Ask MetaFilter

Ask MeFi: Explain me to myself

Terrific Ask MetaFilter thread:

I found a scrap of paper with these terms on it, listed vertically. I don’t know when it was written, though it’s my writing and would certainly have been within the last 3–4 years. If you can draw any connections between these things, or interpret some of the odder ones (shapiro resp?), it would be wonderful.

The list:

godiva
silver lining
shapes yard
want faith
searches room
shapiro resp (possibly shapivo resp)
honeycombs
petula one
hermits
sons and loves (I’m reasonably sure it’s not Sons and Lovers)
ugly’s (that misplaced apostrophe is quite out of character)
torsin’/dorsin’ (one of the two)

Any guesses before you find out the answer?

 

How human trafficking starts

This Ask MetaFilter thread is the most gripping thing I’ve read in a very long time. It begins:

A Russian friend of mine may be in a dangerous situation in Washington, DC.

My friend and former student K arrived in DC yesterday, along with a friend. She came over on some kind of travel exchange program put together by a Russian travel agency called ‘Aloha’. They paid about 3K for this program.

The program promised a job offer in advance, but didn’t deliver. They said they would send one via email, but failed there, too. 

Her contact in the USA barely speaks English, doesn’t answer her calls but does answer mine. He has asked her and her friend to meet in NYC tonight around midnight, with promises of hostess work in a lounge. Yes, I know how horrific that sounds– that’s why I am working all possible angles here.

She is not going to NYC but I need some help handling and understanding how to handle this– I have a friend helping them with a cheap hotel for the night, but that’s all at the moment. I am presently driving to LA and could fly her and her friend to meet me there on Saturday, but couldn’t house them indefinitely. I will be monitoring this thread over the next hour.

The ~200 comments that follow are epic. A must-read.

 

The Rumplestiltskin Effect

Ask MetaFilter commenters agree: Knowing someone’s name because his boss forces him to wear a name tag does not constitute permission to use that name. Having settled on the consensus that addressing name-tagged employees by their first names is creepy, the commenters attempt to tease out why. Judging by the comments, your age might influence how much you agree with their consensus.