In Quentin Tarantino's recent Western, The Hateful Eight, one scene involves Kurt Russell's character, John Ruth, snatching a guitar away from Jennifer Jason Leigh's character, Daisy Domergue, and promptly smashing it to pieces. The only problem? The guitar was a 140 year old original Martin on loan from the Martin Guitar Museum and was supposed to have been swapped out for a replica before being said smashed.
posted to MetaFilter by Atreides at 11:07 AM on February 8, 2016 (109 comments)

Games to Play With Your Child in Which You Barely Have to Move or Talk.
posted to MetaFilter by smoke at 7:45 PM on January 8, 2016 (56 comments)

I need some assistance comparing Wellington, NZ to Portland, Ore, for the purposes of existing as a middle class family.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by furnace.heart at 10:53 AM on January 6, 2016 (20 comments)

Gordon's Alive! The Untold Story Of Flash Gordon
posted to MetaFilter by fearfulsymmetry at 8:07 AM on January 4, 2016 (90 comments)

What I Learned From One Month Of Not Eating Raw Chicken
MeFi's Own GregNog with a personal essay "that I hope resonates with a lot of people". [via mefi projects]
posted to MetaFilter by oneswellfoop at 10:31 AM on January 4, 2016 (97 comments)

Photos of everyday life in 1950s NYC found in an attic decades later.
posted to MetaFilter by The Whelk at 9:21 AM on December 26, 2015 (41 comments)

Hi, my 10-year-old son loves to read fantasy series. He has read (or had read to him) the Hobbit, the Fellowship of the Ring, Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain, and Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books (as well as various spinoffs). We have the Harry Potter books and I'll probably encourage him to start on those next, but I'd like to get him a book or three for Christmas. Can you recommend anything?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Area Man at 7:40 AM on December 14, 2015 (42 comments)

Norwegian legends and fairy tales are full of references to subterranean or supernatural beings, many of which have the fiddle as a symbolic attribute.... Even today, some people believe that anyone hoping to become a real fiddler must be apprenticed to Fossegrimen.... The Hardanger fiddle is inextricably linked to such legends, and it is the folk tunes which have kept them alive.

And Targjei Augundsson is at the crossroads of legends and folk tunes, whose skill with the fiddle is said to have come at the price of his soul from a deal with Fossegrimen, making him something of the Norwegian predecessor to Robert Johnson.
posted to MetaFilter by filthy light thief at 1:46 PM on December 16, 2015 (16 comments)

"i put 'All I Want for Christmas is You' through a MIDI converter, and then back through an mp3 converter. the result is this garbage" (SLaudio)
posted to MetaFilter by overeducated_alligator at 6:32 AM on December 16, 2015 (71 comments)

The Dune Coloring Book and Dune Activity Book were available for about two weeks during 1984 before a sober adult opened one up to a random page and realized their kid was going either going to to need a lot more black and red crayons or a lot more therapy. (slKitchenOverlord)
posted to MetaFilter by ricochet biscuit at 7:25 AM on December 11, 2015 (60 comments)

My son has mostly outgrown Lego but still loves building things from instructions. Challenging things. What are some building kits I could get for him?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by bondcliff at 7:51 AM on December 4, 2015 (38 comments)

In March of 2010, programmer Eric Fry discovered a cheap digital tuner from Realtek could be modified to receive more than mere TV and FM Radio. Much more.
posted to MetaFilter by endotoxin at 1:54 PM on November 28, 2015 (36 comments)

This risks being overly vague, but I'm really curious about how it works for other people. We have a child (and one on the way); I work part-time (but hope to go full time at some point) and my husband has a flexible job. And still, everything is -- crazy. Help?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by caoimhe at 6:27 AM on November 18, 2015 (41 comments)

272 pages of names^[PDF] suitable for almost any improvised game or story: names for biker gangs and surf guitar bands, names for gnolls and gun molls, names for Swedish smugglers and names for Shetland Islanders, names for Miskatonic students and names for people who are almost, but not quite, British. All names arranged in twenty-item tables for D20 convenience.
posted to MetaFilter by Iridic at 3:06 PM on November 19, 2015 (17 comments)

Discussing the new season as it occurs.
posted to FanFare by DirtyOldTown at 2:32 PM on November 16, 2015 (35 comments)

Interested in foreign languages and language history? As requested, here's a (highly subjective) selection of podcasts and blogs to keep you busy.
posted to MetaFilter by benito.strauss at 10:21 AM on November 16, 2015 (23 comments)

English is not normal. "No, English isn’t uniquely vibrant or mighty or adaptable. But it really is weirder than pretty much every other language." (Aeon via Longform).
posted to MetaFilter by pravit at 9:05 AM on November 15, 2015 (102 comments)

A website for people who are way too high. Plus, could LSD unlock our better selves? Does PJ even have a better self? We investigate.
posted to FanFare by Nelson at 9:59 AM on November 11, 2015 (9 comments)

Following a recent MeTa on which interest was expressed in the idea of a MetaFilter Music Podcast, I decided that hell yes and made one - check it out on Soundcloud!
posted to MetaTalk by greenish at 7:32 AM on November 13, 2015 (27 comments)

Hi My nephew is 5, starting school in 2016 January (southern hemisphere semester.) He reads above the average for his age, and his interests vary greatly week to week. Neither of his parents, or Grandparents or extended family have any interest in Mythology or literature at all. He does have some though. He grasps the narrative structures of cartoons and TV shows he likes. He also really enjoys books of classic Fairy Tales like Grimm and Aesop, told for children. He seems like he is ready for Roald Dahhl...
posted to Ask MetaFilter by esto-again at 6:54 AM on November 5, 2015 (19 comments)

I have recently realized that I engage in pain-numbing activities instead of joy-bringing activities in my spare time. I feel like I've totally lost my childlike ability to play--to do something simply because it brings me joy. I have no hobbies and no real non-work-related interests. I'd really like to discover what brings me joy, but I have no idea where to start. How did you discover what form of play is best for you?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by suncages at 3:15 PM on November 3, 2015 (17 comments)

I'm looking for examples of unexpected (and not widely known) practices of everyday life from bygone eras. I'll give a few examples of the type of information I seek.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by akk2014 at 5:24 AM on October 11, 2015 (41 comments)

Special Meta callout of JHarris: normally a valued MeFi member, what with incisive comments and the MST3K Club and such. But he made a kickass post EVERY SINGLE DAY OF SEPTEMBER.
posted to MetaTalk by Chrysostom at 4:15 PM on October 12, 2015 (49 comments)

Beautiful and insightful, these five videos explore how the Cold War shaped video games.
posted to MetaFilter by Foci for Analysis at 10:00 AM on October 4, 2015 (7 comments)

"This is a digitized version of an in-store cassette tape that was played within a Kmart store. See the title of the file for the month and year. I worked at Kmart between 1989 and 1999 and held onto them with the hopes that they would be of use some day. Enjoy!" (via)
posted to MetaFilter by griphus at 8:27 AM on October 2, 2015 (42 comments)

Hail to the Pencil Pusher — American Bureaucracy's Long and Useful History
posted to MetaFilter by tonycpsu at 8:20 PM on October 5, 2015 (23 comments)

My daughter is 5 and starting kindergarten and music lessons. I cannot lie: in these and her future...I dunno, endeavors I guess you would call them, I want her to do well. I want her to put effort in and take pleasure in her efforts. But I don't know how to foster this in her and it's time I started figuring it out.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by kitcat at 1:27 PM on September 30, 2015 (32 comments)

If you were mentoring/working with a technical professional or someone without a strong writing background, what book(s) would you recommend they read to learn about basic concepts/techniques/style/voice, etc.?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by paulcole at 10:53 AM on September 30, 2015 (12 comments)

Reply All hands the airwaves over to Hrishikesh Hirway of the Song Exploder podcast and we are treated to a double feature: First the origin's of the Reply All theme by the mysterious Breakmaster Cylinder, and then Phil Elverum of the Microphones on his song "I Want Wind to Blow"
posted to FanFare by selenized at 7:46 AM on September 18, 2015 (11 comments)

We read a lot to my son and keep running out of decent books. He likes books about realistic situations with a fair bit of emotional or linguistic complexity. Ideas?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by forza at 10:12 PM on September 16, 2015 (30 comments)

Welcome to the Block Party: the internet after ad blocking
posted to MetaFilter by R a c h e l at 6:33 PM on September 14, 2015 (130 comments)

Likely the largest collection of Soviet Bus Stops ever assembled.
posted to MetaFilter by BuddhaInABucket at 7:43 AM on September 16, 2015 (13 comments)

Josef Sudek (1896 - 1976) was a Czech photographer, best known for his haunting night-scapes of Prague.
posted to MetaFilter by Devils Rancher at 5:18 PM on September 13, 2015 (6 comments)

Here is Justin Alexander's "Jaquaying the Dungeon," a crash course in old-school D&D adventure complex design, for all you grognards out there.

• 1.Definition - Jennell Jaquays wrote many classic RPG adventures for a variety of systems and publishers, notable for their non-linearity.
• 2.Techniques - On non-linear dungeon construction.
• 3.Philosophy - Why do non-linear dungeons matter, how to make good use of it.
• 4. Applied to Keep on the Shadowfell - Jaquaying a typical linear dungeon module.
• 5. General application - Othter ways Shadowfell could have been improved, summation.
• 6.Ways to connect dungeon levels - An appendix of ways to connect dungeon levels to each other.
• 7.Tips and Tricks - Tricky ideas to delight/annoy players.
• Justin Alexander's Gamemastery 101 is further loaded with good GMing advice.

posted to MetaFilter by JHarris at 6:10 AM on September 11, 2015 (60 comments)

Please help suggest books for my 4th grade son that he will actually read and like. A number of requirements inside.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by anastasiav at 8:56 AM on September 10, 2015 (51 comments)

I've turned 40 this year. In high school I used to go around reading Nabokov because I thought that's what smart people would read. I loved the words but missed about 80% of the thematic elements because I was too young and hadn't lived enough. I just picked him up again and am boggled. What other books should I return to? What authors are only intelligible to readers in mid-life?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by hoanthropos at 3:24 AM on September 8, 2015 (35 comments)

If you take Adam Parfrey's definition of a secret society as a social group that demands an oath of allegiance to join, and then consider that such societies include labor unions, business groups, rural/agrarian organizations, religious and occult organizations, sobriety groups, drinking groups, immigrants, anti-immigrant organizations, philosophy and science (including optometry) (previously), and groups for "persons of quality" who wanted to engage in "immoral acts." With that introduction, here is The Cyclopædia of Fraternities; a compilation of existing authentic information and the results of original investigation as to more than six hundred secret societies in the United States, written by Albert Clark Stevens and published in 1899, in full on Archive.org.
posted to MetaFilter by filthy light thief at 1:04 PM on August 29, 2015 (33 comments)

Hi all - as you may or may not know, there are tons of forest fires in the Pacific Northwest. Today, Portland, OR was inundated with a ton of smoke. As someone with asthma, it's been pretty tough to handle. Where can I drive to be in an area with less smoky conditions? More below the fold.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by FireFountain at 7:29 PM on August 22, 2015 (23 comments)

In the Ask thread Did people actually say "shwench", town of cats posted a question about a 30 year old William Safire article asking about one slang term referenced in the article. A few weeks later, Slanguage Guy posted a confirmation of the slang term, and he is the one who sent the original usage to Safire 30 years ago!
posted to MetaTalk by Philbo at 9:12 AM on August 22, 2015 (27 comments)

A campy, '60s-superhero-show theme for a video game I recently scored!
posted to MeFi Music by jake at 8:53 AM on August 15, 2015 (17 comments)

I have a ton (at least) of books. How to best get rid of them?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by bolognius maximus at 7:29 PM on May 31, 2011 (42 comments)

“For any service that interoperates with content on the open web, yes, we think this is going to get more common, for the next little while anyway. Trends tend to be cyclical. We can all see where the current one is going, but it’s hard to say what the next swing of the pendulum might look like.” - Popular (at least on Metafilter) Music Discovery and Microblogging service This Is My Jam is shutting down, without screwing its users, but with some dire predictions about the open web.
posted to MetaFilter by Potomac Avenue at 10:07 AM on August 11, 2015 (21 comments)

Kaycie D. is an animator and artist who grew up on Disney films and has used that inspiration to create her own anthropomorphized illustrations of the chemical elements.
posted to MetaFilter by Navelgazer at 3:29 PM on July 29, 2015 (22 comments)

Get your guit on. As chosen by the staff of Guitar Player. Rumble!
posted to MetaFilter by Wolof at 2:54 AM on July 27, 2015 (51 comments)

It's been a while since we took to the rails together so it's time to buy our tickets and climb aboard for another trip around the world in the drivers cab.
posted to MetaFilter by jontyjago at 3:47 PM on July 25, 2015 (7 comments)

Trees and trains and rain.
posted to MetaFilter by Bee'sWing at 5:43 AM on July 27, 2015 (19 comments)

What books hold up so well to re-reading that it makes you suspect they were engineered that way? Are there examples of books that seem to be MUCH better on second reading? What kind of things did the author do to achieve that?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by kk at 11:47 AM on July 24, 2015 (69 comments)

A short comic about sensory deprivation by Lucy Bellwood (NSFW: drawn nudity)
posted to MetaFilter by Elementary Penguin at 6:33 PM on July 23, 2015 (26 comments)

From the 1920s to the 1960s, German people loved to pose with actors dressed as polar bears. Large images here, smallish images here. In German: a gallery and a book article (The Foto-Eisbär: an unusual memento of beautiful moments). Other pictures from the internet: Wehrmacht soldiers with a person in polar bear suit. Revelers in polar bear costumes (with poodle), Berlin, 1929. And many, many others.
posted to MetaFilter by elgilito at 12:39 PM on July 20, 2015 (10 comments)

I'm looking for some compact, relatively self-contained resources (posters, handouts, Youtube videos, the like) that lay out the fundamentals of usable document design in terms beginners could understand: just very basic principles like white space, balance, choosing fonts, use of color, etc.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Bardolph at 7:09 AM on July 21, 2015 (7 comments)