Why on Earth did 17th Century Dutch painter Emanuel de Witte repeatedly depict dogs pissing on columns inside of churches?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Kattullus at 11:36 PM on August 21, 2008 (22 comments)

Meshes of the Afternoon, part 1 and part 2. The seminal 1943 avant-garde film by Maya Deren (previously on MetaFilter).
posted to MetaFilter by hermitosis at 6:43 PM on December 17, 2008 (18 comments)

Amazing collection of sketches and doodles, drawn on birch bark, created by a child in Medieval Novgorod.
posted to MetaFilter by sidartha at 8:37 AM on November 12, 2008 (25 comments)

What single book is the best introduction to your field (or specialization within your field) for laypeople?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by limon at 5:40 PM on September 8, 2007 (237 comments)

Silence Like Scouring Sand. "One of America's quietest places, and the valiant effort to keep it that way." (Previously.)
posted to MetaFilter by homunculus at 1:35 PM on November 3, 2008 (24 comments)

One minute and four seconds in London, 1904. Birkbeck College professor Ian Christie rediscovered this footage in an archive in Canberra, shot for a travelogue by film pioneer Charles Urban.
posted to MetaFilter by digaman at 4:01 PM on October 24, 2008 (66 comments)

The Great Big Mulp came up with this, and I wished I'd thought of it first. Then Cortex mentioned this, and I realized I had thought of that one first -- so I stayed up late tonight to beat him to the punch.
posted to MeFi Music by davejay at 1:41 AM on October 29, 2008 (10 comments)

On Oct. 27th, 1915. Sir Ernest Shackleton gave the order to abandon ship, moving the crew and supplies off of the ice bound Endurance. The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition would never achieve it's goal of crossing the continent, instead Shackleton would become famous for somethings far greater: his masterful and amazing ability at leadership and survival for himself and his crew of 27 men under the harshest conditions imaginable.
posted to MetaFilter by mrzarquon at 5:59 PM on October 27, 2008 (59 comments)

Help me find my next favorite graphic novel.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by jbickers at 5:04 PM on October 21, 2008 (40 comments)

This American Life gives you Another Frightening Show About the Economy.. The guys who brought us The Giant Pool of Money (previously) explain the credit crunch and why it's so scary. And not in the Halloween fun-to-be-scared sense.
posted to MetaFilter by justkevin at 9:04 PM on October 5, 2008 (168 comments)

Sarah Palin may be a better debater than you think... Sarah Palin, much derided for reasons best not gone over again, may be a better debater than people tend to think. Andrew Halcro, a Republican from Alaska says, "I've debated Governor Palin more than two dozen times. And she's a master, not of facts, figures, or insightful policy recommendations, but at the fine art of the nonanswer, the glittering generality. Against such charms there is little Senator Biden, or anyone, can do."
posted to MetaFilter by datter at 3:34 PM on October 1, 2008 (1400 comments)

McCain calls time! John McCain has asked that the first presidential debate be postponed and he will suspend his campaign so he can focus on the economy. No response from Obama yet. But it may be due to his approval rating, The latest FOX News/Opinion Dynamics poll shows Obama has taken a 45-39 percent lead.
posted to MetaFilter by parmanparman at 12:25 PM on September 24, 2008 (1566 comments)

Out There: People Who Live Without TV. About one to two percent of Americans do not watch television, which it turns out, is a common ground for the very liberal and the very conservative.
posted to MetaFilter by stbalbach at 8:52 AM on September 4, 2008 (177 comments)

My yard contains lots of cherries dropped from my tree, and thousands of cherry pits from dropped cherries of yore. My puppy finds them irresistible. Googling indicates that the pits contain cyanide and are potentially harmful to dogs . . . but are they really?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by HotToddy at 12:46 PM on August 4, 2008 (13 comments)

So, we just had a baby and grandmothers keep coming up to us and handing us checks for $50 and saying "This is so you can buy a savings bond for the baby." However, I would like to hear about alternative saving/investing ideas for my daughter.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by ND¢ at 8:04 AM on July 28, 2008 (18 comments)

How to Write With Style.
posted to MetaFilter by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:35 PM on July 13, 2008 (36 comments)

"This could take exactly 77 hours and 15 minutes, if the trains keep to schedule. Most likely, they won’t." GOOD Magazine takes a cross-country train ride to examine exactly why America's rail system sucks so badly, and where we go (slowly) from here.
posted to MetaFilter by 40 Watt at 8:46 PM on July 10, 2008 (103 comments)

Canadian expatriate (and Metafilter member) stavrosthewonderchicken has a detailed and depressing look at the impact of the mountain pine beetle in Northern British Columbia, where a perfect storm of "forest fire suppression, clearcutting (and subsequent replanting), [and] global warming" has led to the destruction of over 130,000 square kilometers of forest.
posted to MetaFilter by gen at 7:05 AM on July 9, 2008 (51 comments)

What are some exceptionally well-performed audiobooks?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Ambrosia Voyeur at 1:24 PM on July 7, 2008 (80 comments)

Earth is not a quiet planet. It transmits a rather hideous sound [flash] into space that is 10,000 times greater in strength than any man-made radio transmission. The Earth also quietly hums with seismic Love Waves (hear them), while the Magnetosphere is alive will all sorts of sounds (check out the creepy-sounding Chorus Emissions). Also, stars sing out in middle C before they explode as supernovae, and the Perseus Cluster black hole has droned a B-flat for the past 2.5 billion years.
posted to MetaFilter by blahblahblah at 7:51 AM on July 2, 2008 (34 comments)

For the would-be recording buffs: understanding compression. A three-part series which explains the workings and uses of compressors, limiters, expanders, and gates. Plus some thoughts on the modern epidemic of overcompression from the listener's perspective.
posted to MetaFilter by ludwig_van at 7:35 AM on May 27, 2006 (39 comments)

School me on the classics of classical music. What are the top ten recordings that someone who knows nothing about classical music should own?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by gnutron at 4:27 PM on June 16, 2008 (42 comments)

Looking for decently written, page-turning historical fiction.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by banjo_and_the_pork at 6:20 AM on June 15, 2008 (65 comments)

I fell in love with "Frontier Psychiatrist" by The Avalanches all over again this week. Can you recommend similar songs or artists, particularly with that amusing juxtaposition of voice samples as part of the track?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Bakuun at 2:09 PM on June 8, 2008 (26 comments)

Professional photographers: What blogs, resources, sites do you use/recommend for keeping up to date, trends, reviews, techniques, experiences with vendors, etc?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by pmaxwell at 7:05 AM on June 9, 2008 (12 comments)

Bill Moyers Vs. Fox News The Fox News stooge was unaware that he was messin' with a Jedi. Joseph Campbell would be proud.
posted to MetaFilter by Optamystic at 6:43 PM on June 8, 2008 (101 comments)

Help me stop cluttering up my (OS X) desktop.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by grumblebee at 8:41 AM on June 7, 2008 (22 comments)

Is there really an advantage to gold dental fillings?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Joey Michaels at 3:14 AM on April 1, 2006 (9 comments)

Toys for very long airplane trip with a 13 month old?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Joh at 10:34 AM on June 3, 2008 (32 comments)

I am a sort-of musician (lo-fi ambient-ish- real marketable stuff) and I want to start going out into the crazy world about me and recording various sounds. I'm looking for tips on a suitable microphone for field recording and, just as importantly, a good (quality + convenience) digital sound recording device so that I can come back and transfer my sounds without losing quality.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by xmutex at 9:30 AM on March 23, 2005 (10 comments)

Care to help me find a ringtone I heard on "The IT Crowd"?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Wild_Eep at 4:02 PM on April 15, 2007 (7 comments)

Can you suggest some headphones suitable for running?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by talitha_kumi at 5:41 AM on March 27, 2006 (13 comments)

Seeking reliable internet service to enlarge an image to poster size.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Constant Reader at 10:43 AM on May 7, 2008 (6 comments)

Salvador Dali on "What's My Line?" - slyt
posted to MetaFilter by frobozz at 7:36 PM on April 19, 2008 (31 comments)

“…if I had to design a mechanism for the express purpose of destroying a child’s natural curiosity and love of pattern-making, I couldn’t possibly do as good a job as is currently being done — I simply wouldn’t have the imagination to come up with the kind of senseless, soul-crushing ideas that constitute contemporary mathematics education.”
posted to MetaFilter by blasdelf at 7:34 AM on April 10, 2008 (79 comments)

Why does our brain perceive tilt-shift photography as tiny little toy models? I'd love to know the science behind this popular effect.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by waxpancake at 12:16 PM on April 10, 2008 (19 comments)

I'd like to do a time-lapse movie of photos taken every 30 seconds during a week-long, 500 mile ride I'm doing later this year. But the rig has to be small, light, automatic, and run for hours a day without a recharge. Is this possible? (something tells me Make Magazine probably already covered this at one point)
posted to Ask MetaFilter by mathowie at 10:02 AM on April 8, 2008 (6 comments)

Edo Photo Generator. Use this ancient photo generator (in JP, but a cinch to use) to give your photos that certain Edo look. Via C. Buddha's Hasty Musings
posted to MetaFilter by KokuRyu at 9:32 PM on April 7, 2008 (36 comments)

The wife and I will be taking our four month old baby on an Amtrak train from Chicago to St. Louis. Does anybody have any recommendations for surviving this?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by blackjack514 at 6:47 AM on April 4, 2008 (9 comments)

I'm looking for a famous old photograph. I can see it in my mind but don't know what its title is. It's possible it's by Henri Cartier-Bresson, but maybe not. The photo is taken from inside an art gallery, and through the window can be seen a middle aged man and woman. The woman is saying something to the man about a painting that's in front of them, but the man is peeking sideways at another painting that depicts a nude woman. I love this photo, I think it sums up so much of human experience in one image. Also, I remember that this photo is part of a series of photos depicting the reactions of different people (including children and a cop) to the nude painting. I'm sure someone out there will know the title and photographer. Thank you!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by arcadia at 9:05 AM on March 26, 2008 (2 comments)

[Math filter] What fascinatingly cool mathematical topics do you wish you knew about in high school?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by tomcochrane at 7:33 AM on March 27, 2008 (101 comments)

FinanceFilter: Is the money supply contracting, or expanding, after netting all the Fed action, bank closures, mortgage defaults, etc? The dollar falling seems to signal a net increase of money supply, but this is inconsistent with the thesis of a credit or liquidity crunch. If the money supply is growing at a slower rate due to tighter lending practices, shouldn't the dollar be rising, even in the face of Fed-rate cutting? Do we know the net expansion or contraction of the money supply due to the combination of rate cuts and mortgage defaults?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Pastabagel at 11:39 AM on March 17, 2008 (8 comments)

Mandolux - photographic desktop wallpapers. Just keep hittin' previous.
posted to MetaFilter by nthdegx at 3:04 AM on August 20, 2006 (22 comments)

AskMe Feature suggestion - here's some questions you might like to answer....
posted to MetaTalk by Happy Dave at 9:46 AM on March 12, 2008 (88 comments)

Jessamyn spoke at the SxSW panel on User Revolts today. Here are her notes on The Day They Tested the Manifesto, as was shown during the panel. Most of you MeTa types are infovores, so I thought I'd share. Obv, she rocked the house.
posted to MetaTalk by Argyle at 5:21 PM on March 8, 2008 (103 comments)

Sound Comparisons is a database of different accents in English from all over the world. It provides soundfiles and IPA transcriptions of 110 words in 110 separate dialects and Germanic languages closely related to English. Most dialects and languages are current but there are also reconstructions of older stages of English, Scots and Germanic. That makes for 12100 soundfiles that load directly into your browser. The site can be navigated either by dialect or individual word and there's also a handy Google map of all the different dialects and languages. If you've ever wondered what the difference was between a Somerset and a Norwich accent, New Zealand and Australian, Canadian and American or Indian and Glaswegian, Sound Comparisons is the site to go to.
posted to MetaFilter by Kattullus at 7:16 AM on March 5, 2008 (44 comments)

Night Flight aired Friday and Saturday nights on the USA Network from 1981-1988 in the heady early days of cable. It was one of the first places to see shorts old and new, music documentaries, and conceptual, artistically-intended music videos -- not to mention MST3K-style parody, general weirdness, and 420-addled wonderfulness.
posted to MetaFilter by Methylviolet at 3:37 PM on April 23, 2007 (64 comments)

My 18 month old baby loves to pound on the computer keyboard in imitation of her mom and dad. Does anyone have any experience with programs that would both prevent her from deleting all of our files while providing an entertaining experience?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by blahblahblah at 12:52 PM on February 26, 2008 (26 comments)

Ars Technica is reporting that, "A class-action lawsuit has been launched against domain registrar Network Solutions and ICANN over the controversial practice of domain tasting. The suit was initiated on behalf of Chris McElroy, a search engine optimization specialist who goes by the handle NameCritic. McElroy has long been an extremely vocal critic of ICANN and is a regular participant on the organization's mailing lists." Users everywhere, likely including a number of MeFites, rejoice. More: Network World article, Press Release, Network Solutions defense of the practice, ICANN comments on the practice.
posted to MetaFilter by NotMyselfRightNow at 7:21 AM on February 26, 2008 (12 comments)

I think that the main reason for the practical intelligence and the political good sense of the Americans is their long experience with juries in civil cases. I do not know whether a jury is useful to the litigants, but I am sure it is very good for those who have to decide the case. I regard it as one of the most effective means of popular education at society’s disposal.

Dissent offers commentaries on jury duty from Alexis de Toqueville, Joanne Barkan, Paul Berman, Susan Cheever, Nicolaus Mills, Maxine Phillips, Ruth Rosen, Jim Sleeper, Michael Walzer, and Darryl Lorrenzo Wellington.
posted to MetaFilter by anotherpanacea at 3:28 PM on February 18, 2008 (8 comments)