Dutch author Tim Krabbé, also an expert chess player, catalogues the unusual and sublime in chess: Tim Krabbé's Chess Curiosities.

Chess Records. The 110 greatest moves ever. Underpromotion in serious games. A poignant encounter with Garry Kasparov after a loss. Or you could just start at his Open Chess Diary and work your way back.
posted to MetaFilter by shadow vector at 3:58 PM on July 12, 2008 (20 comments)

I was recently persuaded by a good friend to buy a box of wine. It was a Banrock Station Cabernet Sauvignon, which I was assured I would enjoy. I just had my first glass last night, and unfortunately I found it to be a dud. So now I have this box (3 bottles?) of wine that is not terrible, but does not scream deliciousness to my tastebuds. What do I do?
posted to Ask Metafilter by amelliferae at 8:34 AM on June 26, 2008 (38 comments)

Los Angeles-based photographer Andrew Bush mounts a camera on the side of his car to capture freeway drivers in the southwestern United States.
posted to MetaFilter by dhammond at 2:22 PM on June 24, 2008 (33 comments)

There seems to be a million different online and software based To Do List and Project Management applications, and my brain is tired of trying to figure out the difference between them. It's the bells and whistles that get to me. Help me find the one that fits!
posted to Ask Metafilter by willmize at 6:05 AM on February 25, 2008 (11 comments)

I'm heading off to college in a few months and I'm absolutely overwhelmed by the myriad of point-and-shoot cameras on the market. I ran through some pictures (well, actually many pictures) on Flickr to try and get a feel for what I was looking for, but some pictures are naturally more appealing than others and the quality is affected by various factors, so I ruled that method out as an objective option. I'm pretty sure more megapixels isn't always more quality and that there are other factors to account for, such as noise and shutter speed, but I'm at a loss at what really matters in a digital camera. I hope I don't sound completely uninformed, but I've scoured previous topics and while they're very helpful, they're a little outdated. I would really appreciate recommendations on a compact/ultracompact camera that takes pretty pictures! I'm willing to spend up to 300, but hopefully no more than that :) Thoughts? Suggestions? Jeers? :(
posted to Ask Metafilter by tihleigh at 11:48 PM on June 14, 2008 (27 comments)

In City of Shadows, Alexey Titareno uses long exposures to create an eerie effect.
posted to MetaFilter by Armitage Shanks at 9:09 AM on June 12, 2008 (35 comments)

Petals Around the Rose This little puzzle took my genius son over an hour to figure out. It took me two seconds. They say the smarter you are the harder it is...shut up.
posted to MetaFilter by konolia at 3:29 PM on June 4, 2004 (145 comments)

I tend to get very excited about lots of different projects and overcommit myself. I can be happily insanely busy for a while, but then I get overwhelmed, freak out and flake out. I don't want to do this anymore. How can I find balance and learn to work sustainably?
posted to Ask Metafilter by streetdreams at 8:28 AM on May 25, 2008 (9 comments)

Looking for a new musical toy to supplement your current studio setup? You may already have a MIDI-via-WiFi-enabled* sequencer (1, 2)/drum-and-bass groovebox/audio sampler & scratcher/Mod Tracker in your pocket!
*a wired version is also available.
posted to MetaFilter by lekvar at 8:20 PM on May 22, 2008 (14 comments)

I work as an admin for a social networking site, and I'm trying to figure out protocol for how to handle users who seem suicidal.
posted to Ask Metafilter by infinityjinx at 10:44 AM on May 19, 2008 (4 comments)

I'm looking for something really freaky to put on the tv at the bar I work at; video imagery to really make some hipster indie rocker kids say wtf when they notice it playing in the background-"holy mountain" and svenmahers"alice" are my usual standbys, but I know you Mefites know just the thing to make a standard night watching post rock bands just a little stranger.what visuals would you use, remembering that the sound of the movie won't be heard--
posted to Ask Metafilter by donabean at 11:46 PM on May 16, 2008 (75 comments)

I want to be better at making to do lists.
posted to Ask Metafilter by afu at 11:23 PM on May 8, 2008 (16 comments)

What software can I use to create mathematical animations?
posted to Ask Metafilter by wireless at 10:52 PM on May 2, 2008 (13 comments)

Finish this Windows math question: FREE(x+y+z)=backed up DVD
posted to Ask Metafilter by doorsfan at 8:55 AM on April 22, 2008 (11 comments)

Welke Nederlandse podcasts kun je me aanbevelen?
posted to Ask Metafilter by ponystyle at 3:38 AM on April 21, 2008 (8 comments)

I'm working on a site (it's a personal project) where I basically review movies that I like. Lately, I've been thinking about adding video clips from the movies/series to give visitors a better understanding of what the movies/series are about. How do I do this legally?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Foci for Analysis at 1:30 PM on April 16, 2008 (13 comments)

Help me understand what it is like to work at home so I can be a better girlfriend and roommate.
posted to Ask Metafilter by spec80 at 6:48 AM on April 10, 2008 (27 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)

I would like sharp cheddar. The best sharp cheddar recommendations you've got. Complex, subtle cheddars are great, but I'm also feenin' for cheddar that is sharp beyond belief. So if you don't have the cheddar equivalent of a 25-year old Bowmore, a perfectly acceptable alternative is the cheddar equivalent of a ziploc bag full of Everclear. Let the cheese strike my taste buds, hard.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Greg Nog at 2:21 PM on April 3, 2008 (46 comments)

Inspired by this earlier post, I thought it was time to formally introduce people to Rocky's Boots.
posted to MetaFilter by wanderingmind at 2:38 PM on March 28, 2008 (12 comments)

I'm looking for a XP-friendly version of the old "virus war" games.
posted to Ask Metafilter by LairBob at 7:42 AM on February 9, 2008 (10 comments)

The Truth Is Still Out There [link includes embedded video, scroll down for article]. Members of The X-Files' cast and crew (minus Anderson/Scully and Duchovny/Mulder) discuss the myths and legends surrounding the show, as well as the upcoming new movie, at the 2008 Paley Festival, sponsored by The Paley Center for Media (named for broadcaster William S. Paley, and formerly known as The Museum of Television & Radio). [Previous X-Files-related posts here.]
posted to MetaFilter by amyms at 10:41 PM on March 27, 2008 (23 comments)

The Most Insane, Child-Warping Moments of '80s Cartoons
posted to MetaFilter by [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] at 2:52 PM on March 26, 2008 (131 comments)

Cruise Elroy A new blog for intelligent discussion about video games. It takes both its name and inspiration from Ask MeFi. Highlights so far: why Super Smash Bros. Brawl's gameplay isn't important, what Nintendo is up to with their so-called "casual" titles, and what Koji Kondo's favorite cadence is (for the music nerds).
posted to Projects by danb at 1:05 PM on March 24, 2008

Special characters in Search Engine Optimisation - anyone know what the deal is there - specifically '@' for an 'a'?
posted to Ask Metafilter by swisspotter at 7:29 AM on March 25, 2008 (10 comments)

Metafilter comments vs. Youtube comments How much difference does $5 make? Pulls the most recent comments from Metafilter and the comments from the most viewed videos on Youtube and puts them side-by-side for comparison. I used Yahoo Pipes to generate my source data (metafilter, youtube) . Enjoy!
posted to Projects by bertrandom at 7:38 AM on March 24, 2008

Does a website that has had the full SEO treatment have to suck?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Thorzdad at 8:02 AM on March 23, 2008 (20 comments)

Bass player. Long time pizzicato, first time arco. What do I need to know about my bow, specifically regarding rosin?
posted to Ask Metafilter by gnutron at 11:57 AM on March 17, 2008 (14 comments)

I have many great ideas but I am a terrible personal and professional implementer. How can I do better now?
posted to Ask Metafilter by parmanparman at 6:23 AM on March 14, 2008 (19 comments)

The Hidden Stanley Kubrick. In the nine years following Stanley Kubrick's death on March 7, 1999, several of his collaborators have written and spoken about their experiences working with this notoriously reclusive filmmaker. Their reminiscences shed light on aspects of Kubrick’s family life, private thoughts and work habits, and make for fascinating reading and viewing. Those who've shared their reflections include Michael Herr (co-screenwriter, "Full Metal Jacket"); Leon Vitali (actor, "Barry Lyndon" and Kubrick's personal assistant for nearly 25 years); Ian Watson (credited with the "screen story" for "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence"); and Brian Aldiss (who helped to develop the story for "A.I."). Peter Bogdanovich gathered together the impressions of others who worked with Kubrick on various projects over the legendary director's career.
posted to MetaFilter by New Frontier at 11:37 PM on March 8, 2008 (21 comments)

Regional dialect or dyslexic family? Switching the "r" with a vowel at the beginning of words.
posted to Ask Metafilter by F Mackenzie at 4:04 PM on March 7, 2008 (26 comments)

Some of you may remember that I've been working on a case study about MeFi for an ecommunities class. Well, as promised, here is my paper.

(As a reminder, this is NOT research.)
posted to MetaTalk by nalihasan at 7:22 AM on April 23, 2005 (49 comments)

Help me, AskMe, you're my (last) hope. The Actiontec wireless router that Verizon insists is the only thing they can give me to use for our home FIOS service is keeping me from accessing MetaFilter at home.
posted to Ask Metafilter by yhbc at 10:46 AM on February 27, 2008 (18 comments)

In the space of a busy life, full-time work, girlfriend, and misc other interests, how does one pave the way for larger projects?
posted to Ask Metafilter by emptyinside at 11:57 AM on February 26, 2008 (31 comments)

Let's have some physics phun!
posted to MetaFilter by flatluigi at 9:31 AM on February 20, 2008 (26 comments)

If you were showing the MetaFilter Universe (including the main page, Ask, Talk, Projects, Music, everything) to someone for the first time, what threads would you choose as examples of MeFi at its best and at its worst?
posted to MetaTalk by amyms at 12:10 AM on February 17, 2008 (60 comments)

Say you wanted to print a small chart of eternally and universally useful reference information on the back of your business card, so recipients would have a good incentive to carry it with them and refer to it often. What information would you choose?
posted to Ask Metafilter by mthomps00 at 12:34 PM on February 15, 2008 (39 comments)

Advice and resources for a guitar teacher?
posted to Ask Metafilter by ludwig_van at 10:05 AM on February 8, 2008 (5 comments)

There is a very loud, very bad Elvis impersonator within spitting distance from my office window. I work very hard in a high stress position at a non profit, and he is really ruining my job satisfaction. The cops won't do anything, I've tried. I don't get paid much, so I can't afford to bribe him. I have tried listening to music through headphones to drown him out but that's almost as distracting.
posted to Ask Metafilter by plague at 2:49 PM on January 31, 2008 (38 comments)

Nascent interest in economics and economic thinking. Having a bit of problem with the theory of the margin. Wikipedia is not that helpful.
posted to Ask Metafilter by proj at 9:23 AM on January 30, 2008 (4 comments)

In these days of high-powered graphics, there is a ASCII gaming renaissance underway. Among the most interesting are: ASCII Sector, a remake of the classic Wing Commander Privateer; the fast-paced Doom RL; the Ultima V influenced Legerdemain; and the much-discussed strategy game/frustration simulator Dwarf Fortress (now with a new unofficial tileset and experimental 3-D visualizer that may prevent some eye-bleeding), And, of course, the classic, complex Rogue-like RPGs continue to go strong, those interested may want to check out this list of the best new rogue-like game releases from ASCII dreams or the list of releases from Temple of the Roguelike.
posted to MetaFilter by blahblahblah at 11:12 AM on January 24, 2008 (41 comments)

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is often misunderstood (and is different from Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder.) From wikipedia: "OCD sufferers are aware that such thoughts and behavior are not rational, but feel bound to comply with them to fend off feelings of panic or dread. Because sufferers are consciously aware of this irrationality but feel helpless to push it away, untreated OCD is often regarded as one of the most vexing and frustrating of the major anxiety disorders."
posted to MetaFilter by agregoli at 12:19 PM on January 23, 2008 (65 comments)

The product of an entire semester's work: one single type block. An essay on letterpress printing with wood. [via]
posted to MetaFilter by Armitage Shanks at 11:28 AM on January 23, 2008 (17 comments)

Housing, preserving, and providing access to these small-scale, homemade rags that document some corner of [often do-it-yourself and punk rock] culture, zine archives can be found via independently operated centers in Georgia (physical library in construction), New Orleans (myspace link, www address out-of-commission), Florida, Minneapolis, Denver, Cambridge, Olympia, Chicago, Seattle and...
posted to MetaFilter by ethel at 3:07 PM on January 19, 2008 (21 comments)

I'm trying to program a role playing game, but I'm not sure how to do the math.
posted to Ask Metafilter by SpacemanStix at 10:28 AM on January 17, 2008 (15 comments)

I have a question for Matt. I notice on the Zeldman comment that someone also has the same username as me. I am jay. There is also another jay. I don't think anyone would want to impersonate me, but for some people on this list, this might be a problem. We could all become mathowies, I even created my own mathowie account to see if this really works and it does.
posted to MetaFilter by jay at 1:49 AM on May 19, 2000 (10 comments)

Help me AJAX-ify a very simple web process in PHP. Links to very simple AJAX tutorials much appreciated.
posted to Ask Metafilter by odinsdream at 8:41 AM on January 8, 2008 (7 comments)

Anybody remember where (the URL) to find the funny sign you can put near the workplace microwave about BURNING THE FREAKING MICROWAVE POPCORN? (At the risk of ending up on Passive-Aggressive Notes, I could use one right now.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by spock at 10:27 AM on January 7, 2008 (10 comments)

Is anyone out there publishing analysis or actively tracking interesting developments/trends in blogging in terms of the emerging patterns in the form and functionality of the blogs themselves?
posted to Ask Metafilter by lhl at 2:02 AM on December 30, 2007 (4 comments)

The Metafilter Music Collaboration, as described here and here.
posted to MeFi Music by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:58 PM on December 30, 2007 (54 comments)