Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with titles

Sir / Ma'am / ???

Zarkonnen — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:18:14 -0800

What's the gender-neutral equivalent to "Sir" and "Ma'am"? I'm writing a story (well, a game, really) that contains a character, neither male nor female, whose male/female counterparts of the same rank (captain) are addressed as "Sir" and "Ma'am" respectively.

What mode of address do I use for this character? I imagine that there is no official answer, so I'd like your help in making up a good one. It needs to not stick out, and ideally have some kind of underlying rationale.

What the hail, I'm keeping the car

weathergal — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:45:51 -0800

I'm the owner of a 2002 Toyota Corolla which just hit 107,000 miles. On June 9th while I was at work, my car got hammered by some pretty large hail. The damage was enough that my insurance (Progressive) declared it a total loss. My frugal heart couldn't bear to have them tow away a perfectly drivable car, so I took the lesser payout (just under $5000) and kept it. Now what? Some pics can be seen here, although I had a lot of trouble getting the dents to show up well, and it looks worse in person. There are some cracks in the paint starting to show up near the front fender dent and on the trunk, so PDR won't work in those areas. The windshield was a safety issue, and has already been fixed.

I'm rather confused about getting a salvage title. The guy at the shop where I replaced my windshield said I didn't need to get one, and from my reading of this Kansas statute cosmetic stuff like hail damage is exempt. However, the lady at the titles office in Topeka said yes, I needed to get one, and an insurance agent from another agency confirmed this. I'm hoping to move by the end of the year, so how would a Kansas salvage title affect trying to register the car in another state?

I've already started to put some money into an account for the next car, and my original plan was to bank almost all of the insurance money, and continue to put a small amount in each month. In 2-3 years, the account would be in the 5 figure range and I could get a fairly nice used car for cash.

However, I've started to second guess myself. The insurance agent I talked to above seemed to assume I'd get it fully fixed, as he told me to keep the receipts in case I have to file a claim again with my insurance. There are many "hail specialist" tents around town, and they probably could fix at least a few of the bigger dents for less than my original estimate. Or is this throwing good money after bad?

If I do continue driving it as a dented up car (with a probable salvage title), how much money should I put into it in the future? Obviously, I'd want to keep it road worthy with oil changes and other maintenance, but what about the minor annoyances? For instance, my brake pads that I got replaced last August are squeaking, despite being in for adjustments several times already. Is it worth the time and money to try and get rid of the squeak?

Thanks, and sorry this was so long.

A President is referred to as such for life...

disillusioned — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:54:01 -0800

Throughout his introduction of President Obama, ASU President Crow referred to him as "Barack Obama", without the honorific. This bothered me immensely; I feel that it is only proper when introducing a President to refer to him that way throughout. I can't find any video of Crow's introduction, but he was referring to President Obama's focus on education and strides towards improving the nation, etc, etc.

Am I off-base here, or was Crow a bit out of line?

(Aside: despite the insane heat and it being a six-hour event, it was totally worth going to.)

Help me decide between being Sexist or PC, Current or Traditional?

Acacia — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:39:33 -0800

To 'ress or not to 'ress, that is my question My elderly Aunt has been a doll doctor and dealing antiques (her specialty is steamer trunks) for as long as I can remember. I am finally getting around to making her a business sign that she can display at various shows around the country.
At the top will be her business name, and the main body of the sign will be a draft horse pulling an image of a trunk, with a man at the reigns. At the bottom I want to put her name followed by either Proprietor or Proprietress.
And that is my dilemma.
I think Proprietress is out dated and a little sexist, but the sign I am making is very old fashioned and done is sepia tones.
So, what to do? Proprietor or Proprietress?
The sign is a surprise, so I can't ask Auntie. So I'm leaving it up to you'se guys. Majority wins.

When did TV/movie titles start to float in "real" space?

BOfH — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 02:21:27 -0800

When did credits and titles start floating in "real" space in TV and Movies? I first noticed this in Fringe, where the locations of the action "Logan Airport, Boston" or "Baghdad, Iraq" are floating in or above the scenery itself. The camera will often fly through or over these titles, and actors and vehicles will walk behind or in front of them. You get the impression that if they weren't careful the actors could knock the titles over or bump into them.

The recent Watchmen movie used this technique in the opening credits - the titles appeared to occupy the same physical space as the actors and objects in the credits and would move in relation to the camera.

Titles such as the Lost interstitial don't count, as although the camera flies through them the title doesn't share (or seem to share) physical space with actors or scenery.

Is Fringe the first use of this technique, or just the first use that I've noticed? Where did it originate, and do you have any other examples of the technique being used?

First movie to use the 'Verbing Common Noun' style of title?

obiwanwasabi — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:57:06 -0800

What was the first movie to use the Verbing Common Noun style of title? You know - Chasing Amy, Raising Arizona, Feeling Minnesota, Being Julia...

Books with memorable titles

Simon! — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 18:31:01 -0800

I need examples of books with memorable titles. Apologies for such a subjective question, but I'm drawing a blank. Which, I guess makes the titles I can't think of not particularly memorable, but still. Bukowski's "Love Is A Dog From Hell" is my ur-example. Most of David Sedaris's books would do as well.

They don't need to be well-known, recent, or even good books, just ones with unique and memorable titles.

I, Fresh Prince

Falconetti — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:30:22 -0800

I noticed last night that many of the final episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air have strange titles and I was wondering if anyone knew why. Many of the episodes in the sixth and final season begin with the word "I" and then are followed by sometimes nonsensical phrases or words. The episodes titles I am talking about can be viewed here, the Wikipedia page for all Fresh Prince episodes. You have to scroll down a bit, but once you do, you will see there are episodes with titles like "I, Stank Horse" and "I, Stank Hole in One." The titles are somewhat related to the content of the episode and sometimes there is an obvious pun (like "I, Clownius" being a pun of "I, Claudius"), but otherwise I feel like I don't quite get what is going on. Is it something obvious I am missing?

Video Spawned the Radio Star

BE ADEQUITE — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:22:43 -0800

I'm working on a list of movies that have spawned notable band names and song titles. Dead on is great, esoteric is just fine. No Weird Al or other humorists, please. Can you help?

I'm looking for free-standing letters

Cranialtorque — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:30:28 -0800

I'm looking for 3-dimensional letters that can stand freely and be photographed. I remember seeing some that were sold to aspiring film makers during the super-8 era for creating titles. Does anybody know anything about these, or where I can get something like them? I cannot remember the exact era when these were available, or a manufacturer, but I do think they were an American product. I remember them being a condensed sans-serif, similar to Univers condensed, in white. (But my memory is hazy.) eBay searches are unsuccessful, and I'm having no luck with Google either. (A Blondie album entitled Plastic Letters is throwing me off.)

My goal is to take text-based photographs, with the type standing freely in different environments. Think Jenny Holtzer meets Andy Goldsworthy. Small, say 1" - 3" tall, is ideal. Most plastic type I have found is designed to stick to one surface or another - these need enough depth to stand freely.

I'm hoping someone knows the exact product I'm thinking of, but any helpful ideas are welcome. Thanks in advance.

How to convince employers that you are more than your job title?

MeetCleaverTheatre — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:33:11 -0800

I am a library director who definitely needs a change of job (possibly a change of career) but I am stumped as to how to convince employers outside the library world that I am willing, able and sometimes more than qualified to do a job that doesn't necessarily involve books/libraries/IT maintenance. Can anyone share examples of how to convince employers you are qualified for something different? As above, I am a library director and IT guru for a small midwest college (have been for 6 years now). We currently got a new president and a new executive director and what was once a comfortable position has become an exercise in justification. I am used to juggling a lot of tasks in the library/academic world, but what was once a renaissance position has turned into a "goat rodeo" of doing everything but my job...and I find I'm so much nicer/more fun of a person when I'm not there. :)

I've recently seen many jobs for corporations, hospitals, start-ups etc. that I feel I could easily do and enjoy, but I'm finding that I have a hard time convincing them that my managerial/IT/office skills are translatable from libraries to _________. I know AskMeFi is high on librarians, and maybe others who've experienced similar situations. Any ideas as to how to become more marketable? Anyone out there change careers in mid-life? FYI: I am 35, MLS, 9 years of professional library experience & teaching/public speaking exp. and 16 years of professional online media / video production experience

Any advice or insight would be most graciously appreciated. :)
Thanks a million gang!

aaahhwooo song desperation

repoman — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 18:01:00 -0800

I am desperate to find the title of a song I know little about. Could someone please take a minute of their day/evening to help me identify this song? It would be greatly appreciated. I am going to take a stab at describing all I know about this song. It may come from a 'alternative' band mid 90's to mid 00's. At different points in the song the vocals will be 'aaaahhhwhoooo.... only on the inside'. The problem is I am not sure of the 'only on the inside' part. Just the 'aaaaahwwooo' part. At the end of the song is a bit of some screaming akin to the lead singer of Filter. Also, the song is a bit slow, semi-balladish. I know this is somewhat goofy, but I have wracked my head for weeks. Thanks.

Keep my ill-gotten social perk?

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:48:18 -0800

I have a nice title at my work (Director of blah), but I have none of the responsibilities, privileges or authority being a director should entail. Do I move on? As is all the rage in some small companies, I have been given a lofty title and some insider status as an 'executive' member at my work. You'd think this was all good, except, well, I don't do anything besides routine grunt-work, every idea I have is belittled by management, and even detailed my-time business propositions (including costs, timelines and benefits) fall on deaf ears. All I do as a Director is direct myself to follow orders without bringing up consequences which won't be considered.

My concern is that, to find another job, I'd have to slip down the rungs because I don't have a whole year of experience being a 'director' to boost my biz cred. Then again, even if I did have that titled experience, I would be in over my head when it comes to an actual performance situation.

There's a whole bunch of situations here, boss yelling, bitchy co-workers, boring work, no professional growth, that I don't like being around which is really prompting me to leave.

I guess in the process of writing this question I've answered it for myself, but what's your take on the situation?

Bad Grammar pop lyrics

spock — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:14:31 -0800

Please: I would like a bazillion examples of popular music lyrics and song titles that would make an English teacher cry out in empathetic pain for their abuse of grammar. Examples:
"I can't get no satisfaction" (Satisfaction - Rolling Stones)
"No I cannot forget from where it is that I come from" (Small Town - John Mellencamp)

I'm not terribly familiar with rap, hip hop (etc.) but I'm guessing that anything from those genres would just be too easy.

Trying to find the title of a British film

Hates_ — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 07:35:13 -0800

I'm trying to find the title of a British film that came out a year or two ago about a young Indian guy and a young English girl having a relationship and how he has to hide it from his friends and family. Basic story line was an Indian guy starts dating a white girl and goes on about how he has to hide it from everyone. I remember in the trailer he has to push her head down in his car as they drive past people he knows but that's all I can remember. A total long shot I know, but any ideas?

How Do I Make A Fake Loading Screen?

RokkitNite — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:42:49 -0800

What's the easiest way to create a fake ZX Spectrum/Amstrad/C64 loading screen? So I'm helping put together a stage show based around computer and video games, and it'll involve a digital projector and whitescreen. I want to look at the possibility of faking up a loading screen that brings up the show title at the beginning like on an old cassette-based game, you know, with flashing borders, the data noise, and then the picture being drawn.

What's the most straightforward way of somebody with limited technical aptitude accomplishing this? At the moment I see two possible methods: a fake flash-based recreation of a game loading, or running an emulator with a custom-written programme in it that brings up said screen. While the latter would look more authentic, my programming skills don't extend beyond making the word 'POO' appear when you press any key.

Is there a way I should be approaching this? Please note: I'll consider 'No, you are a moron. This is not possible,' answers perfectly legitimate if this is, indeed, a ridiculous idea.

Hey... you.

SpacemanStix — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:27:33 -0800

When addressing a professor by a title via letter or email (e.g., Dr. Smith), and they respond by signing their name (e.g., John), are they inviting you to refer to them by their first name? I've been involved in academia for awhile, as a student transitioning to an instructor, and now hopefully a future student again; so I have corresponded quite a bit, and on different social levels academically, with people that you don't just run around referring to by their first name.

As such, I'm sometimes unsure when it's appropriate or inappropriate to refer to people by their first names. The transition thing from student to instructor was weird, when you are now teaching with those who used to instruct you. But one thing that throws me for a loop a bit is when I refer to someone who is deserving of the title of Dr. (or Professor if I want to be slightly less formal), and they respond in writing with their first name. Is this an invitation to refer to them as such? And is it impolite to keep addressing as Professor or Doctor, when they have referred to themselves as Steve? (for example).

I may be over thinking this, but it tends to cause some social awkwardness for me.

where can cars be sold parts only

srrh — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:12:09 -0800

Is there a place on the internet with a list of every state and whether not it is legal to sell cars there as "Parts Only" (i.e., without a title)? If not, does anyone happen to know this information off-hand?

Lascivious movie titles

billysumday — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:58:59 -0800

I'm compiling a few questions for a trivia night that my girlfriend is hosting and wanted to include a multiple choice question in which one has to guess which movie title is not a porno. So, for instance, Snatch sounds like it's a porno, but it's not. Please help me come up with some more funny-sounding porno-ish titles for non-porno films. In addition, what are some relatively innocuous porn titles? Thanks in advance.

Wither nonfiction book title formats?

luser — Wed, 23 May 2007 13:59:04 -0800

When/how did the custom begin of titling non-fiction books according to a few narrow formats, such as "Clever Abstraction: One Specific Interesting Thing, Another Specific Interesting Thing, and A Sleep-Inducing Generalized Thing" Such as, from Amazon Politics:

The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason

American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21stCentury

The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation

This this blog post asks the same question, but about the more common titling convention of "Clever Abstraction: Wordy and Witty Compound Phrase" which I think may be more common within the self-help genre. When did this titling format become fashionable, and how did it get started?

MeFi US Tour '07

ShawnString — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 06:45:20 -0800

MixCDFilter: I need songs that have names of american cities or states in the title. Would prefer cities though. Working on a theme for a mix CD, and would love to do a "tour" of the us. I have a pretty good list now, just seeing if I missed any. Rock/alt genre preferred but am open to anything.

Titles have always been hard for me.

inging — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 19:48:40 -0800

Help me name my comic, please! The main characters are a squid and an astronaut. They are currently unnamed characters, and I'm pretty sure I'd want to avoid the Name&Name title format. Not a whole lot happens, they mostly just chat. It is, perhaps, not that funny, but I resolved this New Year's to take my projects more seriously. So, I want to come up with a name, which, I guess, will help me take it more seriously. Crazy reasoning aside, I'm having difficulty coming up with something I like for more than ten minutes.

I'm open to any suggestions. Samples of the comic here and here.

Can't Remember this Children's Book - Help

dyerfr — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 22:48:50 -0800

Looking for the title to/author of a series of children's books. I can only remember a few details about these books. Help! Here's what I remember...

- there are more than one book (thinking a trilogy, but could be wrong)

- books were written about a family, I think they were written from the point of view of one of the children (but one of the children is DEFINITELY the protagonist).

- Plots were a combination of humor and adventure (see plot points below)

- my memory tells me that the setting of the book is in the 'old west,' but it may be more recent than that (see plot point 1, below). But the setting has a 'Little House on the Prairie' feel to it - small town, etc...

- the main character has siblings - definitely a young, toddler or infant-aged sibling, and probably one or two more...

Plot Point 1: The father of the main character is the first person in the town to purchase an indoor toilet. The main character is mortified, thinking that the house will smell all the time and that the family will have to issue clothespins to guests (to put on their noses). He is relieved when the father explains that the house will not stink.

Plot Point 2: Some or all of the family is taken hostage (or held for ransom) by bad guys. I think that they are held in the barn. Either while rescuing them or trying to escape, the main character remembers a lantern hanging on a pole (think this was mentioned earlier in the book), and the shadows it casts. He uses this vision in his escape/rescue.

That's it - I am trying to re-read a lot of the books I read while growing up, and this one series has been a bear to work out... Thanks.

How to get mySQL to ignore "A, An, & The" when presenting alphabetized book titles

Wild_Eep — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 08:36:40 -0800

mySQLfilter: How can I ignore "A, An, & The" at the beginning of book titles when sorting results alphabetically by title? I have a database of several hundred book titles and I'd like to be able to list them alphabetically, but ignore any articles that may be at the front of title.

For example, consider the following 3 titles as they appear in the db:

"A Summer's Day"
"Beach Fun"
"Zebras Are Neat"

I'd like them to appear, in order, as:

"Beach Fun"
"A Summer's Day" (See? Ignoring the first article "A" and alphabetizing on the "S")
"Zebras Are Neat"

I'm assuming that there's some sort of conditional code I could use in mySQL to make this easier.

I also have (some) PHP skills, so writing a helper function or two isn't out of the question.

Dragging this museum into the 20th century, what's my job title?

cobaltnine — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 09:43:20 -0800

Name-my-job-filter: I volunteer at my town's historical society and now I do everything except the financial parts. They recently realized that I'm not going away and asked me to come up with a job title. I'm also trying to get hired by someone who will pay me to do this... At the last monthly meeting, the 'executive board' told me to come up with a job title, since I'd been coming to those for the last four months and I'd been showing up to work at least once weekly for a year. At the same meeting I managed to wrangle conference money from them and so I'm going to need a title that works among museum professionals as well.

So far, my responsibilities have included, besides cleaning, being the person who can climb ladders, and being stuck on the damn parade float:
Setting up the computer.
Setting up the PastPerfect database.
Renumbering the entire collection (in progress.)
Entering the collection into the new database (this is way more complicated than it sounds)
Assessing the collection for damage/whether we should keep it.
Creating a new set of protocols for what should be accepted into the collection.
Creating new paperwork for donators, based off other museums' forms.
Strongly suggesting appropriate ways to conserve particular objects in the collection.
(Re)designing exhibits, using only the inkjet printer and any scrap I find in the storage shed.
Giving a public talk/presentation (this was last minute and yesterday they told me they want me to repeat it...on my own dime...at area nursing homes.)

The only thing I'm not actually working with is the financial side; we have a slew of accountants who are long-time volunteers who do that stuff.

I'm finishing my MA in historical archaeology, but I don't have the kind of professional certification or training that museum professionals do, yet.

I don't have any friends in this field yet (that's what the conference is for), so I don't know what to call myself without making it sound like I'm in charge. Thanks in advance.