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I recently stumbled across the video for the Pet Shop Boys song "Heart," in which Ian McKellen plays a vampire. (Yes, this is relevant!) And once I picked my jaw up from the floor, I went on kind of a Pet Shop Boys jag. While reading Neil Tennant's Wikipedia article, I came across something that confused me. [more inside]
posted by Naberius at 2:00 PM - 5 answers

I just finished Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea and it gave me such a cozy, warm feeling at times and a lot of magical wonder at the complexity. There have been other books that made me feel this way: Kate Atkinson's Life After Life, Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife. Can you suggest some more books to read that will take me to another world this winter? [more inside]
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 12:14 PM - 15 answers

I'm noodling around with Ableton Live and currently have a group of five notes in an octave that make sense to me from a melodic standpoint. I'd like to know what scales these notes would be part of so I can decide on a scale to stick with for the track and explore it outside of my five notes. My knowledge of scales is essentially limited to a five minute youtube "scales 101" sort of video which was dry and number-y, and it made me realize that i'm going to need to put a decent amount of work into it in order to make any real strides. Which is going to be a project for another day... Today, I'm just hoping there's a website where I can feed it my five notes, and it spits out the scales that these notes are part of. Does this exist? Any links would be appreciated.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 8:30 AM - 8 answers

My 13 year old loved Knives Out. She is interested in more mysteries that are intricately plotted and resolve in a satisfying way, but are definitely PG to PG-13 (nothing too gory, no graphic sex). Other than Agatha Christie, what’s out there?
posted by Pater Aletheias at 8:18 AM - 35 answers

Which is the best social media platform for comic strips? [more inside]
posted by Toddles at 11:01 PM - 8 answers

Can you give examples of documentary films that effected real change in the world? [more inside]
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:51 PM - 11 answers

I've gotten to the "Know Your Enemy" phase of my New Hampshire residence, and I'm looking for some books to read so that I can better understand my unpleasant neighbors. [more inside]
posted by kevinbelt at 7:14 AM - 40 answers

A (group?) of primitive (cave men?)(or possibly some kind of animals?) beat up a (robot? computer? alien?) because it is baffling them. [more inside]
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:52 PM - 19 answers

I'm looking for songs that explicitly reference changing one's life. [more inside]
posted by protondonor at 11:50 AM - 67 answers

I am currently pretending that if I don’t make eye contact with Christmas, it can’t see me either. Please help me facilitate this by burying my head in a book. [more inside]
posted by darchildre at 11:16 AM - 28 answers

I am researching tattoo artists in Toronto/the GTA for a tattoo idea I've been incubating for a while. All recommendations (even if you haven't been personally tattooed by them) are welcome. Tattoo style: illustration (color OR black & gray); bonus points if they are experienced with botanical or scientific illustrations. [more inside]
posted by nightrecordings at 4:12 PM - 2 answers

Or do you know what and how they learn about the contents of the book before doing the design? I am mainly thinking of the cover design. Please answer only if you have some knowledge specific to book design. Then you can help settle a bet with my wife.
posted by NotLost at 3:36 PM - 14 answers

I'm looking for mystery novels with more than one detective where they are competing to solve the same case or are working on intersecting cases. Something like Mal Considine and Buzz Meeks from The Big Nowhere, who have their own agendas, not a Morse and Lewis who work together. Recommendations in any mystery genre (procedurals, cozies, etc.) are welcome.
posted by betweenthebars at 12:28 PM - 9 answers

I would appreciate any suggestions for 20th/21st century arrangements of well-known "standard" Christmas carols, probably still choral. [more inside]
posted by runincircles at 11:10 AM - 9 answers

I need very hi res scans of paintings I’ve done; higher than even with a good DSLR. I need to make large prints from these. The largest paintings are 16x20. Prices for this are very expensive—around $100 per image. Can anyone recommend a quality but more affordable service? I can mail the art in, and I don’t mind waiting a while.
posted by mermaidcafe at 8:14 PM - 6 answers

With the Christmas season almost here, I find myself wishing I had any knowledge of, like, fiddler trios, or classical 12-string guitar players, or basically any instrumentalist of any genre who has released Christmas / winter solstice music. Can you recommend any? What's your favorite Christmas album? [more inside]
posted by slidell at 9:44 AM - 23 answers

One cat has a theme song and the other has proven more challenging. Bear with me here... Yes. We’re those weirdos who have cats and write theme songs for them. Or at least, we have a theme song for one, and have been trying to write one for the other cat for a couple of years (man, the more I try to explain/describe this, the dumber I feel)... [more inside]
posted by drfu at 12:49 AM - 4 answers

I'm at my parents house going through boxes of old ephemera and came across a few sheets of computer paper with notes from a video game written on it. It would have been played on a PC, probably via pirated floppy, sometime in the late 80s (perhaps a little later). [more inside]
posted by chowflap at 1:27 PM - 8 answers

Please recommend me something engrossing to watch this weekend. About the only things I’ve seen in years are This Is Us and the Romanoffs and Doc Martin, but those are good examples of the things I like. I like relationship stuff, set in the real world (not a fantasy world), in the present or past (not the future). Bonus points for interesting interiors. No real violence please. I only have Prime but I could sign up for a trial with another service.
posted by HotToddy at 7:28 PM - 22 answers

Need some large anti-racism banners. Where to buy? [more inside]
posted by JustAnotherPerson at 4:43 AM - 7 answers