Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with castle

Space cowboys don't wear scarves!

andrewcilento — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:30:35 -0800

Does anyone recognize and know where I can buy this scarf Nathan Fillion was wearing? On the most recently aired episode of Castle, Nathan Fillion was wearing this scarf (sorry, poor quality Hulu screenshot). I've checked a number of different clothing retailers, and while I've found some scarves that are similar, they've all got something significantly different about them (too bright, different width, not as long, etc). I'm looking for a new scarf, and I'd like it to be this one if I can figure out where I can get one. Anyone know?

Help Me Remember These Obscure Toys

sjuhawk31 — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:09:00 -0800

ObscureToyFilter: Help me remember a toy from my childhood. My siblings and I are remembering plastic, colored blocks and cylinders that unfolded to become characters. We recall a king and queen, almost certainly a pig, and maybe a cow. Google has failed us so far. It was almost like these things were precursors to Transformers, but they were far less complex (as we were far younger). They would only unfold once, on a hinge, and the character would be printed on the inside of the shape. They weren't perfect halves, either; there would be little legs and arms sticking out.

This would most likely be in the 1984-1988 range, when we were between 5 and 10, but perhaps earlier.

Bonus points for pictures proving accuracy.

Fishes upon fishes? Allegorical iconography?

shirobara — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:07:32 -0800

What, if anything, is this picture from the comic book Castle Waiting based on? I'm with Tolly here, I don't understand allegorical iconography. Is it based on an existing picture or concept? There's no explanation from the author anywhere, and it hasn't appeared in the comic before or since.

Where is that?

Rash — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 13:50:33 -0800

What is this building? Castle, palace or maybe even a hotel, possibly on the Rhine or Danube. It's on the cover of a Viking brochure I received and unlike every other photo inside, this one isn't identified!

But mommy, I don't wanna be Martha Stewart

Solomon — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 05:19:20 -0800

Help me not tidy other people's houses. I've been good friends with my boss since he joined the company we work for about 8 months ago. He's a nice friendly guy, and we clicked fairly quickly. Recently, he's been working very long shifts (13 hrs, 6 days straight, with no backup whatsoever) and it's been getting him down, so I've been trying to cheer him up a bit. We've been going out for coffee, etc, and he's been involving me in his world more - I've been to his house, his allotment etc. I know a fair bit about growing veg, so I offered to help out if he wanted, which he said would be cool. Anyway, the first time I went to his house, I really had to try hard to not open my mouth about the state the place was in - cat/dog hair everywhere, washing up not done, dirty bathroom, etc.

I realise that he's been busy. I realise that this is his house (he lives alone). I realise that it's none of my business. But when I go there I get this urge to clean and tidy everything, which I doubt would go down very well. I keep a certain level of tidiness myself, and it's natural inclination to start extending this level to every environment I'm in.

However, I really wouldn't thank anyone to come into my domain and mess with my stuff, so my question is, how can I not feel this way? I really want to not be "interfering friend". How can I realise that this is his space, and most certainly not mine. How can I learn to be more "hands off" in my relationships?

Please keep this about me and my neuroses, and not about me and my boss. I do this a lot, with various different people/places, not just him.

Final scene of

tabulem — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 17:51:27 -0800

In the final scene of the novel "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K. Dick.... is the fictional writer Abendsen actually living in OUR world?

Just finished this great book, and was wondering if others puzzled over the final scene as I did...

My reading is that Hawthorne Abendsen (author of "The Grasshopper lies heavy") and his wife Caroline are actually living in OUR world. Juliana Frink slips into their world (i.e. our world) from the fantasy world of the novel, in the same way that Mr. Tagomi slips into the real world and sees the Embarcadero Freeway earlier in the novel. In the real world, "The Grasshopper lies heavy" would be a novel about Germany and Japan winning the war, not losing it.

Evidence for this...

(1) [Juliana said:] "The Gestapo file said you're attracted to women like me."
Abendsen, with only the slightest change of expression, said, "There hasn't been a Gestapo since 1947."
"The SD, then, or whatever it is."
"Would you explain?" Caroline said in a brisk voice.

I take this passage to reflect the Abendsen's worldview in which the Gestapo ceased to exist during the Nuremberg trials, in approximately that year. If he was in the world of the novel, he would probably accept Gestapo as an alternative term for SD.

(2) "You could at least carry a weapon," his wife said. "I know someday someone you invite in and converse with will shoot you down, some Nazi expert paying you back;" ...

For her to be expecting a Nazi expert implies he has written a book where the Germans win and are shown to be barbarians (like "The Man in the High Castle"). If he had written a book where the Germans lose, they would be fearing assassination by the Reich, not by some "Nazi expert".

(3) Juliana said, "I wonder why the oracle would write a novel. Did you ever think of asking it that? And why one about the Germans and the Japanese losing the war? Why that particular story and no other one? What is there it can't tell us directly, like it always has before? This must be different, don't you think?"
Neither Hawthorne nor Caroline said anything.

My interpretation is that they don't say anything because they are shocked that she thinks the book has the Axis losing. In his world, his book has the Axis winning.

(4) Raising his head, Hawthorne scrutinized her. He had now an almost savage expression. "It means, does it, that my book is true?"
"Yes," she said.
With anger he said, "Germany and Japan lost the war?"
"Yes."

I read it that he's angry because he realizes that she has slipped in from the "alternate reality" (which is "true") where the Axis wins. ("This girl is a daemon" he says a few paragraphs down...) So he has just found out that his alternative reality novel where the Axis wins is the real reality. That's why he's angry.

Did anyone else read it like this?

FlavorCrystalFilter

lain — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 13:15:28 -0800

Why aren't there any White Castle locations on the west coast? Is the White Castle franchise just coastists?

Affordable Ireland Accomodations

unccivil — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 06:03:47 -0800

Traveling to Ireland in Sept. Will be renting a car in Dublin and seeing the countryside for a week. Any suggestions for affordable (<100 eu per person per night) castle accommodations? Recommendations on B&B's also welcome. Also, what are the must-see, non-"touristy" attractions.

Where can I find episodes of Takeshi's Castle?

WinnipegDragon — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 19:38:07 -0800

Where can I find episodes of Takeshi's Castle? Of course I got hooked on the slapstick action of MXC, but I find the over-the-top dubbing to be a bit painful. I'd love to find the original episodes, but Google has failed me.

Has anyone found episodes for download or sale anywhere?

Looking for "Castle" computer game

alsorises — Sun, 31 Jul 2005 21:45:53 -0800

Many years ago (late eighties/early nineties), I used to play a delightful DOS-based RPG on my father's Olivetti computer. It was simply called "Castle" and involved a quest through an ASCII-rendered castle -- fighting demons and ogres, acquiring inventory, and so forth. The Olivetti went to its final rest around 1996, but this computer game was, for me, just as entertaining as anything on the market today. Is anyone out there familiar with this game? Could anyone suggest where I could find a copy? Unsurprisingly, Googling "castle" doesn't seem to get me very far, and I'm not sure where else to begin.

I can't find the title of a movie I saw as a kid in the 80s

pelletierm — Wed, 23 Mar 2005 21:29:43 -0800

As a web developer I can usually find what I want on the Internet. This however, has stumped me for over five years. Please help me find any info about this movie. I saw it in the 80s, possibly the early 90s. For the amount of detail I recall about the movie, I can't believe I've never found anything on the net. The description follows: I'm pretty sure it's live action, but cartoon is possible. It is fantasy, and involved a group of kids (maybe brother/sister) that encountered a palace of some kind, which I believe sat atop a stone peninsula (there is a scene where the kids are travelling along the side of a cliff toward the palace). I believe a witch or evil sorceress lived there. The palace housed a large glass dome, under which a tree bore 'eternal youth' fruit (apples or peaches, I think). The dome protects/preserves the tree and is locked with a big golden key. The climax of the film is when the kids get the key, and somehow break the glass. I don't recall if you see the witch age rapidly, but it's possible. The kids may or may not have been accompanied by friendly monsters (though I think this may be a mixed memory from 'my favorite monster'). Any thoughts, comments and details are *greatly* appreciated.

Dark Castle

ORthey — Fri, 25 Feb 2005 19:09:29 -0800

Did anyone used to play Dark Castle on the old Macs? I spent a lot of my childhood playing it... and I'm thirsting for more. Now I have a PC - does anyone know of a way for me to find it online? Or elsewhere?