I've lived all my life in the shadow of the Appalachians. Now, I'm moving to Arizona. What are some books that I should read, or music that I should hear, to help me get the feel of the Southwest?
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posted by WidgetAlley
on May 23, 2013 -
21 answers
Historically, in tropical areas, did cyclones/hurricanes wipe villages/huts/people off the face of the earth ?
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posted by k5.user
on May 20, 2013 -
4 answers
I've always wanted to learn about my family's history. I have an aunt who is nearing 75 and according to my father, she knows the most about my family. I was thinking of interviewing her this summer.
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posted by gemutlichkeit
on May 14, 2013 -
8 answers
Can anyone recommend a good book on the history of Laos? I've tried searching on Amazon but most of the titles I see there seem to focus on America's unfortunate colonial misadventure in Southeast Asia and the CIA's secret war in Laos. While I understand the market imperatives that might lead to such a focus, I'd like to get a broader history than that.
The book I am looking will :
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posted by jason's_planet
on May 11, 2013 -
5 answers
I remember reading something, somewhere from one of the founding fathers about the original intent of legislators to NOT be a political class. To serve a term or two and go home so that people from outside could contribute and people inside didn't get too jaded. Though maybe I'm adding a lot of subtext. Is there anything from any of the FF's on this that rings a bell? Do you have a quote or two?
posted by rileyray3000
on May 10, 2013 -
3 answers
Four and
eight years ago, I asked where I could obtain a copy of Eduardo Paolizzi's remarkable short film
The History of Nothing on DVD. Added difficulty: I'm in America. Twist: I would gladly consider purchasing a 16mm print. Any leads?
posted by eschatfische
on May 10, 2013 -
3 answers
Looking for statistical information on how many students study history at the B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. level in various non-US countries.
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posted by agent99
on May 9, 2013 -
1 answer
Steering wheels are an odd invention: a round object that you rotate clockwise or anti-clockwise based on whether you want to move a car left or right. The rotating of a wheel doesn't really match up with what you are trying to accomplish (unless you're used to it).
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posted by devnull
on May 9, 2013 -
39 answers
I'm looking for solid histories of Alexandria (Egypt, not Virginia). Overviews are good, as are works more specifically social, intellectual, military, or economic. I'm particularly interested in ancient and Napoleonic information, but all suggestions are welcome! Web resources are welcome as well as print works; I have access to ILL and an academic library.
posted by catlet
on Apr 26, 2013 -
4 answers
In the late 1990's on the Oprah Winfrey show, there was a brief piece on a song that reached the low end of the R&B charts. Sonically it was pretty traditional soul music, but the twist was that it was a cheating song, but the female singer catches her man cheating with
another man, named "Bill," which was the title of the song, IIRC. If anyone can provide me with the singers name that'd be great. Bonus points for an mp3 or youtube link.
posted by jonmc
on Apr 25, 2013 -
2 answers
In the next day or two, I'll be getting
some microfiche via ILL for an academic project. Ideally, I'd be able to digitize portions (50-100pp, probably) of them for future use in a way more efficient (and cheaper...) than printing out paper copies and scanning them. I have a Nikon D80 with a 50mm f/1.8 and a 105mm f/2.8 (I think) and a tripod, an iPad 3, a MacBook Pro, and a grad student budget. My campus has photocopiers that are also flatbed scanners; I'd be able to use one for an extended period of time if necessary. Any suggestions about the best ways to do this?
posted by naturalog
on Apr 25, 2013 -
9 answers
In a few weeks, I'll be going to Haiti, specifically the Northern region, for a couple months to work for a NGO.
While I've worked and lived in other lesser developed countries and have briefly spoken to co-workers living there, I haven't been to Haiti before and I'd like to have a greater, more nuanced understanding of Haitian cultures and recent history before I arrive.
I'm looking for short novels, recommended blogs, or articles - pieces on Haiti would be great posts on Metafilter (I've already read past ones on here) that give me a deeper understanding of Haitian cultures and recent political history.
posted by fizzix
on Apr 15, 2013 -
6 answers
I am looking for examinations of the Internet and World Wide Web that use the structure and/or history of the city as a metaphor.
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posted by 0bvious
on Apr 12, 2013 -
9 answers
What is the publication history of Philip Agee's Inside the Company: CIA Diary? Are European editions vastly different? Or, more to the point, are American versions censored?
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posted by history is a weapon
on Apr 10, 2013 -
1 answer
I'm looking for the US equivalent of Dominic Sandbrook's
State of Emergency: Britain 1970–1974—books that explore not just the politics, movements and 'big events' of the decade, but aspects such as pop culture and the changes in daily life and habits.
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posted by kaisemic
on Apr 10, 2013 -
3 answers
Please recommend some books about the history of Southern California. I'm specifically interested in the evolution of car culture and the L.A. area as a cultural incubator.
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posted by Sara C.
on Apr 9, 2013 -
36 answers
This is a followup to
this question from almost five years ago. I am about to graduate from a not-very-well-known State University in the southwest with a BA in History. My problem is that I am now rudderless, with a great deal of debt and virtually no real job prospects. I am staring down the barrel of paycheck-to-paycheck poverty, forever. Please help.
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posted by Avenger
on Apr 4, 2013 -
43 answers
I am looking for books investigating the occult as a phenomenon, its history, and its possibilities. Maybe that sounds simple, but I'm also picky.
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posted by parkbench
on Apr 4, 2013 -
19 answers
So my wife is pregnant. Hooray! (Still early enough that we don't know the gender). We're starting to think about names. It seems to me that the world's great hope and story of progress is the expansion of rights and consideration of the views & interests of an ever-widening swath of humanity. Which historical figures stand for pluralism, for rejecting provincialism, in word or deed? I've picked up, but haven't yet read
Kwame Anthony Appiah's Cosmopolitanism; I'd be grateful for suggestions of books or other resources that might be useful.
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posted by anonymous
on Mar 29, 2013 -
30 answers
It doesn't rain dirt from the sky, so how do ancient buildings get covered in dirt only to be dug up by archaeologists centuries later?
posted by almostwitty
on Mar 22, 2013 -
20 answers
My friend found a number of European postcards from around 1904 to 1907, each with a similar motif -- a mustachioed, suit-wearing man flying above the city using an umbrella, holding a suitcase in his other hand. You can see some examples
here. Do you know more about this meme?
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posted by grey_sw
on Mar 21, 2013 -
2 answers
I'm trying to prove the historic strength and resiliency of California. From the Gold Rush on. Being the birthplace of aerospace manufacturing, the cradle of film and digital. Basically something that puts into perspective all the slowdowns and eventual recoveries that California has always bounced back from. Ideally from a kosher academic perspective. I'd rather not have this from the tome of an avowed Marxist as an example. Who should I read and what did they write?
posted by rileyray3000
on Mar 20, 2013 -
6 answers
Graduating with an MS in May, an independent historical research project on my brain, and time. What should I do NOW while I'm still a student?
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posted by deludingmyself
on Mar 20, 2013 -
2 answers
I'd like to read about the extensive streetcar networks that serviced most US cities in the late 19th / early 20th century. Any recommendations?
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posted by threeants
on Mar 18, 2013 -
11 answers
In 2008, due to some personal problems, I closed out a Facebook account I was using at the time. I have since been accused of saying things via that Facebook account that I don't quite believe I would have said.
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posted by Infinity_8
on Mar 16, 2013 -
25 answers
In the 1970s and 80s, when I was a kid, an
Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, barring discrimination on the basis of sex, was passed by Congress and very nearly adopted. How would the United States be different if three more states had ratified the ERA and the Constitution had actually been amended? To make it more precise, what current federal laws or practices would be struck down if the U.S. Constitution included the ERA?
posted by escabeche
on Mar 16, 2013 -
9 answers
I believe I may suffer from a derth of artistic and intellectual heroes. Help me fix that. What artists and thinkers are worth engaging with fully as an adult?
By "engaging with fully," I mean making a concerted effort to consume all of their output, several times, as well as seeking out supplementary information about them by way of interviews, criticism, documentaries, collected letters, biographies, etc. etc.
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posted by jsturgill
on Mar 15, 2013 -
50 answers
I found some stone tablets written in a strange alphabet amongst a bunch of graves from different eras at the city museum of
Tire, Turkey. The guy working the desk at the museum didn't know what they were. Pictures in extended.
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posted by Theiform
on Mar 15, 2013 -
12 answers
Here's one I've had no luck finding:
A) in the movies, is there a name for those films they used to project behind actors in a movie car to make it look like they were actually on the road? You know the ones: the slightly out of focus view out the rear window. Maybe a chase scene with the bad guy car in pursuit... Or just plain ol' traffic...
B) are any of these background films archived online? Tried Prelinger archives but no luck.
posted by ecorrocio
on Mar 14, 2013 -
8 answers
This envelope with a letter inside was found inside a large decaying bound edition of Shakespeare auf Deutsch in a junk shop in Bushwick that was only apparently open for a few months before disappearing. The letter, postmarked 15 March, 1939 - was sent to Paris by a Mr. Henri Wolf. The contents of the letter appear to be German shorthand. Included was small piece of what looks like code, there's nothing else on the back.
The letter, envelope, postcard, etc in question are at this imgur album. Hivemind: What the hell is this?
posted by The Whelk
on Mar 14, 2013 -
28 answers
I'm learning that many of the customs and traditions that I think of as Roman actually originated from the Etruscans instead. Can anyone recommend some good books, videos, or websites about ancient Etruscan culture and history?
posted by the man of twists and turns
on Mar 13, 2013 -
12 answers
Mixing military history and natural history, I'm looking for information regarding bird behavior during wartime. An example: would one hear bird songs on the battlefield during pauses in fighting?
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posted by josephtate
on Mar 12, 2013 -
13 answers
I'm trying to find out how to find out when a particular item was added to the California Penal Code. In this particular case I'm interested in 12028.5, but I'd like to understand how to find such information in the future.
posted by Tell Me No Lies
on Mar 12, 2013 -
3 answers
How do other languages (non-English) express the scientific term 'race?' vs the colloquial?
In taxonomic terms, the word "race" is 90% used as a misnomer in US discourse. This is rooted in "Social Darwinism," or contemporary racist applications of seminal evolution concepts. This colors verbiage across the sciences, especially the social sciences. To wit, the term 'racism' is in fact based on a dehumanizing paradigm.
So, um, how does this shake out elsewhere?
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posted by es_de_bah
on Mar 11, 2013 -
9 answers
Help me with my ten year old sons school project !
I'd like to find people - as well known as possible - to whom the adage "power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely" .
So an ideal example would be someone who started off with good intentions and then on gaining power started behaving poorly . Also ideally once they'd turned nasty their actions would not be so despicable that you wouldn't mind explaining them to a ten year old
Thanks
posted by southof40
on Mar 9, 2013 -
38 answers
I'd like to learn more about the history of the left, particularly the far left, particularly as it relates to me, a late-20's north american male. I'd love to learn more about the left, labor, unions, communism, socialism, labor laws, etc., particularly in what factors and machinations gave and took away rights and freedoms.
Here's the kicker - I'm really, really hoping to find them in audio format so I can learn while I exercise. Audiobooks, podcasts, lectures, etc.
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posted by rebent
on Mar 8, 2013 -
8 answers
I'm interested in learning about rape in 19th century America for a fictional piece I'm writing. I'm not really sure where to start in researching this, but I'd be grateful for any resources or information.
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posted by Put the kettle on
on Mar 8, 2013 -
8 answers
My friend is visiting me in Rhode island today through Sunday night and has her heart set on historical sights in Boston and going to the coast of
Maine (maybe acadia). Given weather, Boston traffic, and driving times, what is the best way to do this?
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posted by geegollygosh
on Mar 8, 2013 -
23 answers
What was Italian food like before the tomato?
When coffee houses started popping up in Europe what establishments lost business as a result?
Did Marco Polo really bring noodles to Europe from China?
Where can I find the answer to all these questions and more?
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posted by any portmanteau in a storm
on Mar 6, 2013 -
29 answers
How does Brigham Young University teach American History? Do they tell students that Jesus actually came to America? And how do they deal with the story that Missouri was the real Garden of Eden?
posted by mmf
on Mar 4, 2013 -
14 answers
I'm taking up restoration of mechanical calculators as a hobby. To what extent would repairs/part replacements constitute "restoration", and when does it become "reproduction" instead?
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posted by jackbishop
on Mar 1, 2013 -
2 answers
Can you recommend a good chess book with as much history, context, stories, and culture as strategy?
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posted by suprenant
on Feb 27, 2013 -
10 answers
Can you recommend a good book on papal history that is solid on facts and theology, honest about blemishes, but doesn't revel in scandal? Oh, and I hope I can find it in a Kindle version.
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posted by OrangeDisk
on Feb 26, 2013 -
6 answers
Can anyone give me a original source for this (almost certainly garbled) quote?
"History is divided into two roughly equal parts -- that which probably never happened and that which doesn't matter much anyway". [more inside]
posted by unSane
on Feb 19, 2013 -
2 answers
Somewhere I read an interpretation of the development of democracy in Ancient Greece that went something like this: A king died and three princes struggled to seize power. No one prince was strong enough to defeat the others. They made a deal that one would be responsible for military matters, the second for administrative matters, and the third for religious. This system proved relatively effective and was continued, eventually on a non-hereditary basis, and is the original source for the separation of powers between different branches of government.
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posted by RandlePatrickMcMurphy
on Feb 13, 2013 -
6 answers
I'm looking for visual references for medieval / faux-medieval armor. Bonus points for something lightweight / leather and I'm really looking for rear views but anything would be useful. I've tried a bit of googling but haven't really found what I want.
posted by fearfulsymmetry
on Feb 13, 2013 -
8 answers
