Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with black

Attendance at a Sinterklaas Party

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:59:49 -0800

Should I go to a Sinterklaas party in the U.S. when its holiday tradition of black Peters makes me really uncomfortable? Sinterklaas is on Sunday, and some Dutch friends of mine from work are having a party. One Dutch friend in particular is a very good friend of mine, and we have become very close over the past year. She is leaving to go back to the Netherlands in 3 weeks, so if I were to skip this party, it might hurt her feelings. (She has already asked me if I have been working on my Sinterklaas picture, and whether I'm bringing a traditional tangerine.)

There is a very long debate about whether the tradition of having black Peters is a racist one (here on the blue), and I don't want to rehash the debate. My particular difficulty here is that this is a party to be held in the U.S., where such a tradition can be perceived as racist, and I fear that such a party might turn sour.

When I have talked about this tradition with my various Dutch friends (none of whom strike me as racist people), what bothers me most is their staunch defense of the tradition, telling me that it was my problem and not theirs, that the Dutch never had slaves so it wasn't an issue, that these Peters have "soot" on their faces (but they also have painted red lips?), and on and on. I would feel much more at ease if they would simply recognize the possibility for the tradition to be perceived as racist by people from the U.S.

My question is whether I should go to this party, given that I am very, very uncomfortable with the idea of white people in blackface (although I do not know for sure if anyone would dres up), and that these friends of mine are also colleagues. I realize that this tradition is just a small part of this holiday, and I don't want to offend the hostesses (both of whom I consider my friends), but I feel very strongly that the party could become horribly offensive very quickly (only one invitee is black, not that I think that should necessarily make the difference). And if I choose not to attend, do I make up an excuse, or do I tell her simply that I am uncomfortable about the holiday tradition but I would be happy to do something next weekend?

A Feminist's Bum

whimsicalnymph — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:04:26 -0800

Where can I find a print of this photo (nsfw), taken by Art Shay and featuring Simone de Beauvoir?

Names for Black Dogs? Let's give them a leg-up in the adoption process.

taz — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:36:52 -0800

I need great, imaginative, appealing names for black dogs! A friend operates a rescue organization for dogs and cats, and mentioned how hard it is to find homes for black dogs (see Black Dog Syndrome)... and since I was already helping her come up with names, I thought I'd come up with a special list of Black Dog names that are perhaps evocative of personality types, and that might inspire interest so that potential adopters will maybe find their curiosity/sense of whimsy piqued and stop to at least read a description on the website, instead of just passing by any photo of a black dog. Some specific considerations inside... This is in Greece, where most people speak at least some English, and are familiar with exported U.S. and British pop culture in general and pretty much any world-famous person/literary character/film character/music reference will be recognized. Non-Greek names for pets are popular, so recognizable English, Italian, German, etc. names are cool, but "sh/ch" and "j" sounds are difficult to for many to pronounce.

The names can have some reference to Black, but they don't have to. For example, I thought of "Kafka" for a smart, "intellectual" perhaps sort of "serious" boy dog... and that one just also sort of "feels" like a good name for a black dog to me. Names of one or two syllables are usually easier for dogs to recognize and respond to.

So gimmee your ideas for great Black Dog names! Gimme!

Relocation relocation relocation of an interior design article

Beautiful Screaming Lady — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:49:18 -0800

Interior/exterior design memory loss: a few months ago I was casually flipping through one of the many interior design magazines on the shelf at Borders and saw an article about an amazing place that I'd love to find more details about. Unfortunately I was distracted and don't remember many details... This is a long shot, but - a guy (likely German) had bought a turn-of-the-20th century square red brick mid-terrace house, like those you find in any UK working class town (here's an example), painted the exterior entirely black, had replaced the windows with smaller, ultra-modern brightly coloured glass and had gutted the insides to leave (as I remember) a super white and super minimal interior. It was stunning both for what it was, and for where it was.

I can't remember where this was, the guy's name or which magazine it was in, but based on this vague description, if anyone can help me to find pictures of this place, or any article about it online, I'll be deliriously happy.

Hopin' for a jet-black soapin'

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:38:20 -0800

I'm looking for soap bars colored black... I'm looking for soap bars colored black (though not Black Soap, which is a special type of soap).

More:
- I'm trying to replace a bar soap once made by Crabtree & Evelyn for men. (no longer listed). It lathered up white for shaving.
- neutral scent or no scent is best. Otherwise a scent made for men.
- oval bar is better than a brick bar.
- not crazy expensive. Under $8 ?
- nope to Halloween trick soap! Nope to soap on a rope.

Any ideas?

What do Different Colors Look Like on B&W Film?

barfmann — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:20:26 -0800

Shooting a black and white 16mm film. It's my first (an "exercise"), and I'm not yet sure of the stock. How do different colors show up when filmed w/ BW film? My specific concerns: how best should I costume my actors so they remain dynamic when photographed (ie. nice deep blacks or pure-ish whites; avoid grey)? Esp: how can I costume them to keep them distinct from the background (grey/brown garage walls). Let me know if you need more info to be helpful; thanks meta people.

My car is melting. (Melting!)

6and12 — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:23:04 -0800

What's the best way to clean the tarry, semi-melted center console of my 2001 Honda Accord? Years of South Florida heat have started to take a toll on the interior of my Honda, specifically the black, rubber-like material that surrounds the cup holders and shifter in the center console. The same material also lines the little alcove in front of the shifter. I learned the hard way not to keep jewel cases or anything else in there because the black material tends to come off on anything left in there for more than a few hours. This material also tends to act like flypaper, catching little bits of dust, hair, or anything else flying around in my car. Occasionally I get the interior detailed, and they always manage to get this stuff semi-clean. I've tried a few car interior products, but haven't had any luck myself. Can anyone suggest a good product for cleaning this type of surface?

Candy As Black As Coal

wholebroad — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:46:17 -0800

Is there any way to (cheaply) make black cotton candy for a festival? I am planning a booth at a festival for a non-profit organization working on energy issues. We want to have black cotton candy to give away at our booth (it's supposed to represent air pollution).

We would rent a cotton candy machine from a vendor. These vendors seem to offer many colors/flavors of sugarfloss to feed into the machine, but, not surprisingly, none of these come in black. I've never made cotton candy before, so I don't really know what the process is - could we somehow dye the sugarfloss black? Or is there a company that makes black cotton candy?

Under Pressure

smoke — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:29:39 -0800

How would you get through a black hole? I've been thinking about this one for a while, I've found some info about the possibility but not anything that gets into the mechanics.

Say we did find one of these "milder" singularities - presumably the gravity would still be almost neutron star crushing levels, what kind of ship/situation would we need to get through this? I was thinking maybe some kind of oxygenated liquid to inhale and fill the ship?

I have no idea. My physics knowledge is effectively nil. Help me, Mefites, you're my only hope!

Help ID this tattoo on metal dude Kvarforth from Shining!

punkrockrat — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 14:56:03 -0800

What is this tattoo? - Nicklas Kvarforth, from the swedish metal band SHINING has a tattoo on his chest that I am trying to identify. Any tattooists or art aficionados may have seen this before - can you help? I realize that this can also be a completely customized piece of work too, but I'm going on the chance that this may a copy of something that already exists. Anyway, the tattoo in question is the little skeleton dude on this chest - you can see it in any of the following photos: here, here, here and here.

Synology 409 vs. Seagate Black Armor 440

monkeybutt — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 14:14:50 -0800

Help me decide: Synology 409 vs. Seagate Black Armor 440 for my next NAS? I currently have a mix of Terastations and other NAS hardware with small drives. i'm looking to add a multi-terabye device (4-6TB) to my home network to store all my digital photos and music and maintain backups.

I'm torn between the Synology DS409 and the Seagate Black Armor 440 configured with 4 1.5T drives to give it the same capacity of the Synology.

Both devices seem to top out the charts with regards to throughput on a gig-E network, which is very important for me. The Synology has been out for longer and is about 1/3 cheaper than the Seagate device when you buy the drives yourself. I am leaning toward it unless something compels me to get the Seagate.

One feature that i'm interested in is robust error-reporting. Currently my Buffalo devices do not have the ability to email out error reports with SMTP authentication beforehand, which is a must because my ISP requires authentication before it will pass mail. This means I need to check the HDD status of my drives weekly to avoid data loss (as opposed to getting an email alerting me of the issue immediately).

If anybody out there has any first-hand experience with either of these appliances i'd love to hear it.

Thanks

What kind of bird was this unfortunate creature which was killed by my cat? Green/olive feathers with a white/black spotted breast.

h00py — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:44:17 -0800

My cat killed a bird which I was unable to identify and I'm wondering what it was. It had a greenish/olivish tinge to its feathers but its breast and underside was white with black spots. Its beak was similar to a doves. This poor bird somehow managed to find its way onto my balcony at night so my initial thought was that it was a nocturnal bird that somehow got lost, but it didn't really look anything like what I've always imagined night birds to look like (my knowledge of such is Extremely Limited) so I'm thinking that perhaps it wasn't a night bird, it was a day bird of some kind which just, very unluckily, fell out of its night time perch and ended up on my balcony where my incredibly quick cat decided to leap upon it and kill before I had a chance to do anything! I'm in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. I've done a quick google search for birds but alas, my google searching skills are pathetic and I wasn't able to narrow my search down far enough to get any meaningful results. If anyone could help, it would be appreciated.

White white Black black

ClaudiaCenter — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:17:28 -0800

Would like more understanding of black, Black, white, White. (This is from of civil rights law perspective.) Some of my colleagues use capital letter B as in "The company failed to promote dozens of qualified Black apprentices, and instead advanced less qualified White workers." When I was in law school one of my professors (historian Abernathy) insisted on the capital letters for Black and White. Some of my colleagues do not use the capital letters B and W.

From what I have gathered from my conversations, the capital letter is intentional and means something, to highlight, but I feel as though I don't totally understand the meaning.

Are there any essays about this or do you know more about this useage?

Six months redundant and black dog approaching fast. Survival advice sought.

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:32:10 -0800

Six months redundant and black dog approaching fast. Survival advice sought. I do not think that I am in a unique situation or a particularly desperate one but I am in a personally precarious position. Perhaps this question can help others too. I have worked in the insurance industry for the past 5 years and was made redundant in January of this year. Soon afterwards I discovered my wife was pregnant with our second child. I have been trying to put a brave face on for my family but as time has gone on, and I have had interview after interview and not made it through, my self-esteem and confidence has taken a battering. Progressively my motivation and outlook on life are deterioating fast. I know that I was competent for my previous employer and over the course of my employment made the company a lot of money. I am being as flexible as can be in terms of looking for jobs which may require relocation, also applied for jobs overseas. The weight of expectation on my shoulders is enormous and with each successive interview, I feel the gap in my CV looms ever bigger in the attention of the prospective employer. For people in similar situations, what gets you through the day right now?

Watched the Birdie

popcassady — Sun, 17 May 2009 03:44:53 -0800

A woman's head on an owl's body. What film did I see? Probably about twenty years ago, I saw a film on BBC2's DEFII programme. It was back and white, probably European and silent era (stylistically at least).

My memory might be vague but I'm sure there was a scene where a man wearing a straw boater was attacked by an owl (or possibly another bird of prey) with a woman's head. The man was walking beside some iron railings. The woman's head was shaven.

Scratching for more memories of the film: a suitcase, a book, someone getting into bed, tinted film.

Any ideas?

Film in Lima

ashaw — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:39:02 -0800

Where can I pick up Black and White film in Lima, Peru? There´s an abundance of photo processing shops with colour film but can´t find anywhere which sells black and white film (Fuji Neopan, Ilford etc) or more specialised slide film. Also whilst we´re on the subject, where in Lima can i pick up cheap second hand cameras? I´m thinking of markets etc.

Why are these trees sick?

Toekneesan — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:54:00 -0800

A lot of the Black Walnut trees in the area are dying. I can't quite figure out why. Common trait, most lost a lot of bark just before they died or just after. Some locals blamed a wet spring last year but I'm looking for something more specific. At least 10 trees last year, most over 10 years old, many older, have died within our little village of less than a city block. Central Pennsylvania. Any ideas?

Rich black is sending me to the funny farm.

Foam Pants — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:35:01 -0800

I have been having a pervasive printing error that I, as a professional should know how to avoid/solve but I can't seem to stop cutout images from printing richer than the surrounding color. Let me explain... OK, so say you have a hat photographed on black velvet in a way that it is pretty much black as black can be. You want to make a flyer where the entire thing is black. So you take it into Indesign and make a black square, then place the hat graphic (.psd) on top of it.

When it prints, however, you break out into tears. The borders of image is evident because it printed in rich black and the black square is just plain ol' black ink. You take it back into photoshop and erase the black background so now you just have a hat. But, lo and behold, the damn thing still prints rich black where the borders of the image are.

You decide to go with the hat on a yellow background. The yellow under the image prints out a slightly different shade of yellow.

So, am I supposed to make a clipping path around every single item I place on a colored background? Some of these images I use are of historic fur artifacts that wouldn't take well to a clipping path to eliminate rich black.

More details:

1. I am printing on an HP Laserjet 5550dtn PS
2. I am outputting all blacks as rich black. Doesn't seem to be working
3. The blacks are registration
4. I have run a test page with the same image as a CMYK with black background, CMYK without, RGB without, greyscale without, and a CMYK with clipping path. The only one without a rich black square around it was the clipped one.
5. There are no text effects
6. I read This post but it did not help me.

I think my options are:
1. reinstall print drivers. Maybe it was set up wrong.
2. Do something obvious in InDesign or Photoshop that my idiot brain can't figure out
3. switch careers
4. kill myself
5. switch careers, then kill myself
6. win the lottery

How can I watch videos in black and white on my computer?

siclik — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:40:15 -0800

How can I watch videos on my computer in black and white? I was wondering if there is any way in which I can watch videos on my computer in black and white. Ideally, I'd like to avoid converting all of the videos to black and white. Is there a program that I can play them in that will just discard all of the color information?

I feel it would give the videos a timeless feel. It would also put focus on the dialogue and exaggerate the expressions.

Do black tee shirts have special significance?

the NATURAL — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:04:26 -0800

Why do urban black males wear all-black when committing criminal/violent acts? Is this just a stereotype? It would seem like when popular culture has absorbed terms like "murder-out," which is to make the tint, paint, and rims of a car all-black, and shows like The Wire show shootings by males done in all-black, then the common-sense thing to do would be to run the other way whenever you see people dressed as such on the street.

Why do my black plastic frames turn white?

BugsPotter — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:05:01 -0800

My glasses have black plastic frames and they turn white when wet from water or sweat, how can I get them clean? I initially thought this was from sweat because I first noticed it after going to the gym, but my bright idea of washing the glasses to get the sweat off exacerbated the problem. It basically looks like the plastic itself has turned whitish. They eventually (after a few days) turn black again, but I have no clue what makes them return to their normal color. Any suggestions to either prevent this or to clean them (as well as scientific explanations as to why this happens) would be much appreciated, thanks!

google only brings up the Toni Collette movie and the Goo Goo Dolls song

Lucinda — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:51:59 -0800

Black balloons in chilly, sunny weather. Will they pop? I'm marching a St. Patrick's Day parade tomorrow and we will have many green and many black balloons.

I remembered this afternoon that we had trouble with black balloons in the past in sunny weather; we used them for a "stomp the balloon" game at my son's birthday party and they started spontaneously popping almost immediately.

That was in June, though - it's March now and will be probably 25-30 degrees cooler, though probably the same amount of sun.

Do we need to worry about the black balloons popping in the sunlight, or will the colder temperature keep them okay?

Why does Uncle Tom Say: Only YOU Can Prevent Ghetto Fires?

ezekieldas — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:47:23 -0800

Why does Uncle Tom say: Only YOU Can Prevent Ghetto Fires? Last (2008) summer I read Yvon Chouinard's "Let My People Go Surfing." On page 27 of that book is a photograph of the interior of a shop, a dog in the foreground, and two men working (note the date "C. 1970). The man in the back of the shop is standing in front of this poster (click on the image to zoom). It's a slightly caricatured cartoon drawing (almost in the vein of R. Crumb) of an elderly black man, holding a hoe in his left hand, pointing directly at the viewer with his right. It appears there are charred remains, embers of a building in the background. The text "Remember..." is emblazoned across the top of the poster, the bottom half reads "Uncle Tom says only you can prevent ghetto fires."

I'm aware of the Stowe novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and also the various references to the term Uncle Tom but what does this poster mean? My first reaction was the events around the organization MOVE but that was the later 70s. I've googled various parts of the poster text and get some cryptic references but no clear explanation. I wish I'd stayed in touch with my Black History prof from college.

Please Hive Mind, help!

Black Body Radiation

PaulingL — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:53:47 -0800

What can you tell me about black body radiation? Each week I have been trying to learn about a physics concept with a friend.

After we research on our own, we plan to get together to share what we have learned.

What interesting, exciting, important, etc. information/revelations can you share with me about black body radiation?

How to develop 1940's negatives

Upon Further Review — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:38:06 -0800

Need photography help in the Kansas City Metro area. I have no photog back ground so I need some advice. I have several old black and white negatives from the 1940's. They need to be developed and printed. Then I want to archive them on cd's. The size is 6 1/4 inch by 3 1/2 inch. Any recommendations? Thanks