Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with shenanigans

Help us call shenanigans at our wedding reception!

littlerobothead — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 19:08:42 -0800

Asking for a friend: We want to do something interesting at our wedding reception, some fun "shenanigans" that will help break the ice amongst our guests (about five tables of eight people apiece). This could involve singing, playing a game, and may even involve the knowledge our guests have about us as a couple or as individuals. The trouble is, we keep shooting down our own ideas! Some caveats are that whatever the "shenanigans" may be, they need to be family friendly and appropriate for a fairly large age range and for the not necessarily outgoing (so drinking games and naked twister need not apply). Some examples we've thought of are silly card games at each table, or passing out love songs that each table must dramatically interpret at the end of the dinner. You get the idea; but if ever there was a job for the hivemind, well, this is it. Thanks!

You think my shoes are made of leather

louche mustachio — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 10:12:26 -0800

Under what circumstances would a shoe be marked by the manufacturer as having a leather upper when it is clearly made of something else? I just purchased a pair of hella drag queen platform boots in an eBay auction. They're very, very dramatic - knee high, six inch metal heels, three inch platforms. They fit fantastically well, they're comfortable, and they make me want to go to a ferocious party in a huge wig, false eyelashes and a gaudy outfit that shows excessive cleavage, drink too much vodka and be a loud crazy bitch. I was excited to win the auction, because I have always wanted a pair of black leather platform go-go boots. Another bidder asked the seller if the boots were leather; she replied that they were marked as such on the sole by the manufacturer. So I got all excited and went and won the auction. Whoo-hoo!

But... they aren't leather. They are sooooo not leather. I'd say they are fake and lying, but they aren't even trying; they aren't PU, they aren't pleather. They're some kind of vinyl plasticized fabric on a felt and foam backing and they are really, truly, obviously not leather. Yet the label on the sole states that they have a leather upper. It's definitely the manufacturer's labeling - it's not a sticker or painted on, it's actually impressed into the sole of the boot on the underside of the vamp (LEATHER UPPER, SYNTHETIC SOLE, MADE IN SPAIN.) I've emailed the seller, who insisted that they had to be mainly leather because of the label, and probably thinks I'm nuts.

I understand that it's a clear violation of trade law to label your product as having a leather upper unless it is at least 80% leather - at least according to recent European law, and since these purport to be manufactured in Spain, they would be subject to that law. The brand is Luichiny - from what I know of them, they started out as a smaller boutique brand, but they were purchased by a larger distributor and now they're a relatively prolific manufacturer whose products sell at a low-to-mid price point; neither low key enough to get away with labeling shenanigans, nor prestigious enough to be to encourage counterfeiting, which is the main scenario where I've seen such a disconnect between the label and materials. Even then, though, the counterfeiters were trying to make the product look like leather, and this isn't even close.

If it helps, these are older - my semi-educated guess would be from the early-mid nineties, when the company was much smaller.

So what is up with this tomfoolery? Can anyone more knowledgeable in trade law give me an idea as to what might have happened that would have allowed these totally-and-utterly-not-even-remotely-leather boots to be distributed and sold with a label that is obviously total B.S.?

Suspicious lens-fu.

mindsound — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 09:02:51 -0800

There's a photograph of a Persian gold finial resting on a highly patterned cloth on p. 56 of the August 2008 National Geographic (directions to find it online inside). The finial is in tack-sharp focus with significant depth of field while the entire cloth is pleasantly blurred. Shenanigans? I would love to know how this photo was taken. It's the tenth photo in this annoying Flash presentation of Simon Norfolk's photos. If you page forward once using the >| button it's the first photo on that page.

I'm kind of hoping that the composition is due to ninja lens technique, but it really looks photoshopped to me since the finial's shadow is almost in focus while cloth details intersecting the shadow boundary are much more blurred. Can any 5th dan photographers comment?

Help a bunch of late 20-somethings plan their last hurrah in Europe.

littlelebowskiurbanachiever — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:35:10 -0800

Oh noes! We're getting old! Help a bunch of late 20-somethings plan their last hurrah in Europe. I'm in a group of 6 childhood friends that went to college and got jobs all within short driving distance. As we've taken on new jobs and responsibilities in new cities (none of us are family men yet, thank goodness), we've gotten away from our tradition of going places and doing ill-advised yet not completely illegal things. We recognize that the older we get, the less opportunities we'll have to do things like spend 2 weeks in Europe (sans girlfriends and work) and do dumb things.

In short (too late), this ain't no sightseein' trip. We're looking for places with great nightlife, great people, and an overall great scene. We also only have 10 days to do it. Some will say that this is a waste of an experience, and that's fine. I'll be sure to ride horses in Ireland with my girlfriend on the next trip. For this trip, I just need to know how to pack in the most fun in 10 short days.

The problem is that we don't know where to start, and the travel agents we've contacted have told us that we'll only be able to see 2 or so countries in the span of our trip. If we are dead-set on making Amsterdam one of our stops, what else would be recommended, knowing our time constraints? Money isn't much of an object, but we're not quite millionaires yet either.

With time as our most valued asset, any experiences/tips on travel (how much time do we lose with flying/customs vs eurail transit), lodging (Hostelling International experiences?), and places with outrageous nightlife/scenes that left a permanent mark (in a good way) on your life are all welcome. If it matters, the trip is tentatively set for mid-November.

NoDaddy

DU — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:09:07 -0800

Getting screwed by a domain registrant. [NOT REGISTERFLY] I have two domains with GoDaddy, one expiring next month. I went to renew it and there was this $8.95 annual charge for "private registration". I'm pretty sure I remember putting that on there last year because it was free. But it's not worth the money so I thought I'd just remove it (the other domain doesn't have it, so what's the point?). That's not possible via the GD interface. When you try to "Manage Privacy", it links over to DomainsByProxy.com and wants you to log in. But there's no indication how you would do that--my GD login, customer number and domain name all don't work. I emailed GD about it and they said I'd have to contact DBP.

By now I'd already read a rant or two about this situation, so I told them that I didn't set up the relationship with DBP so I wasn't responsible for breaking it. I told them they had 24 hours to remove the unwanted charge or I'd switch registrars. 19 hours later they again said I'd have to contact DBP, so I just told them they have 5 more hours.

(Each of these emails generated an auto-reply telling me my ticket number. Just to see what would happen, I also emailed DBP. I got a ticket number in an email. The email and ticket number are the exact same format as the ones from GD. The message ID from both ends with " corp.gd". Turns out DBP *is* GoDaddy, this is all just a scam to charge $9/year per idiot who signs up for this feature.)

I am now fully intending to switch away from GD no matter what happens, but then I got this from them: Unfortunately, a transfer of a domain cannot not be completed while privacy is active on the domain name.

So I can't get rid of the feature and I can't terminate the relationship until I do. I called GD and they wouldn't escalate my issue, but they did walk me through how to change my email address on DBP (the claim is that that's why I never got contacted by them, though I call BS on that). This process will require photo ID, which is not only also BS but one of the rants I read said even this didn't work.

How can I cut this gordian knot?