More on our Chicago trip (August 3-7, 2006)

Here is some info about our Chicago trip (Patricia, Patrick, Paul Jr. and me).

1. Food was v. good throughout. #1 food event was Arnie’s breakfast. Blackbeans, eggs, tortillas, potatoes with chorizo, coffee. And a Serrano pepper to nibble on plus a beer to sip on. Wicked good combination. (The Serrano pepper is pretty hot, read about it here.) Additional winners were deep-dish pizza (Gino's beats Lou Malnati’s, sorry Nicole), Sunday night dinner featuring Argentine meats at Tango Sur, and BBQ: a massive BBQ pork sandwich at the Pit, and BBQ everything at Patio.


2. On Friday (August 4), we parked at Nicole’s house and did some fun tourist things in Chicago. Check out the video below as we take the El and visit NikeTown and Millennium Park. Then we had a beverage at a bar right outside Wrigley and lunch at Lou Malnotti’s. And saw WiggleyField (a dog park, as you might guess).





3. Also on Friday (August 4), we drove out to Joanne’s place and then on to a rock-climbing wall at Dick’s Sporting Goods. Check out the video below. Only Patricia and Joann made it to the top. My personal effort was not impressive.






4. Saturday (August 5) was the morning of the major breakfast noted above. And a big get-together at Joanne’s house, which included lots of volleyball. Very nice.


5. On Sunday (August 6) we went bowling. Two games: Arnie was high score in game one (155) and Nicole was lights out in game two (189). Danny’s six-mile-per-hour rolls were amazingly effective. Said goodbyes on the south side and drove up to Nicole’s house. Walked to dinner at the Argentine place (the five of us plus Nicole’s boyfriend). It was interesting seeing the neighborhood on foot, lots of restaurants etc. Stopped at the neighborhood Walgreen’s for water and Nicole spotted somebody loading up a handbag and heading out. Clerk’s chase was short and futile. Some video below.






6. Joanne had a dog named Daisy. Pretty big, but still a puppy and ridiculously full of life. Daisy loved to go after the cat, and the cat loved to slap Daisy around. This was endlessly amusing. Daisy also chased around inside the house, especially when Patrick blew in her face.






7. Beautiful weather. Easy flights (except one passenger said we owed him a dinner, I think because EPG was chatting three hours with his seat-mate). Hotel also very nice, take a look here.

Mr. O'Donnell Testifies on Capitol Hill - 1933

Nicole found something really neat during a Google search the other day.

Who knew? Way back in 1933, a committee of the United States Senate turned to a true expert for advice about gangsters (in this case, how to discourage young people from becoming gangsters). This expert was none other than Patricia’s grandfather, (Mr.) Spike O’Donnell.

The video clip below – included in an archive of old newsreels findable via this link – includes a few seconds of Spike addressing the committee. The introduction to the video clip describes things thusly: "Chicago: 'Spike' O'Donnell, a former South Side beer baron, who bears the title of 'the most shot-at gangster in the country,' tells members of a Federal committee investigating crime, of his reaction to the latest Federal drive on kidnapers and other lawbreakers." Spike’s advice – which focuses on gangsters and the consequences of putting young folks in prison – seems reasonable enough; he falls into the camp of those recommending rehabilitation instead of incarceration. One would think he knew what he was talking about it. He apparently had quite a bit of experience with gangsters and even a brief experience with the inside of a prison, (though his political connections were good enough to keep his prison experience really brief).

The timing of this Senate committee is interesting. Prohibition started in 1919. Spike’s activities, whatever they were, had landed him in prison in Joliet in 1923. That’s when a corrupt Illinois governor had him released. (More on that in a future post.) His return to Chicago ignited some territorial wars among gangsters (at least per what I read online). Prohibition ended in 1933, and one would presume that some folks were trafficking illegally in liquor right up to repeal. 1933 also is the year in which this committee was convened. It would be interesting to know how a businessman like Mr. O’Donnell was publicly perceived at the time that he faced the committee in 1933.

In fact, it would have been truly great to talk to Spike about all sorts of things. The Prohibition era spawned all sorts of non-standard activities, and he must have been a tremendously talented guy; certainly he was right in the middle of lots of history.

I’ve also posted some still photos taken from the video. You can read more about Prohibition right here.






(The back half of the video is some entertaining footage from an Al Smith campaign stop. Not sure why it’s included in the clip, and I’m not sufficiently tech savvy to delete it. So enjoy. Al was a pretty interesting politician in his own right, as this article details.)

Blog anniversary #1; introducing blog #2

I noticed that my first post to this website was published exactly one year ago today. It featured a Gambel's Quail. You can visit that post by clicking here and scrolling down to the bottom of the page.

I recently started a second blog. You can visit blog #2 by clicking here, or by clicking on "PMG Reviews" on the right side of this page under the heading "Links." This post explains why blog #2 was started.

I forget what I don't write down, so am glad to have a convenient place to keep track of interesting (to me, at least) things.

Tourists Return to AZ

Patricia, Patrick, Paul Jr. and I visited Chicago and various of its suburbs from Thursday (August 3) through Monday (August 7). I'm including a photo from our visit to the new-ish Millenium Park in downtown Chicago, plus a photo of three tourists and one Chicago resident standing near the Chicago River.

Millenium Park was a neat place. One area was set up for performing arts - on the day of our visit, it was some "Silk Road" music. In another area is the famous "bean" - a source of a wide variety of reflections (click on the photo to better see the reflection of our tourists and a bit of skyline). Plus the park has other stuff, including your basic urban bums hogging all the best shady spots. And you can ice-skate in this park in winter. Click this link for an impressive panoramic view of Millenium Park (including the reflective "bean" and ice skaters). (When viewing the panorama, use the "shift" key to zoom in and the "ctrl" key to zoom out; just move the mouse to see the 360 degree panorama plus full up/down views.)

We had a good trip. I'll post more details and some video this weekend.

Lentil Loaf= Hiking Fuel?

1 onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp oil
2 cups cooked lentils (or one large can)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp sage
2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup water
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute onion in oil until slightly brown. Mix all ingredients except sesame seeds and place in greased loaf pan. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake 30 minutes covered, then 10 minutes uncovered.

“Great recipe! This is the easiest (and tastiest) lentil loaf I have tried. The walnuts were great, adding a little crunch to every bite. I added 1 shredded carrot and a pinch of celery seed to the original recipe and served it with steamed veggies & vegan gravy.”

Well, somebody apparently likes lentil loaf. And I hope somebody (actually, four somebodies) on our 2007 Grand Canyon hike will like this stuff also. We sent in a reservation request back in 2005 for 20 spaces at Phantom Ranch (at the bottom of Grand Canyon) in May 2007. And we were lucky enough to get all 20 spaces. I also requested 20 steak dinners at the Phantom Ranch “canteen” for the evening of the day that we hike down to Phantom Ranch from the South Rim. The reservation confirmation said that we would get 16 steak dinners and four vegetarian meals with “lentil loaf.” That sounded ominous, but the reservation person said we could call later and swap out the lentil loaf meals for steak meals.

Last week I received the following message:

“Dear Paul Gales,

Unfortunately, there are currently no steak dinners available for the night of May 18, 2007. A maximum of 16 steak dinners are made available for hikers, on a given day. Mule Trips reserve 20, until the day prior, when some may be released to the public, if not all mule trips are sold. You may inquire upon arrival at the Bright Angel Transportation Desk if any become available, but it is highly unlikely any will be made available prior to a day or so before your arrival.

That is the main reason I substituted the vegetarian dinners to complete your dinner meals for that date. They are served at the same time and include the same side dishes. If you (we) are unable to switch them, thereby guaranteeing you steaks for all twenty, you can still request (upon arrival) to have a steak substituted for the lentil loaf. If there are extra steaks in the refrigerator, I'm sure they will make every attempt to accommodate.

Best regards,

Barry Read
Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C.
Phantom Ranch Group Sales
PO Box 699
Grand Canyon, AZ 86023”

Sounds grim. Could there really be extra steaks in a refrigerator down there? If so, what condition will they be in? If not, how will we allocate steaks and lentil loaves among the starving hikers? Or is this gentleman hinting at some sort of gratuity to "fix" the situation?

Whats going on in MN?

The natural order of things was disturbed last year. The Twins have reliably rebuffed the White Sox as long as I can remember . . . until 2005. Now things appear to be getting back to normal. The screenshot from today’s game (conclusion of three-game sweep) confirms things (and it was fun learning how to capture it).

Then there’s this Mauer kid (he of the ridiculous batting average). I saw a reference to a blog by “bat girl.” I understand that she focuses on the Twins and, in particular Mr. Mauer. She calls him “Chairman,” even though he looks nothing like Mao Tse Tung. In the spirit of the Great Leap Forward, there was a contest for “best slogan” involving the Chairman, including the following entries:

• The Chairman is a shining son in the heart of the people's line-up


• Mauer to the People OR Mauer to the Meople


• Long Live Chairman Mauer's Bats O' Plenty and it Will Be Poured On


• Once All Struggle is Grasped, Base Hits Are Possible--Chairman Mauer


• Chairman Mauer's Great Guidance Gives Us Unlimited .OPS.


• Crouching Mauer, Hitting Dragon


• In Mauerist Minnesota, Sideburns Grow You.


• The Chairman uses his bat and his arm to fire benevolent beams of distress against his AL Central foes


• Sideburns, lumber and the gentle joy of victory. Vote Chairman!


• The Chairman's Bat is Benevolence to the People and Misery to the Opposition

I’m guessing this all is quite fun for folks in the Twin Cities, not so much White Sox fans (especially bandwagon riders).

I fell for it

I noticed that today was the date on which man first set foot on the moon, back in 1969. So I checked my trusty diary. I wrote: “Great Day for history – Apollo XI landed on moon!!!!!!! Neil Armstrong was first man to set foot on moon. Watched it live on TV. Pictures were real clear. We could see everything. Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin (2nd on moon) did [sic]. Historic day.”

Of course, we’ve since learned that this whole performance was faked. (Even though none of the actual conspirators have been identified in 37 years, and it must have taken quite a few to pull off the deception.) As a 13-year-old, I clearly fell for the whole thing, and it was great Sunday-evening TV fare. I was pretty much into understatement in my diary entries, and still gave this event seven exclamation points.

The next days we were back to events of a more earth-bound nature, including separating 12 and 18 chickens, respectively, from their heads on Monday and Tuesday. Not to mention hauling corn for Barney Thilges and his brothers and some bean-walking.

You can click here for a video clip of Armstrong making his not-so-spontaneous quote about the giant leap for mankind.

Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in C Major

O Schmerz! Du Alldurchdringer!
Dir bin ich entrungen!
O Tod! Du Allbezwinger!
Nun bist du bezwungen!
Mit Flügeln, die ich mir errungen,
In heißem Liebesstreben,
Werd’ ich entschweben
Zum Licht, zu dem kein Aug’ gedrungen!
Sterben werd’ ich, um zu leben!
Aufersteh'n, ja aufersteh'n wirst du,
mein Herz, in einem Nu!
Was du geschlagen,
zu Gott wird es dich tragen!

(O Pain, all-pervading,
I have escaped from you!
O Death, all-conquering,
now you are conquered!
With wings which I have won
In love’s ardent striving,
I shall soar upwards
to the light which no eye has penetrated!
I shall die in order to live!
Rise again, yes, you shall rise again,
my heart, in an instant!
Your beating
shall lead you to God!)

(Concluding lines, Symphony No. 2 in C Major)

Way back on April 28, our chorus (ASU Choral Union) performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in C Major at Gammage Auditorium. I started writing this up about a week later and have had trouble describing this event. Probably because music like this doesn’t lend itself well to description in words? So I’ll just describe what I can.

Mahler was especially good at putting together big works utilizing large groups of performers. This piece, which primarily is orchestral, is in that style. The orchestra had over 125 performers (some of whom performed offstage). Our chorus was joined by various other ASU choirs for a total of over 285 singers. Plus two dynamic soloists. Over 400 performers total.

Here’s an anecdote that gives a sense of what was going on in terms of intensity. At about the 2:20 mark in the video, you can (barely) hear the Gammage pipe organ’s entrance. Prior to the performance, they preset the organ to a volume level that complements the volume of the rest of the orchestra and chorus at the organ’s entry point. When the chorus was warming up at rehearsal, no one had brought a pitch pipe. So the conductor used the organ (with volume preset as described above) to lead the warmup. That is, he used it only until he realized no one in the chorus could hear a word he was saying (and eventually attempting to shout) over the organ. The organ – one small piece of the overall ensemble – was set that loud.

The music involves quite a bit more than lots of performers and occasional very loud moments. Mahler’s program notes discuss his goals for the five movements. “The first movement represents a funeral and asks questions such as "Is there life after death?"; the second movement is a remembrance of happy times in the life of the deceased; the third movement represents a complete loss of faith, and belief in life as meaningless; the fourth movement, a song, is a rebirth of faith ("I am from God, and will return to God"); and the fifth movement, after a return of the doubts of the third movement and the questions of the first, ends with a realization of God's love, and recognition of everlasting life.” All this is explored by the orchestra for about 65 minutes through the first 4+ movements while the choir sits quietly and waits. I can tell you that it was quite a buildup.

Toward the climax of the piece, we sing for about 15 minutes total (approximately the last three minutes are on the video). Mahler asks a lot from the chorus during that time. I’ve posted a couple pages of the score (click to enlarge). I enjoy his admonition “Mit hochster Kraft” (with maximum force); and I haven’t (tried to) hit a G in many years (bottom line, page 14). You can see how the four basic parts are subdivided as we approach the conclusion.

By the time (at 2:08 in the video, bottom line of page 14 of the score) that we reach the climactic message in the 5th movement– Aufersteh'n, ja aufersteh'n wirst du,mein Herz, in einem Nu! (fourth line from the bottom in the German text above) – and after all that build-up now over 75 minutes and counting – I can report that this is an excellent moment to be in a chorus. I don’t know how you beat it.

And it was great that the crowd got into it. This easily was the longest, most spontaneous ovation I’ve ever experienced at any performance, including ND Glee Club days. As often noted, live performance has a power . . .

Patrick came up from Tucson to attend and videotape. Patricia came to our rehearsal on Thursday evening, back for the concert on Friday evening, and ran the usual post-concert party. This support makes for a nice event. A goodly number of friends also attended.

If you pause the video at 4:40, you can see a “photo” of the three performers. I’m just to the right of the fat bald guy in the second row from the top; Paul Jr. is to the right of me in the same row; Christopher is in the row ahead of us, just to the left of me.

(Information about Mahler is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Mahler. Information about this particular symphony is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._2_%28Mahler%29.)

Will post information about 2006-07 season later.

Happy 4th of July

The 4th of July certainly is an excellent holiday. When I was a kid, we always celebrated at the farm place of my Grandpa & Grandma Gales, up on the hill just west of St. Joe (Iowa). Lots of cousins milling around, lots of food; sometimes a baseball game; plenty of ice cream; mosquitoes; also sparklers, firecrackers and a few more interesting (though possibly illegal) fireworks courtesy of my truck-driving uncle, Daryl Baker, and his interstate travels. But we never had a poster or decorated cake as awesome as those in the accompanying photos (taken July 4, 1991).

Movie (sort of) review

We were going to the movies pretty regularly for awhile but have fallen out of the habit. But Saturday evening we went to see the movie version of the "Prairie Home Companion." Garrison Keillor wrote the script (not surprisingly). Robert Altman directed. As in several of his movies, he lined up a pretty long list of big name actors who presumably are performing at cut rates. Patricia and I both like it a lot. The story line rambled some, but I don’t think that was entirely unintentional. And sometimes they seemed to stretch a bit to work in the vagaries of live radio (e.g., the sound effects guy, what do you do when script papers are dropping all over the floor etc.) But those are very minor complaints. Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin were very good as singing sisters, and Woody Harrelson and some other guy were funny as faux cowboy performers. Kevin Kline was funny. Etc. Then we had dinner at Chelsea’s Kitchen, which I can also recommend. Especially the roast chicken and Howie’s burger. Click here for info on the movie, and here for info on the restaurant.

Video notes

Here are a few more thoughts on the video below.

1) This is .wmv format taken from digital video so should be decent quality even after the compression.

2) If your connection is somewhat slow, playback quality will be reduced. Usually this can be fixed by hitting "pause" and letting the video stream build up before resuming. Just watch for the bar moving left to right across the bottom of the screen, this tells you how much of the video stream you've received -- you're at 100% when the bar reaches the right end.

3) You can fast forward or reverse by clicking and holding the slider, and just drag it in whichever direction you wish to move.

Graduation speech (wmv test video)

This footage is from Patricia's speech at ASU College of Nursing graduation (way back on May 12, 2006). A fine speech!

James Smithson; Washington D.C. tourists

Back in early April, Nicole, Chris and Patrick (plus a couple of their friends) visited Kerry in Washington, D.C. I heard they had an excellent visit. Among other highlights, Kerry used her “connections” to line up tours not available to mere tourists.

Anyway, they brought a gift for me: “The Stranger and the Statesman,” by Nina Burleigh. The book goes over what little is known of the fella that endowed the Smithsonian Institute (James Smithson). It’s well worth reading. While specifics about Smithson are hard to come by – including why the heck he bestowed his money on the fledgling United States – the author does a good job developing the information that’s available. And it’s interesting to hear the contrast between early 19th-century Europe – which was quite advanced in so many ways – and the frontier United States (in particular our then-dump of a capital, Washington D.C.). And the role of John Quincy Adams is interesting. The guy apparently had a long and varied career beyond his Presidency (remember Anthony Hopkins playing him in the movie “Amistad” in 1997?)

So I liked the gift a bunch, and am glad they had a fine trip.

Video test 2 (same video, but using google)

Phantom of the Opera (test video)

End of the line

For you NBA fans, the Phoenix Suns' season finally ended tonight. The NBA has been my favorite sports league since watching the Baltimore Bullets in the 1960s (Gus Johnson, Earl Monroe), but this Suns team was particularly enjoyable, at least for those of us here in Arizona. Not only were they forced to deal with the absence of critical players due to injury, it turned out that the injuries were concentrated among all of their bigger players: Amare Stoudemire, Kurt Thomas and Brian Grant. So they were forced into playing even smaller and faster than planned (which already was pretty small and fast). It's ridiculous that these guys got within two wins of the NBA finals.

Their success was so striking -- and fan-friendly -- that it clearly is influencing the style of play across the entire league. Just watch the personnel moves this off-season and the playing tactics next year. Actual skill will be important, rather than large men simply grabbing and beating on each other. So I thought it was worth a post.

Memorial Day 2006

Memorial Day makes one think about departed soldiers. A week or so ago, Wikipedia (an online encyclopedia) had an article on the 62nd anniversary of the Allied World War II victory at Monte Cassino.

So on this Memorial Day weekend, I’m thinking about my uncle, Irvin Bormann. Irvin died at Monte Cassino. Which means that my uncle made an incredible sacrifice during an incredible battle during an incredible war. Not that my own reaction has any relevance to the story, but as I think back I am surprised at how little I have appreciated Irvin and the battle over the years. When I was a kid, he was pretty much just a guy in a picture on the shelf in our parlor back on the farm. Everybody knew he had died in the war and that was pretty much it.

Wikipedia has great information about the battle and the abbey itself. Read the articles (links provided below) if you have a moment. Who knew that Monte Cassino was in a strategic location that made it the subject of raids throughout centuries, including by the Lombards (584), the Saracens (883) and Napoleon (1799)? Or that Charles Martel’s son was a monk at Monte Cassino (he would have been Charlemagne’s uncle)?

And what about the World War II battle? I had no idea that Polish troops played a major (and successful) role. I didn’t know that the Allies went to Pius XII for permission to bomb the monastery. I don’t know which aspect of the battle (or its various separate assaults) took Irvin from us, though it must have been one of the first assaults. I had no idea the battle was so difficult. I wish I could talk to Irvin about this. I wish I had talked to my grandparents about this.

The Monte Cassino photos (click to enlarge, as always) are from Wikipedia and speak for themselves. How about the Nazi propaganda poster designed to demoralize the Poles? It scares me. The view of the restored abbey from the Polish cemetery is quite beautiful. I would like to visit here. First I will read some of the items in the bibliography in the wikipedia article. And get back into Irvin’s diary. Irvin’s photo is from the St. Joe history book.

By the way, if you are not a wikipedia user, I cannot recommend it highly enough. The main page for the encyclopedia is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page) The article about the battle for Monte Cassino is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Monte_Cassino. A separate article about the abbey itself is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Cassino.

ASU School of Nursing - outstanding graduate!

The big day finally arrived – as of May 12, Patricia is officially a graduate of the ASU School of Nursing! Some highlights:

• She received the “Outstanding Graduate Award” for all three campuses (ASU Tempe, West and East)


• She delivered a fine speech at the graduation ceremony (held at Gammage Auditorium), very well received


• Cecilia House visited from Minnesota for the weekend and was an excellent guest, very well behaved.


• Nicole and Kerry visited for the weekend and were generally well behaved.


• Big graduation party held Saturday evening with many folks in attendance and good times all around


• Also lots of fun just sitting in the sun or on the back patio in the afternoons, some went in the pool, some played marathon Hearts games. Etc.

She did a great job in nursing school. Amazingly, they kept the graduating class filled with busy work right up to the very end. Next step: a hard-to-obtain job in the Emergency Department at Mayo Hospital, starting June 2.

Office photos

We had some photos taken for our law firm. Here are a few looks at the office - located at 101 and Bell Road up in northeast Scottsdale. The interior shot shows our conference room, which has a great view to the south looking over one of the tee boxes at the TPC desert course. Click on any photo to enlarge, per usual.

Durufle's Requiem

The ASU Choral Union performed a Requiem by Maurice Durufle on Saturday evening, April 1, 2006. I’ve been a huge fan of the music from our two previous concerts, but I liked this music best of all. (Who knows, maybe I’m too easy to please or just like whatever is current.)

Requiems have been written by many composers, and performed many times. Which is why I think the words tend to get lost – at one level we’ve heard the words “too many” times; at another level, the words are in Latin and many are not decipherable. But when you think about it – the words couldn’t be more dramatic. These words were written in a world where life spans were short, and where death was all around, often happening mysteriously and suddenly. This also was a world where everyone believed that God was judgmental, that they were sinners, and that they literally suffered physical pain eternally – whether by fire or whatever – if one was not among those graced by mercy at the Last Judgment.

That gives a different ring to the words of the Requiem. How about one selection: Libera me, Domine, de morte æeterna, in die illa tremenda, in die illa: Quando cœli movendi sunt et terra dum veneris judicare sæculum per ignem Tremens factus sum ego et timeo,dum discussio venerit, atque ventura ira. Dies illa, dies iræ, calamitatis et miseriæ, dies illa, dies magna et amara valde. (Deliver me, Lord, from everlasting death in that dread day, that day when heaven and earth will be moved, and you shall come to judge the world by fire. I tremble and am full of fear, as I await the day of reckoning and the wrath to come. That day, the day of wrath, calamity, and sorrow, that great day of exceeding bitterness.) Pretty scary stuff.

The work lets up at the end with In Paradisum – a palpable difference in tone. After all the fear and impassioned pleading, the work concludes with a beautiful expression of confidence in mercy. That last piece opens with sopranos and altos, like a chorus of angels. Very nice.

An organization named the “Colorado Choir” has two of the Requiem pieces on its website: http://www.coloradochoir.com/. Hit the link for “Recordings” and scroll down.

Anyway, I was a huge fan. The composer (Maurice Durufle) wrote the work with two different accompaniments – one for orchestra, one for organ. We did it with organ. The CD with orchestra sounded more compelling. Oh well. Durufle built the work on a foundation of Gregorian Chant, which is part of the reason it works so well. You can read about Durufle at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durufle.

Next up: Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (the “Resurrection Symphony”) on April 28 at Gammage Auditorium. The baritones have to hit a G over middle C at one point in this piece, which could be funny.