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Concert in the Gardens, 2009.

I can't say that I have heard any of the bands playing this season at Concert in the Gardens, but it is an enjoyable venue to listen to music and to spend an evening. Those of you more accustomed to the chorale and classical music at "Concert" may be disappointed. The performers are a little different this season. It still looks good to me.

The location is the Botanic Garden and the shows begin at 8 p.m.

For detailed information on tickets go to:

http://www.fwsymphony.org/concerts/citg-tickets.asp

The Concert Schedule

Friday: Mingo Fishtrap
Saturday: Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers
Sunday: The Crawfish
June 12-13: Super Awesome Laser Adventure
June 14: Riders in the Sky
June 19: Cherryholmes
June 20: Jailhouse Rock: A Tribute to Elvis with Kraig Parker
June 21: Best of the Big Bands: Music of Glenn Miller and Friends
June 26: N’Awlins Gumbo Kings
June 27: Take It to the Limit: The Music of the Eagles
June 28: Stairway to Heaven: The Music of Led Zeppelin
July 2-4: Old-Fashioned Family Fireworks Picnic
July 5:1812 Overture

Tempus Fugit and the American Automobile.

1950 Pontiac

Things change.

We are watching the official demise of the Detroit-based auto industry. It has been about 100 years that automobiles and Detroit went together. No mas. There are causes for the failure, and like all failure, there will be a search for whose failures came first.

It is particularly troubling for those of us old enough to recall the golden years of the American auto, the cars of the 60's: GTO, Mustang, Corvette, the pick-up truck itself. Even if today's cars are more reliable and easier to use, they don't have the allure of those old ones.

Which is why many of us been in denial this last year. I hoped that someone, a modern day Lee Iococca, could save this dying beast, this whale washed ashore, gasping for air. But he can not. They will not. The present costs are too high: the pensions, wages, insurance and salaries are above the competitive scale. In economic terms, the market just won't bear it.

Cars will still be needed, they will be purchased, someone will be making them, and they will be made here as well as overseas. The jobs will be moved around, the wages and benefits will match the demand for the skill, and something good could come out of all of this. That is a difficult change. That is the sad reality for the thousands of workers in Detroit, and the auto dealers nationwide.

But this change carries a greater, more symbolic meaning and it is this: the auto industry is a symbol of the country. Its weakness reveals our weakness. An American currency default is as possible as a GM default, and in some ways is already occurring, and a nation with a weak currency and burdened with debt is a nation that will become a slave to the lender it needs.

Things do change -- but the laws, and consequences, of economics are as fixed as the laws of gravity. No matter who is President.

Pentecost Sunday

The Descent of the Holy Spirit

Anthony Van Dyck
1599 – 1641

The Jewish feast of Pentecost is the day when those persons who had followed the Jewish Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, became the Church. Gathered together for prayer in an "upper room," a "mighty wind" blew, tongues of fire appeared, and these followers began to speak of what they had seen and had heard for these last three years. The uncertainty and timidity were gone.

Jewish pilgrims filled Jerusalem for the Pentecost feast and heard Peter and others proclaiming the way of the Christ in their own languages. In this, the universality of the Christian message and mission is foreshadowed, and the leadership of Peter begun.

From The Acts of the Apostles

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,
they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

How to make a milkshake properly.

Updated on July 4, 2020

It's summer time and that means ice cream and ice cream means milkshakes. I have made thousands of them. And, if I say so myself, they are the best you can get.

You're not going to find a lot of 1/2 cup this, 2/3 cup that, in these instructions because -- making a milkshake ain't that difficult. A milkshake is milk and ice cream and sometimes some fruit. If you can't figure out the ice cream-to-milk ratio you probably ought to stay away from the blender. If it's too runny add some ice cream, if it's too thick add some milk. 

A good milkshake is the following:

• Whole Milk
• Real Ice cream (frozen hard)
• in a glass container (chilled)

Possible add-ins: fresh peaches, raspberries, strawberries, banana, real chocolate

That being said do this to get the best milkshake possible:

1. Always use glass for a milkshake. Always.
2. Put the milkshake glass in freezer first. It is summer time and that means that everything in the house is a little warmer than in the winter. Milkshakes need cold, so cool off the blender glass with water and ice cubes (if indeed you use a blender, I prefer them hand-stirred) and either keep a few glasses in the freezer or splash them with water and put them in the freezer a couple of minutes before you start.
3. Put ice cream in blender first. Pour whole milk on top and let it sit for a minute. I hope that I don't need to tell you that using 2% milk is not going to make this a diet drink, so please use whole milk. The ice cream crystallizes some of the milk and gives it a little different texture.
4. True chocolate milkshake lovers choose quality chocolate ice cream for their chocolate milkshakes. Grocery store chocolate syrup has little or no chocolate in it and has an artificial taste. No syrups allowed.
5. My preference is hand-stirred. The difference is in the final texture. Blenders produce an airier milkshake, hand blending, a more crystallized and inconsistent texture. Air bubbles on the top of your milkshake is a bad thing in my opinion.
6. No attempt should be made to trick up the milk shake. It is a simple pleasure. Keep it that way. No whipped cream, or worse, whipped cream with a maraschino cherry. Bad things happen to people who put maraschino cherry's on top of their milkshake.
7. In the summer I put an ice cube in the blender with the other ingredients. In the winter it is not necessary.
8. I do like to put a hard pretzel with the milkshake. The crunchy texture and salt are good contrasts.
9. A one-piece, heavy, ice cream scoop is a good investment. No moving parts but built for hard ice cream scooping. It may seem like no big deal but if you're making a lot of milkshakes a good scoop helps.The no-freeze metal keeps the ice cream from sticking to the scoop and the fact that it's one piece means it never breaks. The reason you need a scoop is because to get a good milkshake you need hard, that is frozen hard, ice cream and a normal tablespoon just doesn't have the mass to scoop hard ice cream easily. 
10. You can not get a good milkshake from soft ice cream. If your freezer does not make the ice cream hard enough so it takes some effort to scoop it you will not make good milkshakes.
11. If you are hand-stirring, and if you're just making one or two milk shakes I encourage you to try it, let the milk and ice cream sit for a minute in the glass and then it will be easier to stir. If you are using a blender, just pulsate it so that the milk and ice cream don't melt from the friction.

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My favorite milkshake is the following:

Chocolate Banana Milkshake:
* Chocolate ice cream. 3 big scoops in a big glass.
* Whole milk. 3/4 - 1 cup.
* Soft, ripe banana (preferably cold) or fruit of choice that goes with chocolate, like strawberries and raspberries. Frozen fruits are perfect for milkshakes.

Another good combination: if peaches are in season, use vanilla ice cream and fresh peaches. Not the yellow, custard-type vanilla, but the vanilla-bean type. That's one of my favorites. Make sure the peaches are cold when they go in the blender.
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Here's the ice cream scoop I use: