Google Reader is being retired in a few months. What web services (or conceivably software) would you recommend as a replacement?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by shenderson at 4:35 PM on March 13, 2013 (48 comments)

I am turning 27 in two days. Inspired by this, I want to ask for your help in compiling a list of poems that celebrate turning older each year.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by pleasebekind at 1:31 AM on March 13, 2013 (17 comments)

The Aleph is a short story by Jorge Luis Borges in which a man is suddenly able to see all things at once. I wanted to present a version of what The Aleph might look like now, designed as an endless stream of descriptive passages pulled from the web. For source texts, I took the complete Project Gutenberg as well as current tweets. I searched for the phrase "I saw."

The Aleph: Infinite Wonder / Infinity Pity by David Hirmes
posted to MetaFilter by Lorin at 8:23 PM on March 9, 2013 (30 comments)

¡Hola! I want to improve my Spanish listening-comprehension abilities before I go off to Spain this summer for a month by listening to some eclectic, non-chart-driven, at-least-partially, ideally-completely Spanish-language radio online. Perhaps something like BBC's Radio 6, Radio France's FIP or KCRW's Eclectic 24.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by mdonley at 8:31 PM on March 7, 2013 (5 comments)

Philomena Cunk and Barry Shitpeas from Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe show take a look at Brian Cox's programme about how science did all the life. Plus more 2013 commentary from Shitpeas and Cunk on Die Hard and the Harlem Shake.
posted to MetaFilter by hot soup girl at 7:01 AM on March 4, 2013 (48 comments)

What is your best arroz con pollo recipe?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by shothotbot at 10:24 AM on March 4, 2013 (11 comments)

A million times by Stockholm based studio "Humans since 1982" is a clock based kinetic sculpture. And it is beautiful. (slyt)
posted to MetaFilter by zoo at 2:59 AM on February 27, 2013 (9 comments)

Is it time to update the "About" section of the Profile pages?

What's the deal with your nickname? How did you get it? If your nickname is self-explanatory, then tell everyone when you first started using the internet, and what was the first thing that made you say "wow, this isn't just a place for freaks after all?" Was it a website? Was it an email from a long-lost friend? Go on, spill it.

Certainly we oldsters can remember the advent of the internet, and there was a time when we may have thought it was for freaks. But for many you may as well ask "When did you first use electricity?"
posted to MetaTalk by The Deej at 11:48 AM on February 14, 2013 (120 comments)

I've heard that DC has the largest Ethiopian population of Ethiopia, and an answer to this question mentions that Staten Island has the largest Sri Lankan population outside of Sri Lanka. What are some other examples of a city/state having the largest population of a particular group outside of that group's native country/region?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by hefeweizen at 5:51 PM on February 13, 2013 (54 comments)

I have some documents that have been sprinkled with diatomaceous earth. How do I get the diatomaceous earth off so I can use the documents without breathing any in?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by needs more cowbell at 6:23 PM on February 6, 2013 (6 comments)

Mysterious Buildings Assembled from Found Photographs by Jim Kazanjian. More here. [via]
posted to MetaFilter by brundlefly at 8:37 PM on February 5, 2013 (27 comments)

(NSFW) Clovis Trouille was a French anti clericist and anarchist painter.
He could be called the spiritual godfather of Lowbrow Art or an Angel of Bad Taste. ( Some Repeats.)
It was one of his paintings that inspired Ken Tynan in 1969 to call his review Oh Calcutta.
posted to MetaFilter by adamvasco at 5:48 AM on February 4, 2013 (11 comments)

Is there any way to make boldface/italics/links easier when posting comments from an iPhone?
posted to MetaTalk by Afroblanco at 1:45 PM on February 1, 2013 (20 comments)

International Art English (IAE) with its pompous paradoxes and plagues of adverbs is not to be confused with actual English.
posted to MetaFilter by philip-random at 11:42 PM on January 29, 2013 (64 comments)

SURGEON SIMULATOR 2013
posted to MetaFilter by boo_radley at 8:33 PM on January 28, 2013 (63 comments)

"Who is Adaptive Systems and where did he come from? How did he have an encyclopedic knowledge of everything from molecular biology to European intellectual history? Is it possible he was a famous author or an artificial intelligence? What is he doing now? Is he writing a book?
posted to MetaFilter by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 7:58 PM on January 26, 2013 (66 comments)

Malaria, a short "motion comic" that bends the boundaries of what that means. "Malaria" is a short film/motion comic by Edson Oda. It's unlike any motion comic you've ever seen, and you need to watch it without knowing what's coming.
posted to MetaFilter by HostBryan at 4:37 PM on January 20, 2013 (27 comments)

"You know why we did [that]? So a DJ could take a lunch break. When you have all three-minute records, you don't even have time to go to the bathroom. Or you just want to stop for a minute. So that's 19-and-a-half minutes of 'I don't have to worry about a thing.' But I didn't do it to create this thing. I just did it to help the DJs out."
posted to MetaFilter by .kobayashi. at 2:59 PM on January 9, 2013 (19 comments)

I want to learn how to furnish and decorate my apartment on a budget. What blogs should I look at? I already know about Apartment Therapy.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by goosechasing at 7:52 AM on January 9, 2013 (11 comments)

I'm adding dumbells to my elliptical and I'm looking for a reasonable home workout routine that I can use as a guideline.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by WinnipegDragon at 11:27 AM on January 8, 2013 (14 comments)

Are there any real-life historical examples of the Small Town With A Terrible Secret horror trope? Towns where long-term, ongoing crimes (or unsavory religious practices one supposes) where purposefully covered up and kept hidden from the outside world and any attempt to investigate them resulted in the investigator being detained, thrown out, or killed?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by The Whelk at 12:51 PM on January 4, 2013 (35 comments)

I would like to nominate for Meta-institutionalization the very nifty little arrows (like this ↩ ) that Martijn put at the end of the blockquotes (of other comments) in this comment.
posted to MetaTalk by beagle at 3:01 PM on December 29, 2012 (46 comments)

Our eating out spending is out of control. We obviously have a problem with planning and making meals at home. What have you done that's helped you?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by third word on a random page at 1:34 AM on December 27, 2012 (64 comments)

replace heart with butt
posted to MetaFilter by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:58 AM on December 20, 2012 (292 comments)

The Translucent Jewel Caterpillar, the Nudibranch of the Forest. Gorgeous caterpillar covered in break-off gumdrops that may help it escape predators. Turns into a bright orange furry moth.
posted to MetaFilter by AceRock at 12:53 PM on December 11, 2012 (17 comments)

From the BBC blog of documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis: "Save Your Kisses For Me: How the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and the Israeli Right became co-dependents in an abusive relationship." Includes images / film clips from the BBC news archive.
posted to MetaFilter by zarq at 8:34 AM on December 3, 2012 (35 comments)

Gaming made me - RPS writer Patricia Hernandez on how Fallout 2 shaped her world view, her politics and her sexuality.
posted to MetaFilter by Artw at 10:52 AM on November 23, 2012 (86 comments)

Anna Sumner’s craving for sleep began when she was an 18-year-old high school senior. She thought nothing of it. When it followed her to college, she blamed it on stress. She was working so hard, she told herself, her body just needed the extra rest. But it was more than that. She would chose naps over eating lunch, working out, or being with friends. Every night after dinner, she came back to her dorm room to sleep. If her parents called on those evenings, her roommate would cover for her, telling them she had gone to the library.
posted to MetaFilter by latkes at 10:38 AM on November 22, 2012 (19 comments)

Rave Filter: am I going in with the right expectations?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Sine_Agraphia at 3:27 PM on November 5, 2012 (27 comments)

Is there a good book for an older kid about the history of China? Or, related questions, other great world history books for kids?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by latkes at 8:03 AM on November 2, 2012 (3 comments)

House of Leaves and Haunted are works in two different mediums (book and album) by two different artists that deliberately accompany each other. What other examples of this are there?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by divabat at 11:01 AM on October 31, 2012 (30 comments)

Ever since the first televised general election presidential debate was held on September 26, 1960, between U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy, the Democratic nominee, and Vice President Richard Nixon, the Republican nominee the vast majority of moderators have been men. "Why haven’t women moderated a presidential debate in the past 20 years, especially when women vote more than men?"*
posted to MetaFilter by ericb at 2:39 PM on October 16, 2012 (3002 comments)

"Though now almost forgotten, the case of “the Chickens and the Bulls” as the NYPD called it (or “Operation Homex,” to the FBI), still stands as the most far-flung, most organized, and most brazen example of homosexual extortion in the nation’s history. And while the Stonewall riot in June 1969 is considered by many to be the pivotal moment in gay civil rights, this case represents an important crux too, marking the first time that the law enforcement establishment actually worked on behalf of victimized gay men, instead of locking them up or shrugging."
posted to MetaFilter by MartinWisse at 12:12 AM on July 13, 2012 (19 comments)

There's a MeFite with amazing abilities for the computerized "zoom and enhance" trick who demonstrated those skills in an AskMeFi post a few months ago. If we can find that MeFite, s/he might be able to use those skills to help ID the hit-and-run car that struck down a DC Comics artist last weekend.
posted to MetaTalk by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 5:06 PM on June 28, 2012 (19 comments)

Tempero Brasileiro (mp3) is a collection of rare Brazilian tracks originally issued on 7″ vinyl. Compiled by Edson Carvalho, one of the top São Paulo crate diggers.
posted to MetaFilter by Tom-B at 1:07 PM on May 26, 2012 (10 comments)

BBC's Essential Mix has been running two hour DJ sets for nearly 20 years, usually continuous mixes of current club tracks. Nicolas Jaar took things in a decidedly different direction this week, with an eclectic mix of sound track music, jazz, hip-hop, IDM and pop music with just a sprinkling of deep house here and there. Truly essential listening.
posted to MetaFilter by empath at 2:39 PM on May 22, 2012 (59 comments)

Car rolling over filter: I'm looking for movies wherein a car rolls in a spectacular (potentially test-able) way. Or for an interesting or counter-intuitive reason. Think along the lines of the car flip on the way down Fillmore in Jade. Or the Bond/Casino Royale flip of the McClaren. Hopefully even more spectacular.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by asavage at 9:49 AM on May 10, 2012 (56 comments)

When same-sex marriage was a Christian rite. Contrary to myth, Christianity's concept of marriage has not been set in stone since the days of Christ, but has constantly evolved as a concept and ritual.
posted to MetaFilter by Galaxor Nebulon at 7:05 AM on May 10, 2012 (44 comments)

If I could read just one history of Central America, what would it be?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Beardman at 8:46 AM on April 17, 2012 (9 comments)

How to Dance Goth - An instructional video. [photos]
posted to MetaFilter by quin at 7:29 AM on April 13, 2012 (37 comments)

I'm looking for a list who are either currently known as being Incorruptible, or were known during their time, or even we now to have been so.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by SollosQ at 9:18 AM on April 3, 2012 (17 comments)

It was probably a one night stand. So, to text or not to text?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Anonymous at 7:39 AM on April 3, 2012 (21 comments)

I realized recently that I purchase a certain brand of tomato sauce because underneath the label lies a very attractive mason jar. Do you have products that you buy almost as much for the reusability of their packaging as the product itself? The Altoids tin would be another example.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by gwint at 12:27 PM on March 28, 2012 (90 comments)

How to Climb Mount Erebus on Your Day Off.
posted to MetaFilter by unSane at 7:45 PM on March 11, 2012 (80 comments)

American illustrator Coles Phillips became famous in 1908 for his "Fade-Away Girl" magazine covers, which caught the eye and saved money on color printing. He was a leader in creating "more modern, active and athletic images of women" after the prim poise of the Gibson Girl era. His later work became more overtly sexual, making him one of the first artists whose beautifully designed ads were "torn out of magazines and swiped out of store windows to become pin-ups on college dormitory walls." Some were considered scandalous. He died in 1927. Two long pages of Coles Phillips images. Six pages. Bio. Tumblr tag. More ads.
posted to MetaFilter by mediareport at 8:25 AM on March 4, 2012 (32 comments)

"The script was originally turned down by Spike Lee who went and directed Do the Right Thing instead. Not a good move on your part Spike, not a good move at all." In the end, Rick Rubin directed the 1988 Run DMC film Tougher than Leather, which has been described as "vile, vicious, despicable, stupid, sexist, racist and horrendously made."
posted to MetaFilter by Hoopo at 9:07 PM on March 2, 2012 (30 comments)

I need recommendations for histories of ancient India, with particular emphasis on the role/influence of the Hellenic states, development of Buddhism, what might have happened to the Indo-Greeks in the longer term, etc. Also, it would be interesting to read about Alexander's invasion and its aftermath from the Indian viewpoint, i.e, by Indian scholars using Indian sources.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by justcorbly at 8:14 AM on March 1, 2012 (2 comments)

Z: I have a house in Farnborough
Z: help me get home
Z: help me escape
Z: help me escape
Z: help me escape
Z: help me escape

YOU EVIL DEMON! OPEN THIS TANK! GIVE ME MY LIFE BACK! I NEVER SHOULD HAVE AGREED TO HELP YOU; I NEVER SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN INTO THIS DAMN TANK. YOU TOLD ME YOU’D LET ME OUT!!!
posted to MetaFilter by Foci for Analysis at 5:41 AM on February 24, 2012 (54 comments)

The science of why Adele's "Someone Like You" makes people cry. [WSJ.COM]
posted to MetaFilter by Fizz at 6:30 AM on February 11, 2012 (160 comments)

Towards the end of the 1800s, there were three primary American groups competing to invent technology to record and play back audio. Alexander Graham Bell worked with with Charles Sumner Tainter and Chichester Bell in at their Volta Laboratory in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., while Thomas A. Edison worked from his Menlo Park facilities, and Emile Berliner worked in his independent laboratory in his home. To secure the rights to their inventions, the three groups sent samples of their work to the Smithsonian. These recordings became part of the permanent collections, now consisting of 400 of the earliest audio recordings ever made. But knowledge of their contents was limited to old, short descriptions, as the rubber, beeswax, glass, tin foil and brass recording media are fragile, and playback devices might damage the recordings, if such working devices are even available. That is, until a collaborative project with the Library of Congress and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory came together to make 2D and 3D optical scanners, capable of visually recording the patterns marked on discs and cylinders, respectively.
posted to MetaFilter by filthy light thief at 2:35 PM on February 10, 2012 (21 comments)