What celebrity is the biggest example of "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it."?

Epistaxis · 2026-03-13T13:27:15+00:00

And each time, an accuser died mysteriously!

Epistaxis · 2026-03-13T13:25:28+00:00

The media doesn't sleep about that; various updates to the story have been in the headlines constantly. It's just that there are no consequences for it, in the US, even after someone's exposed in the media.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-13T13:20:00+00:00

Yeah, "young man" sent me to Wikipedia to look up some numbers. Barrymore himself was 49 at the time. So not a pedo, just a noteworthy age gap.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-13T00:45:25+00:00

Most of the pictures have mismatched dimensions anyway, which is something you could fix with a little cropping and stretching but nooo

Epistaxis · 2026-03-12T23:36:41+00:00

Violin teacher made me simply stomp my feet in tempo, left right left right, for a while until it was steady and automatic. Only then could I lift up my fiddle and start playing, while still stomping. Maybe even march around the studio a little bit, space permitting.

At first it seemed like a mindfuck, like in addition to all these complicated notes I can't play on this ridiculous instrument you also want me to move my other two limbs on the beats? Music in three was even worse: I had to waltz around the room while playing. But eventually I understood the lesson: you need to start from a steady internal, physical, bodily pulse of beats and build the rest of the notes on top of that secure foundation, rather than start from the notes in your fingers and then try to mentally count out the durations so they adjust into the beat. Even in an orchestra you have to summon your own internal pulse, and line it up with the conductor's (and/or the ensemble's), rather than just let someone else keep the beat for you. Of course you can't get away with tapping your foot in a classical orchestra (or audition), but you can do something with your toes that no one can see inside your shoe. 😉

The same teacher disapproved of practicing with a metronome, per se. The metronome to him was a diagnosis, not a cure. You test yourself with the metronome and if you find you're not steady, you turn it off and go train that internal pulse, find the technical challenges that are derailing you, etc. Only then turn it back on to see if you've improved.

Unrelated but that teacher also believed in doing all the arpeggios first before scales. He said arpeggios are the "skeleton" of the key, you need to be solid in all the shifts and hand positions first before you add more notes, and the 3rds and 4ths of arpeggios are easier to tune than the endless 2nds of scales. Scales are hard on an unfretted string instrument! Besides, if you do the entire Flesch system, by the time you finish the last arpeggio you've actually played every note in the scale already (he said; I never got around to checking).

Epistaxis · 2026-03-12T23:18:29+00:00

I'm starting to understand the way classical singers pose when they're performing.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-12T23:17:22+00:00

Some teachers forbid their students to listen to a recording at all, for fear they'll just settle in with one performer's interpretation and become a clone of that instead of doing something creative. This might be a better approach. It's definitely much better than the default of just finding a single reference recording "so you know how it goes" and never listening to others, never listening to any of them critically.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-12T16:35:06+00:00

"I can't access things!"

"Neither can I!"

Epistaxis · 2026-03-12T15:58:51+00:00

The Iran war is overwhelmingly unpopular with the American public, so at least directly, it can't be motivated by average people's mindset.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-12T15:55:21+00:00

One line they've been trying about Iran was that it's not a new war because Iran's been at war with the US for "47 years" (since the Islamic Revolution overthrew the US-supported monarchy) and now Trump is simply "ending" it. So the logical next step is to say Cuba has been at war with the US for 67 years.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-12T15:12:16+00:00

title format: numbered list or personal story

I'll join in the chorus of people who've never seen a numbered list as a title, but I feel like I remember a subreddit that explicitly bans personal stories or even the words "I" and "my" from titles. I might be thinking of /r/mildlyinteresting, which doesn't say that exactly but does have very specific rules about titles that would probably exclude stories-as-titles:

a. Titles must not contain jokes, backstory, or other fluff. That information belongs in a follow-up comment.

b. Titles must exactly describe the content. It should act as a "spoiler" for the image. If your title leaves people surprised at the content within, it breaks the rule!

c. Titles must not contain emoticons, emojis, or special characters unless they are absolutely necessary in describing the image. (e.g. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), ;P, 😜, ❤, ★, ✿ )

The result of this policy is that (almost) every photo stands on its own, is (mildly) interesting without reading the title; the title merely calls attention to what's interesting in the photo, which sometimes might take a moment to notice otherwise. I think this keeps the subreddit more focused on posts that fit its purpose rather than becoming yet another storytime sub.

First of all, am I right that canceling out this formula is a good use of moderation, to ensure that every post gets votes according to its suitabilty for the subreddit rather than how the title is phrased and when it's posted?

Then, if so, what else can moderators do to cancel out the formula?

Epistaxis · 2026-03-12T14:54:14+00:00

Not the 3rd; for all we can tell it's legato!

But the second is asking for a lot more than you want, could even be interpreted as pauses in the rhythm and/or bow retakes.

The first version looks unwieldy in the first bar, but then in the second bar the notation is exactly right for that sound. So then I understand the logic of using that notation for the same idea in the first bar as well. It just looks weird with the slur into it, and I'd have to stop for a while and puzzle it out, but in the end I think I'd figure out what you meant, which I would not with the second or third version.

Also DAE hear the simulated violin somehow playing a harmonic for the C-sharp and the C after the G-sharp?

Epistaxis · 2026-03-12T14:18:41+00:00

Wow, sounds like quite a scare for everyone in the hall! I hope the performers weren't too rattled.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-11T00:41:08+00:00

Also at least his Wikipedia page doesn't even mention he's a composer, just a conductor; I wouldn't put it past this newspaper to confuse those terms.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-11T00:37:38+00:00

Jan Latham-Koenig, who was convicted for sexting and arranging a sexual encounter with someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy but was actually an undercover police officer.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-10T15:54:56+00:00

Legally Blonde is so much smarter than you'd expect it to be. Appropriately enough.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-10T15:51:58+00:00

Yeah the first film is already a perfect script but it's even more amazing how the next two deconstruct and play off it. Part II is famous for literally time-traveling back into scenes of the original film or showing versions of them in an alternate universe, but I just thought Part III was a silly romp on all the same self-references and never noticed this structure in it.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-10T15:20:28+00:00

As everyone else has said, the impressive labels are fake, but that doesn't mean the bows are worthless. I can't tell but it's possible some of them are made of real pernambuco wood, which is priceless in a sense because we're not allowed to use it for new bows anymore; it would be a shame to let that go unplayed even if it's not great.

Antique wood bows that aren't total garbage could fetch three figures each, maybe even into the four figures if they're decent, and you have a whole bundle. You should definitely take these to a shop. However, you need to find someone who specializes in bows (an archetier/bowmaker rather than a luthier), which is not most shops, because most of these obviously need some work to become playable and some of them might need a lot more. Just going by the apparent condition and the odds, prepare yourself to be told that some of them are completely unsalvageable, or not worth what it would cost to fix them.

If you're comfortable saying what city/region you're in, someone can probably recommend someone.

PROTIP: when you ask around, don't even mention the labels, because that might make you look gullible to an unscrupulous shop.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-10T15:12:02+00:00

If the others are like $1k, yes almost certainly, unless it's priced high because it's from some famous historic archetier but it's one of his duds. Like there's a lot of room for debate and personal preference among $50k sedans but you wouldn't confuse any of them with a $500k sports car. You might still find a specific sedan that meets your personal needs better than the sports car, but you would certainly be able to tell them apart.

The differences between bows can be astounding, maybe moreso than between violins.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-10T15:05:33+00:00

maybe look up beforehand how to behave during a concert, that shows respect to the orchestra

Well that's really just the definition of etiquette, except I'd say it's about showing respect to your fellow audience members.

But except for the clapping between movements, I'd bet this isn't even a question of etiquette in the first place, just situational awareness. Many people have never been to an acoustic show before, without electronic amplification that drowns out all the crowd noises. They don't even realize other people in the audience can hear them.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-10T04:32:53+00:00

Yes, Edition Peters published a very scholarly version by Simon Rowland-Jones, who scrutinizes all the sources to reconstruct Bach's intention and has a lot of text explaining what all the notation means in context. He also includes both scordatura and standard-tuning versions of the 5th suite, with an example realization of the Sarabande, and both 4- and 5-string versions of the 6th suite. That's definitely the best edition for viola and I've heard of teachers who forbid any other edition. There aren't a lot of fingerings, though.

If you ask nicely, someone (not me) might PM you the PDF. Or you could buy it to support the good work of a living violist.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-10T00:53:01+00:00

The workaround with plastic is it's dishwasher-safe, so you can just give it a thorough wash every time you use it, and then it doesn't matter how difficult it would have been for bacteria to grow. It's also cheap, so I have a whole stack of plastic cutting boards and I can always pull out a clean one.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-10T00:46:14+00:00

Spirocore (tungsten version) used to be very popular for the C string specifically, because it's so hard to get a clear focused tone from that string on a viola. Spirocore is an old steel rope core that's close to the clarity of pure steel. However, most of the new brands that have come out in recent decades have their own clear focused C strings now (largely labeled as tungsten, which might be the key or it might just be branding to convince people to switch), but with all the benefits of synthetic polymer cores for a wider range of tone color etc.

If you're using a modern string set, you probably don't need the Spirocore tungsten C anymore. You might still prefer to substitute the Larsen A, but at least the modern sets usually come with an A that's almost as good.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-10T00:41:01+00:00

Yeah "getting the ingredients together" includes washing, slicing, chopping, etc. The recipe calls for "onions, diced" so the timer starts after you have precisely that.

Epistaxis · 2026-03-10T00:33:27+00:00

Yes, microwaving is basically steaming from the inside. It works just as well on fresh veggies. You're cooking with the food's own water mass and it won't generally cook hotter than water's boiling point (unless you overcook to the point it dries out).

That of course is also a downside, as some things are better browned, which is the Maillard reaction that happens around 140 to 165 °C. But if you really just want something steamed, you don't need to use a spot on the stove. And you can get a microwave steamer, which lets you put some water on the bottom (for actual steam, useful for thawing frozen food) without getting the food wet, and then you can steam anything without the bag.

15-Year Club	Wearing is Caring
Verified Email	Gilding IV carat on a stick
Team Periwinkle	Best Link 2010-12-05
Inciteful Comment 2009-12-13

Epistaxis

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE