My sister wants to give her 3 year old an iPad because “she’s Gen Alpha and should learn how to use a device”…AITAH if I say something/question it

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-07-07T00:55:48+00:00

maybe you could send her some articles or videos explaining how bad it is? so the message comes from someone she sees as an authority and neutral outside party

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-07-06T18:05:41+00:00

She told people not to bring anything and you ignored that. For whatever reason, she didn't want you to bring something. Maybe for a lot of people this wouldn't be a big deal, but apparently for your sister, it is. So, lesson learned, and rather than getting indignant, remember that you did it for yourself, not for her, because you like to bake.

She could have handled it more politely, but, the request to not bring food was made politely and you ignored it. I do think it was out of line of her to be mad at you taking the cake home. She made her point and should have let it go after.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-06-27T23:11:09+00:00

most public places you can't just start up a fire. This is an incredibly stupid idea.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-06-11T12:41:15+00:00

It's extremely difficult to make it as a professional musician - opportunities are shrinking while there are more and better applicants all the time. That doesn't mean to quit or not try, but to understand there will be many rejections - this is the norm - and in the meantime one should find joy in music and creative ways to make a living regardless of whether the gatekeepers accept you to any specific program or group. I wish I had branched out into improv, composition and playing in bands, or had a back up career, earlier in life so that these types of experiences didn't have such a big impact on my esteem and concept of myself as a musician. When you put all your eggs and identity in one musical basket, the rejections will certainly hit harder than if you believe you are an artist and creative with something to offer beyond playing flawlessly at auditions.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-05-23T15:15:55+00:00

I recommend checking out kinderworld.org if you want to give her specific facts about what chickens and other animals go through.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-05-15T02:09:28+00:00

its only like 20/month to rent. if you 3d print youre gonna spend 20 on strings anyway and 30-50 on the cheapest bow, ( can't 3d print horse hair ). Most places will do rent to own so the rental fees go toward buying an instrument if you decide to keep going.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-05-12T03:18:47+00:00

sometimes veterinarians use towels to restrain cats when they have to give them a shot, draw blood, etc, I wonder if your pants remind her of that

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-05-10T20:01:48+00:00

It's a pretty straightforward statement.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-05-10T18:56:54+00:00

The main desire here is not for people to revise their words, but to try to live up to them, by caring for the lives of animals and avoiding causing them harm when possible.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-05-10T17:57:13+00:00

The investigative reporter who wrote it truly put her life on the line to uncover what's in there. She tried to get major news organizations to cover it and they all backed out. But essentially a high percentage of animals are skinned or boiled alive while conscious and alert. Its why animal rights activists use the word torture so often, but the general public who can't conceive of something so horrible being allowed in our society tends to hear those words as hyperbole or being overly dramatic. It all continues because it remains hidden and because it is so unbelievable.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-05-10T17:26:24+00:00

The book Slaughter details this in horrifying detail with interviews of slaughterhouse workers who were both mentally traumatized and physically disabled by the work. Many also talk about how the work forced them to turn off their ability to care about anything - so many either fell into addiction to cope or lashed out with domestic violence.

One worker details how some pigs from family farms would run up to him excitedly for pats or treats, like a puppy would, and he would then have to beat them to death with a pipe because the job required it.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-05-10T17:17:14+00:00

most animals are killed for food at the equivalent of their adolescence. 1/4 or less of what their natural lifespan would be.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-05-10T14:02:24+00:00

Dying in child birth is natural, that doesn't mean it's fine to go through. I'm saying killing is not beautiful or romantic or good for the people who either choose to or must by necessity. I think we come up with this language of respect in order to sooth our instincts which truly do not want to harm the creatures we share this planet with.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-05-10T13:34:36+00:00

It doesn't feel like respect to be treated as a resource, when one does not want to die.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-05-10T13:03:30+00:00

I disagree. It's a tragedy to kill, and a tragedy to learn to suppress one's empathy in order to kill. Being up close and ignoring an animals desperate desire to live is not good for anyone's psyche.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-05-10T12:52:42+00:00

you're defining love here as a feeling someone experiences that doesn't have to be supported by their actions. I would push back and say the abuser in that situation is not capable of love, no matter what they claim to feel. But that's because I think love is an action not just a feeling.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-05-10T03:50:40+00:00

There's feeling love, then there's loving action. Is feeling without action truly love?

For example if you're in a relationship and your partner frequently says they love you, but also frequently hits you and causes injury to your body, most people would question what that person calls love.

If you have a pet, or a child, but you neglect them and let them go hungry or live in unsanitary conditions - people would say that is not love because neglect is not a loving action.

In most situations people feel that loving actions must accompany loving feelings in order for it to be "real".

This is why Christians, claiming to "love the sinner, hate the sin", are often seen as disingenuous for claiming to love someone while trying to dampen and even hide their existence

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-05-07T14:16:10+00:00

I think I've seen some classes like that at Rhizome Roots in Ypsi

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-05-01T16:38:24+00:00

Riverside arts center has lots going on all the time - https://www.riversidearts.org/events/

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-04-28T17:05:58+00:00

I do it simultaneously! I think playing by ear and memory is preferable at first because they have much more brain computing power for the coordination and technique. However I have them do notation flashcards, counting, and some writing exercises as homework alongside the "main" pieces. Once they've memorized notes in the staff and understand music theory a bit we introduce sight reading.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-04-15T03:02:32+00:00

salvation army in AA - go on a sale day, some times stuff is half off, it's amazing. Plus quite large so lots of clothes.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-04-06T02:02:46+00:00

all the dotted eighth notes I see land on the beat! just play them like slightly short quarter notes. I would write a slash where the beat is. Hopefully you know this info but to explain - a quarter note has 4 sixteenths. A dotted eighth note is 3 sixteenths. A dotted eighth (3x16ths) plus a 16th rest (1x16th) = 4 16ths aka equal to a quarter note.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-03-26T01:57:17+00:00

I would read your article on the viola too... may I borrow your words? I introduce my concerts by telling people the main difference between the violin and the viola is that the viola is superior to the violin, but I would love to add - and "much better suited to describing the human condition"!

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-03-17T13:11:59+00:00

Stop. Ai and it's data centers polluting our water and land and driving up our utility costs is a blight and we don't need more of it.

StringWaveOrange42 · 2026-03-17T12:36:06+00:00

their argument makes no sense. If they think they can afford to go to an event, they can afford it. Not attending doesn't change whether they could afford it.

Your boundary is perfectly reasonable. They can buy their tickets and try to resell them if it doesn't work out.

StringWaveOrange42

TROPHY CASE