Are there Asian, African, or Spanish speaking equivalents to the Arthurian legends?
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posted by gt2
on Sep 16, 2012 -
30 answers
I have no idea how to talk to normal people about my not-normal relationship, particularly when it comes to parents. At what point does it become strange?
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posted by platypus of the universe
on Sep 14, 2012 -
34 answers
Hypothetical (I'm writing a story): is it okay/normal for someone to visit a cemetery and mourn, even if their loved-one wasn't buried there?
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posted by Trexsock
on Sep 12, 2012 -
44 answers
Help me put together a list of 1980s Hollywood films that indulge in faux Asian magic and mysticism. I'm thinking along the lines of
Gremlins, Big Trouble in Little China, Little Shop of Horrors, and
The Golden Child.
Bonus points if the plot kicks off with a wise old shopkeeper selling weird things.
posted by roger ackroyd
on Sep 7, 2012 -
31 answers
I read (and failed to bookmark) an article or blog post a week or two ago that drew parallels between the idea of "corporate personhood" and the "quantify everything, optimize your own happiness" ethos shared by many young people today. Basically the gist of it was that many people were emulating corporate "persons" rather than real people as role models. Can you help me find it?
posted by idontlikewords
on Aug 24, 2012 -
5 answers
Enlighten me on current state of the art thinking, discourse and vocabulary around gender politics please. Terminally unique details inside.
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posted by infini
on Aug 22, 2012 -
31 answers
Recommendations for Chinese literature that presents average Chinese citizens in context of a modern Chinese urban setting
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posted by TheOtherSide
on Aug 12, 2012 -
4 answers
I've recently been watching Twin Peaks again, and I've been wondering... to people who actually watched it air in its original run, what was it like seeing something like this on TV? Did you have watching parties that I've heard so much about? Was the reveal of the killer and the twists and turns along the way surprising? Did you watch until the end of the second season, and were you disappointed when it got the plug pulled on it?
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posted by codacorolla
on Aug 3, 2012 -
66 answers
Have olympic spoilers always been this bad? I'm so so very annoyed to already know the outcome of tonights gymnastics, just like I've inadvertantly known the outcome of almost every event I am interested in so far in these games. Even though I try to avoid the obvious spoiler media outlets, I can't ignore everything; esp not elevator tv's, the radio, or overheard coversations at the cubicle farm. Are the days of sitting on the edge of my seat during the evening broadcast, jumping for joy at an unexpected gold over? Or has it always been this way and I'm just catching up now?
posted by shimmer
on Jul 31, 2012 -
30 answers
How have you negotiated being frustrated with the culture and experience of young-white-people-in-the-city without alienating friends or becoming a hypocrite/cynic/other mopey monster variant?
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posted by elephantsvanish
on Jul 28, 2012 -
28 answers
To what extent do American Highschools resemble the stereotypical American Highschool seen in just about every movie and TV show ever, withever present competition for social status, rigidly defined cliques, omnipresent bullying, etc... etc?
posted by Artw
on Jul 18, 2012 -
86 answers
What is the relationship between the ritual and the algorithm? Are all rituals algorithmic?
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posted by 0bvious
on Jul 17, 2012 -
16 answers
What could slow down the pace of change (religious/scientific/economic/cultural) in a civilization? (Please see specific details inside.)
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posted by Wretch729
on Jul 11, 2012 -
23 answers
Help me with ideas to make my Chinese relative feel comfortable on her first visit to the U.S.
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posted by goodsearch
on Jun 30, 2012 -
16 answers
I always hear that the traditionally heavy US diet ( or any " traditional" cuisine, really ) was developed for people working long hard hours of manual labor, farm work, etc., so what did the people who had sedentary, less active jobs eat? What were the historical diets of people who didn't haul lumber through the woods or dig ditches, but recorded numbers or did accounting or translated documents?
posted by The Whelk
on Jun 22, 2012 -
37 answers
What culture(s) is the practice of putting beads or string around your beard from? (Just to clarify, I mean putting the facial hair into a 'ponytail' at the chin and then stringing the beads on.)
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posted by abirdinthehand
on Jun 18, 2012 -
3 answers
I live in Philadelphia. I love sculpture and art installations, but suck at finding them when they happen. Help me find RSS feeds or email services that'll tell me when cool art-type things happen nearby me!
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posted by Rory Marinich
on Jun 14, 2012 -
6 answers
I'm a 6'4 dude, medium build, long arms. I wear 38/36 pants and a medium tall shirt. I am a non affiliated humanist. I would like ankle to knee length clothing, loose fitting and of plain style. Complication: cultural overloads.
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posted by seanmpuckett
on Jun 3, 2012 -
17 answers
I’m currently working on my masters in an Industrial/Occupational Psychology program. My main topic of interest will be differences in national, social, and organizational cultures. What sort of anthropological or ethnological resources or books can you recommend regarding learning how to be good participant-observer and the techniques to do so?
I’m already familiar with the works on culture from researchers such as Geert Hofestede, Edward Hall, and Fons Trompenaars.
If there are any other recommendations regarding relevant resources or texts in related fields that my compliment my studies, please let me know. My interests lie in psychology, sociology, and politics which I believe are applicable.
Thanks in advance!
posted by Che boludo!
on May 22, 2012 -
5 answers
What do people outside of the U.S. do when they're feeling depressed and aimless? Are there different cultural traditions, rituals or events to pick yourself up and set a new path for yourself? Something more than "take a walk to clear your head?"
posted by Cool Papa Bell
on May 13, 2012 -
14 answers
I'm interested in resources relating studies on discrimination in the United States today. I'm thinking of something along the lines of
this Tim Wise post linking to a bunch of studies, but something a little more comprehensive, recent, without links through Facebook, if possible. Am particularly interested in data along the lines Wise mentions, about contemporary discrimination against African Americans in housing, employment, etc. Does this exist? Thanks!
posted by ibmcginty
on May 2, 2012 -
1 answer
Curb Your Enthusiasm Filter: Which episodes, out of all eight seasons, best epitomizes Larry's (NYC) culture clash with life in L.A.?
My suspicion is that it's "The Shrimp Incident" from Season 2, but perhaps there is a better exemplar.
posted by rudster
on Apr 24, 2012 -
7 answers
Why is weird stuff growing in my flasks of 1% tryptone broth after I've autoclaved them to mix and sterilize the broth?
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posted by pwb503
on Apr 23, 2012 -
14 answers
When children's books first became inexpensive enough for average parents to buy, were they looked down upon as a technology which limits a child's imagination?
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posted by fairmettle
on Apr 7, 2012 -
6 answers
I'm looking for 'Folk' Web Cultures. I am thinking of the recent take-down of Geocities, which seemed to refresh people's love of the naff, kitsch aesthetic it was famous for, as a prime example. What are some other folk cultures still lingering in the dark corners of the web?
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posted by 0bvious
on Apr 4, 2012 -
11 answers
What are the best blogs, online periodicals, or discussion groups that address the history and consumption of food in an intelligent and critical way? (In other words, not just a place to swap recipes.) I would love to know where people find the most engaging ideas about food.
posted by tnygard
on Mar 17, 2012 -
6 answers
I've always prided myself on being tough and low-maintenance; how can I become more demanding?
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posted by anonymous
on Mar 16, 2012 -
34 answers
In Iraqi culture, does any whole number between 20 and 50 have special significance or associations (positive or negative)?
posted by kalapierson
on Mar 10, 2012 -
2 answers
Identity crisis filter: ethnicity edition. Did you grow up one ethnicity, and choose another later in life? Do you identify with one ethnicity over another, even though both are in your lineage? Did you deny your ethnicity throughout life, then later claim it?
I need some help working through my ethnicity self-identification, also in the ways of culture appropriation.
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posted by FirstMateKate
on Mar 8, 2012 -
20 answers
How and when did manicure rituals begin? I understand anyone might want to trim their nails, but I mean the rest of it.
posted by MidSouthern Mouth
on Feb 25, 2012 -
9 answers
What are your favourite interesting, informative or unusual FB Groups or Pages?
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posted by Artaud
on Feb 20, 2012 -
10 answers
Has anyone ever been in a relationship with someone from another culture? How do you get over some of the fundamental differences in world views?
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posted by northxnorthwest
on Feb 16, 2012 -
30 answers
To what extent do cultural values affect foreign policy making between U.S. and China?
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posted by espada0
on Feb 14, 2012 -
11 answers
A quote from a recent NYT article about American-invented
Chinese takeout boxes states, "The structure has come to represent the idea of Eastern cuisine in Western society even though this packaging is not used for food containment in Chinese culture." Is there a term for these kinds of cultural placeholders, objects which end up symbolizing another culture, while not actually having anything to do with that culture in reality? Are there other examples of this?
posted by Blazecock Pileon
on Jan 15, 2012 -
67 answers
In watching Azumanga Daioh (anime) and in comments here and around the web, there seems to be a trope or expectation or whatever you would call it that Japanese people are actually afraid of foreigners.
Is that accurate? If so, why is that?
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies
on Jan 14, 2012 -
13 answers
