted to Ask Metafilter by nitsuj at 7:20 AM on June 6, 2005 (58 comments)

Books that blend Psychology, the human mind, and Artificial Intelligence theory?
posted to Ask Metafilter by tybeet at 9:23 AM on August 1, 2008 (14 comments)

Free, printable, daily or weekly, online cryptic crossword?
posted to Ask Metafilter by not sure this is a good idea at 12:21 PM on July 26, 2008 (16 comments)

"Claude Degler attended the Chicon in 1940, and at Denver in 1941 delivered a speech purporting to have been written by Martians." So begins the Fancyclopedia I entry on Degler's Cosmic Circle. Claude Degler believed that science fiction fans were destined to evolve into a new species superior to homo sapiens, "cosmen." In 2001 (the year) David B. Williams went in search of Degler, who had disappeard from fandom in 1951. Teresa Nielsen Hayden wrote in 1986 a story/essay about the inner Degler called Hell, 12 Feet. He was as infamous as fans got, though some remember him sort of fondly. Degler crops up regularly in the "All Our Yesterdays" columns written by fandom historian, Harry Warner Jr. The ones with most information are the columns H.C. Koenig. Claude Degler, O Pioneers and The Cosmic Circle. Here's a Degler quote from the last link: We have created a fannationalism, a United World Fandom. Someday soon we will have our own apartment building, then our own land, our own city of Cosmen, schools, teachers, radio programme — later; our own laws, country perhaps! Our children shall inherit not only this earth — but this universe! Today we carry 22 states, tomorrow, nine planets!
posted to MetaFilter by Kattullus at 8:22 PM on December 8, 2006 (3 comments)

I would like to know about the future of solar energy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by heylight at 5:11 AM on July 28, 2008 (16 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)

Who are some great comedians I've probably never heard of that I can watch on youtube?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Christ, what an asshole at 3:50 PM on July 14, 2008 (50 comments)

What are some famous/infamous examples of actors getting so into character that they either have trouble getting out of character or the experience does some long-term psychological damage?
posted to Ask Metafilter by jrb223 at 8:31 AM on July 15, 2008 (50 comments)

The World's First Software Engineer David Caminer, the System designer behind LEO, the world's first business computer, has died, aged 92. He was a true pioneer, inventing many of the standards now called systems engineering.
posted to MetaFilter by Susurration at 1:16 PM on July 8, 2008 (29 comments)

I recently switched over to a plain text file as my to-do list; I can structure it the way I want, it is an absolute cinch to access in any one of a hundred zillion different ways, it's crossplatform, and so on. However, I am running into one methodology I can't figure out how to translate into the "plain text" world, and that is repeating tasks.
posted to Ask Metafilter by WCityMike at 10:46 AM on July 7, 2008 (23 comments)

The Journal of Footballing History is a scholarly journal about the history of football (soccer) all over the world. You need to register (or "subscribe" as JOFH calls it) but it's free. Gloriously, gloriously free. After you've subscribed you can enjoy articles on matters such as France's footballing culture, a back and forth about the state of African football, a pair of articles about Euro 2000 and what England's dismal failure at that European Championships tells us about the national side and on shooting from free kicks. There are also short histories of kits, boots, passing and squads and a book review section.
posted to MetaFilter by Kattullus at 10:48 AM on June 30, 2008 (21 comments)

In March 1944, Nazi Germany occupied its ally Hungary and immediately began preparing the extermination of Hungary's Jews. A small band of diplomats from neutral countries and the Red Cross put their lives at risk to try to smuggle as many Jews as possible out of Hungary from under Adolf Eichmann's nose. While Raoul Wallenberg remains the best known of these "Righteous among the Nations", there's no doubt that the most intriguing character was Giorgio "Jorge" Perlasca.
posted to MetaFilter by Skeptic at 3:59 PM on June 29, 2008 (4 comments)

What does a river look like from above, over time?
posted to Ask Metafilter by a_green_man at 9:39 AM on May 27, 2008 (15 comments)

Adding yourself as a contact is an easy way to keep track of Best Answers and Favorites and Stuff. To do so, just go to add anyone as a contact, then swap out their user number for yours in the address bar.
posted to MetaTalk by robocop is bleeding at 9:33 AM on November 6, 2007 (52 comments)

I'm interested in reading more fun books, written in 1945 or earlier, which clearly set themselves in the time and place that they were written. Examples include Anne of Green Gables, Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers, Pride & Prejudice, and China to Me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Margalo Epps at 1:59 PM on May 24, 2008 (39 comments)

Reefer Man - Heroin - Cokane In My Brain - Sister Morphine - Purple Haze - Don't Bogart Me - The Pusher.
posted to MetaFilter by flapjax at midnite at 5:20 AM on May 22, 2008 (165 comments)

Some of the most insane journeys in recent time include Harry Lee 'The Hawk' McGinnis' walk around the world, Helen Thayer's 4,000-mile trek across the Sahara, Andrew Thompson's speedwalk across the Appalachian Trail (2000 miles), and others.
posted to MetaFilter by msaleem at 11:26 AM on May 18, 2008 (25 comments)

Can you recommend any books that cover fundamental economics at a beginner level?
posted to Ask Metafilter by dragontail at 9:53 AM on May 18, 2008 (11 comments)

Could you recommend some good - i.e., musically talented - jam bands? And some specific recordings to get my feet (ears?) wet?
posted to Ask Metafilter by BartonFink at 11:42 AM on May 11, 2008 (35 comments)

Ever since I first heard mbira from Zimbabwe almost 30 years ago (via this record), I've been a lover of that enchanting, delicate and intricate music. It's only recently, however, that many of us who aren't actually players of the mbira could see just how the instrument is played: Holding the mbira, and scales - Lesson One - Two - Three - Four, and more and more. And here are some recommended mbira players and groups with MySpace Music pages worth checking out: Spirit Talk Mbira - Mbira Oracle - Kunzawa Mbira Group - Joel Laviolette.
posted to MetaFilter by flapjax at midnite at 7:18 AM on April 19, 2008 (18 comments)

Getting up early in the morning never seems to get easier. Any tips?
posted to Ask Metafilter by HotPatatta at 5:52 AM on April 30, 2008 (52 comments)

What are some interesting, uncommon "vocabulary" words that you use regularly or semi-regularly?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Metroid Baby at 1:24 PM on April 22, 2008 (90 comments)

What are some ways to tell the direction [North, East, South, West] you are headed? And more generally, what are some cool nature tricks you've learned through the years?
posted to Ask Metafilter by cloeburner at 10:25 AM on April 16, 2008 (36 comments)

No doubt about it, that old midnight hour has long served as a potent muse for songwriters, as this sampling of live performances will attest: In The Midnight Hour ---- Walking After Midnight ---- Midnight Rambler ---- Midnight Rider ---- Midnight Special ---- Midnight Train To Georgia ---- Midnight Confessions ---- Midnight At The Oasis --- 'Round Midnight ----
posted to MetaFilter by flapjax at midnite at 1:12 AM on April 12, 2008 (70 comments)

So I enjoy books that are an elaboration on theoretical taxonomies such as Roget's International Thesaurus (not the dictionary style) and A Pattern Language. What other books or websites might I enjoy in this vein? Taxonomies on birds or plants are interesting, but I'm looking for things that aren't immediately obvious.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bigmusic at 10:09 PM on March 30, 2008 (17 comments)

If you like Django Reinhardt, what/whom else would you like?
posted to Ask Metafilter by xmutex at 9:01 AM on June 4, 2007 (31 comments)

I'm bored.
posted to Ask Metafilter by mpls2 at 6:40 PM on March 5, 2008 (42 comments)