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a small piece of space needed

beckish — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:55:28 -0800

Any suggestions for finding artists studio space in Queens, NY--either Long Island City or Sunnyside/Woodside? I'm looking for a small space 200 squ feet or so or a shared studio in Queens--I've looked at some of the big LIC artists spaces but am looking for something reasonably priced and hoping to get closer to Sunnyside than the city. I'm thinking I should just walk around and knock on doors but figured I'd see if anyone has any thoughts first?

How Can I Sort Through So Many Movies?

DMelanogaster — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 07:52:52 -0800

Movies, movies everywhere, don't know what to think - There are so many ways to get virtually any movie in the world. But the problem is, how do I know WHICH movies I want to see? I really don't want to waste (too much) time and money downloading or renting movies I turn out not to like. I have come to rely on Rotten Tomatoes to guide me, but do I plug in the names of every movie listed to see if I want to see it or not?

Basically, here is my question: how do I find lists of really good movies? I mostly like "indie" movies although that description has become semi-ridiculous.

Is there any search engine or anything, that's maybe analogous to Pandora, for movies? e.g. If I love PULP FICTION and NORTH BY NORTHWEST and adored BLOW-UP but thought BLOWOUT was eh, and was ecstatic about VOLVER but not so much his sillier, earlier movies, and loved A SERIOUS MAN more than a lot of people did, yet couldn't get through BURN AFTER READING, and whereas MONTY PYTHON leaves me cold I adored KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS, and _2001_ rocked my world but almost any other science fiction movie doesn't, how can I find out what else to try out of the thousands of titles there are out there??

(other than individually searching every title on Rotten Tomatoes?)

thanks

Please help me remember a website containing digitized old illustrations and woodcuts.

odinsdream — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 20:29:13 -0800

Please help me find an online collection of old woodcuts and other decorative elements available as vector drawings. I've lost my bookmark to it. Example images inside. This website was a wonderful collection of old artwork that had been digitized and was mostly available free, or for minimal cost. The collection was organized into categories and included stylized capital letters, art deco, nature imagery, religious and ceremonial, etc.

I used the resources for our wedding invitations and programs, so I have a folder of a few of the files that I know came from this site. I've tried to research the filenames without success.

Here are the few that I have, in case someone recognizes one of them. I've converted them to PNG format for display in a browser, but they were all originally EPS:
alfredj.png
bradle1yorn.png
ornamentalm.png
orndaisy.png
platinm.png
stationers.png
vintage.png

Thanks!

Help me remember a film?

LN — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:58:21 -0800

Help me remember a movie I saw? I saw a film many years ago on Saturday Night at the Movies on TVO. I was too young to remember the title of the film, so with any luck, someone here on the great green can help me.

Here's what I remember: it was black and white film, a horror film, involved lots of betrayal and backstabbing, and in the climactic scene, a man sees the ghost of a woman outdoors in either a garden or a ruin. He's down below on the ground, and the ghost walks down from somewhere high, seemingly walking on air. She's dressed in a light coloured gown, very flowy and everything.

Help?

fun pop Yo La Tengo good, noodling snoozy Yo La Tengo not so much.

otters walk among us — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:32:08 -0800

I want to create a mix of Yo La Tengo's catchy pop songs. I have a couple of Yo La Tengo albums and have heard parts of others over the years. My tastes run much more toward the catchy pop song side, and their albums all seem to contain a number of wandering / noodling snoozefests interspersed with occasional excellent pop songs like From A Motel 6, Tom Courtenay, Autumn Sweater, I Should Have known Better, and Nothing To Hide.

Help me make a CD-length mix of Yo La Tengo pop songs, one I can play in the car and not fall asleep. Assume I only know the five songs listed above, they stand out immediately as favorites. Thanks!

Can you recommend Science Fiction novels for me?

tumbleweedjack — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 15:57:52 -0800

The only science fiction novel I've read is "Contact" by Carl Sagan. Can you recommend me more? I like Contact because I feel like it dealt intelligently with humans discovering alien life. I saw that there are other threads about science fiction books, but I am in particular interested in books that explore the theme of 'first contact' between humans and aliens. Outside of that, if there are any absolute must-reads, like a Great Gatsby of Science Fiction, I'm open to that too.

Do worn peg holes affect acoustic guitar intonation?

davidriley — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:45:44 -0800

Guitar filter: Will worn-out peg holes affect the intonation of a steel string acoustic guitar? If so, what should I do? My old $250 Washburn has terrible intonation these days. The twelfth fret is almost a half-step sharper than the harmonic. I sanded a new bridge and a new nut, but there is not a noticeable difference between the old set-up and the new one. Then, I noticed that the peg holes are dramatically worn away from string tension. Then I realized that this might be bringing the breaking point of the string closer to the twelfth fret. Is this what might be affecting my intonation?

If this is the case, can I fill the holes with putty and re-drill them?

Chicago is no help to me here

luriete — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:29:10 -0800

I'm typesetting a book with some music notation in it. There are several references to 3/4 and 4/4 time, which I had set in nifty opentype fractions; however, the editor and I are unsure of whether or not this refers to "four-four" or "four-fourths" time - and this is one of the few things that Chicago doesn't address. So, designers and readers: what do you think? 4/4, using lining numerals, or a 4/4 fraction?

What keyboard and instructional materials should I get to learn how to play a piano?

Nonce — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 09:11:24 -0800

So what keyboard and music book(s) should I purchase to teach myself how to play a piano? I'd like to get some sort of grounding in music theory along the way that will help me appreciate music more, or understand what the hell a time signature is, or whatever. I also can't afford lessons.

I don't care about having a lot of different instrument sounds. All I want to do is learn how to play a piano. A headphone jack would be necessary so I can rock out quietly. Can I just pick up a cheap keyboard for $50 at Walmart? Or is there a minimum amount of quality/features that I'll be thankful to have six months into this?

Dr Who: I don't get it

northerner — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 03:45:02 -0800

Why is Dr Who so popular with adult American audiences? Dr Who is considered a children's TV programme here in the UK (although the beeb have tried to market it more toward family-viewing in recent years) so it seems quite strange to me just how popular it is amongst the 'geek community'. Particularly considering the current golden age of American sci fi TV.

I am not criticising the show itself, I'll leave that to the critics. But surely the scripts or the supplementary programming are clues to its intended audience.

Perhaps by asking this question I'm revealing an ugly snobbish side of myself when I should just be leaving people to enjoy what they want to watch. If I regularly watched Dr Who I'm sure I would feel the same intellectual juvenilisation guilt that my adult friends who read Harry Potter admit to. However, I'm genuinely interested in why the show is so popular. My original theory was that the number of anglophiles in that same geek community skewed the rest somehow.

What's the background music as Betty and Francine discuss pregnancy and taboo?

BaxterG4 — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 18:38:07 -0800

Which lyricless (?) song is playing in the background of the beauty parlor in the season 2 finale of Mad Men? You can (barely) hear it toward the end of this. Sounds like a woman singing on top of loungy music that we might call "elevator music". Much more audible on TV. It's such a minor thing, but, like so many things on that show, it has stuck in my head and I want to know more about it.

Any other suggestions for similar music or words to describe that style/genre would be appreciated. I think of it as similar to the music Nintendo uses in the salon in Animal Crossing. So maybe it should be called "beauty parlor music"?

Basic multi-track recording of a medium-size group on my computer?

DoubleMark — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 18:30:18 -0800

I've got a large collection of (mostly electric/electronic) instruments, and even some people to play them. The one hole in my musical setup is recording. I'm a wind instrumentalist originally, so I know little of the ways of preamps and what have you. Help me get started recording on my computer! Instrumentation details inside. I've reviewed the previous MeFi literature, and I think my real stumbling block is the metric buttload (defined as "number above four") of instruments I'd like to record at once. I know the first step is a proper audio interface; I'm fine with USB or firewire, and understand firewire is preferable. I'll note than I'm running Windows. However, figuring out what will take the right number and types of inputs, or what other hardware I need, is kind of intimidating. Hive mind, get me started with recording at home!

First, two microphones. That's easy. I need two XLR inputs, and they'll need preamps. Fine. I follow that part, and there are plenty of recommendations on which microphones to use elsewhere.

Next, digital instruments. I have an electronic drum kit and piano, both coming in at line level (stereo for the drums, mono for the piano). I suppose I could scoop up either or both via MIDI and work with it afterward, but I'm especially pleased with the sound on the piano, and would like to just use it if possible.

Finally, the fun part. Add in two guitars and a bass, all electric. Something that accepts inputs at instrument level would be fantastic. However, if push comes to shove, I've two guitar amps that have line-level (headphone) out that I could use, no such feature on the bass. I understand that this may be a bit noisy, and that would be bad, but I'd need a lot of instrument-level preamps otherwise. I hear that it's more common to mike guitar output, but let's say that's financially out right now.

What hardware do I want? Something entry-level is all I need for the foreseeable future, but I don't see many things that take the right number of inputs. Am I asking for something that doesn't exist at that level? About how much is this going to run?

What's comparable to Myriad Pro Condensed?

deern the headlice — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:16:52 -0800

What's a nice font that's comparable to Myriad Pro Condensed? For the site I'm designing, the client's logo (an illustration) is fairly close to Myriad Pro and overall the site is pretty Apple-y. Using Myriad in this context is just going to look excessively Apple-y.

I would love a recommendation for another quality sans-serif font that looks good bold and condensed. I've tried Frutiger and that's pretty decent, just wondering if there's anything else you'd suggest - thanks!

Life Is Swell?

surenoproblem — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 02:23:48 -0800

Where can I read Matt Groening's comic strip Life in Hell (which has been retitled Life is Swell) online? Are there any regularly updated web pages featuring this strip? Any advice on how I can follow this strip would be appreciated!

Help me name my photography website...please?

damionbroadaway — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 11:36:08 -0800

Please help me come up with a name for my photography website. I would like to try and get some of my prints put up somewhere in Kansas City. I'm no pro, so I'm not talking about nice galleries, but coffee shops or something similar. I want to be able to point people somewhere to look at my work and/or contact me. You know, to put on that little card that is hanging next to my photo.

Other information:
- I'm a web designer/developer so I got making the website covered.
- I already have a flickr account (link in profile).
- I am also going to try and sell on etsy (bonus round: any tips?).
- I am not expecting to make a living from this.
- You can get a flavor of my personality from flickr as well. I upload all my mobile pics to there.

Fun fact:
This is my first question after being a lurker for years and getting my account a couple months ago. Hello everybody!

songs for an eclectic nine year old

mandymanwasregistered — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 09:17:51 -0800

Help me load my 9 year old nephew's ipod with parent-friendly songs for Christmas! From what I can tell, he likes the following things: 1. Johnny Cash 2. Who Let the Dogs Out 3. Current pop music such as Taylor Swift and the Black Eyed Peas.

He's only 9 and I'm not trying to impart music snobbery onto him, so what sort of songs (with an emphasis on current pop) would be good? These songs need to not have any swear words (either bleeped out or nonexistent) and hopefully the sexy talk wouldn't be obvious if it's in the song.

Charting a musical family tree.

92_elements — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:34:53 -0800

For a friends birthday I want to make a wall chart showing which (non-classical) musicians and bands influenced other ones. E.g. Beatles -> Oasis, Neil Young -> Nirvana. My question consists of 3 parts, 1) Where's the best place to find out who to 'link', 2) Is there any 'start' of modern 'pop' music 3) What do you think I should include? - Genres, main instruments?
I've had a look around and I quite like the wikipedia GUT of Human History, the ww2 wallchart linked below:

Part of me also likes the more fun version from the game civilisation, though I don't know if that's too childish for my friend.

Thanks everyone.

The Origin of the Matrix

madmamasmith — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:30:53 -0800

Origin of the Matrix relating to a Science Fictional setting... I am reading Neuromancer by William Gibson and the main character mentions "the matrix", as something he "jacks in to". Now this is my first foray into sci-fi and I am only about 20 pages in but I was wondering where the term originated. Did The Matrix movie steal this term and its meaning from Gibson or was it already being used in previous sci-fi works? I have only ever heard it used in a sci-fi context so that's why I;m wondering. I'm admitting my lack of knowledge in this area, so please don't make me feel like a ding dong if the answer to this question is blindingly obvious to you! Also, while on the topic of Sci-fi, the last book I read in the genre was Ender's Game in junior high and I loved it, so please suggest any sci-fi reads I should check out.

Let's go to the (alternative) video tape:

bobbyno — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:57:49 -0800

What was that poem Jim Carroll recited on the music videos by mail tape? My family didn't have cable and I once had a subscription to a music-videos by mail service. You chose your favorite genre (mine was "alternative") and they'd mail a tape to you every month with 9 or so videos. (Bonus question: what the heck was the name of that service? Sometimes I wonder if I dreamed it.)

One month, there was this cool video of Jim Carroll walking around reciting a poem. I can't dig it up on the web. All I remember is that he was talking about a women (I think) and I said, "I tried. I tried." a few times, emphatically. Anyone know what poem this was, and better yet, where I can see this clip? It wasn't a poetry reading, it was made sort of like a music video.

Thank you!

Seussical type of cartoon

mmf — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:41:27 -0800

Trying to remember a Dr. Seuss TV cartoon (or a Seuss-like one) which featured a baby and two grown-up creatures (probably male) who helped him imagine/decide what he might be when he grows up. This is not "Oh the Places You'll Go", it was on television perhaps in the 80's or 90's. Anyone?

Best B-movie docs

lhall — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:00:42 -0800

What are the best documentaries about b-movies, fandoms, and weird or niche interests which often involve a widespread community, such as zombies? I'm looking to fill in the gaps of my knowledge while also watching the original films...or at least the MST3K versions.

Stuff like Trekkies (fandom-related), a non-fiction Shadow of the Vampire perhaps (film-specific), or documentaries such as The Boy from Out of This World or Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (neither of which I've yet seen, but which appear to deal with the history of b-movie productions as well as specific films).

Also great would be stuff like Zombie Girl (though not about the making of a b-movie per se, there's still the fandom and weirdness elements).

Thanks!

Book binding service recommendations

jedicus — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:38:18 -0800

Can you recommend a company for an affordable, one-off library binding? I would like to rebind a copy of Das Parfum: Die Geschichte eines Mörders with a plain library binding. The binding services I've found online seem to deal in bulk orders. Bonus points if it's in the St. Louis area, but I don't mind shipping it.

Speak the speech trippingly. Or pitched low. Or with a mumble.

grumblebee — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:07:15 -0800

Is there a resource that lists and explains the various effects one can use to accessorized speech, such as altering pitch, speeding up, slowing down, etc.? As a director, I often have to help actors make vocal choices. My company regularly employs doubling -- that is using one actor to play multiple parts. So that the audience doesn't get confused, it's great if the actor makes each of his characters sound different.

Some actors are naturally gifted this way. Others need help.

Note: like most modern actors and directors, I take a psychological approach to character work. So I would never simply tell an actor something like "speak more quickly" or "raise your pitch." But once we've done the psychological work, it would be awesome to see an array of choices from which you could pick an appropriate set of effects.

The vocal instrument is flexible but not infinite. There are only so many things one can do while speaking: add gruffness/gravel, change the pitch, change the speed, change the degree of annunciation, try an accent, etc.

I would like a complete list. The perfect list would include effect, example (e.g. an actor who naturally talks with that effect, such as George C. Scott for gravel) and any hints/pitfalls to help create the effect without hurting your voice.

I have a bunch of Voice-For-The-Actor books, but none has the list I'm looking for. If such a list doesn't exist, maybe we could compile one together here.

What kind of service, exactly?

Bizurke — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:04:37 -0800

What does "Look I'll call you in the morning or my service will explain" (from the song "Another Hundred People") mean? It's a line from the song "Another Hundred People" from Company (youtube link) What kind of service is she talking about?

The right book for a train ride

timory — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:07:43 -0800

What are good books to read on a train? This holiday, for the first time, I'll be taking the train home instead of flying. I'm relishing the thought of being able to read while traveling (airplanes make me queasy), and I'm looking forward to the forced downtime from the internet and other things that distract me from reading even a fraction of what I used to read.

The journey is about 8 hours long, 16 round trip. It seems the perfect amount to read a smaller novel each way, or a longer one I could split half and half on each leg.

Please give me your recommendations. I'm looking for something more literary (not necessarily part of "the canon," but definitely nothing pulpy or best-sellery), and engaging enough to hold my attention for 8 hours straight. I want the perfect thing to read while staring out into snowy Pennsylvania and listening to the tracks chug by. I think the Mountain Goats are the best music to listen to on these long journeys alone, but I want the literary equivalent of that.

Here is a sparse sampling of the kinds of books I'm looking for:
Calvino, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
Gaarder, The Solitaire Mystery
Updike, Rabbit, Run
Murakami, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

I'm sensing a theme... maybe the theme of journeys, whether fantastical or mundane, seems to fit the mold for me here.

Recommendations for (simpler) novellas in Russian or Spanish are also welcome, because I could very much stand to brush up on those languages. Bonus points for magically guessing and suggesting books I already own but haven't yet read. Thank you!