Popular Favorites

Popular posts and comments 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
264 users marked this as a favorite

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
120 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
106 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
99 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
97 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
93 users marked this as a favorite

DOES WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN

two youtube videos and a motherfucking crossfader
posted by boo_radley to MetaFilter at Nov-10-09 at 11:38 AM
69 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
69 users marked this as a favorite

"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
52 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

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
51 users marked this as a favorite

The shape of jazz gone by

NPR's jazz blog A Blog Supreme recently concluded a series in which they asked jazz bloggers to "name five albums you would recommend to somebody looking to get into modern jazz". The results are now up in the category Jazz Now; the intro has the index, including reactions elsewhere. Destination: Out had some pricklier suggestions—see also their best of the 90s list (and their own nominations).
posted by kenko to MetaFilter at Nov-14-09 at 2:42 PM
47 users marked this as a favorite

Animated Stereoviews of Meiji Japan

Animated Stereoviews of Meiji Japan
posted by BuddhaInABucket to MetaFilter at Nov-13-09 at 6:40 PM
46 users marked this as a favorite

So, does anyone know how to make an HTML regex parser?

Every time you attempt to parse HTML with regular expressions, the unholy child weeps the blood of virgins, and Russian hackers pwn your webapp. Parsing HTML with regex summons tainted souls into the realm of the living. HTML and regex go together like love, marriage, and ritual infanticide. The <center> cannot hold it is too late. The force of regex and HTML together in the same conceptual space will destroy your mind like so much watery putty.

posted by spiderskull to MetaFilter at Nov-15-09 at 1:31 PM
46 users marked this as a favorite

Modern novels of youth [20s-30s] and figuring out life?

Modern novels of youth [20s-30s] and figuring out life?
posted by mattsweaters to Ask MetaFilter at Nov-14-09 at 2:49 PM
45 users marked this as a favorite

The script is always better than the movie

7 scripts you gotta read
posted by philip-random to MetaFilter at Nov-13-09 at 8:50 AM
44 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

How can I make my cast iron pans nonstick?

Are well-seasoned, well-cared-for cast iron pans really supposed to be nonstick? If so, how do I make mine like that?
posted by Stewriffic to Ask MetaFilter at Nov-12-09 at 10:55 AM
44 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
43 users marked this as a favorite

White Meets Black Music Mashups

I really like mashups that juxtapose hip-hop/R&B/reggae with classic rock/radio pop. Some good examples are Girl Talk's music, this Biggie Smalls/Miley Cyrus mashup, and this Beatles/Black Eyed Peas/Ludacris/ etc mashup. What are the best executed and most fun ones you've heard?
posted by i_am_a_fiesta to Ask MetaFilter at Nov-14-09 at 10:58 PM
43 users marked this as a favorite

I'm semi-obsessed with type (although probably more obsessed than I'd care to admit given I got FPPed for writing about once). Indeed, myself and several other semi-obsessives (all of whom work in the publishing industry in some way) actually have an ongoing competition. The objective is to keep an eye out for the most unexpected or inappropriate i...
posted by garius to MetaFilter at Nov-16-09 at 3:42 AM
145 users marked this as a favorite

Oh God. OK. I read this story with a slight ripple of panic, because something happened to me in 1993 and maybe had it happened in 2009 my life would have changed for the worse. All this is true. Here goes. Apologies for typos, I've had half a bottle of wine. I was 14. When I was 14, I was the least streetwise teenager out of a host of unstreetw...
posted by randomination to MetaFilter at Nov-15-09 at 8:29 PM
132 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
108 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
104 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
101 users marked this as a favorite

Together, they fight civil rights!
posted by boo_radley to MetaFilter at Nov-15-09 at 11:49 AM
86 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
83 users marked this as a favorite

Right, take THAT urban poor! You're no match for rich, bored 20 somethings from the suburbs!
posted by peppito to MetaFilter at Nov-15-09 at 11:58 AM
80 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
76 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
74 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

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
64 users marked this as a favorite

I have to say, I've adjusted to no liquids thing, but I'll never forgive the failed shoe bomber guy. We live a long way away from family, so my three year old flies about four times a year to visit grandparents and cousins. She likes flying, and she's a good traveler, but it kills me a little to see her enter the security area, put her Dora bac...
posted by Pater Aletheias to MetaFilter at Nov-13-09 at 8:00 PM
63 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

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 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
57 users marked this as a favorite

This kid is allowed on my lawn.
posted by never used baby shoes to MetaFilter at Nov-16-09 at 12:12 PM
54 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
51 users marked this as a favorite

This is exactly the type of marmoset that ravaged the beer-swilling Basic Dungeons & Dragons community.
posted by The Bellman to MetaFilter at Nov-15-09 at 7:12 PM
50 users marked this as a favorite