It seems (could just be confirmation bias) that book cover/dust jacket materials have changed over the years. I find a lot of trade paperbacks and hardcover dust jackets now have a "soapy" feel to them rather than the previous plastic feel. What is this material? Is it new? What drives choices of materials?
posted by Jahaza at 7:05 AM - 5 answers

I remember reading a DC comic book in which was explained why Gotham City has so many abandoned amusement parks, carnivals, and toy factories. I don't remember all the details, but the upshot was that in the 1920's, there had been a big entertainment boom with two entrepreneurs trying to outdo each other by building more theme parks, arcades, and novelty factories than the other. Then the Great Depression hit and they all went out of business. But now I can't remember what comic this was from. I want to say it was a Paul Dini comic, maybe Gotham City Sirens or Batman: Streets of Gotham. Anyone remember which comic this was?
posted by ErWenn at 6:57 PM - 5 answers

Identify this book. Literary novel, probably a first novel, published between 1994 and 1997, written by a guy who had taught writing at Harvard. The only thing I remember in it is an obsessive character in the desert who has welded multiple trailers or mobile homes in a circle so he can obsessively walk in circles inside them. [more inside]
posted by Unified Theory at 6:54 PM - 7 answers

I'd like to find a book for my little girl that goes into some of the unwritten social rules and give specific tips on how to interact with other kids in various situations (including difficult ones), and doesn't focus on pathologizing or fixing anything. [more inside]
posted by Eolienne at 5:23 PM - 20 answers

See inside for a link that goes to a NSFW Youtube video. [more inside]
posted by 99percentfake at 2:31 PM - 4 answers

My daughter likes books with funny, mischievous characters Calvin and Hobbes, Eloise, Judy Moody. What other books might she like? [more inside]
posted by biscuits at 2:30 PM - 46 answers

My daughter is auditioning for a play next weekend and I'd like to show her some audition scenes from films and TV. I don't mean screen tests or actors auditioning for their roles in famous films. Rather, I'm looking for scenes of fictional auditions that are part of a narrative. So, not something like this but something like this scene from Flashdance. [more inside]
posted by looli at 1:06 PM - 33 answers

Hi. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what the true (ie as per in the album) chords are to KC & MW's 'The Angels Came Down'? [more inside]
posted by ethelwulf at 12:09 PM - 2 answers

Can you help me identify this piano piece? I came across in this Al Jazeera documentary about gang violence in San Salvador. If possible, I'd like to find the sheet music...but I have no idea whether it was written for the doc or if it's a well-known piece. Any help is appreciated!
posted by beau jackson at 8:55 PM - 4 answers

I am looking for some good documentaries about digital art. What do you recommend? Biographical movies about artists that make art with PhotoShop would be great. Movies about the history of CGI would be fascinating. Documentaries about art made for the internet could also be fun to see. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
posted by mortaddams at 3:17 PM - 6 answers

I'm looking for TV shows featuring women... [more inside]
posted by DisreputableDog at 1:57 AM - 76 answers

I read a blog post about 5 or 6 years ago, which had some interesting and insightful things to say about how western culture often judged other cultures for not being culturally/morally relativistic. [more inside]
posted by Jon Mitchell at 6:25 PM - 5 answers

I'm giving up the ghost and making the switch from film to digital. Help me buy my first DSLR! [more inside]
posted by whoaali at 5:06 PM - 27 answers

This one has been driving me nuts for years, and I'm going to turn to the hive mind. When I was a kid, around 10 or 11 (making it around 1992-1993), I got a book that was something akin to the Babysitters' Club books: targeted at young girls, about a group of young girls all doing something together. The first of a potential series, although I don't know if I read any more. I remember very few details of this book other than the fact that it was mentioned that the main character/narrator's mother had had A LOBOTOMY. She had been depressed or had some other mental problem before, so she had a voluntary lobotomy and was now fun and freewheeling and wore cowboy hats in the kitchen. This wasn't an important plot point, just a throwaway character detail. If anyone has any memory or clue to what this book or book series could have been, I'd be thrilled. I'd just like to know that I'm not just making it up, for one thing.
posted by whitneyarner at 2:23 PM - 7 answers

This a framing/curation/decoration AskMe. I have an adorable set of (very lightweight) wooden french curves that I would like to mount in a display, but not permanently. [more inside]
posted by Glomar response at 6:57 AM - 14 answers

Is there a video of a live performance of Van Morrison singing "Someone Like You"? I've found videos, but they are NOT showing a live performance; rather, just showing pictures or clips of Van Morrison or whatever, while the music plays. I'm looking for a recorded live performance. Thanks!
posted by america4 at 10:35 PM - 2 answers

Quentin Tarantino, in an interview, said something along the lines of, "The medium that I work in is the audience's emotions." I think that the interview was relatively recent, either about Inglourious Basterds or Django, and it may even have been referenced on Metafilter, but now that I'm looking for it, I can't find it. So, did he actually say something to this effect? If yes, where did he say it and what was the actual statement?
posted by frimble at 9:38 PM - 3 answers

Indiana Jones look was borrowed from Secret of the Incas. Was the lettering on 'Raiders' original, or was it also a homage? [more inside]
posted by andrewzipp at 1:48 PM - 3 answers

I'm going to be producing a low-budget feature film, and hopefully more in the future. I'm considering setting up a company via LegalZoom or similar and just want to know if there are any "gotcha"s before I start. [more inside]
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:47 PM - 11 answers

Typographers, designers, and font geeks: I'm looking for fonts with a distinctive and stylish letter "X". Other criteria: sans serif, not too ornate, and preferably free to download. The X is going to form part of a word, so as well as being distinctive it should also fit nicely with the other characters. Thanks in advance (:
posted by iivix at 7:49 AM - 4 answers