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Speak the speech trippingly. Or pitched low. Or with a mumble.

grumblebee — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:07:15 -0800

Is there a resource that lists and explains the various effects one can use to accessorized speech, such as altering pitch, speeding up, slowing down, etc.? As a director, I often have to help actors make vocal choices. My company regularly employs doubling -- that is using one actor to play multiple parts. So that the audience doesn't get confused, it's great if the actor makes each of his characters sound different.

Some actors are naturally gifted this way. Others need help.

Note: like most modern actors and directors, I take a psychological approach to character work. So I would never simply tell an actor something like "speak more quickly" or "raise your pitch." But once we've done the psychological work, it would be awesome to see an array of choices from which you could pick an appropriate set of effects.

The vocal instrument is flexible but not infinite. There are only so many things one can do while speaking: add gruffness/gravel, change the pitch, change the speed, change the degree of annunciation, try an accent, etc.

I would like a complete list. The perfect list would include effect, example (e.g. an actor who naturally talks with that effect, such as George C. Scott for gravel) and any hints/pitfalls to help create the effect without hurting your voice.

I have a bunch of Voice-For-The-Actor books, but none has the list I'm looking for. If such a list doesn't exist, maybe we could compile one together here.

SharePoint CQWP: How to use today's date to compare to another field

momzilla — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:38:31 -0800

SharePoint CQWP: How on earth can I use today's date to compare to another field in a calculated column or filter in SharePoint? (WSS 3.0, MOSS 2007) We have two subsites that have announcements lists which we are using to display deadlines. We are using the Content Query Web Part on the parent site homepage to roll up the deadlines from both subsites. Project manager only wants deadlines that will be expiring within the next seven days to display in the CQWP. This seemed like an easy task to complete ... just use the filter in the CQWP. However, I cannot figure out how to get it to allow for [Expires]-7 or otherwise use Today, Date or Now functions in a calculation.

My first solution was to create a calculated column to determine the beginning date to display the deadline (using the formula of [Expires]-7). The column displays fine in the list, but I wasn't able to get this to work in the CQWP filter because it didn't see this calculated column as a date field, even though I selected "Date" data type when I created it.

My second attempt was to try to create a "countdown" of days until [Expires], wherein I ran into the Today function limitation in calculated fields.

Am I going about this the wrong way or overlooking the obvious? What is the easiest way to achieve this? I'm new to SharePoint, and any guidance is appreciated.

A pirate's life for me...

B-squared — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:08:20 -0800

I need an authoritative listing of the world's seaports (by country) or failing that, a list of the number of seaports by country. Exhaustive searching has only turned up inaccurate/incomplete lists and I can't seem to find one on the IMO website either. Any ideas?

list of wisdom nuggets?

k7lim — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:12:07 -0800

is there a thorough list of basic life things that adults should know? (e.g. go to the dentist twice a year, get your oil changed every __ miles, send thank you notes after interviews). not sure if these qualify as etiquette, common wisdom nuggets, or rules of thumb... but basically i want to make sure that i know what the average wise adult does.

i spent some extra years in grad school, with video games, in the dorms, and want to do a sanity check on my basic American practical knowledge (I understand there's some cultural bias to this; I didn't grow up with the full complement of American Values and Wisdom).

i've seen some books to this effect, but they seem too "self help" or "for dummies." perhaps something a bit more like the rules for my unborn son blog. i've seen rulesofthumb.org and found it a bit meandering and unfocused.

Is anyone else getting quasi-spammed by, I assume, the DNC?

DecemberBoy — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:00:52 -0800

Has anyone else who gave to the Obama campaign or whose email address is otherwise in the possession of the DNC recently had themselves added to mailing lists for local Democrat congressional candidates? So far I've gotten like 4 or 5 confirmation requests from the mailing list of a Democratic congressional candidate in my district stating that they have "received a request to subscribe (my email) to our announcement list", which means my email address has probably been submitted to them that many times. Now, unless someone I know is trying to pull a prank on me, in which case I would think they would subscribe me to some bible-beater candidate's list or NAMBLA or something and not a congressional candidate I'll probably vote for anyway, I have to assume that the DNC is auto-subscribing people to candidates' lists based on their addresses. Now, I don't mind being on Obama's list or getting stuff in the mail asking me to contribute to the DNC, but this sort of thing kind of strikes me as... not cool. I mean, it's just a minor transgression of Internet etiquette all things considered, but nonetheless it kind of smells like spam.

So, I can't be the only one getting this stuff. Is this a widespread phenomenon, or are they only doing it for this particular candidate or some candidates?

List of clean and clear Iranian government transgressions against morality?

GenTso — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:00:29 -0800

Iranian government's worst recent and verifiable transgressions? I realize we mostly all agree a more democratic Iran is better than the pseudo-democratic, mostly theocratic system they have now, and thus we side with the pro-Mousavi protestors. But I am trying to find/put together a list of the Iranian government's worst transgressions in relation to the recent elections and resulting protests. (I have searched Mefi to no avail, and my Google-fu is not helping with clear answers as much as I thought it would - I am guessing partly because of the lack of reporters allowed - I find a lot relying too much on unverifiable sources like Twitter.)

So far, I have come up with (1)Restricting Twitters, (2) Restricting foreign reporters. There is, of course, the constant violence against protesters, but some protesters seem to be willing to get violent themselves, making murky the otherwise clear moral advantage they had. (Hoping more to find more clean and clear, irrefutable violations offensive to anyone's moral sensibilities.)

I need a list of all the countries

billtron — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:55:49 -0800

I'm looking for a randomized list of every nation state in the world, preferably in spreadsheet column form. Is there anything like this?

Increasing the number of items in the "Move to folder" list in Outlook 2007

charlie7691 — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:30:50 -0800

How to increase the number of items in the "Move to folder" list in Outlook 2007? I regularly move my emails using the "Move to folder" button at the top of the window in Outlook 2007. However, the list has a maximum of 9 or so entries and I would like around 15. Any ideas how to increase the length of this list?

Thanks in advance!

Charlie

What do gang member hopefuls read in prison?

monkishies — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:35:49 -0800

Prison gang reading lists and what's on them. Does anyone out there know a concise answer? Most people think you've got to be dumb to get sent to prison or stupid to get caught. But there is a small majority, mainly ex-cons, their families ... I won't bother going through the list here who know for a fact that some of the greatest minds in our country are behind bars. The personal views/politics end here.

I ask this question because recently The History channel has had a rash of shows about most of the larger and more organized gangs in the USA. Not surprisingly they have a very heavy presence in our American prison system. I started to notice a trend that happens when they initiate someone in prison; they often give them rules to memorize and reading lists (of books in the prison library) to learn from. Now, in one of these shows they actually had a quick flash on the screen of one of these lists (the show that day was about the Aryan Brotherhood if you're interested.) I don't have the show on tape and even if I did I doubt that anyone could make anything out significant from the blurry photo of what looked a photo-copy-of-a-photo-copy. I wouldn't be surprised if all of the gangs share very similar lists since they all seem to revolve around the same knowledge-set. This theory was enforced by the fact that the following books were mentioned in every show that had a blurb about "the reading list":

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Gray's Anatomy by Spalding Gray (et. al.)

Now this "list" that was flashed on the screen was on your typical 8x11 size sheet of paper, book names top to bottom, single spaced text @ 13-14pt. (not exact on the size but it was essentially normal hand writing). So, I can tell there is more on these lists than three books!

Please, ex-cons, cons, gang members, prison guards , ANYONE that knows what's on that list help a knowledge thirsty netizen out. I'm not looking for carnal knowledge here (since all of these books are apparently in the prison library system.) I'm just really interested in what these gangs have deemed "must read" literature.

Thanks in advance.

29 things I like about you

jrichards — Tue, 12 May 2009 10:13:07 -0800

Fun/unique ways to present a list of things we like about a friend? It's become a tradition amongst my friends to make a list of things we like about a person for their birthday (like 30 things for a 30th birthday). Usually we just go around in a circle naming things, but lately it's gotten more elaborate.

Today is my friend's 29th birthday and she REALLY likes this tradition. What fun/unique things could we do to or give her that would list the 29 things we like about her? Today is her actual birthday, but we won't be celebrating for a week, so we have time to make something.

We're a pretty silly group and the things we like about a person are usually about half serious/half funny.

Is there any where I could get a top level domain (TLD) as .list ?

schindyguy — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 01:05:08 -0800

Is there any where I could get a top level domain (TLD) as .list ? Or in the near future? I have heard that there might be a way to have .list or .mag top level domains.
Does anyone know if and when they would be available or any information about the rulings / people in charge of this sort of thing?

I can finally clean that lint out of my belly button

zainsubani — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:10:28 -0800

My firm has just announced one-week furloughs for most employees. What struck me as odd was that the email included an attachment labelled "Activities". When I opened it, it was a list: "Top 20 Things to do While on Furlough". Examples:

* Clean out your garage and other storage places and hold a garage sale.
* Go hiking with your pet.
* Renew your library card.

It's like management is just begging to be parodized. Alas, I have not the comedy chops to do it well. Anyone want to suggest some good parody "activities" I could pursue whilst on furlough?

Help solve my SQL mystery

urbanwhaleshark — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:32:42 -0800

How can I get the IN function to work in my SQL? There are two tables, CONTACT and QUEUE. CONTACT's columns are contactid and queuelist. QUEUE's columns are queueid and queuename.

Example CONTACT record
contactid = user1, queuelist = 'q1','q2'

Example QUEUE records
queueid = q1, queuename = Queue1
queueid = q2, queuename = Queue2
queueid = q3, queuename = Queue3

SQL
SELECT queuename
FROM QUEUE
WHERE queueid IN
(SELECT queuelist
FROM CONTACT
WHERE contactid = 'user1')

except this SQL doesn't produce Queue1 and Queue2 as the expected output and I can't figure out why. If I simply replace the select statement in the brackets with 'q1','q2' (the queuelist) it works.

Is there something fundamental I'm missing?

Where to find a comprehensive list of US Governement Agencies

davathar — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:05:24 -0800

I'm building a component to a website that lists Federal, State, and Local government agencies for people to contact. I know that there are sites out there that have this sort of feature already for their own campaigns. Where can I find one or multiple lists to combine that contain Governmental Agency names, descriptions, and contact information?

RSS Feeds -> OPML -> List of websites...how?

divabat — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:19:03 -0800

How do I get a list of all the blogs I'm subscribed to, plus their URLs? I use FeedDemon/Newsgator. I'd like to generate a list of all my feeds, plus the site URL, into one document. Categorisation doesn't really matter at this moment.

How do I accomplish this? I figure I'll need the OPML file, but how do I turn it into something readable?

If possible I'd like the URL of the SITE, not of the RSS feed. Aside from a bunch of searching feeds, this shouldn't be a problem. However, I do know that a bunch of the sites I subscribe to use something like Feedburner to manage their feeds. How do I get the source URL?

I tried searching Google but I must be missing a keyword because I can't get anything useful.

How to format a list in a specific way in Microsoft Word 2007?

paleyellowwithorange — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:06:46 -0800

How can I create a justified list in Microsoft Word 2007, as seen here? I would like to know how to format a list in Microsoft Word 2007, to look like the lists (except the first one) on this page of Adobe Illustrator keyboard shortcuts.

The list needs to be left and right justified, and to have 'dots' in the space between the text at the left and the text at the right.

Is there any way to achieve this with automatic formatting?

Help me achieve catharsis through reading

brandnew — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:11:47 -0800

Fiction or film recommendations with characters that undergo serious catharsis I've been having some rough times lately, emotionally. My life has suddenly become very strange and foreign after years of stability. I'm doubting all kinds of things and solid relationships are being turned upside down. I want to read my pain away. Are there any novels or films where the protagonist suddenly questions everything in their life and finds that they're not living the life they were meant to live? I'm looking for books highly character-driven, relationship-oriented,with difficult life-changing decisions to be made (or not made). modern, if possible. A lot of books these days seem to be highly clever, which is ok, but I'm more interested in empathy and emotional resonance. Surrealism and magical realism ok, but I'm looking to identify in realistic ways. Something that will hit me harder than a dose of MDMA

Help us manage our Christmas lists

twistedmetal — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:32:30 -0800

I am trying to find a site that will help the family manage our Christmas lists. 6 family members. Unique logins. Each member can input their lists and everyone else in our group can see it. Now, when I buy a present for someone, I would like everyone else to be able to see that I already bought that present, EXCEPT for the person that I bought the present for. For example, if I see my brother wants an MP3 player, and I buy one, my sister can check the site/list and see the MP3 player has been taken. But, I do not want my brother to be able to see that anyone else bought that present. Emailing while viable, is messy. Any ideas?

Need a list of all trade magazines published in English. Help!

low_horrible_immoral — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:54:49 -0800

Longshotfilter: where can I find a list of all the trade (ie, non-consumer) magazines published in English? Is there a list published somewhere (online or on paper) of all the trade magazines published in English - or in the US/UK? By trade I mean publications like Construction Today, PR Weekly etc. I have googled and yahoo has a list but it isn't complete, unfortunately.

Alternatively (!) is there a list of ALL magazines published - a directory of ISSN numbers or something?

Many thanks!

A good mass e-mail broadcast service

crapmatic — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:24:13 -0800

What is a reputable mass email service? I want to send product announcements to hundreds of people who have voluntarily opted in. What would be a good, cheap company to do this with that has good reputation and won't use/resell the addresses I give them? Also if they're reputable I assume they won't be in RBLs and other blacklists.

I've found that Google Groups stinks for this as they tend to decline invitations/additions on arbitrary grounds -- I've experienced this and I've seen ask.mefi threads about it, so that's out.

Looking for a Spanish ad.

ricochet biscuit — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:48:39 -0800

Help me locate a Spanish-language political ad. A couple of years back in the Year's Best Ads compilation that comes out of the Cannes Advertising Festival, there was a political television commercial from an election in Latin America.

It was white text on a black screen with a voiceover reading the text, and (I believe) each line was highlighted as it was read aloud. The text was remarkably pessimistic in tone, talking about corruption, economic difficulties and so forth. This progressed through a dozen or fifteen lines before reaching the last line, which was "But we can turn it around."

The highlighting began moving back upwards line by line, with the voiceover again reading each line from bottom to top: clauses were thus rearranged, modifiers had new antecedent and so on, and the text now spoke of optimism and opportunities.

Can anyone steer me the text, or better yet, a link to the ad itself?

I dont have time to be asking about this. I have stuff to do.

damnjezebel — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 20:29:36 -0800

Help me get uninsane with prioritizing, please. I have a list of projects that would thank you for it. I am impossibly scatterbrained and undiagnosed as ADHD (I'm just waiting on my dr's appt to get meds to help me focus, so I'm sure this is part of my problem). I have tons of stuff that I need to do on a daily/weekly basis and I am having so much trouble keeping track of it and I feel so overwhelmed. Right now, I'm using Rainlendar's to-do list and it does show me what I need to do, and I categorize it in order of importance (#1, #2, etc). But it's small and I'm unable to customize it.

I just need something to help me get the most out of my awake hours.

Aside from the ADHD thing which is being handled, are there any websites/softwarez out there that can help me get a handle on my projects? Sort of making an excel spreadsheet that's color-coded and put it on my fridge, I mean?

OR if any of you have a system you use aside from a traditional list, I'd appreciate your suggestions. Thank you.

Lists of things

OutlawedYeomen — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:36:17 -0800

Looking for artists, writers or blogs who work on lists of things. I'm looking for things (on or off-line) in the spirit of Richard Serra's Verb List, or Georges Perec's classifications.

List of new businesses in CO...should I fork over the dough or keep looking?

mynameisluka — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:43:39 -0800

I need a list of new businesses/incorporations in Colorado. Is buying one my only option? I'm working on a project that requires an up-to-date list of the newest business filings in Colorado. I'm trying to harness Google in my hunt for such a list, but my luck seems to be failing me. Hours of exhaustive searching have only yielded direct mail companies that want money for a list of new business filings and incorporations.

I've used the Secretary of State's business database search, but it times out and won't return the information I need.

Anyone have ideas for alternative ways to find out about new business filings in Colorado, or should I suck it up and pay for one? If I do end up forking over some cash, can you recommend a reputable vendor?

Where did my typed in URL history go?

lee — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 10:03:06 -0800

Firefox 3.0 address bar drop down displays "Recently Bookmarked" list. How do I make it show URLs that I have typed in, as it used to with Firefox 2.0?