Popular Favorites

Popular posts RSS feed and comments RSS feed from across all sites, marked as a favorite most often in the past seven days.

Only Six More Weeks?! [redux]

It's that time again.. What are some good online stores to buy cool, unique Christmas gifts?
posted by carpyful to Ask MetaFilter at Nov-9-09 at 9:56 PM
247 users marked this as a favorite

Hi. Whatcha reading?

Schrödinger’s Rapist: or a guy’s guide to approaching strange women without being maced.
posted by kimdog to MetaFilter at Oct-8-09 at 8:06 AM
132 users marked this as a favorite

the original green cookware

Do you want a definitive guide to washing your cast iron pan? Or you're curious about your vintage pans, maybe? Maybe your well-meaning partner left your beloved pan soaking in the sink, and you need to get rid of the rust, stat. Or maybe it's a LOT of rust, and you're looking to build an at-home electrolysis tank (warning: top-of-page Borat swimsuit shot). For all your questions on the loves and lives of the fabled cast iron pan, Black Iron Dude has the answer.
posted by peachfuzz to MetaFilter at Nov-12-09 at 4:04 PM
117 users marked this as a favorite

Excellent Online Classes

Which online course should I take next? What are the best free courses you've taken online?
posted by mike_bling to Ask MetaFilter at Nov-10-09 at 1:37 PM
99 users marked this as a favorite

3d mandelbrot

The Mandelbulb "The original Mandelbrot is an amazing object that has captured the public's imagination for 30 years. It's found by following a relatively simple math formula. But in the end, it's still only 2D and flat - there's no depth, shadows, perspective, or light sourcing. What we have featured in this article is a potential 3D version of the same fractal."
posted by dhruva to MetaFilter at Nov-12-09 at 10:06 AM
98 users marked this as a favorite

Affordable Luxuries

What are some great gifts for Holiday Season that convey a sense of luxury, yet cost between about $25-75?
posted by Miko to Ask MetaFilter at Nov-10-09 at 12:45 PM
94 users marked this as a favorite

Writers on writing

In How to Write a Great Novel authors such as Edwidge Danticat, Hilary Mantel, Orhan Pamuk, Junot Díaz and Margaret Atwood speak about their writing process. If you want your thoughts on writing in a longer format, you could do a lot worse than The New York Times' Writers on Writing series, which features short essays by, for example, Kurt Vonnegut, Saul Bellow, Louise Erdrich and Annie Proulx. Should you thirst for meditations longer yet, Barbara Demarco-Barrett has on her Writers on Writing radio show interviewed a boatload of authors and it is available as a podcast [iTunes link]
posted by Kattullus to MetaFilter at Nov-11-09 at 8:09 PM
90 users marked this as a favorite

Watcha reading? Well, this thread for one thing

This recent thread, from October 8, is just about to close. It's been an extraordinary one, and is still active as of this afternoon.
posted by jokeefe to MetaTalk at Nov-7-09 at 5:46 PM
75 users marked this as a favorite

The Sound of Sacrifice

Few men can reach the notes, and few women have the lung capacity to manipulate them. Most of these arias have not been heard since the deaths of the castrati for whom they were written. Mezzosoprano Cecilia Bartoli has released an album entitled Sacrificium. The album is a compilation of 17th-century arias written for castrati--male singers who were castrated in order to sing in a higher register. Commentaries on the work are favorable; commentaries on the history of castrati and Bartoli herself are just as interesting.
posted by jefficator to MetaFilter at Nov-9-09 at 11:13 AM
70 users marked this as a favorite

Military people in cute situations.

Soldiers return home after months abroad and are greeted by their very excited dogs. (A compilation of puppy-focused welcome-home videos for Veterans' Day.)
posted by nobody to MetaFilter at Nov-11-09 at 7:53 AM
70 users marked this as a favorite

DOES WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN


Maps, maps, maps!

Do you like maps? How about historical maps? Oodles of links to even more maps? Then the PCL Map Collection hosted by the University of Texas might be for you.
posted by kmz to MetaFilter at Nov-9-09 at 12:14 PM
57 users marked this as a favorite

Images of the Somme

On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, Lieutenant John Purvis risked court-martial by taking some snapshots of the battlefield. Now his photograph album has been put online. It gives an extraordinary insight into what it was like to be an ordinary soldier in the middle of the battle, marching up to the front, resting in the forward lines, taking cover as a bomb explodes, advancing into battle, watching a shell burst, digging into freshly made trenches, or moving forward over captured ground.
posted by verstegan to MetaFilter at Nov-11-09 at 3:00 AM
51 users marked this as a favorite

It's what it says on the tin.


A Tale of Two Cities

Crime: A Tale of Two Cities. When "The Wire" gained popularity in Great Britain, we were contacted by a London-based journalist who proposed a job swap. Mark Hughes, a crime reporter with The Independent, a national newspaper in the United Kingdom, wanted to come to Baltimore to see if the city’s police officers, drug dealers, prosecutors and politicians bore any resemblance to those on show. We agreed to complete the exchange by sending our police reporter, Justin Fenton, to London to compare crime trends.
posted by HumanComplex to MetaFilter at Nov-12-09 at 7:54 AM
48 users marked this as a favorite

What clever relationship "hacks" have you come up with?

What clever relationship "hacks" have you come up with? I'm looking to build up my mental catalogue of examples of non-obvious solutions to relationship difficulties. Help me think out of the box better in the future!
posted by wyzewoman to Ask MetaFilter at Nov-3-09 at 10:48 AM
48 users marked this as a favorite

Lost in the desert for 2,500 years.


"All durin' the game was a little mist."

Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No by James Blagden (SLYT). MetaFilter is no stranger to the late Dock Ellis and the legendary no-hitter he pitched under the influence of everyone's favorite indole phantasticant (previously: 2001, 2005, 2008), but this animation takes the story to a new level.
posted by solipsophistocracy to MetaFilter at Nov-13-09 at 1:50 PM
47 users marked this as a favorite

I am living a wasted life. Tell me how to live.

I am living a wasted life. Depressed and stuck. I know this question has been asked a million times in a million different ways by a million different people. But I want to ask it myself, and hear what you say to me, because I am at the end of my rope.
posted by Anonymous to Ask MetaFilter at Nov-10-09 at 1:56 PM
44 users marked this as a favorite

Stabbing myself in the eye with a letter opener doesn't seem to be an appropriate reaction to this problem.

I just spent another hour going through giant stacks of mail and shredding crap and I swear I can't take it anymore.
posted by sugarfish to Ask MetaFilter at Nov-8-09 at 6:28 PM
43 users marked this as a favorite

Unruly Republicans Silence Women Lawmakers With Screams, Shouts, And Delay Tactics. Such a lovely display of civility and goodness. We can all be proud of our Republican brethren. And now we have a mandated insurance system that will pay for viagra, but not birth control, just like most insurance policies. And women...well, you better hope you w...
posted by dejah420 to MetaFilter at Nov-7-09 at 9:40 PM
106 users marked this as a favorite

I personally would not have cared if you said "anime is for children." You are entitled to your opinion, and I always wear my big girl pants online and can handle it. ;-) damn woman please you flag me so much i look like the UN
posted by Optimus Chyme to MetaTalk at Nov-11-09 at 9:59 AM
103 users marked this as a favorite

Everyone needs a hug. However, each hug you give is one less hug for your life partner.
posted by Metroid Baby to MetaTalk at Nov-11-09 at 9:37 AM
99 users marked this as a favorite

My snowglobe was taken from me. Taken. My snowglobe was taken from me by the TSA agents at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport yesterday. According to the Transportation Security Administration website, “We will not ask you to do anything that will separate you from your snowglobe." Bullshit TSA. You took my snowglobe. MY SNOWGLO...
posted by P.o.B. to MetaFilter at Nov-13-09 at 6:28 PM
85 users marked this as a favorite

Your response did not answer the question; therefore, it was deleted. You are not the first person nor will you be the last to have answers deleted for not answering the question but rather offering up an irrelevant opinion. You need to stop posting and lurk more, as it is clear you do not understand MetaFilter's protocols. Also, saying &quo...
posted by Optimus Chyme to MetaTalk at Nov-11-09 at 9:38 AM
80 users marked this as a favorite

Don't let your babysitter have sex with your baby! Transfusions are right out! Breastfeeding is questionable. Otherwise, give your babysitter the love and support she needs. She's not a pariah, she's just got an autoimmune disorder.
posted by Pollomacho to Ask MetaFilter at Nov-12-09 at 4:15 AM
73 users marked this as a favorite

Hey great another thread where a half-dozen unbalanced losers do a disservice to all men. I'd like to say this to you, if you can understand it, which you won't, or can't: you are the problem. You know how you are whining about how "oh boo hoo not all men are bad and it's wrong for women to assume I am dangerous it is so hard to be a dude ...
posted by Optimus Chyme to MetaTalk at Nov-9-09 at 7:03 AM
71 users marked this as a favorite

If in ten years America is a bankrupt failed state ruled by a fascist dictator who lights his cigars with strips of burning Constitution, I'm going to have to do a lot of apologizing to my Republican pals.
posted by Pater Aletheias to MetaFilter at Nov-7-09 at 9:04 PM
70 users marked this as a favorite

Welcome to the mid-twentieth century!
posted by CynicalKnight to MetaFilter at Nov-7-09 at 9:05 PM
69 users marked this as a favorite

I don't offer discounts for friends. Get well.
posted by ColdChef to MetaTalk at Nov-12-09 at 6:34 PM
69 users marked this as a favorite

Buzz Aldrin addressed to moon landing conspiracy folks to my satisfaction.
posted by Kid Charlemagne to MetaFilter at Nov-12-09 at 12:00 AM
68 users marked this as a favorite

Typical of the illiberal state of affairs in reactionary left wing contemporary circles. oh just fuck off.
posted by pinky to MetaTalk at Nov-11-09 at 9:34 AM
67 users marked this as a favorite

Hi, pamspanda: You say, I am a a little confused by some of the comments about overreacting Maybe I can help. When a post starts with "DESPERATE!" and asks "What next????" with four question marks then concludes with "I need information and help before I jump out of my skin!!!!," ending in four exclamation ...
posted by Pater Aletheias to Ask MetaFilter at Nov-12-09 at 6:10 AM
63 users marked this as a favorite

My God. I just read that thread and this one for the first time. I had no idea women thought like this. I feel horrible. I'm a big mean looking guy. I'm around 6'-4" 250lbs and I can't fathom what it would be like to have to think like this all the time. I can barely string words together right now to make this comment, that's how much i...
posted by chugg to MetaTalk at Nov-9-09 at 9:59 AM
63 users marked this as a favorite

that men take it as their right to comment on our bodies, to use our bodies for their gratification, and that if we object to it then we are bitches, or....sexist. Part of me wants to change that 'some men' in there - and that's part of the problem, and I think where gjc is coming from. But saying that it's OK to fear strange men more than t...
posted by ArkhanJG to MetaTalk at Nov-8-09 at 4:02 PM
61 users marked this as a favorite

I really have come to the conclusion that most of humanity is about three beers and two shots of tequila away from having sex with the rest of humanity, regardless of gender, nationality, age, or religion, and so, when people say things like "No homo" after saying something suggestively homoerotic, all they're saying is "Buy me a few...
posted by Astro Zombie to MetaFilter at Nov-10-09 at 11:52 AM
59 users marked this as a favorite

I say lock him in a cell with Nickelback. Let him eat nothing but McDonalds, and let his only other contact be the images of all the innocent people he has taken from this world. Why not just lock him in a cell and treat him like a goddamn human being because we're better than he is?
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice to MetaFilter at Nov-13-09 at 11:15 AM
58 users marked this as a favorite

I'm not sure how this adds, but here it is. I see how people sometimes view my brother as he walks down the street. A large African American male, I sometimes see non-blacks view him warily as he walks down the street (in the US), and I think - aargh, you don't even know him! How can you judge him negatively based on your previous experience/you...
posted by anitanita to MetaTalk at Nov-8-09 at 7:33 PM
56 users marked this as a favorite

+1 for static typing+1 what?
posted by Flunkie to MetaFilter at Nov-11-09 at 11:04 AM
50 users marked this as a favorite

I can say, without hesitation or qualification that Prosperity Gospel is one of the most vile corruptions of Christianity since 13th century kings told everyone Jesus was a wealthy prince and that's why you should toil for us endlessly.
posted by The Whelk to MetaFilter at Nov-13-09 at 4:19 PM
50 users marked this as a favorite