Snippets of poetry from the Imperium; a sample folk tale from the Oral History; brief biographies of over a dozen Duncan Idahos; two differing approaches to Paul Muad'Dib himself and to his son Leto II; Fremen recipes; Fremen history; secrets of the Bene Gesserit; the songs of Gurney Halleck -- these are just some of the treasures found when an earthmover fell into the God Emperor's no-room at Dar-es-Balat. Out of print for more than two decades, disavowed by Frank Herbert's estate, and highly sought-after by fans, the legendary
Dune Encyclopedia is now available online as
a fully illustrated and searchable PDF [direct link].
posted by Rhaomi to MetaFilter at Sep 1 at 4:30 PM
117 users marked this as a favorite
Is there a site out there which would help me to pause, and hopefully walk away from my computer and do something else? My hand feels hardwired to click on Metafilter and a few other sites on my toolbar, which draw me into mindless hours of internetting. I am hoping to set an automatic muscle response which leads to a site which for whatever reason, jolts me into realizing I am staring at a computer semi-obsessively clicking things instead of walking around my city, or taping cardboard into strange sculptures, or taking part in the September Mefi running challenge, or even just quietly sitting bored.
posted by thegreatfleecircus to Ask MetaFilter at Sep 2 at 6:36 AM
69 users marked this as a favorite
Thomas Lessman presents a selection of political
maps of Europe, Asia and Africa throughout ancient and mediaeval history. Watch the changes on the map through the
fall of Rome, peruse the patchwork of kingdoms in Southeast Asia at the heyday of the
Srivijaya Empire, or check out just
how much land Attila ruled at the height of his power. Some of his references have some good stuff as well, including more detailed maps of
Europe for the last two millennia, as well as the staggeringly comprehensive Friesian history website
previously linked on the blue.
posted by Dim Siawns to MetaFilter at Sep 2 at 9:51 AM
64 users marked this as a favorite
Oliver Sacks is surviving cancer of the eye, ocular melanoma. In his latest book,
The Mind’s Eye, he "tells the stories of people who are able to navigate the world and communicate with others despite losing what many of us consider indispensable senses and abilities." In the interview, Sacks talks about his diagnosis, the after-effects of his radiation treatment (which include hallucinations that resolve themselves into words if he "smokes a little pot"), his apprenticeships with poets W.H. Auden and Thom Gunn, and the importance of science writing in an age when the authority of science is being undermined by religious zealots. Via MeFi's own, Steve Silberman, digaman.
posted by nickyskye to MetaFilter at Sep 1 at 10:18 AM
47 users marked this as a favorite
A decade or so ago I worked for a Catholic NGO in a desperately poor little country with terrifyingly high rates of HIV. I taught disabled slum kids. Some of them found it necessary to earn their families' incomes through sex work. Others were married, or planning on getting married, and really could have used a little education about birth control...
posted by Ahab to MetaFilter at Sep 2 at 10:34 PM
191 users marked this as a favorite
Twelve years ago I was in a relationship. We were both faithful Christians. Before we married she used hit me. We talked through that issue and it did get somewhat better. After we married she got "sick" (quotes because she did little to try and get better other than legal drugs). She used to cut herself for no reason, accuse me a cheatin...
posted by ThomasBrobber to Ask MetaFilter at Aug 31 at 1:19 PM
102 users marked this as a favorite
Some reference points:
Columbia/Barnard rendition
The UC Berkeley rendition
Ben Folds "original" cover from 2005
Dr. Dre's 1992 original from "The Chronic"
I get that the "original" Ben Folds cover is supposed to be ironic, and it certainly isn't the first time a soft-spoken white singer ironically cov...
posted by Pastabagel to MetaFilter at Aug 31 at 7:22 AM
92 users marked this as a favorite
I grew up in Hell. My entire childhood was of pain and suffering. Every minute, of every day.
My mother sounds exactly like your fiance. Someone up above mentioned organic brain damage... many many years after I had ceased relations with my mother, someone mentioned the same possibility to me. It was the first explanation that made sense. The se...
posted by jbenben to Ask MetaFilter at Aug 31 at 2:25 PM
78 users marked this as a favorite
I used to look at older guys wearing sandals with black socks or hats with ear flaps or singing badly in public or something ridiculous like that and think "I wonder if he knows how stupid he looks. I hope I never wear/do anything that embarrassing." Now one of the best things about getting older is that I absolutely 100% do not give a fl...
posted by ND¢ to Ask MetaFilter at Aug 31 at 7:20 AM
77 users marked this as a favorite
I have quite a few friends who swear by the Zero Balance Budget. I don't live paycheck to paycheck, but I actually tried it (for a couple of years, on a military income), and I actually had a lot more money at the end of the month than I had originally predicted.
My comment on that post:
I’ve been doing a “Zero Balance” budget for about 18 m...
posted by Master Gunner to Ask MetaFilter at Aug 22 at 12:51 AM
75 users marked this as a favorite
Except in pubs, people seem to form queues spontaneously at shops, cash machines (ATMs) or anywhere else they have to wait.
There's generally a queue in the pub as well, its just an invisible one in everyone's head.
Queuing is definitely part of the national psyche here. People moan about kids not being brought up badly and not queuing proper...
posted by garius to Ask MetaFilter at Oct 22 at 5:39 AM
70 users marked this as a favorite
All this talk of their failing business model reminded me of something. It's not that the model is failing so much as a lack of vision to develop a new model.
Sears was started in the 1890's as a mail order business to compete against local general stores (think of all those westerns with "General Store" on one of the buildings - they...
posted by Pastabagel to MetaFilter at Jun 26 at 9:07 AM
62 users marked this as a favorite
Too all those who doubt someone's ability to find even menial labor in today's market: I have a Master's degree from a well-respected program and lots of work experience but I get rejected daily from even retail and service jobs. Why? Because I'm over qualified. So, after hearing that, I start removing my graduate school and work experience from...
posted by greta simone to Ask MetaFilter at Aug 30 at 1:23 PM
61 users marked this as a favorite
Yesster:
I am incredibly sad for your position right now. I went throught the exact same thing.
My father was in a nursing home, and was prone to "little strokes". which meant he got sent off to the local hospital, and basically uprooted from everything he knew for a few hours, as long las it took the doctors to say there wasnt anyt...
posted by timsteil to Ask MetaFilter at Sep 4 at 10:58 PM
60 users marked this as a favorite
I am well beyond what most folks here will answer to for age--I am 81--but I so love my family now that two boys are middle age and one, just starting out after college and overseas, and with a daughter in her final high school year--well, they mean so much to me that I can but reflect back to my own mom and pop and brothers when I was a kid and ...
posted by Postroad to Ask MetaFilter at Aug 31 at 7:05 AM
58 users marked this as a favorite
Fortunately, my career didn't jump the shark after "jump the shark." When "Happy Days" ended, I went directly to the ABC Paramount hit show "Webster" and, after that, wrote and produced, among others, "It's Your Move," "He's the Mayor, "The New Leave It to Beaver" and "Family Matters."...
posted by Capt. Renault to MetaFilter at Sep 4 at 10:57 AM
55 users marked this as a favorite
and comments 
