Questions in the Society & Culture category.
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March 18
Large group home for elders, who happened to be women
I’m looking for an article from two or three years ago about a group of single, retired women sharing a large home, more like a big lodge, and kitchen. They had a cook, or maybe two and it might have been a faith-based community. I think it was somewhere on the east coast. [more inside]
March 14
Anyone recognize this anecdote about Western leftists going to the ME?
Does anyone recognize this anecdote about Western activists coming to the Middle East and wanting to argue about theory? [more inside]
March 13
What does "normal" look like in London vs Chicago
For a story: I'm looking for examples of something a Chicagoan living in London for the first time might find surprising/strange -- but which is considered an unremarkable part of daily life in London. Challenge: needs to be a clear visual, not an intangible concept. [more inside]
March 10
Looking for a particular Orwell reflection on colonialism and economics
Can anyone find a passage in George Orwell's essays where he argues that Britain will have to get used to a lower standard of living following the end of its colonial empire?
The excellent AA recalled such a reflection in a thread on degrowth, but none of us have yet sourced it. [more inside]
March 3
Where was this opinion column about book banning?
I remember reading SEVERAL years ago, an opinion column sparked by an anti-censorship event at a public library. Here's how long ago this was: the columnist was complaining about the event and calling it pointless because book banning attempts NEVER HAPPEN, there were only (some miniscule number) of events in the past several years. Does anyone else remember this column? Where did it appear? [more inside]
March 1
What's like MetaFilter but different?
The governance committee of the MetaFilter Interim Board is collecting some sample bylaws. I'm looking for bylaws from groups that are roughly similar. So far, I have samples from:
* Free Software Foundation
* Open Education Consortium
* Organization for Transformative Works
* Wikimedia Foundation [more inside]
February 24
i just kind of wasted my precious time
I am late middle age and remember feeling like I spent a lot of time in high school and college "doing nothing," vegging out, wasting time, spacing out, etc before it was possible to vanish mentally online as I too often do now. However I have no recollection of how I used to waste time. [more inside]
February 17
Help me think about my relationship to media consumption
I am watching a lot of stuff these days, mainly anime. I have various snowflake thoughts on it, and am looking for thoughts on how to frame my relationship to media consumption, especially the question of finding community, as well as passive consumption. Lots of mundane snowflake details within. [more inside]
February 16
How can I become hopeful about the future?
My main interface with the world is news media and Mastodon. The narratives presented there are dire. Inevitable climate disaster. Global authoritarianism. Societal breakdown. How can I convince myself there are 80% odds the rest of my life will be bearable? [more inside]
February 15
Do (more) books like these exist?
I have several Sci-Fi/Fantasy book ideas floating around in my head. If I was a writer, I'd write them. I am not. I am hoping someone else had similar ideas so I can buy their book/story/comic/manga/whatever (or just read it if it's published non-commercially) [more inside]
February 14
How to eat out with minimal sugar/simple starch/processed food?
I’m trying to reduce sugar, simple starches, and processed food. I’m good with cooking and snacks at home. But sometimes I want to meet friends for lunch or “let’s meet for coffee” in the afternoon. What are some ways to approach these scenarios? [more inside]
February 13
Buzzword-free writing about diversity in the Entertainment Industry?
I'm going to be leading an informal discussion on diversity in the entertainment field. But I want to avoid DEI buzzwords. What articles/commentary have you seen that use fresh language to talk about this topic? [more inside]
February 11
News Article about Prisoners Raising Funds for a Library
Quite a while ago, I read a news story where the mayor if a California (I think) town was planning on shuttering the public library. Inmates at a nearby prison, where the librarians did literacy outreach raised money and shamed the mayor into reversing his decision. This would have been 10-ish years ago to my recollection, and I thought I may have seen it on the Blue, but none of my searches have shown anything, so maybe it was a librarian's site? So, can you provide useful details, of must I assume that I dreamed it?
February 6
What to expect at a worldcon?
I'm thinking of buying a membership for the 2024 worldcon in Glasgow, given how close it is to Edinburgh (where I live) by train and that it would get me away from the Fringe for a bit. However, I really don't know what to expect and what I would look to do. [more inside]
January 24
Help with translation of idiomatic German, please.
While moving my parents to their new house, I came across an old beer stein with an inscription that has puzzled me since I was a teenager (oh, so many years ago.) The inscription reads: [more inside]
January 19
Oldies but not ickies?
I'm exploring older cinema and watching flicks that have defined their genres - like the first vampire movies, first zombie movies, first mystery movies, etc. Can you please recommend old movies that are genre classics or really well made but don't give me a misogyny/racism ick? I had planned to see some film noir or neo-noir classics, but I'm getting icked out just reading the synopses or looking at the posters. Many thanks!
January 17
Fun things for a young teen to do in cities of Central Europe??
My husband and our 13 yr old daughter and I are traveling in Central Europe (from Australia). We would love to get suggestions for fun things for us & our daughter to do in Vienna, Prague, Budapest & Berlin. Specifics within! [more inside]
January 15
Books/journals articles in English about armed conflict in Colombia
I'm looking for books or journal articles about Colombia's armed conflict written after 2016, preferably by Colombian or Latin American authors, but not a requirement. An English translation of the Truth Commission's Final Report would also be excellent. My Googling mainly turned up books written before 2015, or books written in Spanish without an available translation.
January 9
Reengaging the neighborhood, building community. Print? Digital?
I'm on the neighborhood board in a mid-size (500,000+) U.S. city that, like many, has undergone major demographic shifts in recent years. Key among them, lots of large apartment buildings sprouting up, filled with childless folks age 20-35, many transplants to the city. I'm looking for suggestions on community engagement, w/ print vs. digital question within. [more inside]
January 6
Help me find a Pakistani lens on pre-Partition history?
I'd like to learn more about the history of what is now Pakistan - and I'd also like to understand better how people living there relate to that history in the context of Partition. [more inside]