Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with alternative

Alternative queer venues in NYC?

dontjumplarry — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 06:27:14 -0800

Off to NYC at the end of the month...looking for recommendations for alternative or quirky queer venues and performances to check out. Think: non-mainstream drag, burlesque shows, bars, one-off club nights, shows, concerts, all-leather-queen-productions-of-Sound-of-Music and other uncategorisable performance art strangeness.

Alternatives to Alternative Cat Litter

PhoBWanKenobi — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:09:38 -0800

Are there any decent alternatives to Feline Pine that my kitty will actually use? Sammy Katz and I have been happy users of Feline Pine for almost three years now. I made the switch because he's a notorious litter-tracker and I was looking for something that was environmentally friendly. He had no problems with the initial switch and, though he mostly goes outside (he's indoor-outdoor; we've had trouble completely transitioning him to the inside because we live in a small studio, but we've gotten him down to only going out for about thirty minutes in the morning), he used it happily when he had to.

Until a few weeks ago, when he abruptly started spraying around the house if we wouldn't get up early enough to let him out. We had a vet check him out (everything is fine), and got a Feliway diffuser, which has put an end to the spraying. But he still won't use his box. It's been raining for the past two days, and he just held everything in--for over thirty hours! I had Mr. WanKenobi pick up some different litter from the supermarket, to see if that helped. He got some Tidy Cat and as soon as we filled it, Sammy ran to the box and immediately peed.

So I guess he's not happy with the Feline Pine.

But I hate normal cat litter--I hate the smell, the environmental unsoundness, and the way he kicks it all over the place. I know there are a lot of natural cat litters: have any feline-pine resistant-kitty owners had success with other brands like World's Best or Swheat Scoop (and, possibly stupid question, but Mr. WanKenobi has celiac's disease--would having a pan of Swheat Schoop in our tiny apartment be a bad idea in light of that?), and how are they in terms of tracking and odor control?

Seeking new Church

dmbfan93 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:52:04 -0800

Need Church Recommendation in NOVA/DC area with active 20/30/40 single congregation Looking for a church in the NOVA/DC area, and specifically am looking for a Christian faith based church that is less focused/caters to families or equally caters to the single population and folks with lifestyles alternative to the family unit. Tired of feeling like an alien because I don't have a spouse and four children trailing me as I walk down the church aisle to my pew. If you know of any vibrant church congregations that have an active 20/30/40 something crowd composed of more than the usual married families but include an active single people population, please share the names of those churches and location. Thanks.

What are the best, almost scientific, alternative health food/supplement recommendations?

HopStopDon'tShop — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:38:53 -0800

[Alt-health filter]: what are your top 10, most important, almost scientific (ie. generally accepted) foods and/or supplements that I should focus on to improve my health? Speaking from a general well-being, alternative health-type of point of view? I don't mean 'vegetables' but very specific stuff like "linseed oil is the very best thing in the world" and "resveratrol kept me alive for 200 years" etc. I'm not an alt-health fanatic but I know there's something there, sometimes, and I'd like to know what you think are the most important, and widely accepted.

"Avoid aspertame" would be a good example. But I can't determine which other stuff is as generally accepted as bad, or good, for you as aspertame. And honestly, I don't think I have time to eat all the things that I'm supposed to be consuming if I was to take everything I read on this seriously ("just 5mg of ... a day..." and "just 10ml of ... in the morning will..." multiplied by 50 just doesn't work).

Wedding commitment symbol that is not a ring?

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:22:13 -0800

Let's say you want to marry someone, but they don't want a ring. This would be because the person doesn't ever wear rings, not wanting to draw attention to their hands (long story, just know that hand-oriented things are out). What other options are there for a wedding token? Are there cool options from cultures that do not have the wedding ring as part of their history? Any non-hand-based suggestions are welcome.

Am I being rational?

H. Roark — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:39:12 -0800

Alternative medicines for a young kid - am I making too much of it? I'm trying to figure it if my position is irrational or I am overreacting to the situation. The situation:

- My lovely wife is very health conscious and mostly dismissive of western medicine. She also has recently had some serious health issues which has made her even more proactive about health.

- I am pretty much the opposite. I value health but almost never go to the doctor and eat what I want, irrespective of it's omega content. I very much respect science and double-blind studies and FDA regulatory processes. I have never been to an acupuncture clinic but would have no big qualms about going for an ailment.

- Kiddo (3 years old) is healthy.

The dispute is that my wife takes kiddo to the acupuncture clinic regularly, with the needles and whatnot, for just normal "health tuneups". There are also visits when kiddo has cold for removing congestion, and at one point giving some "tincture" from the clinic to the kiddo which she knew I would object to. Kiddo complains one night when I'm flying solo that she cant go to bed because she "hasn't had her herbs" yet...

I'm concerned about a couple things -
- I dont want kiddo to have a psychological attachment where she thinks its normal to constantly eat herbs and go to the doctor twice a month as normal healthy living. It seems like a path towards hypochondria to me.

- I dont trust the non-FDA tinctures, especially when used just for "maintenance" and on children.

- I dont like that when I discuss it with the 'missus the conversation gets lost in hand-waving about how 5000 years of Chinese cant be wrong and my basic request to keep preventative health doctor/alt-med office visits to a minimum seems to be ignored.

Am I overreacting here? Is there some good reason why we should raise our kid to think its normal to go to the alternative medicine guy (or any doctor) every couple weeks? (I could buy that, but its completely foreign to me.) Is this all so harmless (tinctures included) that I should just skip the fight?

Thanks for your time and opinion.

Seeking the Uber-Sharpie

kalapierson — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:32:43 -0800

Ultra-permanent marker (more permanent than Sharpie Industrial, on soft rubbery plastic)? Alternately: paint or coating that's very strong AND very soft-thin-flexible? What kind of marker or paint or coating would permanently change Apple headphone cables from white to black, yet still leave them almost as soft, as thin and as flexible as they naturally are?

I want to do this right because, aside from the white color, I've got my perfect Frankenphones now (the stock Apple phones with in-line mic/clicker plus the earpieces from my high-quality sealing earphones, via my friend's soldering magic).

Things that wouldn't work:
• electrical tape wrapped around the cable (inflexibility and bulk).
• Sharpie (tried both standard and Industrial as recommended in another AskMe; both are solid black at first but soon start to rub away in daily use).
• anything liquid that couldn't be delicately spot-applied (I need to preserve the clicker's mic hole and its ability to click, by carefully hand-painting).

I have to end up with black headphones, not white, so please help me figure out how to get there. Thanks!

We'll kiss, but only if you work for it.

spinturtle — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:46:40 -0800

I can't believe I'm actually using a question for this, but wevs. My SO and & are getting married on Saturday. We completely and totally do *not* want glass-clinking at our reception. Seriously. At the same time, we realize that there should be some kind of 'hey you should kiss' thing, in order to avoid total anarchy. We've been to weddings where they've had alternate ideas - for example, if you want the couple to kiss, you must come up and recite a poem using a specific word, or sing a verse of a song, etc. These went over really well. I'm somewhat of an 80's pop music savant, so we're really keen on using the question cards from 80's Trivial Pursuit (small, portable, no singing). Problem - we won't have a microphone, as we're doing iPod dj, so aren't sure how to actually implement this. The venue is small, and we'll have under 70 guests. We'll be at a sweetheart table, right in the middle of the action. Do we just stand up and yell "hey, if you want us to kiss you have to come up and answer a question!"? If someone comes up to answer a question (the box would be on our table), do we have to get the whole room's attention so it can be done 'out loud', or do we just let people notice if they happen to notice, and not worry if they don't?

Any ideas/advice greatly appreciated.

I can't believe the things that are stressing me out this week, vs. the things that are going smoothly. Is it over yet?

poor man's paper shredder

Eiwalker — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:25:10 -0800

I need a poor man paper shredder alternative. Supposing I'm too cheap to buy a paper shredder, what's my best alternative? If it helps, I have a grill in the backyard, but I don't want to burn sensitive documents using a fire starter solution that might fizzle out.

Music memorabilia in London?

theraflu — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:31:09 -0800

Where can I find britpop memorabilia in London? Specifically, I'm interested in finding myself some apparel/vinyl/etc. from a couple of 90s britpop bands. I'm in London for one more day and would love to find this stuff instore so as to avoid insane overseas shipping charges. What's the best shop for this sort of thing?

Dick Clark's Ten Cent Solution to Hair Loss?

fantasticninety — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:36:49 -0800

Dick Clark once said on the Late Show with Conan O'Brien that the secret to his great hair was that he tugged on it every morning vigorously for ten minutes. Is this true, and is anyone currently doing this on a daily basis? I watched this episode of Conan O'Brien ages ago and when it happened I wished that Conan had checked with Dick Clark if he was being sarcastic or if it was something he really did on a daily basis.

Is there any validity to this? Does anyone do this as a way of keeping one's hair growing?

Thanks for any help on this!

Does anything else play well with Lotus Domino Server?

filthy light thief — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:17:02 -0800

Are there any viable alternatives to the Lotus Notes client for Windows XP? It's the work-provided client for email, calendars and schedules, and whatever else it does. Version 8 is crawling, where the previous version (6?) was at least responsive. More details inside. I've seen people talk about how to use IMAP-compliant mail clients to access their mail off of a Domino server, but I also need to be able to schedule events and resources, which (I'm assuming) connects back to the Domino server to lay claim to resources at set times.

Is my best route to look at ways to optimize my set-up, or are there other programs that could replace Lotus Notes for email and scheduling on the Lotus Domino server(s)?

Additionally: I can install software on this computer, but I don't have full admin rights (at least I don't think so - I haven't tried any significant system tweaks, mostly setting new default programs for image viewing and the like).

Sonic Youth or Smiths?

cachondeo45 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:56:21 -0800

Rock 101 Filter (literally): I'm giving a lecture on popular music from 1984 - 2000. (!) I'm teaching by style (in 1.5 hours). I'm having a tough time with alternative, punk, and indie rock. Whaddya think? This is an overview lecture to (mostly) educators about popular music from roughly 1984 - 2000. The genres I will discuss (and are not up for debate) are the following:

*hip-hop
*punk
*dance pop
*alternative
*grunge
*riot grrrl
*metal
*pop
*electronica
*indie

I understand that you would have chosen X or Y over Z, but that's not the issue. I have time to play one musical example (or video) from each style. I will briefly discuss other artists from different parts of each decade. For example, for the hip-hop section, I will play "King of Rock" by Run-D.M.C., but I will also mention albums by NWA, TuPac, Will Smith, Dr. Dre and Jay-Z.

Now for the questions:
What example do you think I should play for the punk, alternative, and indie sections? And what artists do you think I should mention for these sections? These are the styles that are dearest to my heart and I'm having a tough time deciding. For example, I think that it's very important to discuss DIY, so I'd like to play Fugazi, but at the same time, I don't want to alienate my audience (primarily K-12 educators).

I know that this will open up all kinds of cans of worms about genre, style, etc., but I'm really looking for your opinions about what to play and why. Remember, this may be the only opportunity for these individuals to hear Sonic Youth or the Pixies, but I also want them to be able to relate, if only slightly, to some aspect of what I'm addressing (so would it be better to play REM for the alternative section?).

Thanks in advance!

I know you're NOT a cannonball.

parkerjackson — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:09:53 -0800

Another name-that-song: female vocalist, driving guitar line, 90's alternative? I heard a song on my alternative/classic rock station (KRNA) this morning and never thought it would get so stuck in my head. I need to listen to it all the way through or I'll go crazy. Can someone help me out?

Here's what I know
- it was a popular song, but not hugely so, probably in the early/mid-90s
- has driving guitar line (almost constant eighth-notes), not much drum line
- female singer who sounds like The Breeders or Veruca Salt, but none of their hits (as listed by Wikipedia) are the right song
- partial line "I've been waiting... all my life" or maybe "I've been waiting... for you"
- opening part has mellow singing that blends with guitar chords, but I seem to remember that it gets much more exciting/yelling towards the end

Facebook Alternative

sanskrtam — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:20:54 -0800

Are there any good alternatives to Facebook? Since a lot of people migrated from Myspace and Friendster to Facebook. It's a good time to speculate any hot alternatives to Facebook today.

Fantastic face mask, but too brief a treat!

amicamentis — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:49:46 -0800

Are there any comparable alternatives to the Proactiv refining mask? I was reminded by this question how much I like the little tube of Proactiv refining mask. It's stinky but works like a charm.

Its active ingredient is 6% sulfur, but I have not seen any other products (in the drug store or elsewhere) like it. Has anyone here tried another brand and been satisfied with the results?

Also, the tube is rather small (1oz) and somewhat expensive, so any kind of generic product recommendation would be appreciated.

Thanks!

What herbs or vitamins or food makes more blood flow to the brain?

lynnie-the-pooh — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 07:31:23 -0800

What herbs or vitamins or food will make more blood flow into my brain? I am looking for any herb, vitamin, food, or anything else that will help make more blood flow to my brain. I know exercise is great for that as well. Any ideas from you would be great, but I'm not looking for any pill or anything a doctor would prescibe. I'm interested in something more natural and that I can do on my own. Thank you so much!!

Lynnie-the-Pooh

Alternatives to the mainstream scientific method that have generated real, practical output.

ajp — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:47:28 -0800

Alternatives to the mainstream scientific method that have generated real, practical output. Hi all. I appreciate this is a wide-ranging question, and simply asking the question introduces a lot of points en-route that might provoke debate. The overall question, though, is whether any real, tangible, practical output has come from modern alternatives -- or complements -- to the "scientific method".

A debate about the value of the scientific method is probably out of place here -- whether it represents a pinnacle of achievement; if it's a "good" or "bad" thing; etc -- these are conversations that don't fit MeFi's purposes. Ditto the nature of truth, experience, and so on. All valuable stuff, but I'm looking for something specific, for now. I'll be investigating epistemology in my own time.

Both proponents of, and opponents to, the scientific method recognise that it has limitations. But are there any alternatives that have provided as much? I know of very few places to look. Goethean science seems interesting, in its acknowledgement of both the subjective and objective. But how many Goethean scientists have cured a disease?

If we consider the scientific method to be a "gold standard" (and I appreciate that some do not) then we'd recognise that it grew from a distinctly non-scientific background. Proponents would consider it as a pinnacle of sorts, emerging as increasing clarity from confusion. I'm less interested in the tangential off-shoots from this process, more interested in parallel or independent systems of thought -- if that makes sense.

Measuring the "value" of the outputs of any alternative system is tricky, if we're not to use the yardsticks of the scientific method itself, so perhaps that's a sub-question here! But, back to the main thrust: what are the alternative systems, and what is the value of their output?

I appreciate that by asking the question, I'm taking a rationalist approach; but every journey starts somewhere.

Something To Ride To

cashman — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 08:34:51 -0800

Trying to find good music with end-of-the-song refrain loops. I'm trying to find good songs like Tupac's "Lost Souls" where at the end of the song the refrain gets repeated again and again. Scarface & The Product also have a song called "G Type" that is an ideal type of this. The last 45 seconds of the song is the music playing and the repeat of the refrain and it sounds like it could go on forever.

Sia's "Where I Belong" does this as well - the last 1:42 is the refrain repeated again and again, sung in different ways.

I might loop the file so it goes on for a half hour, I'm not sure yet, but I'm looking for good songs like this.

I'm wanting to avoid metal, country or r&b if possible. Whatcha got for me hive mind?

I need an alternative to bluesoleil.

Chamunks — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 02:45:57 -0800

I refuse to believe that so many bluetooth devices out there that the bluesoleil brand blue tooth device drivers are my only option. I really dont want to spend 30$ CAD on a driver for my 7$ dongle. Rant aside I have windows xp on my new EeeBox (bluetooth not included in this model) I plan on using it in part as a media hub of sorts. I want to use a wiimote as my remote control and cant do this without the drivers to push it all. Please help Im sick of seeing bluesoleil telling me that i got a trial driver for my legitimately owned dongle. The only real information I have on hand on my device is some generic isscbta device that apparently is compatible with bluesoleil but i dont wish to spend more money on my own dongle.

Cheaper alternative to Comcast DSL?

chihiro — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:13:35 -0800

I'm thinking of signing up with a new ISP that doesn't cost as much as Comcast, but the choices are overwhelming. Help! We've been with Comcast DSL for nearly 5 years, and I've never had any complaint about the service. But it costs us $63/month, and since I'm at home full time with my daughter I'm looking to cut costs wherever possible. I'm really not sure which ISP would be best, though. I've been looking at www.thelist.com, but I don't even know where to begin with all the choices.

*We are just outside Philadelphia.
*We do not have, or want, cable television or a telephone land line.
*We have an iMac G5 desktop (4 years old) and a Macbook (2 years old), so wireless could be a good option if the price is right.
*I would like to continue to have a fast connection.

Thank you!

I want new non-Dansko Danskos

Foam Pants — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:52:57 -0800

After years of being an enthusiastic Dansko fan, I now am seeking a similar clog from someone other than Dansko. I bought a pair of brown oiled leather clogs about seven years ago. I wore them into the ground and they still look great. I also bought a pair of black and loved them just as much. When both pairs hit the 6 year mark, the sole split all the way through. Considering the beating I put them through, I was a VERY satisfied customer and decided to buy again.

This is where things went wrong. I bought the same sizes and styles. This time around, the black pair is so tight across the top of my foot that I can only wear them for short periods of time. If I walk to work in them, my foot falls asleep before I get there! The brown pair fit a bit better but they are pretty much unwearable. When my sock rubs against them they squeak... really badly. I work in a library/museum so you can hear me coming in my farty shoes. They are so bad that just shifting my weight causes this horrid noise. Also, they look crappy after only three months of wear with a thin coating of gloss worn off over sides and the toe gone almost white. My seven year old shoes look better.

I love the way Dansko clogs work with my clothes. All of my pants are hemmed to accommodate the heel. Obviously, Dansko doesn't make shoes the way they used to. Are there similar clogs that I would like more? I want a similar heel and a similar boxy toe. I have tried Noat and didn't like the way they looked.

Career shift to renewal energy

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:33:27 -0800

Career-shifting to alternative/renewable energy field ... (Anon so work friend doesn't spot it). I'd really like to shift careers (from financial services and retails sales) to *something* that will take advantage of the wave of interest in alternative and renewable and sustainable energy. Help please in where to start. I'm in New Jersey and in my late 30s. I'm interested to renewable energy for several reasons including the right ones (eg, it's good for the Earth) and because it suits my background (science geek) and because I believe it's a field that will grow rapidly in the next 5-15 years. I have worked in corporate America and as a small-business owner. I have a broad range of skills and experiences. So I'm great (!).

But I don't know how to break into a field that I know very little about. I think I've be great in sales or business development (in an alt. energy business). I don't know if the field requires people who are either hardcore engineering/science - and the career path is though that side. OR the business is full or evangelizing 'do gooders' (sorry labeling here!) and the business side comes second to the environmentalist part of them. I'm neither - although I'm good at the sciences and care about the world, I really I'm targeting this field because I think there's money there.

I would be very grateful for any thoughts and advice about
- what to research (people? places? technologies? movements?)
- places to be (websites? associations? conventions? academic institutions?)
- who to contact (are there headhunters who specialize in this field? )
Any others "ins" you could share with me please.

Is Skype a viable landline alternative for us?

Happy Dave — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:55:56 -0800

What's the best Skype package for managing contact with our international friends and family group? I've been examining options for keeping in touch with the families and friends of both my wife and myself. We moved into our place a year ago and never got around to getting a landline, because we both have mobiles with good packages, and our internet is provided through building-wide, minimal cost wifi.

However, it's kind of tough to keep on top of costs of calls with our mobiles, and we've been consistently going over international call allowances and getting smacked with bills £30 - £50 over our call limits. Ideally, I want to remove all the various bolt ons, international allowances and so on we have on our mobile contracts and just pay for calls, texts and data.

So, I've been looking at Skype as a possibility. I have family and friends in Scotland, some who can use Skype, some on landlines. My wife has family and friends across the US, again some using landlines, some able to use Skype.

From my research, it looks like the Unlimited World subscription would give us all the benefits of having a landline on top of the obvious benefits of Skype-to-Skype video calling, which we have already. Has anyone used this package from the UK? Can you call landlines in the UK with it? Is it a good landline alternative? I'm thinking it'd be cheaper than pretty much any landline deal (about £6 a month, which I can pay through Paypal).

Any experiences or perspectives?

Alternative arts listings similar to NonsenseNYC for other cities?

odawg — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:33:34 -0800

I'm looking for alternative arts and culture listings in Chicago, Seattle, and Boston, similar to Nonsene NYC. I subscribe to Nonsense NYC, an email list that provides weekly listings of alternative, indie, offbeat, and otherwise unique events, exhibitions, classes, etc. I was wondering if there are similar resources for other cities around the world. I listed Chicago, Seattle, and Boston because that's where I visit the most, but I'd like to hear about any place.