Chronological Family Events in 2009

12 December, 2009: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all - We're off to Europe on Thursday (17th December) and won't be back until next year (Jan 4): Click here for our Christmas card, message and pics [or the pdf-file (includes some of the pics)].
  
 28 November, 2009
Here is an article about Anita's parents,
their jewelry store and all their good deeds in Las Vegas, New Mexico:
a short bio that appeared in their local newspaper about "Hometown Heroes":
it begins:
Tito and Mary Chavez are celebrating a quarter century at their business, Tito's Gallery, on Bridge Street,
where they sell jewelry.
"This week we had an order from the United Kingdom"; Mary said. "The best part about our gallery
is the people we get to meet, and all the friends we make by being here"
[Click on pic to enlarge, and here for the rest of the article]
25 November, 2009: A fascinating parallel between the House of Lords' obstructions to Ramsay MacDonald's programs in England 80 years ago, and the Republicans' obstructions to President Obama's programs - pointed out by Paul Krugman in the New York Times today.
  
 8 November, 2009
I thought this picture celebrating niece Judi Beverley's trip to Nashville,
Tennessee with her Nottingham choir was worth seeing...
Sebastien and family drove down from Louisville to see her, and provide some family support.
See Judi's Facebook for more pics of Nashville and the Berrys of Brooklyn.
[Click on pic to enlarge]
 20 October, 2009

Check out the George Rickey(1907-2002) sculptures on the streets of South Bend:
George was born here (1 block from our house),
but became well known elsewhere for his kinetic sculptures (wind plus Calder).
Our group put together this website, rickeysculptures.net,
mostly to help teachers use ideas of motion in their classrooms.
  
11 October, 2009: Ho - hum! - Another Hyde Park neighbo(u)r won another Nobel prize - does it make one feel so inadequate? No, of course not! it makes us proud - of our neighbo(u)rhood, of our country, and of the thoughtfulness of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee. The idea of "thoughtfulness" is surely a key to Barack's approach to world affairs, together with respect for all cultures, and a search for mutual understanding. Both before and after his election, he has shown how the USA and all nations can/should work together following the attributes above in searching for solutions to the world's problems of climate, hunger, peace and security. His critics do not seem to appreciate such a momentous change in internationalism, perhaps because of the change (YES, WE CAN!) we are seeing in the USA at home. Just one more point (one could continue...): his political opponents are almost unanimous in their self-serving, Obama-denouncing (and USA-denouncing) comments. Michael Steele, chairman of the National Republican Committee says "What has President Obama actually accomplished?". I can confidently respond: The peaceful destruction of the USA Republican Party! - isn't that worth more than a Nobel prize? Mark Barabak in today's Chicago Tribune points out the seeds of negativism: their lack of serious thought assures their lack of germination.
 6 October, 2009
The 2016 Olympics are going to Rio!
Chicago Tribune ideas of
"What Might Have Been..."
Here are some brief possibilities
(click on pic at right for an enlarged view)
Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune - her 16 points    
  
27 September, 2009: Eighteen pages of Letters of Emerson Hynes, written in the early years of his marriage to Arleen, preserved first by Auntie Glad and then by Peter Hynes, and scanned into digital form by Olivia Primanis (the letters are in approximately chronological order);         pages 1-6,         pages 7-12,         pages 13-18.
17 September, 2009: Mary's Labor Day message, and Liz McCloskey's recounting of Arleen's first day at St. Elizabeth's Hospital (now the home of Homeland Security)
[Editor's note: following requests to make it easier to find our memories of Arleen, it is now placed at the beginning of the menu page.]
 30 August, 2009 (These two ideas struck a chord)
I agree with physicist's son Eric Zorn, (Chicago Tribune, August 30, 2009): "What peeved me was that the law allows virtually any heterosexual couple to get hitched in haste for virtually any fool reason they want, but in most states, including Illinois, the law still forbids loving, committed gay couples from getting married on the grounds that legalizing such unions would threaten the definition and sanctity of traditional marriage. That's an outrage about which I will never hold my peace."
And right-> is a Luckovich cartoon on our Senate and the Public Option (click on it to enlarge)
  
 29-30 August, 2009
Pictures of the summer:
Part 1, July (5 girls +2 boys)
Part 2, August (just 2 girls)
Part 3, Chavez family and back-deck
        
3 August, 2009: Here are some preliminary photos of young people visiting... More to follow once we can breathe again:
In the meantime, parents of young children (and others) might enjoy this recent NY Times article on "How to lick a Slug"
<


26 July, 2009: I thought this science tidbit worth noting: At the 40th International Physics Olympiad held in Merida, Mexico this month China was first in the overall medal count, with Honduo Shi of China winning five gold medals. It was the first time in the 40 year history of the Physics Olympiad that the top score has gone to a female. [From Bob Park's weekly science newsletter What's New]

18 July, 2009: Just a "clearing the house" weekend for Gordon and Mary as we prepare for the deluge next week...
A wonderful flood of grand-daughters expected - lucky that Gaga and Gogo feel so young - perhaps not by the end of the month! (at least Gogo will be a year older)
We will be ready with a brand-new wrap-around porch at the back of the Harper house....And this is called our vacation!!
11 July, 2009: here are 2 more math items you might enjoy: (a)Hexabears revisited - some pics of real world hexagons; (b) Not just Reuleaux triangles - this is about Reuleaux Polygons.

7 June, 2009: If you still need arithmetic support, check out this magical reference passed along by GEB!

 17 May, 2009
Barack Obama joins us at Notre Dame...
Liam Cofell-Dwyer's photos (a 14 year old pro!)
(you can also click on my 3 samples at the right)
and Mary's story (I added my "two-bits")
        


 26 April, 2009
and yet more pics of those cousins together
in sunny California and other recent pics at
Nico's updated Simone site
(you can also click on the 3 samples at the right)
         
21 April, 2009: Check out the pictures of Geb & Nico Berry families with Nicky Yeager in Sonoma County
14 April, 2009: Geb and the girls in Brooklyn - the double-birthday celebrations April 5 & 6 - pic1 - pic2
1 April, 2009: Perhaps it is time for me to retire - it was so nice to hear Barack Obama in London today say "You've done a great job Gordon"! OOPS! I suppose it is April 1st!
....And Barack gave the Queen an I-Pod - one could say that it becomes the "Royal WE-Pod"!
30 March, 2009: An appropriate comment on Bush economic policies: "These days America is looking like the Bernie Madoff of economies: for many years it was held in respect, even awe, but it turns out to have been a fraud all along." [Click here for the complete New York Times article by Paul Krugman]

 25 March, 2009
  
10 March, 2009: Part 1: Thank you Jamie! I just had to add your comment: "... As a gloriously related point, this is precisely why I wish CPAC, the conservative gathering of such rousing intellectual figures as Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, John Bolton and random 13 year olds, would happen every month." (Jamie Yeager - 10 March 2009)
Part 2: On one side of the card is written: (1) THE SENTENCE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS CARD IS TRUE
On the other side of the card is written: (2) THE SENTENCE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS CARD IS FALSE
This "double no-no" paradox was first proposed by George Godfrey Berry (to Bertrand Russell in 1905)!
Stay tuned for more insights into this remarkable fellow - the oldest brother of my grandfather...
9 March, 2009: Check out Mary's STORY BUS, how the Erikson Institute brings literacy to the Chicago schools!
27 Feb, 2009:A President's speech which was clear, thoughtful, open and a delight to listen to - I think we really do deserve it after 8 years suffering through the fear paranoia of "Clueless" and "Darth Vader".
As some further relief, here are three enjoyable physics videos: "Friction versus the tanks"; "Knocking the hide off a baseball"; "From Quarks to the edge of the Universe" (it starts at Meigs Field, Chicago, and includes our house); No quiz at the end!...
1 Feb, 2009: More science...Check out the cute girl in pink (Simone) in one of her first public movies - all about the dangers of toxic air in schools...[check the index]
28 Jan, 2009: As Fang Lizhi, Dr. Xu's fellow dissident whose writings helped spark the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations and who now teaches at the University of Arizona, said in 1985, "Physics is more than a basis for technology; it is a cornerstone of modern thought." I urge you to read the rest of this excellent NY Times essay on the meaning of science and the potential "Obama effects"
20 Jan, 2009: What a day for dreams of the future...
We have confidence: "Our challenges will be met"!  "Yes, WE CAN"
 A leader and government we can be proud of
A leader and government we can believe in
A leader and government that thinks (before acting)
A leader and government that considers the views of knowledgable people
A leader and government that works for the people of America and for the benefit of the people of the whole world
NOT a dream - IT IS ALL REAL - Our neighbors from Hyde Park Chicago will do us all proud...[see also the "weekly pic"]
7 Jan, 2009: New Hynes-Berry calendar for 2009 (in the family data section - new password needed)
3 Jan, 2009:Did you hear Derek Walcott (Nobel prizewinner, and brother-in-law of Olivia) read his poem "Forty Acres" in honor of the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States? [On NPR tonight, after Garrison Keillor]
It is a wonderful poem reminding us (in part) of the unfulfilled Abraham Lincoln promise to give freed slaves '40 acres and a mule'. Read it here.
 23 December, 2008
Sister Nancy Hynes 19 Nov 1933-15 Dec 2008 - RIP
The Saint Cloud Times Obituary; A poem by Mary: Thinking of Nancy
Mary's story of our trip to Nancy's funeral		   
12 December, 2009: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all - We're off to Europe on Thursday (17th December) and won't be back until next year (Jan 4): Click here for our Christmas card, message and pics [or the pdf-file (includes some of the pics)].
  
 28 November, 2009
Here is an article about Anita's parents,
their jewelry store and all their good deeds in Las Vegas, New Mexico:
a short bio that appeared in their local newspaper about "Hometown Heroes":
it begins:
Tito and Mary Chavez are celebrating a quarter century at their business, Tito's Gallery, on Bridge Street,
where they sell jewelry.
"This week we had an order from the United Kingdom"; Mary said. "The best part about our gallery
is the people we get to meet, and all the friends we make by being here"
[Click on pic to enlarge, and here for the rest of the article]
25 November, 2009: A fascinating parallel between the House of Lords' obstructions to Ramsay MacDonald's programs in England 80 years ago, and the Republicans' obstructions to President Obama's programs - pointed out by Paul Krugman in the New York Times today.
  
 8 November, 2009
I thought this picture celebrating niece Judi Beverley's trip to Nashville,
Tennessee with her Nottingham choir was worth seeing...
Sebastien and family drove down from Louisville to see her, and provide some family support.
See Judi's Facebook for more pics of Nashville and the Berrys of Brooklyn.
[Click on pic to enlarge]
 20 October, 2009

Check out the George Rickey(1907-2002) sculptures on the streets of South Bend:
George was born here (1 block from our house),
but became well known elsewhere for his kinetic sculptures (wind plus Calder).
Our group put together this website, rickeysculptures.net,
mostly to help teachers use ideas of motion in their classrooms.
  
11 October, 2009: Ho - hum! - Another Hyde Park neighbo(u)r won another Nobel prize - does it make one feel so inadequate? No, of course not! it makes us proud - of our neighbo(u)rhood, of our country, and of the thoughtfulness of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee. The idea of "thoughtfulness" is surely a key to Barack's approach to world affairs, together with respect for all cultures, and a search for mutual understanding. Both before and after his election, he has shown how the USA and all nations can/should work together following the attributes above in searching for solutions to the world's problems of climate, hunger, peace and security. His critics do not seem to appreciate such a momentous change in internationalism, perhaps because of the change (YES, WE CAN!) we are seeing in the USA at home. Just one more point (one could continue...): his political opponents are almost unanimous in their self-serving, Obama-denouncing (and USA-denouncing) comments. Michael Steele, chairman of the National Republican Committee says "What has President Obama actually accomplished?". I can confidently respond: The peaceful destruction of the USA Republican Party! - isn't that worth more than a Nobel prize? Mark Barabak in today's Chicago Tribune points out the seeds of negativism: their lack of serious thought assures their lack of germination.
 6 October, 2009
The 2016 Olympics are going to Rio!
Chicago Tribune ideas of
"What Might Have Been..."
Here are some brief possibilities
(click on pic at right for an enlarged view)
Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune - her 16 points    
  
27 September, 2009: Eighteen pages of Letters of Emerson Hynes, written in the early years of his marriage to Arleen, preserved first by Auntie Glad and then by Peter Hynes, and scanned into digital form by Olivia Primanis (the letters are in approximately chronological order);         pages 1-6,         pages 7-12,         pages 13-18.
17 September, 2009: Mary's Labor Day message, and Liz McCloskey's recounting of Arleen's first day at St. Elizabeth's Hospital (now the home of Homeland Security)
[Editor's note: following requests to make it easier to find our memories of Arleen, it is now placed at the beginning of the menu page.]
 30 August, 2009 (These two ideas struck a chord)
I agree with physicist's son Eric Zorn, (Chicago Tribune, August 30, 2009): "What peeved me was that the law allows virtually any heterosexual couple to get hitched in haste for virtually any fool reason they want, but in most states, including Illinois, the law still forbids loving, committed gay couples from getting married on the grounds that legalizing such unions would threaten the definition and sanctity of traditional marriage. That's an outrage about which I will never hold my peace."
And right-> is a Luckovich cartoon on our Senate and the Public Option (click on it to enlarge)
  
        
3 August, 2009: Here are some preliminary photos of young people visiting... More to follow once we can breathe again:
In the meantime, parents of young children (and others) might enjoy this recent NY Times article on "How to lick a Slug"
<


26 July, 2009: I thought this science tidbit worth noting: At the 40th International Physics Olympiad held in Merida, Mexico this month China was first in the overall medal count, with Honduo Shi of China winning five gold medals. It was the first time in the 40 year history of the Physics Olympiad that the top score has gone to a female. [From Bob Park's weekly science newsletter What's New]

18 July, 2009: Just a "clearing the house" weekend for Gordon and Mary as we prepare for the deluge next week...
A wonderful flood of grand-daughters expected - lucky that Gaga and Gogo feel so young - perhaps not by the end of the month! (at least Gogo will be a year older)
We will be ready with a brand-new wrap-around porch at the back of the Harper house....And this is called our vacation!!
11 July, 2009: here are 2 more math items you might enjoy: (a)Hexabears revisited - some pics of real world hexagons; (b) Not just Reuleaux triangles - this is about Reuleaux Polygons.

7 June, 2009: If you still need arithmetic support, check out this magical reference passed along by GEB!

 17 May, 2009
Barack Obama joins us at Notre Dame...
Liam Cofell-Dwyer's photos (a 14 year old pro!)
(you can also click on my 3 samples at the right)
and Mary's story (I added my "two-bits")
        


 26 April, 2009
and yet more pics of those cousins together
in sunny California and other recent pics at
Nico's updated Simone site
(you can also click on the 3 samples at the right)
         
21 April, 2009: Check out the pictures of Geb & Nico Berry families with Nicky Yeager in Sonoma County
14 April, 2009: Geb and the girls in Brooklyn - the double-birthday celebrations April 5 & 6 - pic1 - pic2
1 April, 2009: Perhaps it is time for me to retire - it was so nice to hear Barack Obama in London today say "You've done a great job Gordon"! OOPS! I suppose it is April 1st!
....And Barack gave the Queen an I-Pod - one could say that it becomes the "Royal WE-Pod"!
30 March, 2009: An appropriate comment on Bush economic policies: "These days America is looking like the Bernie Madoff of economies: for many years it was held in respect, even awe, but it turns out to have been a fraud all along." [Click here for the complete New York Times article by Paul Krugman]

 25 March, 2009
  
10 March, 2009: Part 1: Thank you Jamie! I just had to add your comment: "... As a gloriously related point, this is precisely why I wish CPAC, the conservative gathering of such rousing intellectual figures as Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, John Bolton and random 13 year olds, would happen every month." (Jamie Yeager - 10 March 2009)
Part 2: On one side of the card is written: (1) THE SENTENCE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS CARD IS TRUE
On the other side of the card is written: (2) THE SENTENCE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS CARD IS FALSE
This "double no-no" paradox was first proposed by George Godfrey Berry (to Bertrand Russell in 1905)!
Stay tuned for more insights into this remarkable fellow - the oldest brother of my grandfather...
9 March, 2009: Check out Mary's STORY BUS, how the Erikson Institute brings literacy to the Chicago schools!
27 Feb, 2009:A President's speech which was clear, thoughtful, open and a delight to listen to - I think we really do deserve it after 8 years suffering through the fear paranoia of "Clueless" and "Darth Vader".
As some further relief, here are three enjoyable physics videos: "Friction versus the tanks"; "Knocking the hide off a baseball"; "From Quarks to the edge of the Universe" (it starts at Meigs Field, Chicago, and includes our house); No quiz at the end!...
1 Feb, 2009: More science...Check out the cute girl in pink (Simone) in one of her first public movies - all about the dangers of toxic air in schools...[check the index]
28 Jan, 2009: As Fang Lizhi, Dr. Xu's fellow dissident whose writings helped spark the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations and who now teaches at the University of Arizona, said in 1985, "Physics is more than a basis for technology; it is a cornerstone of modern thought." I urge you to read the rest of this excellent NY Times essay on the meaning of science and the potential "Obama effects"
20 Jan, 2009: What a day for dreams of the future...
We have confidence: "Our challenges will be met"!  "Yes, WE CAN"
 A leader and government we can be proud of
A leader and government we can believe in
A leader and government that thinks (before acting)
A leader and government that considers the views of knowledgable people
A leader and government that works for the people of America and for the benefit of the people of the whole world
NOT a dream - IT IS ALL REAL - Our neighbors from Hyde Park Chicago will do us all proud...[see also the "weekly pic"]
7 Jan, 2009: New Hynes-Berry calendar for 2009 (in the family data section - new password needed)
3 Jan, 2009:Did you hear Derek Walcott (Nobel prizewinner, and brother-in-law of Olivia) read his poem "Forty Acres" in honor of the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States? [On NPR tonight, after Garrison Keillor]
It is a wonderful poem reminding us (in part) of the unfulfilled Abraham Lincoln promise to give freed slaves '40 acres and a mule'. Read it here.