Questions in the Writing & Language category.
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January 9
What do I need to read or watch to catch up on 94 days of genocidal war?
I had scheduled surgery across the US shortly after Oct 7th, and then stayed relatively out of touch since then. What's the best way to get up to speed? [more inside]
January 3
Correct Latin translation needed - "Innocent III is dead"
Question for well-versed MeFites - what is the most accurate translation of "Innocent III is dead." (as a statement of fact)? [more inside]
What's this book about a soldier with a head injury
Hello brain trust. I am trying to remember a book that is I would guess speculative fiction. I am struggling to remember the details. It is a first person account of the aftermath of a battle. The narrator is extremely unreliable, however because he is suffering from a head injury from an explosion. [more inside]
December 30, 2023
The meaning of memory as a string of pearls
Hi! I have this vivid memory of reading a passage that described memory and how we create meaning from it as building a string of pearls. Creating a narrative of cause and effect that’s as neat as a pearl necklace even though it’s actually as random as pearls from the sea. It’s stuck with me for years. Do you know where it’s from? [more inside]
What sci-fi short story: replicating robots, rusting before total ruin.
A friend asked me for help finding a story told to them by someone who read it. The story as remembered: a female protagonist makes robots. Robots replicate (at 1/2 size?), bringing ruin to everyone around. Eventually there is rain, halting the problem by bringing the robots to rest. Final words may be a variation of "next time I'll make them stainless steel". [more inside]
December 27, 2023
Was my melodic nature lost in translation?
I received an enigmatic fortune cookie fortune that I’d like to try to understand. Is it a poor translation of an aphorism that makes sense in the original Chinese? The fortune read, “Because of your melodic nature, the moonlight never misses an appointment.” [more inside]
December 26, 2023
Please help us find a book title
Thank you, kind MeFites. Long time lurker, first post. Please help me help a dear family member find the title of a children’s book. I have searched MetaFilter and the Internet with no success. [more inside]
December 24, 2023
Help with this fictional situation?
Part of a story: a young man and woman, first year university students, are in the same art class. The young man praises a piece of work by the young woman, which is objectively good / talented. She has a crush on him, and insists on gifting him the (self referential) piece, which he was not expecting. He (not a jerk) likes the girl (to the degree that he knows her, which is not much) but does not have romantic feelings for her. He now faces a dilemma ... [more inside]
December 23, 2023
What is this mysterious (possibly Chinese) book?
Years ago we were cleaning out an older relative's garage and found a mysterious and kind of beautiful book I've wondered about ever since. It's in an Asian language I can't conclusively identify and it has unusual binding so it unfolds like an accordion. More details (and pics) below the fold... [more inside]
December 20, 2023
can you find a visual alphabet for Martha's Vineyard Sign Language?
I just discovered Martha's Vineyard Sign Language (MVSL) and would love to see a visual illustration / graphic of the alphabet forms. I did some light googling, but I have no results yet, and very few spoons to devote to more in-depth research right now. [more inside]
Well done easy fantasy/HisFi recs
What's a good fantasy or historical fiction series for an adult getting back into reading fiction? Think of "wind down at the end of the day" books. Good to feature more relationships and less epic war and conflict. The reader just finished rereading Heralds of Valdemar. They also loved Bridgerton and its spinoff(s). [more inside]
December 16, 2023
Dream much, Will?
What is the etymology of the sarcastic expression much, as in "gee, projection much?" How long has it been around? Title comes from a line I remember in the movie Manhunter.
Music Miners, but better than that
We work in mining reclamation and permitting. Me and 2 colleagues have been getting together at lunch time and making music (2 men, 1 woman, guitar, mandolin, voice). We are going to play at the holiday potluck.
What is the name of our band?
Gentle sci-fi set on space- stations or ships?
Looking for examples of gentle sci-fi set mainly or exclusively on space stations/spaceships, but where the focus is about human relationships rather than grand sci-fi plots. [more inside]
December 12, 2023
You're a librarian. I'm an author. What next?
When I'm in a library, I'll always check to see if a book I wrote is on the shelves. If it is, I'm happy... but I'm not sure what to do next. At a bookstore, I can sign their stock of my book, but that seems less appropriate for a library. If you're a librarian, would you want an author on your shelves to say hello? And is there anything a passing author can do for you other than that?
December 11, 2023
Because this is where the answers are
What is the cliche / aphorism, "they look for the x in y, because that's where the z (or x or y) are"?
There's some stock phrase that uses this formulation in a way that sounds tongue in cheek because it is so obvious. It's often repurposed to cover other domains. But I can't think of what the original (or most common) formulation was. Help?
Best non-fiction books of the 2020s so far?
Which non-fiction of the past three years will you still be recommending in 2030? I'm looking for more to add to my reading list. [more inside]
December 8, 2023
Why do we say 'Thanks Driver!' but not Thanks OBGYN' or 'Thanks Plumber'
Some people and professions get reduced to single word titles, 'Thanks Doctor', or 'Thanks [bus] Driver', but most professions do not and would sound either strange or ludicrous were they reduced to such short titles. Why? [more inside]
December 7, 2023
Q for people in the USA with disabled parking permits.
At work, I frequently need to refer to the spots that are reserved for people who have disabled parking permits. If you're someone who qualifies for one of these spots, and speak American English, what do you call them? [more inside]
December 3, 2023
How to journal?
I think journaling would be a good idea for me. I want to keep it 100% private so no one else can read it, and towards that end I am waffling between a old fashioned actual paper notebook and Google docs. But the real question is how do I approach this without worrying about being embarrassed later? [more inside]