David > Recent Status Updates

Interesting subtle exercises and stretches for large piano-playing muscles to be done away from the piano - for shoulder girdle and gross control arm muscles.

Ch 7 "The Right Questions"
Too many good examples to recall of open-ended or detail questions to give people permission to talk about themselves (ex: tell about the last time you grocery shopped after 11 pm). Interesting point near the end about how people get more pleasure from talking about themselves than from having money.

Ch 6 "Good Talks"
Good ideas about how to improve conversations, including pointing out things we think are making us good conversationalists that aren't, like telling unrequested stories or jokes (ouch). My takeaway is it's mostly about focusing on the other, trying to understand their experience.

"What is a person?" chapter 5. Moving story of vacationers experiencing a tsunami and supporting each other and others they'd just met in the aftermath, which allowed one (at least) to step out of his own head and into the minds of others and connect with them in ways he hadn't before.

Background about Huey Long: governor of Louisiana, elected to the senate but kept his governor job; promised wealth redistribution, which it seemed he would execute by force, as needed. Described as a smart man, a gifted orator, and a thug who ran the government like a mob boss.

Intriguing introduction, laying out some unfamiliar happenings from before and during WW2 that sound eerily similar to happenings today.

"The fight here at home in the 1930s and 1940s is a story of American politics at the edge: a violent, ultra-right authoritarian movement, weirdly infatuated with foreign dictatorships, with detailed plans to overthrow the U.S. government, and even with former American military officers who stood ready to lead."

(Obviously pointing out parallels between pre-WW2 and today)

So far I like the conversational style. The potential is there for this to be a satisfying read for me, somebody who almost always finishes a work of fiction thinking I've missed something in the reading.

We read a couple more chapters tonight. Narrator Lauren is seeing that their little walled-off community is likely to be breached at some point and she talks to her friend Joanne about this. Joanne gets freaked out by it, tells her mom who tells her dad who talks to Lauren's dad who sits her down for a chat.

Finishing off the tasting sequence, which included (at least) set, see, sniff, swirl/snap, sip/sample, spit/swallow.

Wow, this book is bleak, right from the start.

Actually read some of what was in the movie based on this book. (There have been some details that made the movie, but here was a full scene, where they made a decoy raft with lanterns to fool a pursuing warship)

The Sophie has been having good luck taking enemy vessels. Maturin is currently off the ship, needing some time ashore, and they've not been able to pick him up yet because of other urgent activity. There is some veiled personal issues between Jack and Dillon.

Now they're into their mission voyage. Weathered a terrible storm overnight. Captured a vessel that should yield prize money to the crew. Thought they were capturing another but it was a friendly. Overtook another enemy ship that wasn't keeping watch - the young captain's wife was in labor. The Dr. went over to help with the birth, all was well. He and Dillon end up on that ship, talking of old times.

They're off to sea, and have already had a run-in with other enemy ships. The dr. is already making a name among the crew, it seems.

Accompaniment. "90% of life is just going about your business.... You're just doing stuff together...." p. 45

Qualities of accompaniment:
patience (trust is built slowly);
playfulness (play isn't an activity; it's a state of mind);
other-centeredness (when you're accompanying someone, you're signing on to the other person's plan - think of pianist with singer);
presence (literally showing up).

Illumination. "A person looking for beauty is likely to find wonders, while a person looking for threats will find danger." P. 30.

"I ask you to assume that the person in front of you [has] ...infinite value and dignity." P. 31

Another chapter with a list of features we may want to emulate: tenderness, receptivity, active curiosity, affection, generosity, holistic attitude.

A thing I realize I'm appreciating about these etudes is that even when I can't play one of them at a performance level I can still manage to play portions well enough to enjoy the process.

I do still wish there were some suggestions for pedaling and fingering, even if a lot of it seems straightforward. YouTube recordings have been helpful.

Doing some more listening to book 2 and checking out the score with an eye to picking pieces or parts of pieces I might approach being able to attempt. Book 2 seems more challenging than book 1, which is already somewhat stretching my meager skills, but there might be parts I can try soon in this book as well.

Lots of misdirection, who is on whose side, who wants to kill whom, etc. Now have to see where it goes.

Turns out the body was an assassin, now Helm has been restored to codename Eric, he and Tina have reunited and are being followed. Helm/Eric has a handle on what's happening and is filling in Tina (and us) about what's happened and what's likely going on.

Only took 50 pages to get to the first body.

Appreciating the dry descriptions and humor. The story is told from the viewpoint of Matt Helm, a seemingly normal guy with a wife and kids and house half paid for, with a secret past that none would guess that he can't talk about at all, but his thoughts can and do fill us in.

Charlie was in Utah desert for WW2. Nimbly adapted to new anesthesiology field. Sad that his wife took her own life, evidently in despair.