Ask post: How did you find your passion?

I did the exercises in What Color Is Your Parachute. Even the ones I thought were stupid, I just did them.

I'd originally fancied that I wanted to be a writer, where "be a writer" meant literary fiction, intense writing workshops with my fellow geniuses in the mountains of Colorado, etc. Never mind that I didn't actually like the process of writing fiction. I liked the idea.

The Parachute book forced me to articulate the nitty gritty... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by selfmedicating at 8:54 AM on September 4, 2008

MeFi post: Russian tanks and jets roll into Georgia

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

Are the links in my comments actually broken? They work for me...

We can be glib about alternative energy and the fact that everything has energy as an input, but oil is not energy and vice versa. A lot of oil is used for energy, but it's only about 50%-60%. An almost equal amount of oil is used for chemicals and materials. You can have an electric car, but you'll need to lubricate the chassis and the gears. Lubricants come from oil. Household products... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Pastabagel at 11:50 AM on August 8, 2008

International relations vs. human relationships:

Best case scenario
We share the same values, work together on projects, have each other's back, pool our economic resources, eventually we trust one another enough to allow barrier-free exchange of bodily fluids [migration and trade], and come to form a lasting union.

Worst case scenario
I'm slapping you around and I'm only doing it for your own good [democracy] and because... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by wretched_rhapsody at 3:10 PM on August 8, 2008

See also, recent news about pipeline fires and sabotage in the region.

At this point, I humbly suggest that all fpp's about conflicts in this region be accompanied by pipeline maps or oil field maps. We all know these conflicts are about energy, but the conflicts are going to be spun in the media and by governments as ethnic conflicts or battles for political (rather than economic) independence solely to agitate the local people to action and to keep the corporate and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Pastabagel at 8:36 AM on August 8, 2008

Ask post: How can I make the best of a self-imposed period of celibacy.

Another train wreck of a relationship has ended and i'd like to use this as an opportunity to adjust my insecurities and figure out as much as possible how to find a healthy, life-affirming relationship.

I did this. In my late twenties, after a string of girlfriends that treated me badly, I dated a truly nice person -- and treated her like garbage. I realized then that the problem likely wasn't the relationships, but the kind of person I was.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by davejay at 10:31 AM on December 20, 2006

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