Displaying post 1 to 50 of 198
Ah, the town-hall debate. Where Joe Sixpack and Jane Chardonnay can have their chance to ask a presidential candidate just about anything. Of course, such an open format can sometimes lead to
uncomfortable moments for a candidate (although tonight
might not have such fireworks).
posted to MetaFilter by shiu mai baby
at 7:10 AM on October 7, 2008
(496 comments)
This is the Wartime Broadcasting Service. This country has been attacked with
nuclear weapons. Communications have been severely disrupted, and the number of
casualties and the extent of the damage are not yet known. We shall bring you
further information as soon as possible. - The BBC
releases its
script for use in the event of
nuclear war.
posted to MetaFilter by Artw
at 11:48 PM on October 2, 2008
(37 comments)
Sarah Palin may be a better debater than you think...
Sarah Palin, much derided for reasons
best not gone over again, may be a
better debater than people tend to think.
Andrew Halcro, a Republican from Alaska says,
"I've debated Governor Palin more than two dozen times. And she's a master, not of facts, figures, or insightful policy recommendations, but at the fine art of the nonanswer, the glittering generality. Against such charms there is little Senator Biden, or anyone, can do."
posted to MetaFilter by datter
at 3:34 PM on October 1, 2008
(1444 comments)
McCain calls time!
John McCain has asked that the first presidential debate be postponed and he will suspend his campaign so he can focus on the economy. No response from Obama yet. But it may be due to his approval rating, The latest
FOX News/Opinion Dynamics poll shows Obama has taken a 45-39 percent lead.
posted to MetaFilter by parmanparman
at 12:25 PM on September 24, 2008
(1592 comments)
What relationship do the following songs have with each other:
Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown (1965)
Refugee (1979)
Stairway to Heaven (1971)
Black Magic Woman (1970)
Band on the Run (1973)
Walk This Way (1975)
Tequila Sunrise (1973)
posted to Ask Metafilter by webhund
at 7:47 PM on September 9, 2008
(111 comments)
Fox,
the BBC and
CNN have all revealed that Republican US presidential candidate John McCain has picked Alaskan Governor
Sarah Palin as his running mate on his 72nd birthday on the eve of the start of
Republican National Convention. Despite being wildly popular in Alaska, Palin has recently been involved in
an investigation over whether she dismissed a public safety commissioner because he refused to dismiss her former brother-in-law.
posted to MetaFilter by HaloMan
at 7:52 AM on August 29, 2008
(5604 comments)
Which later-famous-for-something-else supply clerk began reporting on the number of flies that he'd killed?
posted to Ask Metafilter by dws
at 9:18 PM on August 27, 2008
(7 comments)
What
news am I missing at the Olympics - what has been covered up or ignored by the Chinese regulators providing the video feed to NBC etc? I have to imagine there have been some outbursts or protests and the Chinese are not letting the media cover it (at least on live TV). Is there a good site noting these occurrences, or have the games just gone off nearly flawlessly? (excepting the drum tower murder last week.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by pithy comment
at 7:10 AM on August 18, 2008
(6 comments)
What happy memories do you have of being a young child that make you think either "those were good times" or "that was good parenting"?
posted to Ask Metafilter by onlyconnect
at 12:07 PM on August 12, 2008
(64 comments)
Any examples of audible mistakes in a song making it into the final mix? A missed drum beat, a bad chord etc
Extra credit for popularity of the track
Extra extra credit for the "timestamp" of the mistake
posted to Ask Metafilter by oliyoung
at 12:30 AM on August 7, 2008
(65 comments)
Uncle Bobby's Wedding:
A librarian's rebuttal to a book removal/relocation request involving a children's title dealing with gay marriage. Via
MyLiBlog.
posted to MetaFilter by rollbiz
at 4:49 PM on July 30, 2008
(86 comments)
Sean Tevis Takes On Intelligent Designer with Some Intelligent Design of His Own...
Sean Tevis is running for State Representative in Kansas, against an opponent he describes as a proponent of intelligent design. Short on name recognition (and campaign funds) he took it upon himself to use his skills as an information designer to connect to his "constituents" - could he be the first true candidate for a generation that grew up on the Internet? Very clever
xkcd-style infographic deployed against the agents of doom... (I donated, couldn't help myself)
via BoingBoing
posted to MetaFilter by piedrasyluz
at 4:31 PM on July 16, 2008
(252 comments)
The Book of Accidents: Designed for Young Children
(1831). "In presenting to his little readers
The Book of Accidents, the Author conceives he cannot render a more important service to the rising generation and to parents, than by furnishing them with an account of the accidents to which Children, from their inexperience or carelessness, are liable. If generally studied it will save the lives of thousands, and relieve many families from the long and unavailing misery attendant on such occurrences."
[Via]
posted to MetaFilter by homunculus
at 6:37 PM on July 3, 2008
(34 comments)
I love Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City. It's a non-fiction book about Chicago in 1893 which reads much like a novel. I'd like to read other books written in the same novel-esque style about some other cities or historic events. Know of any novel-like non-fiction reads?
posted to Ask Metafilter by melodykramer
at 7:39 PM on June 29, 2008
(46 comments)
Lorenzo Semple, 84, has been a screenwriter for more than 50 years; his credits include "Papillion," "The Parallax View" and "Three Days of the Condor." Marcia Nasatir, 81, is a longtime agent and production executive, was the first female VP of production at United Artists, and produced films like "The Big Chill" and "Hamburger Hill." Together, they are the "
Reel Geezers," offering irresistible film reviews on YouTube. To wit:
Superbad,
Iron Man,
Sex and the City,
Lars and the Real Girl,
No Country for Old Men,
There Will Be Blood.
posted to MetaFilter by jbickers
at 3:35 AM on June 11, 2008
(27 comments)
With all the
crystal skulls,
nazca lines and such at the box office these days now might be the ideal time to reacquaint yourself with the theories of
Erich von Däniken. What better way to do it than by watching
William Shatners Mysteries of the Gods (
Pt. 1,
Pt. 2,
Pt. 3,
Pt. 4,
Pt. 5,
Pt. 6,
Pt. 7,
Pt. 8,
Pt. 9,
Pt. 10)
(MULTI LINK YOUTUBE SHATNERFEST)
posted to MetaFilter by Artw
at 10:00 PM on June 10, 2008
(28 comments)
I need songs that give
advice for a mix I'm making. Any sort of advice is fine. For example, "Teach your children well" or "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover". Anything where the singer gives advice to the listener.
Thanks...
posted to Ask Metafilter by crapples
at 1:27 PM on June 6, 2008
(98 comments)
Where can I find a copy-editing telecommuting gig?
posted to Ask Metafilter by jamietie
at 6:47 PM on June 4, 2008
(4 comments)
Looking for an issue of "Seventeen" Magazine from the 1980s, probably 1982-1987. The only thing I remember about it was that it had a multi-page advertorial that purported to be a diary by the niece of Lynda Carter ("Wonder Woman"). The "plot" of the diary was that the niece was visiting her famous aunt. I'm pretty sure in one entry she surprised her aunt by making chocolate-chip pancakes for breakfast. It was almost certainly a makeup advertorial, maybe Cover Girl? I would LOVE to buy this issue on eBay or wherever if I can just figure out which month and year it was. Thanks for any help.
posted to Ask Metafilter by GaelFC
at 5:50 PM on June 4, 2008
(8 comments)
"Skin painted bright red, heads partially shaved, arrows drawn back in the longbows and aimed square at the aircraft buzzing overhead. The gesture is unmistakable: Stay Away. The apparent aggression shown by these people is quite understandable, for they are members of one of Earth's last uncontacted tribes."
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi
at 5:18 PM on May 29, 2008
(88 comments)
What was daily life like behind the iron curtain? I recently returned from a vacation in a former Warsaw Pact country and could not help but wonder what things were like there 20 years ago.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Anonymous
at 7:31 PM on May 28, 2008
(25 comments)
Languages: 'I'm coming' versus 'I'm going' in response to 'Come here!'
posted to Ask Metafilter by stavrosthewonderchicken
at 2:35 AM on May 27, 2008
(34 comments)
HistoryWorld
is a general-knowledge website, designed for anyone above the age of about twelve with an interest in history. I found the site searching for
dance history, but it includes 400 broad topics with more added all the time. It approaches history as a narrative, making full use of
chronology. This is for the student as well as the researcher.
posted to MetaFilter by netbros
at 5:36 AM on May 23, 2008
(15 comments)
Looking for recommendations for English grammar workbook(s) designed for adults who did not finish high school years ago.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bartinpc
at 12:29 PM on May 15, 2008
(2 comments)
120 years of Billboard data.
Eternally curious blogger Andy Baio starts a three-day analysis of the data in the Whitburn Project, "a huge undertaking to preserve and share high-quality recordings of every popular song since the 1890s. To assist their efforts, they've created a spreadsheet of 37,000 songs and 112 columns of raw data, including each song's duration, beats-per-minute, songwriters, label, and week-by-week chart position." It all happens on good ol' Usenet--
here's a FAQ.
posted to MetaFilter by dbarefoot
at 9:06 AM on May 15, 2008
(19 comments)
Look up any Zip Code
here, get lots of cool demographic data by entering it
here (make sure you enter a zip code, not just a town and keep scrolling down, down, down).
posted to MetaFilter by Rafaelloello
at 10:25 AM on May 10, 2008
(27 comments)
I love history, and I love adventure. What real-life historical adventurers were awesome, and have books written about them worth reading?
posted to Ask Metafilter by WidgetAlley
at 12:28 PM on May 5, 2008
(40 comments)
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has announced that it will
shut down West Coast ports
today, to protest the war in Iraq.
posted to MetaFilter by flapjax at midnite
at 7:30 AM on May 1, 2008
(70 comments)
I know there is a "Best of Craigslist" site. Is there something similar for Wikipedia?
posted to Ask Metafilter by anastasiav
at 2:44 PM on April 30, 2008
(13 comments)
In the late '90s, pop-culture historian Bill Geerhart had a little too much time on his hands and a surfeit of stamps. So, for his own entertainment, the then-unemployed thirtysomething launched a letter-writing campaign to some of the most powerful and infamous figures in the country, posing as a curious
10-year-old named Billy.
posted to MetaFilter by snsranch
at 6:07 PM on April 29, 2008
(21 comments)
What is the term for the sentence construction used in this quotation: "time and her aunt moved slowly"?
posted to Ask Metafilter by sciapod
at 8:38 PM on April 28, 2008
(8 comments)
