I like singers with strange voices. I don't like novelty songs (e.g. Betty Boop) and I don't like "songs" that are so avant-garde that they're basically noise (e.g. someone screaming into a microphone). So I'm not looking for strange music. I'm looking for traditional (melodic) music sung by singers with non-traditional singing voices. Examples of what I like: Joanna Newsom, Leon Redbone, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Elaine Stritch. [more inside]
posted on Jun 22, 2008 - 104 answers

You have been weighed and found wanting. Really? Show me. I need an example in popular culture or film. [more inside]
posted on Jun 19, 2008 - 29 answers

Are there any OCR programs that can read Syriac? [more inside]
posted on Mar 14, 2008 - 3 answers

Looking for fictional deaths which might be described as 'sublime'. [more inside]
posted on Mar 5, 2008 - 51 answers

I am having difficulty figuring out whether our arguments are normal in a relationship or whether they're poisonous. [more inside]
posted on Feb 23, 2008 - 64 answers

An individual already possessing strength, intelligence, and skill is recruited and developed by the Government in ways that fuck up his/her mind but give him/her superhuman abilities. She/he eventually turns and uses her/his abilities to bring about the downfall of those who trained her/him. I'm looking for movies that have characters like this. Movies like this that I've already seen and enjoyed include Serenity and The Bourne Ultimatum. [more inside]
posted on Feb 11, 2008 - 37 answers

What are some examples of actors "playing themselves" (not someone purposefully featured as themselves, but someone whose personality is so powerful that it overwhelms the character he/she is supposed to be playing)? For instance, some people say that no matter what movie he's in, Jack Nicholson always plays "Jack Nicholson." Other people say the same for Robert DeNiro or Clint Eastwood. I'm looking for some actors and roles that are the embodiment of this notion.
posted on Jan 10, 2008 - 119 answers

"Forum" (Sondheim)Filter: What's my motivation? [more inside]
posted on Jan 4, 2008 - 4 answers

Where is this idea from? "You can be a connoisseur of anything, even driveway gravel" I have this paraphrased idea in my mind that I swear I read somewhere. However, I can't seem to remember its source. [more inside]
posted on Dec 3, 2007 - 3 answers

Is there a way to set the keyboard character repeat rate to zero in Ubuntu? [more inside]
posted on Nov 29, 2007 - 6 answers

Is there a way to set the keyboard character repeat rate to zero in Windows? [more inside]
posted on Nov 28, 2007 - 2 answers

I just finished reading Scott Smith's "The Ruins" and loved it. I want to read more books like this (and his original "The Simple Plan"). Basically, I want all the suspense and horror, but the people have to seem real to me. I don't have to like them, I just want to know what they are thinking/feeling/fearing so that they aren't just numbers on some gorefest scoreboard. Bonus points if the author is semi-prolific, so I have choices for further reading. Help me, hive mind!
posted on Oct 19, 2007 - 14 answers

Help me ascertain the correct job title for a character I’m writing who deals in high stakes international finance. Difficulty level: I have a limited understanding about stocks, bonds, or securities. [more inside]
posted on Sep 14, 2007 - 8 answers

Did I do something to mess up character encoding in firefox? [more inside]
posted on Sep 9, 2007 - 5 answers

ID anime character Does anyone happen to know who this anime character is and what anime game (or perhaps show) she is from? It appears to be from KID productions which is a game creator but can't seem to find anything more than that. My daughter (the anime fan) has been trying to find out who the character is and wanted me to see if any mefites knew the character. Thanks. Photos of character are here and here .
posted on Sep 7, 2007 - 2 answers

Any way to search for English web pages that contain specific Chinese characters? For example in Google when I set my preference to English pages only and then search for Huamei with the characters 话梅, I get mostly all Chinese pages. [more inside]
posted on Jul 17, 2007 - 9 answers

Do you know of any films where the protagonist is not only unsympathetic, repressed, emotionally closed-off, etc, but does not change his personality throughout the course of the film? Bonus points for films based on a real person/story. [more inside]
posted on Apr 26, 2007 - 85 answers

How can I strengthen my integrity and virtue? As I have become older, I feel that I am not as virtuous as I would like to be. I am moving into leadership roles at work, and also into parenthood soon, and I feel it in important to exercise my moral muscles. Is my upbringing going to dictate how virtuous I am as an adult, or are there things I can do to stand more upright in character?
posted on Apr 19, 2007 - 27 answers

I'm reading through some instructional material regarding the French language from About.com, and am running up against some inconsistencies in the way accented characters are being rendered in Firefox. Some pages render correctly, and others do not - the accented characters are replaced by question mark characters (these pages render correctly in Safari). Why would there be a difference between pages like this?
posted on Feb 21, 2007 - 2 answers

Who would sacrifice their reputation for the sake of the world? [more inside]
posted on Feb 14, 2007 - 71 answers

"Therefore a gentleman sends a man to a distant mission in order to test his loyalty..." What are some modern ways in which to discover others' true character? [more inside]
posted on Jan 26, 2007 - 43 answers

Any recommendations for children's books featuring little girls? [more inside]
posted on Jan 13, 2007 - 37 answers

What is a typical excellent grad student like as a person? I'm not interested in grades/GRE scores. My concern is with character, personality, work ethic. [more inside]
posted on Jun 28, 2006 - 26 answers

XML Character Woes: I'm getting the error Reference to undefined entity 'ldquo' (and 'rdquo, etc) when I try to open my XML files with IE or Firefox. Can you help me fix it? [more inside]
posted on May 25, 2006 - 9 answers

What is involved in, or how would you write, "a letter of reference stating the applicant's high standard of character"?
posted on Apr 20, 2006 - 7 answers

Probably easy question about PHP and unicode (UTF-8) and RegEx. I'm trying to modify a php webcalendar (VTcalendar) to allow Japanese text in calendar postings. I've found all the variables to get the UTF-8 headers, and so japanese text manually inserted into pages appears fine. But, there's an input validation thingy I don't know how to modify. (short snippet inside) [more inside]
posted on Mar 29, 2006 - 4 answers

Where to find illustrated body parts to mix to create infinite character position/attitudes ? [more inside]
posted on Mar 14, 2006 - 5 answers

I'm preparing a business card for a friend and they want this character [inside] on it. Can I get confirmation that this actually says 'hello' [more inside]
posted on Feb 26, 2006 - 11 answers

What do they call that "and" character that looks like a reversed 3 and where did it come from? [more inside]
posted on Nov 29, 2005 - 12 answers

Can anyone recommend free (or dirt cheap) character recognition software for OSX? [more inside]
posted on Jul 20, 2005 - 4 answers

how do i print a tab character [more inside]
posted on May 3, 2005 - 11 answers

I'm in position where every day I have to judge the character and abilities of people in order to do my job. I have to do it quickly and decisively. Although I have never doubted my ability to do so, in quiet moments, I wonder whether I've been right all along or whether I've just never been proven wrong. Can someone point me to studies of the validity of character judgements? What's the likelihood that I'm right when I judge people? [more inside]
posted on Apr 15, 2005 - 16 answers

Can anyone identify this animated character?
posted on Feb 24, 2005 - 19 answers

I'm looking for fresh examples from literature (short stories, poems, or parts of larger works) that involve characters who stick to a set of good principles and are admired, even though sticking to the principles may involve some sacrifice for everyone else. A good example would be Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas". I'm also looking for examples in which people stubbornly stand by good principles when they are clearly getting in the way of some greater good. [MI]
posted on Jan 17, 2005 - 29 answers

I've got a friend wondering if there's an underlying logic to how Tolkien came up with his character names. Specifically, he's wondering about any meanings or allusions to the name "Boromir." Any leads on this kind of scholarship?
posted on Dec 19, 2003 - 11 answers