MetaFilter

And here's the rest of it:

Okay, let's finish up this saga about the New Yorker and be done with it

My contract was renewed after one year, and then after the second. Both times were nail-biters. It isn’t pleasant, late in one’s career, to face a life-or-death career moment every year. Not the genteel, tweed-jacket kind of life I’d envisioned at the New Yorker. But that’s modern life. And as I say, all New Yorker writers put up with it,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Happy Dave at 9:24 AM on May 12, 2009

FUCK. TWITTER.

Here's the story, in paragraphs, generated with the help of Excel and Word's find/replace feature.

# First, a little about the job of New Yorker staff writer. “Staff writer” is a bit of a misnomer, as you’re not an employee. But rather a contractor. So there’s no health insurance, no 401K, and most of all, no guarantee of a job beyond one year.

My gig was a straight dollars-for-words arrangement: 30,000... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by mudpuppie at 9:09 AM on May 11, 2009

This is exactly why I've never become a published author.

It obviously isn't lack of talent: I lack talent, sure, but that doesn't stop other bad writers from getting published. I simply do not have the balls to write something like this. I mean, I COULD. But I then could not bear to save the file. I'd delete it and try again. To try to write something, you know, GOOD. I couldn't put my name on a piece of prose like that. I couldn't even use a pseudonym, because I'd... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by BitterOldPunk at 11:44 AM on April 1, 2009

I don't see how this is Metafilter-related. There is no connection between April Fool's Day and Metafilter, other than the fact that some people--who apparently want to turn this place into some archived chatroom for every idle thought and whimsy that enters their head--have tried to turn Metafilter into their playbox where they have to beat tired injokes into dust. And that is all this thread is: a contrived attempt at injokes. This is the kind of thing that creates a barrier of entry to... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by dios at 12:19 PM on April 1, 2009

DTMFA blah blah blah SLYT blah blah meetups blah blah Zac Efron blah blah Stynxno blah blah blah blah lip gloss.
posted to MetaTalk by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:58 AM on April 1, 2009

reasonable quote by someone earnestly trying to make a complicated point, but taken out of context.

It's really telling that you'd put it that way. I've always thought that people of real moral character would never in a hundred years ever say what you just said, even in jest or to illustrate a larger point.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that you have no moral character. I'm just pointing out that that's what... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by shmegegge at 11:42 AM on April 1, 2009

This comment is a stupid, unfunny one-liner that gets many more favorites than anything actually clever or thoughtful I've said.
posted to MetaTalk by dersins at 11:26 AM on April 1, 2009

Thoughts from a former member about this thread:I no longer have a Metafilter account. but I still skim the site sometimes, and I just read your post from today.

Before I say what I thought, I have to admit that I am long-term single: ten years, in fact, besides a dalliance (informal, long-distance, with a married man) more than six years ago. I haven't had sex in almost two years. This obviously colours my response.

I can't help but feel that... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Brandon Blatcher at 8:23 AM on March 29, 2009

I won't apologize for responding in a hostile fashion

Pretty sure he closed his account before your response but as a general sort of rule to live by, responding in a hostile fashion is almost always the less-classy thing to do, no matter how much you or anyone think it may be "warranted" by the situation. It's not against the rules, but I think it shows a lack of "I care about the community more than my own hurt feelings"... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jessamyn at 6:19 PM on March 29, 2009

Let me disagree with virtually everyone in this thread. You are right that it would be silly to try to be some kind of macho stereotype, but the learning how to send the subtle "I'm a man" cues in our society is a good thing. If you were going to spend a decade in a foreign country, it would be a huge help if a friend pulled you aside and said "You might not pick up on it at first, but men are typically expected to do behavior X here, and in this situation they do behavior Y.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Pater Aletheias at 1:35 PM on March 29, 2009

backwards-kill-word!!!

I first got the idea from this "effective emacs" essay. Basically, if you type fast (as it sounds like you probably do), it's much more efficient to just delete the whole word if you mess up and try again, since the error is probably a few letters back. Additionally, you will often realize the word you just typed is not the one you wanted (which vs. that, or something), and it's so handy to just delete it in one fell swoop.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by losvedir at 12:18 PM on February 11, 2009

Sorry to hear of his passing, when Updike was on, there was no one better. The Rabbit books can be used as a history of America in the second half of the twentieth century. Rabbit Redux IS the 70's; disjointed, self-centered and somewhat lewd.

I saw Updike speak soon after Saul Bellow died and he was very thoughtful about his legacy. He gave all kudos to Roth as being the greatest living American writer in a song and dance of false modesty, but I... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by readery at 7:05 AM on January 28, 2009

There is a very simple rule that I always recommend to people who don't have professional reasons to be rooting around in style manuals: if you hear it, write it. If you say /'niklasǝz/, write Niklas's. If you don't pronounce the possessive s, don't write it. Problem solved!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by languagehat at 9:14 AM on January 23, 2009

It is a difficult social position to be in. And you're absolutely right that most people assume that, if you fuck dudes, you're gay--doubly so if you're a bottom. That assumption is so prevalent, and the social pressures so strong, that, years after coming out as bi, my gay friends convinced me that I must be gay, and I came out again. Imagine some of my friends' anger when, after a few trysts with men, I started dating women again. I'd betrayed their label--the same label... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Netzapper at 12:04 PM on December 29, 2008

Your question is basically just begging for people like FatherDagon to come along and stick forks in various sacred cows, but I don't think that's what you're really asking. Besides, people have been claiming that "better" critical methodology "disproves" Christian doctrines for decades, but engaging in that type of criticism starts from the position of not taking Scripture seriously. If you aren't going to engage the Bible on its own terms, why bother with... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by valkyryn at 8:44 AM on December 26, 2008

Ironmouth: As for this being a "male" problem, I don't think anyone really thinks that males are collectively guilty or responsibile for rape. That's like saying that black people are responsible for all crimes committed by black people.Actually that's a good analogy. It would be incredibly insulting to suggest black people need training to prevent crime by black people, or that they bear any additional responsibility, especially if it was .4% of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by hincandenza at 9:14 PM on December 25, 2008

I think the distinction is that there's a good-hearted assumption -- though arguably misguided -- that the kid will get a lot of fun and happiness out of Santa and all that, that the world seems more magical, etc.

It seems like I'm in the vast minority, but (despite my heartbreak when I found out the truth), I genuinely believe that believing in Santa Claus as a kid--and I believed until I was 10--enriched my childhood and it imbibed it, and the season,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:22 AM on December 25, 2008

Well, I remember very clearly the day I figured out Santa Claus wasn't real, put the question to Dad, and got the reluctant nod. That moment had a lot to do with making me the person I am today, and if you didn't like this essay you will probably not think that's a good thing, because it made me a lot like the Paul Graham. Probably nine times out of ten it will be fine and the kid will congratulate himself on taking a step toward the adult world, where he will be able to do the making-shit-up... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by localroger at 7:18 AM on December 25, 2008

Some of the crazy things I did when I first came out of theatre school:

- Faxed a monthly newsletter to casting directors with sections about my continuing training, any gigs, and quotes from press etc. I always included a quote from my mother, something along the lines of "Your hair is too long. I guess it is okay."

- For a theatre role that required Cantonese and sign language for a play that revolved around the difficulty of... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by typewriter at 6:19 AM on December 20, 2008

The Rifleman's Creed.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Tomorrowful at 9:57 AM on December 17, 2008

Have you thought about using the money to do something, rather than buy something?
1. take a friend out to a really fancy dinner
2. get great seats to the opera/rock concert/NBA game
3. rent out a few bowling lanes or something like that

However, if you definitely splurge on a item, I'd vote for
1. a bottle of high quality scotch
2. One of those electric skillet thingines or some other snazzy kitchen item...... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by emd3737 at 4:49 AM on December 12, 2008

You're going at this backwards. Don't aim for variety. Aim for clarity, and all the variety you need will follow.

(I know, I know, you're convinced that variety-for-variety's-sake is the way to go. Most of my students are for some reason. But trust me, as a TA I read a lot of student essays, and I have a lot of conversations with professors and other TAs about the grading process, and not once have I heard someone say "I... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by nebulawindphone at 10:57 AM on December 3, 2008

Some raw data:

* Age when I decided I wanted to be a writer: 8.
* Age when I got my hands on a typewriter and taught myself to use it: 14.
* Age when I wrote my first novel: 15.
* Novels written between age 15 and age 28: about 12. (All rubbish.)
* Age when I first submitted a short story to a magazine: 16.
* Thickness of file of rejection slips prior to first story sale: 3 inches.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by cstross at 5:18 AM on November 30, 2008

Very small amounts of glucose, consistently applied, might be able to help with the work your brain is doing by thinking.

The other major factor is, willpower - there does seem to be something to the idea of self-control as a depletable resource.

You'll probably find this article very interesting. Read the first link in it (The Science of Procrastination), it has several helpful suggestions, then the article I linked, which includes additional... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Elysum at 8:41 PM on November 24, 2008

Specific example of what I'm talking about:

In the past year I backpacked solo through third world countries and felt intensely alive, just as I always do when I travel

This is what we doctors call "a clue".

but I took very few precautions, so I was often “high” on fear.

Looking back: did being high on fear make your life more or less enjoyable... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by flabdablet at 12:53 AM on November 20, 2008

Also Amiri Baraka.

If you ever find
yourself, some where
lost and surrounded
by enemies
who won't let you
speak in your own language
who destroy your statues
& instruments, who ban
your omm bomm ba boom
then you are in trouble
deep trouble
they ban your
own boom ba boom
you in deep deep
trouble

(from "Wise 1")
posted to Ask MetaFilter by languagehat at 2:20 PM on November 13, 2008

I hate it when I ask a question here and instead of answering it, people attack the premise and derail the question. But then I go do it too. It's easy for people to be sanctimonious in questions like this and to pile on, but when many people point out the same flaw in your reasoning, it can be a useful mirror. So to answer your direct question, no, don't nag him. It will never work and you won't find peace until you let go and stop trying to swim upstream. Be a leaf in this regard, not a... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by kookoobirdz at 11:28 AM on November 11, 2008 marked best answer

Your ego and self esteem don't really exist. They only seem to exist because you pay so much attention to them and value them. They are actually imaginary friends.

Its like you are asking, how can I get my imaginary friends to stop bothering me?

Well, I'd start by not talking to them anymore and find something to do that involves actual real life... play it by ear. When you find yourself talking to them, remind yourself not to and move on.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by ewkpates at 9:23 AM on October 30, 2008

Except in pubs, people seem to form queues spontaneously at shops, cash machines (ATMs) or anywhere else they have to wait.

There's generally a queue in the pub as well, its just an invisible one in everyone's head.

Queuing is definitely part of the national psyche here. People moan about kids not being brought up badly and not queuing properly but that's just kids being kids and it's always happened.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by garius at 5:39 AM on October 22, 2008

I am TUH-RYING to have a HISSY FIT here. Will someone PUH-LEASE hold my coat while I stand on this STOOL and WAVE A LACE HANKY AROUND.
posted to MetaTalk by Jofus at 1:32 AM on October 8, 2008

First off, I think grumblebee's answer is brilliant.

The nature of human language is such that the vast majority of concepts are ill-defined creatures with very, very fuzzy borders. Ask twenty different people to draw the lines between a pebble, a stone, a rock and a boulder and you'll end up with twenty different ways of conceptually chopping up the world. But there's enough overlap in those ways of classifying things that we can actually communicate. We can construct... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by DLWM at 2:49 PM on October 2, 2008 marked best answer

""So anyway, fuck that cocksucking piece of shit, him and his... What?... No, not you, some douchebag is trying to get my attention, man I hate the fuckin' subway... What? You lookin' at me? What is it? I'm a busy man... Two seats? So fuckin' what? I need leg room. You don't look like a pregnant woman to me, get lost... Hello? You still there? Yeah, some cocksucker doesn't like the way I sit on the subway. Fuckin' loser. Now, what was I saying?... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by klangklangston at 10:08 AM on September 25, 2008

This kind of crap will continue just as long as the mods allow it.

A lot of people here have a bad habit of demonizing the people they don't agree with-and there is not shortage of insults and inflammatory language.

This is very bad for the site. It needs to stop.

If a person is not mature enough to make a point in a polite manner, NOT directing venom at another member of the site, I don't think they need to foul up the... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by konolia at 5:51 AM on September 24, 2008

One of my sisters suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. And that sentence is true -- she does suffer from it. And so did each and every one of us siblings, and my parents, and anyone else whose life touched hers.

And for so many years we were in denial, we just saw her as an asshole, a rude and crude jerk, unbelievably intertwined with my parents, psychologically, financially, in just about every way, really. She also has epilepsy, and has suffered from seizures,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by dancestoblue at 10:15 PM on September 11, 2008

I can certainly relate to your situation having previously experienced similar anger at seemingly insignificant things often also having to do with rule breaking. Thankfully, it hasn't really been a problem for several years but I can remember specific instances where I would get into teeth/fist clenching rage over really dumb things.

Had I been able to articulate it at the time, I probably would have told you that I was angry because I voluntarily lived by rules that... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Rewind at 7:52 AM on August 29, 2008

One thing I do, like unSane suggested, is talk to people about where they're from. If they're from Montana, I'll say "Where in Montana?" and they'll say "Oh, do you know Montana?" And then I admit that in truth I don't, but always ask that question anyway. I think it seems endearing to people that I always ask that. Anyway, I know it sounds cynical, but it's the mix of questions and mild self deprecation that works for me. I think wild stories aren't the way to go, especially... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by sweetkid at 5:43 PM on March 16, 2008 marked best answer

A few data points about people who are women:

They are constantly told that how they look is of utmost importance, that looking good is the solution to feeling bad, and that not having a boyfriend around feels really bad. She dressed up, and you thought it was for you. Odds are, she either felt low because Tom wasn't around and decide to put on a brave face (read: dress nicely even though she felt like shit), or she just enjoys looking good. Nothing to do with you.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by heatherann at 5:51 AM on August 19, 2008 marked best answer

Friend's mate? Not cool. Not cool at all. But you seem to know that. Or you have been told here.

I agree that some women are into the "power over men" (dun dun duuuuun) thing, but I have known too too tooooo many men who read things that just aren't there. So, while you will run into women who like to flirt to assert their control (they are rather easy to pick out), you will also meet women who like to flirt because it is fun, and women who aren't flirting at... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by oflinkey at 6:40 PM on August 18, 2008

My Life in France and Julie & Julia (your "a movie" link) are totally different works, actually. Julie/Julia is the one that's being made into a movie with Meryl Streep. No such luck with My Life in France, though it wouldn't really be the same with anyone but Julia herself. And My Life in France did discuss, in no uncertain terms, her work with the OSS, though perhaps these new documents will tell us more... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by librarina at 9:55 PM on August 13, 2008

How, exactly, do we all know this? (NB: honest question)
posted by MarshallPoe at 11:54 AM on August 8

Because at this stage in history, all conflicts are over scarce resources. The ascendance of China and India more than doubles the number of people competing for the resources that 15 years ago were consumed primarily by North Americans, Europeans, and the Japanese.

Oil and energy are not the only resources.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Pastabagel at 9:39 AM on August 8, 2008

I think hipsterdom is particularly interesting because I agree with the author that it's the dead end of Western civ. But he doesn't say anything compelling about the phenomenon at all.

Here's my explanation for hipster self-hatred. All previous countercultures since you could really begin to speak of a counterculture--I would say, since the Romantics--have been fundamentally grounded in an appeal to authenticity. The Romantics prided themselves on their ability to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by nasreddin at 8:45 AM on August 1, 2008

Stop calling it capital-letter Science first and foremost. Do you even know what science is? It's a method of asking questions, nothing more, nothing less.

I think the danger is that people incorrectly put entire belief systems into a box and call it "Science!" and then juxtapose it across from another box of ideas called "Religion!" Or "Superstition!"

This has led many anti-science proponents to make claims like,... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by wfrgms at 1:59 PM on July 15, 2008

I say this as a white man who works in advertising - the "patriarchy" doesn't want you to get in shape. What it wants is for you to keep eating your candy bars, watch TV, work your ass off at your job for low pay, and die.

The high fructose corn syrup that you are consuming is not some kind of nectar made for feminists from a recipe embedded in a poem by Christina Rossetti. It is shit made for stupid, reactive people.

Are you a stupid,... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by bingo at 7:55 PM on July 11, 2008

A small approach I like, but not necessarily for everyone: every now and then--not necessarily in a professional context, of course--intentionally do something stupid in front of somebody...like push the wrong button on an elevator and then have to push another one, or get off on the wrong floor and have to get back on...or unzip your fly such that someone has to tell you...or leave your shirt tag sticking out...or act like you recognize someone and call them by the wrong name...or give a... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by troybob at 2:30 PM on July 4, 2008

I'm still in the camp where Is It Art is not about effective narrative, though that's grand, too. It's very nice that there are cinematic and literary and musical and design successes in video games, but those are not Video Game Art, they are accoutrements. The BEST video game Art are games that altogether excel at expressing the essence of their form, and become thus objets d'art. The art must be in the design of the gameplay. This also jives with my personal gaming preference for puzzle games,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Ambrosia Voyeur at 7:01 PM on June 24, 2008

FWIW, i'm 38 and i still struggle with this.

part of learning how to deal with it involved my examining why i felt so strongly. over time, i came to realize that i didn't just want to be articulate, i wanted to be noticed as being articulate. uncoupling the second part from the first part has been a rocky but enlightening reflection.

so, once i took on the performative aspect -- the fact that i often... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by CitizenD at 3:14 PM on June 10, 2008

Here's how I did it (before I installed Leopard):

On my desktop, I had the following folders:

Do
Read
Hold

I set my View options on the desktop so that it would show me beside the file name how many items were in each folder. I even color-coded them so I could easily tell them apart. Now, when files end up on my desktop, they go into one of those three folders, or they get filed in my Documents... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by 4ster at 2:35 PM on June 7, 2008 marked best answer

Trying to have sex with her and then stopping is probably making things worse. She almost certainly realizes you guys have less sex than you used to, and she's trying to have sex with you because she knows it's important to you, but that makes the whole thing stressful. She goes into it out of duty and a desire to make you happy, not because she's aroused. Then, when she doesn't get aroused, she probably just feels worse about it. Then, when you stop the sex altogether, she probably feels... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Nattie at 9:32 AM on June 5, 2008 marked best answer

Everything any Mefite offers in one of those etymology threads amounts at least to the account of an informant, including the 'silly-ass guesses,' and as such is a valid answer in its own right. Silly ass guesses can even be particularly interesting in an etymological investigation because they can be part of the means by which a phrase or usage thrives and propagates. ... To seek to bar such guesses from questions about etymologies is absurd.

often times these... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by languagehat at 10:59 AM on January 10, 2008

Here they are. Sorry I missed those.

Modern Times
The... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by miss lynnster at 9:37 AM on May 27, 2008