"Please stop the asshattery, love jessamyn" Now there's a song that should be on MeFi Music.
posted to MeFi Music by cortex at 5:52 PM on August 18, 2006 (41 comments)

I need a book suggestion...something slightly off the beaten path in the biography, history, science, or world politics categories. (more details inside)
posted to Ask MetaFilter by cyclopz at 8:01 AM on August 14, 2006 (32 comments)

3000 feet up in the mountains of Eastern Myanmar (Burma) lies Inle Lake^, a giant freshwater lake that is populated by 70,000 people living in four separate cities on top of the lake. They dwell, fish, farm, worship and celebrate upon the surface of Lake Inle, living a unique lifestyle that seems wholly unto itself, untouched by the world outside. All pictures found using the amazing FlickrStorm tool.
posted to MetaFilter by jonson at 12:07 PM on August 13, 2006 (25 comments)

I found a site with hundreds of old TV theme songs. It’s not much to look at, and the audio ain’t the best, but it’s free (and apparently maintained by a patriotic american, thank you, sir). Spending some hours there reminded me that composers and musicians used to take the craft seriously. You can find just about anything. Good? The Avengers, Barney Miller, Green Hornet, Hawaii Five-O, Rockford Files, Room 222. Feelgood? The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. Cheese? Dynasty, Three’s Company, Flo. 80s schlock? Hardcastle & McCormick, Hunter. Check out the mess that is the theme for The Bionic Woman. Did you remember that Jose Feliciano did Chico and the Man? I bet you didn't know...well...WTF: The Associates. I wondered where the tradition went, but, then, after MTV, I guess all the media became one and ‘TV’ ‘Theme’ ‘Music’ became something like this. My favorite theme? I had to go elsewhere to find it: it’s my own.
posted to MetaFilter by toma at 8:37 PM on August 12, 2006 (58 comments)

Moldovan wine was famous throughout the former Soviet Union. The centerpiece of its industry was (and is) a huge network of caverns known as Cricova where Stalin supposedly stored the remnants of Goering’s wine collection. The collapse of the Soviet Union brought extreme economic hardship to Moldova. In the midst of this hardship, the Russian Government imposed a ban on Moldovan (and Georgian) wines and cut off access to their largest export market. You might want to consider their plight if you visit the liquor store this weekend.
posted to MetaFilter by jason's_planet at 5:39 PM on August 12, 2006 (11 comments)

I've always lumped musician Eugene Chadbourne in with the likes of Wesley Willis and Daniel Johnston, but I may have been mistaken. While his songs are often absurd, experimental, and silly, he's much less eccentric than I'd always thought. In addition to having an incredible output (full discography with notes here and in-depth review here), he has worked with everyone from John Zorn to Jello Biafra, even fronting the band Camper Van Beethoven as Camper Van Chadbourne. He has also been a writer for MaximumRocknRoll and AMG and is the inventor of the electric rake (a musical instrument that would certainly annoy your neighbors). YouTube has two awesome Chadbourne finds: THIS is a 19-minute documentary about him and THIS is a cable access show he appeared on called I'm Going to Make a Drug with My Mind (if you like cable access television, this is awesome, but please note that this video is 31-minutes long, including 60 seconds of color bars. Eugene comes on a little after the 17-minute mark). [WARNING: YouTube. A lot of YouTube in this post]
posted to MetaFilter by elr at 12:28 AM on August 11, 2006 (34 comments)

Twice in my life I have seen someone wearing a cap with something like this. Can't find a match in any major or minor league historical logo. Closest thing is the 1914 Cubs logo, except the Cubs logo faced right and had a little more detail -- the one I'm looking for is a very simple white sillhouette on a navy or black cap. Bonus points if you can tell me where to get one of those hats. Triple bonus points if it turns out to be the South Pole cricket team.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by sonofslim at 8:50 AM on August 9, 2006 (13 comments)

A secret cabal of family members is having a rather big party this summer on the shores of Lake Huron. My mission: arrive in style a la James Bond. I've checked out their security, and although strong on three sides, they haven't guarded the lake. Fools. I would like to arrive via the lake. However, I'm having a tough time with what to wear. Preferably, I'd like to slip out of my wetsuit into a crisp, wrinkle free tuxedo. Is this possible?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by maxpower at 6:39 AM on March 30, 2006 (91 comments)

Lawn alternatives! Has anyone here tried replacing their high-maintenance grass lawn with an alternative lawn? I've read about some of the no-mow lawn grass types, and I understand other people simply let the moss and clover grow. Have you seen a lawn like this? How did you like it?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by agropyron at 1:37 PM on August 7, 2006 (27 comments)

Holding up sprigs of parsley, Trujillo's men queried their prospective victims: What is this thing called? The terrified victim's fate lay in his pronunciation of the answer. Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo spearheaded an anti-Haitian massacre in which armed thugs killed every Creole speaker who couldn't pronounce the trilled R in the Spanish word for parsley. (Using pronunciation to make ethnic distinctions is called a shibboleth, a tactic often used in wars.) The murders inspired Edwige Danticat's The Farming of Bones and Mario Vargas Llosa's Feast of the Goat, as well as a poem recited for Bill Clinton by poet laureate Rita Dove. Ironically, Trujillo's desire to "whiten" Hispaniola not only led him to order the 1937 massacre, but to lobby in 1938 for the settlement of Jews fleeing Hitler.
posted to MetaFilter by jonp72 at 5:13 PM on August 5, 2006 (9 comments)

Why didn't slave owners in pre-emancipation America make slaves of the Native Americans, opting instead to import slaves from abroad?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by CodeBaloo at 6:32 PM on August 4, 2006 (32 comments)

Dr. John Jeffries: Physician, Loyalist, Aeronaut is a typically delightful entry from historian J. N. Bell's blog Boston 1775.
posted to MetaFilter by LarryC at 3:28 PM on August 4, 2006 (5 comments)

Gbalf Xozmn Ram Rqzyk Wtacu Lkugc Aaxjx Owkyu Dkoxk Zamdg Bnuio Nmrxk Zmqyf Nqeog Ziqxf Gutxe Nkmxd Gzmqj Brqge Kxkfs Qqzui Nactg Djfnq Eenaa Xjnk
posted to MetaFilter by justkevin at 8:41 AM on August 4, 2006 (67 comments)

Does everyone yell "here kitty kitty" in a comically high-pitched voice when calling to a cat? My family did when I was a child, and I do now. But while doing so, I always feel like a total dork. Why the voice modulation? Why the same pattern of "here kitty-kitty-kitty-kitty"? Surely if the cat knows your voice, he'd respond to "Fluffers! Come here now!" in a regular voice. Or are cats taught at an early age to listen for this vocal affront to dignity? Do they secretly enjoy it? Is this regional, or universal? Thanks.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Bud Dickman at 6:40 AM on July 26, 2006 (46 comments)

The Feather Book, digitized by and on display at McGill University: A seventeenth-century book containing illustrations of birds and men -- composed of real feathers, beaks, and claws. More information about the book and its contents and history can be read here.
posted to MetaFilter by Gator at 2:27 PM on July 20, 2006 (14 comments)

I just finished reading a book on Ibn Battuta's travels throughout the medieval Muslim world and I really enjoyed it. I am looking for non-European travel narratives from over 300 years ago or so (pre-1700s). Any suggestions as to the best books of this type, either the originals or more mediated presentations?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Falconetti at 8:35 AM on July 13, 2006 (16 comments)

I'm looking for great blogs about the Middle East and the Maghreb. I would like viewpoints from all over but am especially interested in Morocco and Lebanon. I would prefer intelligently written/academic material about the region.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by trey at 7:21 PM on July 7, 2006 (8 comments)

The Works of Giovanni Battista Piranesi: high-resolution scans of all of Piranesi’s etchings. Also, the plates from Les Ruines De Pompei by François Mazois (1812-38), and, the complete 9-volume Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte (The Antiquities discovered in Herculaneum) published in Naples from 1755-62. Also, at the same site (UT-PICURE: the Center for Research on Pictorial Cultural Resources, at The University of Tokyo), images from the Stibbert Collection of Japanese costume.
posted to MetaFilter by misteraitch at 1:56 PM on July 4, 2006 (11 comments)

From Muddy York to the Toronto of today.... My search to discover the exact age of the house I recently bought led me to the fabulous Toronto Archives. Even if you don't have the good fortune to live in Toronto and so have the ability to visit the Archives to take a free tour and check out their massive holdings, they have a whack of stuff on line. Of their million photographs dating back to 1856, over 21,000 are online. Check out some of their virtual exhibits. I couldn't begin to give you an overview of the site or even the best of its many gems, but check out Chinatown's VE day victory parade, Bay and Wellington as it was after a huge fire in 1904, old advertisements, letters and postcards (including some from the disenchanted), snapshots of a, er, less politically sensitive time (thanks, Capn!), and — inevitably! — hockey artifacts. A friend of mine makes a hobby of Toronto's history, and after this search of mine, I better understand her interest. It’s fascinating to see what lies beneath the layers of time on a surface so familiar and loved.
posted to MetaFilter by orange swan at 7:57 AM on July 4, 2006 (23 comments)

Jangly, wistful guitarpop as requested.
posted to MeFi Music by cortex at 8:03 AM on June 30, 2006 (30 comments)

My g/f is getting more and more pissed with my nightly antics. [more under the sheets]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by XiBe at 6:26 AM on June 28, 2006 (22 comments)

JewFilter: I have a beautiful musical setting of (I think) a Chatzi Kaddish, written by Maurice Ravel. Given that it doesn't seem to be a mourner's kaddish (despite the mournful tone of the melody), when is it appropriate and when is it not appropriate to recite/sing this text, religiously speaking?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by sdis at 5:03 PM on June 27, 2006 (12 comments)

ASL is a cinematic language.
posted to MetaFilter by angrybeaver at 6:57 PM on June 20, 2006 (16 comments)

Jazz Noir
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Unregistered User at 4:24 AM on June 23, 2006 (12 comments)

What would you say to a reasonably bright (nearly) 19 year old at this stage of her life?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by dash_slot- at 5:09 PM on June 22, 2006 (37 comments)

Ukrainian or Polish: What language should I learn?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by rinkjustice at 12:40 PM on June 22, 2006 (16 comments)

Who's Your Grandaddy? Ancestry.com "has compiled an online database of information on 500 million people, culled from every U.S. census record from 1790 to 1930" that "includes screen shots of the handwritten forms filled out by census-takers." Usually you have to pay to access the records, but they're providing three days of free access.
posted to MetaFilter by kirkaracha at 10:46 AM on June 22, 2006 (79 comments)

What are some placenames that are recognizably English-language in places that are definitely non-English? The only example I can think of is Bluefields, Nicaragua.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by chef_boyardee at 2:55 PM on June 16, 2006 (21 comments)

Why does our cat try to cover our heads like litter when we sleep? Does our cat think we're filthy?!? I'm a little insulted...
posted to Ask MetaFilter by ibeji at 5:52 PM on June 13, 2006 (22 comments)

How can I make my symbolic/abstract writing style more accessible to readers, so that they won't turn away from my stories in boredom?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by gregb1007 at 1:08 PM on June 2, 2006 (57 comments)

Vacationing in the Berkshires this summer...
posted to Ask MetaFilter by alexmikayla at 6:46 AM on May 27, 2006 (17 comments)

A rat just swam up into my toilet. Can I flush it back down?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Felicity Rilke at 5:21 PM on May 22, 2006 (43 comments)

Music from Morrisania: Dr. Mark Naison, urban historian at Fordham University and principal investigator of the Bronx African-American history project, leads a musical tour of one South Bronx neighborhood from the 1950s to the present, describing how hot summers, open windows and a fertile mixing of ethnic groups influenced landmarks in American musical history -- from Tito Puente to "Watermelon Man" to KRS-One.
posted to MetaFilter by Miko at 8:04 AM on May 18, 2006 (8 comments)

What did the music of ancient Rome sound like?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 9:31 PM on May 13, 2006 (5 comments)

Cats are mysteriously drawn to me.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by seawallrunner at 1:22 PM on May 11, 2006 (22 comments)