Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with place

So many great options, why can I pick one?

BusyBusyBusy — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:43:47 -0800

[Overly broad project topic filter] Works of fiction or scholarly articles on American places? Help me find a work about or set in an American place that was written at the time. In a class I am taking this semester, we have been assigned a final project. We are supposed to examine a creative work (novel, poem, painting, scholarly article, movie, or even a blog) in terms of how it describes the character of an American place.

In class so far we have discussed
Tales of the City (Los Angeles in the 1970s),
Winnesburg, OH (for the Midwest),
Home to Harlem (for Harlem in the Jazz age) and
Sunset Blvd (for Hollywood in the 1940s).

For the final project we are supposed to do something similar. Pick a work, and analyze how it describes the setting in order to determine the "Americaness" of the place. It doesn't matter if we argue if its American or Un-American. Preferably created at the time it depicts. The problem for me is there are soooo many possibilities. But I can't seem to find one I'm interested in. It's like I have a mental block there, so I'm turning to you MeFites.

What is a great work that you love that is set in an American place? Anything interesting from any American time period. Please give me the best and most interesting works you can find. Extra points for things that aren't movies. I am bad at writing about movies.

Options I have considered (but am not thrilled about): A Christmas Story for 1940's midwest. Farewell to Manzanar for Japanese internment in during WW2.

How can I stream HD content from one Comcast DVR to a another TV two stories above?

parakeetdog — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:18:04 -0800

Does anyone know of a product that can stream HD videos from an HD DVR to another TV two stories above? I have looked at Slingboxes and Popcorn Hour, but both seem to be able to send HD content to a computer, but not another HD TV. I have seen products that allow people to send non-HD programs to a TV, but I want send HD programming too.

Sony and Gefen make wireless HDMI streaming devices, but they are limited to 30 and 65 feet respectively.

Any suggestions?

Armchair travel as Plan B

carbide — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:40:50 -0800

I'd like to read a book set in/about every US state, and would love recommendations from those living in or from each state. Actual travel I'd been hoping to do won't happen, so please help me make a journey via the library. I've spotted Librarything's Tag Mash* and am digging through Wikipedia, but recommendations from people who love and know each state would be a huge help.

Anything goes (short stories included), but if you need some extra criteria to narrow it down:

- I really like good storytelling in simple language, rather than poetic prose. Raymond Carver, Richard Bausch, Stephen King and Douglas Coupland all do this for me in varied ways.
- I also really like stories about ordinary life. Conversely, I hate stories with new-agey themes.
- Stories where place is important would be good, or where there's a sense of the place's identity throughout. I realise one book won't get every bit of any state.
- Your personal canon is more interesting to me than Official Best Books. Weird and personal books are the best, when they're good. An engaging story set in a town I've never heard of would be a total joy.

I was really hoping to make a few long train journeys in the US this year but am going to be laid off soon and trying to avoid defaulting on my loans (oh boy oh boy!), so the library and Bookmooch will be helping me to have an imaginary tour as compensation.

(Previously about cities, from which I will be borrowing, but it's short.)

* Sorry, Delaware, but you're on the More Challenging list from the outset!

How do I deal with my Hulk-like anger?

jackofsaxons — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 13:01:49 -0800

How do I deal with my Hulk-like anger? I have a very bad temper, but generally I can keep it under wraps, even when provoked. A few days ago during shift change as I waited for my day counterparts to leave, a day shift manager decided he would try his motivational power games on me (his impression was that I wasn't doing any work), and instigated a very unprofessional argument between myself, two other supervisors, and himself in front of our direct reports.

I quickly blew up. I was in the middle of 3 people, all yelling at me to get something, anything done and I lost my temper. I felt like a terrier of some sort defending his own little patch of grass from the big bad neighborhood dogs. Expletives flowed. Temperatures rose.

This guy has been reported many times before for threatening behavior, making homophobic remarks and generally being an all around asshat.

How do I deal with this typical bully behavior, catch my temper from popping off, and work around these jerks in a professional capacity?

Running trails near Hyatt McCormick Place?

I_Love_Bananas — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:12:54 -0800

ChicagoFilter: Running in or around McCormick Place? I'll be staying 2 days at the Hyatt McCormick Place in a couple of weeks for a professional conclave (tm Jane Craig, "Broadcast News").

Can I (or should I) attempt to run outside in this area? Or should I just suck it up and use the hotel's treadmills?

I can't tell if there are accessible trails or bike paths in the vicinity of the behemoth structure that appears to be McCormick Place.

I only need to be able to run 3-4 miles a pop, nothing major. I'd just rather do it outside and I think it's fun to experience a new city this way.

Boston for 7 months

comatose — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 22:31:09 -0800

Moving to Boston for co-op (intern) position downtown for 7 months, 09/07 to 03/08. I need suggestions for the best place for a college guy to live, but more importantly I need suggestions for everything I need need to see, do, eat, drink and hear on my temporary stay. Ready...GO! I will be without car and would prefer to live in a fun, exciting, and of course safe part of the city close to work (downtown).

The grammer police strike again!

nickerbocker — Sun, 21 May 2006 08:45:34 -0800

Why is electrical a word, but electronical isn't? Should I feel bad about using a word with an implied meaning in everyday speech?

I got in an argument with a guy at work on Friday about the word. I was trying to tell a story about my trip to the hardware store and said the phrase: "the part in my hand looked electronical."

The technician then interrupted me with "that isn't a word!" And I then declared that it was a word because I just used it as a word and I'm pretty sure it is in the dictionary. He goes and looks it up and proclaims once again that it isn't in the dictionary and then goes about telling everyone how he corrected my grammer. I never got to the end of my story. I was pretty pissed off to say the least and called him a condesending ass.

The reason it burned me so much is because I am the electrnoics guy there. The person who corrected me knows nothing of engineering or things that are electrical in nature and is the technician that is there to support the engineers. I think him lashing out comes from the fact that he isn't a very smart fellow and is forced to be around 4 engineers all day every day. He saw an opportunity to patronize me, and took it.

Now, I am having a hard time getting over the entire situation. I don't care about the word being in the dictionary and I'm sure that we all use words that have not made it into the dictionary yet but still have an understood meanings.

How do I diffuse the situation on Monday? Right now my brain is telling me to let it go, but my gut is telling me that I need to be a total asshole to this guy and put him in his place. What do I do if he provokes me or eggs me on further? I hope that he would not, as I would be able to get him fired but I do not wish to do that over something so silly if you really think about it. But this guy talks crap to everyone and I know of at lest 1 other engineer who dislikes this tech's constant attitude.

Thank you for answering any of my questions.

Is Sicily a good place to go scuba diving?

gentle — Fri, 12 Aug 2005 17:58:02 -0800

Is Sicily a good place to go scuba diving? One source says that the Mediterranean "has largely been fished out through over zealous spear fishing." I went to Mallorca last year and while the water was wonderful, it was almost devoid of life, mostly empty sea, which seems to confirm the overfishing claim; I saw a lot more of interest while snorkeling by the beach. I like as much colour as possible in my diving experiences. Would I expect to have more fun in the Canary Islands or in the Adriatic?

I suspect the diving might better elsewhere. But I have been to Mallorca and the Canaries before, and I'm tired of being up to my knees in flabby German tourists, rows of souvenir shops all selling the exact same plastic crap, and endless imitation-Italian restaurants selling, well, the same plastic crap. I thought I might treat myself to a little culture and history this time.

I can't find much information about Sicily as a diving location. Can you recommend a good site? What are good diving locations, and what diving centres do you recommend (or recommend against)? What should I expect to pay?