Dylan Thomas told Donald Hall that he, Thomas, had only written three great poems. There were “This Bread I Break,” “Poem in October,” and “Poem on His Birthday.” I’ve linked them in case you want to do what I did this morning, read them immediately.

I’ve been reading Thomas my entire adult life. I like these poems, but don’t exactly understand why they are “great.” I’m willing to take his and others’  word for it (William Tindall for example). If I think on it, it is often the phrase or image that attracts me in Thomas or others’ poetry. I can pin point the attraction, but I am less and less interested in what makes art eternal or great.

I also have difficulty with the concept of leaving a legacy of work. The artists I admire the most, people like Bach and Shakespeare, seemed unconcerned with this as far as I can tell.

To me they seem to have lived in the moment of their work. That moment was eternal enough for them and probably contributed to the work’s excellence.

But what makes something excellent or great? This is too tricky for me. I’m more sure of what attracts me and what I  find beautiful, insightful, funny and/or moving.

I try to gauge the honesty of my reaction.

Speaking of honesty, On the Media parses lies and psychology of lies a bit this week.

Maria Hartwig, a deception and lying behavior expert on the program stipulates that we all lie on a daily basis, usually at least a couple of times. Indifference to the truth is different from willfully deceiving or misremembering. But all three affect the truth of what we speak to each other and ourselves.

Here is an article I found this morning and bookmarked to read by her.

Telling Lies: Fact, Fiction, and Nonsense, by Maria Hartwig | Psychology Today

I recommend the entire On the Media episode this week.

Deception Is Futile When Big Brother’s Lie Detector Turns Its Eyes on You | WIRE

Another article I found this morning…. from 2013.

Nicolas Henin: The man who was held captive by Isis for 10 months says how they can be defeated | Middle East | News | The Independent

His solution is create “no-fly zones” that will protect the population. Ain’t gonna happen, no doubt.

Eileen got up an hour earlier than usual this morning worrying about our insurance. Or should I say she got up resolved to work on it today. We had breakfast and played Big Boggle. Now she is waiting for this computer so I’m going to do a short blog.

I don’t have too much to say (believe it or don’t). We did find a $10 drill yesterday at a used tool store called Redemption Hardware (thank you, Rhonda, for pointing us that way!). Eileen ordered a chuck key for it for a couple dollars. We should be up and running soon.

This is good because the file I purchased is not rough enough to quickly file away the plastic end of the jack. I am considering combining this step (filing the jack so that the plectrum sits in the correct position below the string) with final voicing.

The final voicing (as you might expect) is the last step before the harpsichord becomes playable. Theoretically anyway. I am curious to see how this works because part of the process was to remove the old lead weights on each key. Now it will only be the weight of the jack that will cause the key to return to the rest position (up). It will make for a very delicate set up if it works.

I keep telling myself that if I fail at least I’m no worse off than when I had a broken harpsichord sitting in my house.

I was pretty exhausted yesterday. I skipped my 2+ mile walk for the third day in row. My blood pressure has been in the low 130s for the upper number which is pretty good. I have been following the recommendation in the article I linked and sitting still for five minutes with my feet flat on the floor, not talking, before taking it.

I’m supposed to drop off my laptop that heats up at the church today for the tech guy to have another swipe at. He seems not to want to replace the fan and keeps fooling around with other solutions. I guess I don’t mind. Again I don’t have a second laptop at this point so I’m not losing anything if he can’t fix it.

Well that’s enough for today. I want to get off this computer so Eileen can have it for the day.

How the NRA Rewrote the Second Amendment – POLITICO Magazine

I’m reading this article from 2014. It seems convincing in its history and analysis. We’re fucked.