I feel overwhelmingly anxious over sentimental-ish type situations, like seeing long lost friends, reuniting with family, etc.. to the point I avoid it entirely. How can I just ease off?? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on May 1, 2009 - 3 answers

How does one apply for financial aid at a public university as an independent party? This is to imply there will not be financial assistance from the parent/guardian; is there a way for their income to be excluded as criteria in evaluating aid eligibility? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Mar 29, 2008 - 11 answers

Can someone tell me how to find a good health insurance broker in LA, or recommend one you've used? Finding individual health insurance here is MUCH more difficult than I expected it would be, seeing how I'm extremely healthy. I need to find a professional to help me with this! [more inside]
posted by np312 on Jun 28, 2007 - 9 answers

I need affordable individual health insurance not merely a discount health plan - where do I get it? [more inside]
posted by orangeshoe on Sep 18, 2006 - 21 answers

When, in the course of human events, an awesome individual decides to run for office, and when an amateur nerd overhears this and is tickled pink, and wishes to set up a blog for this awesome individual, where would this amateur nerd find free political candidate's blog templates? [more inside]
posted by By The Grace of God on Nov 19, 2005 - 4 answers

There’s a long tradition of telling a story, say, around a campfire, or to a group of friends in a bar, and based on the feedback you get, changing the story to suit or entertain your audience. Today, the web gives everyone the ability to tell a story and receive feedback from a much wider audience than was previously possible. Two examples I can think of are the blogging phenomenon and Shelley Jackson’s hypertext writings. I’m looking for traditional/historical examples and sources as well as as well as online equivalents?
posted by chocolatepeanutbuttercup on Oct 24, 2005 - 9 answers

FictionFilter: what are the legal ramifications of using living or dead individuals and corporations in fictional works, without obtaining consent and in ways which diverge from history?

Let's say, for example, I'm writing a novel about the movie business and a fictional motion picture studio. For sh*ts and giggles, call it MetaMovies. Can I write that MetaMovies purchased the MGM library of films in the mid-90s, and that the fictional founder of MetaMovies (the MetaMogul, if you will) was, at various points in his life, married to Marilyn Monroe and Ava Gardner? Fueded with Orson Welles? Famously knocked out Marlon Brando when Brando walked off the set of a completely fictitious movie? I've seen novels that have dealt fictitiously with the lives of public figures, but I've never seen corporations woven into those stories -- nor do I know whether their authors have had to approach the estates of celebrities to authorize said treatment. However, I recently finished the excellent Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and the detailed descriptions of the English government's attempt to use magic against Napoleon's encroaching army lent a cogent sense of verisimilitude to the otherwise fantastic subject matter.
posted by mrkinla on Jan 24, 2005 - 16 answers