What is a sound effect for the act of spending or losing money as would appear in a comic book or TV cartoon? [more inside]
posted by Phcyso at at 6:20 AM - 18 answers

Can you recommend some children's picture books that don't just feature white faces? [more inside]
posted by featherboa at at 5:24 AM - 36 answers

Can you point me to some examples of a Letter of Intent that would be used by a large corporation to notify another corporation that corp #2 has been chosen to supply materials for a Very Large Project? [more inside]
posted by ArgentCorvid at at 7:17 PM - 0 answers

I swear. I have children. This is not a good combination. Please suggest alternatives to expletives. [more inside]
posted by MonkeyToes at at 1:40 PM - 115 answers

Which English translation of Montaigne's Complete Essays do you recommend--Donald Frame's or M. A. Screech's? (Also, feel free to recommend another--these are the two I know of.)
posted by Prospero at at 6:53 PM - 7 answers

How did songs come to be called 'numbers'? [more inside]
posted by Pecinpah at at 9:02 AM - 13 answers

How long is a moment? [more inside]
posted by hadjiboy at at 2:23 AM - 34 answers

What is the closet thing to MetaFilter, but about books and/or writing? [more inside]
posted by Darth Fedor at at 9:03 PM - 24 answers

What's the excruciatingly correct pronunciation of Berlin-based academic publisher Walter de Gruyter? [w] or [v]? What about their subsidiary, Mouton de Gruyter? Bonus points for IPA.
posted by ormondsacker at at 8:11 PM - 10 answers

I'm looking for recommendations for guide/how to/self help books that have a casual, up-beat style without compromising the authority of the text. Do you have any? [more inside]
posted by Ookseer at at 3:56 PM - 7 answers

I can't read. More specifically, I have difficulty reading anything longer than 1,000 words. Please help. [more inside]
posted by (bb|[^b]{2}) at at 1:36 PM - 20 answers

Help me find this kick-ass book of Bible stories from my childhood. [more inside]
posted by mdiskin at at 11:46 AM - 14 answers

Is Atlas Shrugged meant to be Ironic? [more inside]
posted by complience at at 10:22 AM - 68 answers

What is this song I heard in my high school French class? [more inside]
posted by chillmost at at 6:27 AM - 3 answers

Help me identify the author of this quote: "It is not hatred that is wrong; it is hating the wrong thing that is wrong. It is not anger that is wrong; it is being angry at the wrong thing that is wrong. Tell me your hatred and I'll tell you your character." I've been stumped by someone in my house. :) Thanks!
posted by Delfena at at 8:51 PM - 3 answers

A follow-up to my recent website naming question. We now have some finalists, which should I choose? [more inside]
posted by Gomez_in_the_South at at 2:10 AM - 11 answers

How do I kill the perfectionism, the precious and fearful impulses, and the self-doubt that keeps me from completing my creative writing projects. [more inside]
posted by mizrachi at at 2:20 PM - 48 answers

Is it worth the time and effort to read the complete works of Shakespeare? [more inside]
posted by schrodycat at at 12:34 PM - 26 answers

What translation of Dante's Divine Comedy to recommend? [more inside]
posted by goatdog at at 11:23 AM - 6 answers

Please help me find a fitting poem for my yearbook writeup. [more inside]
posted by drea at at 2:34 AM - 4 answers

What-Was-That-Book filter: It's a children's book - probably a few decades old. A young girl goes to live with her two maiden aunts in a large estate (possibly English?). They are strict, I think. The girl finds a magic pony boy with colourful (like, pink and blue, etc), magic horses. She befriends the boy and spends her days learning to ride the ponies and do circus-style tricks on them. I just re-thought of it the other day, and now it's driving me mental. Thanks in advance!
posted by InfinateJane at at 10:29 AM - 4 answers

years ago i read an article in the village voice on mr. ted Kaczynski, the notorious unabomber. there have been many articles on the guy, but this one stands out as it was a detailed textual analysis of the messages he'd sent out prior to his capture. it was an intellectual adventure like what you'd expect from roland barthes deciphering an alchemical computation or taoist medicinal writings. [more inside]
posted by artof.mulata at at 12:59 PM - 11 answers

I had a stroke three months ago, and although I’ve lost very little functionality, I would like to find some sort of exercises to improve my reading and writing capability. [more inside]
posted by kthxbeth at at 9:41 AM - 6 answers

I need resources to improve my news writing. I'm already working in a newsroom, so this isn't a"halp mee, I wants to be a writter" post. Rather, I want to increase my fluency in the basics so that tight, accurate prose always flows naturally, even under deadline. I'd also like to increase my vocabulary and craft skills as a writer so that when I'm less pressed for time, I can really make the language dance. [more inside]
posted by [ixia] at at 8:33 PM - 12 answers

Where does the phrase "where the bee sups, there sups I" come from? I think that's a misquote because google fails me, and it's been bugging me.
posted by Grod at at 6:08 PM - 8 answers

Need to "sayonara, sucker!" in Russian. [more inside]
posted by phunniemee at at 5:24 PM - 13 answers

Where did the saying "It's 5 'o Clock Somewhere" originate? [more inside]
posted by applemeat at at 11:45 AM - 13 answers

Trying to identify a short story I read a while back. It's been nagging at me and I'd really like to read it again. I posted this question last week but received, alas, only one response, so I thought I'd try again. Description is inside. Thanks! [more inside]
posted by jujube at at 11:36 AM - 9 answers

Tariff: Are there any other words in English that include two Fs next to each other?
posted by Pants! at at 11:24 AM - 62 answers

Play more name-that-book! Young Jesus adjusting to role as Messiah. [more inside]
posted by jk252b at at 7:28 AM - 11 answers

I'm thinking of buying a book like this as a gift. Anyone have any personal experience with this "Our Name in History" series of books? Are they any good?
posted by flapjax at midnite at at 8:11 PM - 12 answers

I am trying to get a better understanding of Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" **Spoiler Alert** [more inside]
posted by madmamasmith at at 3:43 PM - 13 answers

German grammar check: free online tools or Mac freeware/shareware? I have fairly solid German; goal is polishing drafts I'm writing in German, not translating from scratch. Seeking best stopgaps for when I can't afford or barter for a human's time. (And I don't have an MS Office CD with German tools.)
posted by kalapierson at at 10:23 AM - 1 answers

What does hemophiliac mean? [more inside]
posted by brevator at at 4:27 AM - 18 answers

Computer languages considered in linguistic contexts? [more inside]
posted by AmbroseChapel at at 10:43 PM - 19 answers

Please suggest helpful books on the grieving process for a twentysomething who just lost her mom. [more inside]
posted by CwgrlUp at at 10:31 AM - 15 answers

Can you recommend some good mystery novels for me to read? The last mystery novels I read that I really liked were the Hilary Tamar series by Sarah Caudwell. I liked those because they were fairly light and not gory. But I especially liked them because the dialogue/narration was sharp, witty, and wry. What are some other mystery writers who write like this? [more inside]
posted by bluefly at at 3:37 PM - 33 answers

I'm looking for books and graphic novels that are meant to be read multiple times. [more inside]
posted by spec80 at at 2:54 PM - 47 answers

Musicians and slang collectors, your attention please! What, in musical terms, is considered a "clam"? [more inside]
posted by motown missile at at 2:08 AM - 11 answers

I am looking for a blank journal, preferably leather-bound, which will survive for many years and many adventures. Suggestions? [more inside]
posted by MrZero at at 9:23 PM - 12 answers

What was that New Yorker short story? Plot details as I remember... [more inside]
posted by miles1972 at at 11:22 PM - 3 answers

Betelgeuse, Altair and Orion Is this poem's initial lion Sorry - line - but I've searched everywhere For "Orion, Betelgeuse, Altair" ... [more inside]
posted by the quidnunc kid at at 2:48 PM - 3 answers

What are your favorite quick-drying and/or absolutely smudge-proof markers, both for easel paper and whiteboard? Also, techniques to help a lefty avoid smudges wil be much appreciated. [more inside]
posted by Rosie M. Banks at at 2:03 PM - 6 answers

Please recommend some recent poets to read, for someone (me) interested in exploring poetry for essentially the first time. By recent, I mean since, say, 1980.
posted by slab_lizard at at 12:20 PM - 35 answers

I'm looking for a list of good but little-known books by David Foster Wallace. The list is by Wallace, not the books. [more inside]
posted by nushustu at at 11:49 AM - 7 answers

Bookfilter: In search of older grade school kids' book I read once years ago while visiting my cousin, and kind of dug. All I can remember is that it was a vaguely medieval setting, where the main character was a young woman named either Soony or Sooney, who lived alone in a cottage in the woods; much of the book was taken up with her helping out three different princesses or noblewomen in succession. Towards the very end, Sooney finally meets a young man herself, but rather than a nobleman, he was another salt-of-the-earth person like herself, and HE'S the one she marries. I also remember that once in a while the narration would comment on something wise or common-sensical Sooney did by saying: "That was Sooney. She knew what she thought about things." Does this sound familiar to anyone? The book would probably have been published sometime before the mid-80's, as that's about the time I read it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at at 8:28 PM - 2 answers

Two-part slang request. I'm looking for: 1. Colloquial terms for Southern gentlemen types, of the mint julep-sipping variety; and 2. Unique/interesting slang along the lines of, "will have my guts my for garters."
posted by np312 at at 3:43 PM - 28 answers

Simple question: help me translate this sentence from Swedish to English. [more inside]
posted by cincinnatus c at at 3:24 AM - 15 answers

Please recommend me some great books about the home front during WWI or WWII. [more inside]
posted by booksandlibretti at at 12:30 PM - 23 answers

Seeking recommendations for memoirs published in the past two years. [more inside]
posted by mojohand at at 7:28 AM - 8 answers