Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with monster

please help me i.d. this photo(series) and the artist

Baby_Balrog — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:13:55 -0800

Argh! Can't remember the name of this series of bizarre photos. I think it was something like, "What's the matter with Jonathan" or something like that. It's making me crazy. Please help.

Where does electrical smoke come from?

Jeff Howard — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:43:16 -0800

Would pre-industrial cultures have been familiar with the odor of electrical smoke under another name? Are there natural sources or was it introduced to the world with the adoption of electrical appliances?

Scary kids' show with a monster in the bed?

arianell — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:36:39 -0800

My brother is trying to locate a kids' show/movie from the late 90s involving a monster that moves through a child's bed. It would have aired in either 1998 or 1999, and my brother is pretty sure it wasn't an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark (plus, Wikipedia's list of episodes doesn't contain anything that meets his description).

All he remembers is that the monster looked sort of like Swamp Thing, and that it had a necklace made of the toys and bones of its conquests. He thinks the protagonist of the story was a young boy with an older brother.

Our information is vague enough that Google hasn't been much help.

Can I use a set of high-quality Component video cables as high-quality compsite video cables?

ManInSuit — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:46:47 -0800

Can I use a set of high-quality Component video cables as high-quality compsite video cables? I need to buy three component video cables. I want ones of reasonably good quality. A store near my house is selling a set of decent-looking component video cables (Monster Ultra 600). To my untrained eye, the component video cable set looks a lot like three composite video cables in one box.

Would it make sense to buy those, instead of separate composite cables ? Or is there some way in which component video and composite video cables are different from each other?

What is this monster in my house

gueneverey — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:41:11 -0800

Does anyone know what this bizarre stuffed animal monster is? So, my fiancee found this thing at a thrift store in Boulder, Colorado maybe 10 years ago. The people at the store didn't know what it was, and thought it was so weird they gave it to him for free. We're trying to figure out once and for all what the heck it is, and if it's something we really need to keep around the house.

It's got long bendy arms so you can hang it on your shoulders (as a backpack?), and there's a zip-open pouch on its back.

Apparently there was a girl at his high school who was really in to Anime, who had one in a different color, so we suspect maybe it's Japanese?

Bonus points: Anybody want a terrifying stuffed animal monster?

Name these strange older PC games

DetonatedManiac — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:11:33 -0800

PC-game-filter: I vaguely remember reading about these games years ago, help me remember what they were and bonus points for where to "obtain" them. 1) A game about B-movie like monsters --or maybe it was a make your own monster and set it loose on a city with a "movie mode" tacked on? 2) A game where you control a bizarre floating island that you build into a "battle ship", with jet engines, guns and even a battering ram. More info:

#1) The "Monster Game" I remember reading a review/preview of it about 4-7 years ago. The premise was you could make (or recreate) famous B-movie monsters and set them loose in a simulated city. I think the review mentioned specifically as examples Giant Ants, but I got the impression things like Giant lizards, blobs, aliens were also part of it too. I remember the review said something like if you do enough damage the Army shows up to fight you.

Somehow I think there was also some sort of "movie mode" where it would go into black and white and you could watch a cinematic replay of the damage you wrought on the city. I am PRETTY SURE that the movie making was NOT a primary part of the game, just a bonus (so I'm not confusing this with the recent Movie-maker games... this was certainly years before those titles).

#2 The floating battle Island game. This one I read a review of about 5-10 years ago. If it helps it was a PC gamer review and I specifically remember the reviewer comparing the feel of the game to a "MC Escher painting where giant lizards are floating on an Island in space" or something like this.

The general premise was a sort of space battle/city builder (I guess). But I specifically remember the review talking about how you could build/buy jet engines to strap onto your island to make it move, and then you buy a mix if different ranged weaponry (from catapults to cannons and *I THINK* futuristic stuff like lasers... and for CERTAIN a battering ram) and stuff like that. Then I guess your battle island fights other battle islands.

Again, all of the above information was from PC game magazine reviews (I never actually played either of these games), so be skeptical of my game-play descriptions accordingly. I cannot remember which magazine the "Monster-movie" one was (and in fact it may have been a "PREview" so I don't know if the game was even released), but the "battle island"one was almost certainly from PC gamer and a review.

I'd be content just to know the names of these games as it has bugged me for years looking for them... and of course would really thrill me if I could DL and play them. THANKS HIVE MIND!

Where can I find Japanese monster movie samples?

awfurby — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:50:03 -0800

Where can I find a good source of audio samples from Japanese monster movies? My band has recorded a song about being abducted by a giant electric flying insect and we need a couple of voiceovers to drop in to the song - something along the lines of "It's coming this way!!" or "No-one can escape Mothra/Godzilla/other monster's raging fury", or something similar. The samples can be in English, but Japanese is preferable. Does anyone know of an online resource that has something like what we're looking for?

Wendigo myth in the Northwest

Artw — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:36:03 -0800

Is the Wendigo purely a Northeast American (and Canadian) myth? If so is there a Northwest equivalent?

Identify this monster tale?

wolfsleepy — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:11:48 -0800

I'm trying to track down something I remembered watching on television a long time ago. The only thing I can really remember is the climax of the story, which I vaguely recall was about these parents or caretakers (babysitters, perhaps) telling two young children about some kind of bogeyman. At the end, a giant arm reaches through the front door and grabs them while the children watch. I have a feeling it could have been an episode of an Outer Limits type show, or maybe a Trilogy of Terror type thing.

Some kind of monster (book)

rbs — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 18:39:20 -0800

I am trying to find a SciFi book that I read the first couple of chapters of. It involved two companies racing to come up with some kind of genetic cure and in the process creating a monster or something. If I recall, it was linked to either here or on boingboing (I asked Doctorow and he has no memory of it). Anyway, it was originally released a chapter at a time and people tipped the author and he kept writing and it was available on Amazon.

What was it?

Who was that mean monster?

chippie — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 12:40:14 -0800

Does anyone remember a t-shirt from the 1970s that had a green monster on it giving the finger? I remember seeing this monster as an option at iron-on t-shirt shops in the 70s. He was round and hairy, with thin arms and legs. Big smile, mean eyes, gap in teeth, and flipping the bird. At least, that's how I remember it. Anyone who sends a link to an image of him will be favorited. Thanks!

Monster Mash Game

C17H19NO3 — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 09:41:02 -0800

Help me find an old computer game. I remember playing a computer game from when I was much younger (fifth grade) which involved (from what I can remember) a haunted house/mansion with monsters, and in each room you had to perform certain tasks. I remember the music at the very beginning of the game was Monster Mash. I also seem to think that the object was to get keys or something to be able to escape.

Does anybody know what the heck I am talking about?

Who was Rhodo the Monster?

moonmilk — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 18:04:03 -0800

I've had this little song stuck in my head for decades. I think it was the title song to a recurring sketch on a radio comedy show, possibly Ducksbreath Mystery Theater, but I haven't been able to google up any evidence that I didn't just imagine the whole thing. Do you have any more information about Rhodo the Monster from Outer Space? Rhodo the Monster, he's from outer space
Flying to destroy us, destroy the human race
Rhodo the Monster, from real far away!

Monsters with high self-esteem?

Metroid Baby — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 09:36:10 -0800

"Me not ugly, me is beautiful." Do you know what monster might have said this? I'm not sure of the exact wording. I'm not even sure if it's something I read or saw or just made up in my head.

Specifically, I'm thinking of a scene, possibly in a children's show, where a person is talking about an "ugly" monster. The monster overhears, and pipes up -- possibly in monsterly broken English, but maybe not -- that he is beautiful, not ugly. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

More generally, I'm looking for any examples of monsters that consider themselves beautiful, despite common opinion to the contrary. Anything in literature, TV, or movies, whether for children or adults. I'm curious how common a theme this is.

I'm pretty sure I'm not thinking of Shrek. It might be Sweetums from the Muppets, but I haven't found anything resembling the scene above. Any ideas?

How to get a job when you're past entry level and have minimal contacts.

PetiePal — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 11:46:43 -0800

I'm an IT professional who is having a very hard time finding a job. What am I doing wrong? I'm a 25 year old university graduate (Class of '04, so 3 years this past spring I've been out) living in New Jersey who is unemployed for the 3rd time since graduation. I majored in Information Technology and Management.

I worked an internship from my sophmore year of college every summer until graduation. When I graduated spent 9 months full time in that position, and was laid off due to no room in the budget for me to be taken on. (Downsizing in the branch). From there I worked for Nokia/Pfizer as a full-time analyst. That lasted for over a year until my position was outsourced. Then I worked a year at Merck pharmaceuticals on a change control analyst contract. Now I'm out of work for about 3 months and it feels like there's no end in sight.

All of my previous job contacts have dried up, and my father has been retired for years so any contacts he knew are either retired or long gone as well. I feel like it's so much more about who you know then what you apply to. I've been doing the standard Monster, CareerBuilder, Dice, Craigslist and HotJobs boards but not much luck. I have 3 headhunting agencies looking for placements for me but they are not much help this time around. I've even tried sending personalized letters/emails to district managers of companies of note to try and get some kind of "in." My resume is top notch, and I often include a cover letter as well. I've read "What Color Is Your Parachute?" many times and have been trying to take their advice as well.

My experience has been based in help desk support, management of help desks, minor networking, project management, training, technical writing, documentation, some SOX compliance, minor DBA work, server admin, technical support and change control.

My question is what can I be doing better, or what am I doing wrong? I'm trying not to rely on online job boards solely and to supplement my search by other means, but I feel like nothing much is turning up. What kinds of positions or career paths could I be qualified for? What avenues of job-searching could I also try?

I have been considering going back to school for an MBA either tech specialized or business/management. I feel like my job search is almost becoming wasted time when I could be picking up certifications or the like. While I enjoy technology I've never wanted to be a programmer or a DBA. I enjoy working on projects, planning things and most of all working with people. I'm a very social person.

I have considered working in NYC and have been applying to positions there, as being able to move into a very affordable apartment in Hoboken, NJ will be an opportunity by end of year. Are there any other job boards, headhunter services, (free preferably), or contacts I can utilize to get more exposure? I'm really looking for a full-time positions as opposed to contract work at this point.

Thanks in advance to all who offer their insights.

Who's your favorite monster?

Bookhouse — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:10:31 -0800

What's your favorite monster make-up/non-CGI creature design? My SO is working on a project which has involved her in the wonderful world of monster design. I'd like to gather some great examples of real-life (as in non-animated, non-CGI) creature design to supplement our research. Examples from horror, fantasy and sci-fi are all welcome. I'm particularly interested in examples of prosthetics and makeup being used to make someone look very inhuman (especially when its done through deft application rather than huge amounts of goo). Movie suggestions and links to creature pics would be great. The scarier, the better.

A monster followed me home… can I keep it?

Faux Real — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 05:12:22 -0800

My friend found a crawdad, help us keep it alive. Last Saturday evening, my friend was at a party and found a crawdad crawling around outside, looking lost and like a tiny monster. Recently our home town (Austin, Texas) has been getting a large amount of rain; the water tables in our area must have risen enough to evict the little guy from his moist subterranean burrow. Now I know we could just go to any of the numerous criks around here and toss the crawdad back, but that is both boring and sensible. I am asking the hive mind to let us know how we can keep him, and keep him alive. We have purchased a 3x1x1 glass tank for him and filled it with local river rocks, mud, and water pulled from a near by creek (crik). We have also purchased a tin of sinking bottom feeder food (made from shrimp), and have started to see how much of it he will eat in one go. He also does a good number on pill bugs (rolley-polleys) and crickets. His vitals are as follows:

Name: Dr. “Binky” Zoidberg the Claw-Shrimp
Length: 7 Inches from tail to noise tip
Color: Brown with green and red spots (like a crawdad)
Type: Badass Lilliputian Monster
Alignment: Neutral

The wikipedia article is of little help. The only other post tagged with crawdad is about cooking them (we do not want to do this). Using the Google results in sites for people who raise crawfish for food.

We have grown quite affectionate of him and would like to make sure his time with us is long, healthy and happy. Any tips appreciated. Advice on constructing a tiny brine shrimp metropolis for him to terrorize would be bonus points. Thanks in advance.

s video to rca

LizardOfDoom — Wed, 30 May 2007 08:28:20 -0800

A friend bought me this monster cable to hook my ibook g4 up to my TV, but my tv has composite video. i haven't been able to locate a working converter-- anyone have any ideas?

Looking for the name of a movie

Julnyes — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 08:25:36 -0800

Name that movie - Japanese movie on television last night All I can tell you is the following: It was a japanese movie set in a junior high or high school. The main thing that stands out is there was a young woman whose body fluids could dissolve people's bodies and then she ate them. She had a boy that was in love with her and helped her get people.

I only saw a few minutes of it and the title wasn't listed on the guide (and I can't remember what channel it was on)

Monster Muscle Car

dhacker — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 16:44:42 -0800

What was the name of the shirts/cards you could buy in the 60's and 70's that had monsters (garish colors, big eyes etc.) riding in tricked out cars? And did anyone do a retro re-issue?

Monster.com scam or great opportunity?

sixacross — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 20:27:25 -0800

Who are these consulting agencies contacting me off Monster.com, and are their offers too good to be true? Having recently graduated, I've posted my resume on Monster.com. Several companies that I hadn't heard of have approached me, saying they'd like me to sell their services or recruit other consultants. They're offering 30kish base, commission, and benefits, saying I could make between of 50-100k per year. Is this legit? It sounds...phishy.

Bonus question: What sort of salary could I reasonably expect, having a Literature BA and decent college work experience? "Decent" means an office gig, an IT position, and an internship at a well-known Fortune 500 company.

Unicorn caterpillar

tellurian — Sat, 20 May 2006 22:56:16 -0800

A wee horned caterpillar turned up in my backyard yesterday. Can you identify it?
It's about 12cm long. When I nudged it with a broom it swung around and tried to horn the bristles. This is Sydney, Australia.

Non-location based job search

hokie409 — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 10:04:06 -0800

Non-location based job search What is the best way to find jobs where the employer does not care where you live? I work as a sales engineer at a software company. I’m looking for a better job in Denver CO or for one that will allow me to work from home when I’m not traveling for work.

I’m trying to:
Talk to connections and recruiters
Use Linkedin
Send resumes via Monster and other sites

But what if the company is based in California but does not care where I live? Is there a way to do a monster search for that? Any other tips?

Is Monster not really a monster at all...?

forallmankind — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 09:47:02 -0800

MonsterFilter: I've had my resume up on Monster for at least 6 months now and I've only had 17 hits - is this normal, are there a bunch of tricks I don't know about, or are employers only using Monster to post vacancies, as opposed to using it to search for prospective employees? I work in the DVD industry so my line is pretty unique, and if I search for jobs using "DVD" as a keyword, I get 11 hits for this month in the US. Also, I can log in to monster.co.uk, monster.de and monster.fr using the same username/ password, so I'm assuming that my resume is viewable/ searchable internationally, and I have cited the US, UK, France and Germany as locations I'd like to work. So all things considered, 17 hits does seem rather low - can anyone shed any light on this?

For once, nothing angsty! Film question instead!

spinifex23 — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 12:52:51 -0800

Film/TV question. I've seen LiveJournal avatars and pics that look like they're from a certain TV show or film, and I'm curious as to which film it could be. It looks like a very recent film. It's a white man, maybe in his 40's, with glasses and brown hair. His shirt is red striped, long sleeved, and buttondown, though partially unbuttoned. He has his head tilted back, as if he's shouting, and often the quote with this is "I'm a monster!' or some variant. He's also holding up his left hand, which is a prosthetic hook, attached to a 'flesh' coloured prosthetic arm. The guy almost looks like Giles from Buffy. So, what is this?