The “whole fan damily” — well, almost! Think back to your school days and a typical assignment on the first day back in the classroom — being asked to write that dreaded essay, “What I Did on My Summer Vacation.” Here’s mine. Sandra and I went traveling. No. Not to an exotic “garden spot” like […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/PA2-July-2019.jpg30244032Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2019-08-18 17:33:372019-08-18 18:08:12What I Did on My Summer Vacation, Part One
Pierogi On Thursday evening (Aug. 8), Sandra and I celebrated our 32nd anniversary* at one of our favorite restaurants, Tisza Bistro, just two miles from our home. Yesterday, after getting a request to comment on our dining experience, I wrote a glowing review. I’m supplying a link to it here because I want to demonstrate […]
Among the many criticisms leveled at Facebook and other social media is the amount of time so many of us spend watching cat videos. To human eyes (and brains), cats are wonderfully entertaining. Years ago I watched a feline performance, in person, that still makes me smile whenever I see a cat rub against someone’s […]
All the attention to the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969, reminds me of my own peculiar little footnote to this historic event. At the time, I was a Peace Corps volunteer living in the north-central Indian village of Rajnagar (rough translation: Kingston) where I was working, together with […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Apollo-11.jpeg181230Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2019-07-21 16:53:162019-07-21 16:53:16A Little-Heralded Footnote to Apollo 11
A DC-3 With the 50th anniversary of mankind’s first landing on the moon just days away, I’m reminded of a somewhat more down-to-earth flight that I experienced only a year or so after Apollo 11. It was on my trip home to the United States from India, where I’d been serving in the Peace Corps. […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/DC-3.jpg7671280Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2019-07-14 17:22:572019-07-14 17:27:26From Bali to Timor — a Memorable Flight
1965: The author of this blog in Zurich, after learning what could go wrong Have you ever looked at one of those ubiquitous signs in public places that display a laundry list of prohibited activities … NO Swimming NO Running NO Fingernail Biting NO Playing 3D Chess […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/HD-eyepatch-Zurich-cropped.jpg1178941Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2019-06-23 16:35:452019-06-23 16:38:11What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Naomi (here in a forest outside Leningrad, 1977 or 78) in the hooded snowsuit which, with its neck slightly unzipped, prompted a passerby to claim she was “naked” I hope you didn’t miss National Doughnut1 Day this past Friday. If Facebook had not brought it to my attention, I certainly would have. As it turned out, […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ND-Pavlovsk2.jpg18181228Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2019-06-09 17:13:162019-06-09 17:30:27National Doughnut Day — Did It Roll Right Past You?
Ilya Yefimovich Repin: Zaporozhian Cossacks Write a Letter to the Turkish Sultan Advisory: Despite this blog’s ordinarily being family-friendly, this post is not appropriate for readers under the age of 18 (no nudity, just language). The painting above is one of the strongest possible refutations of the notion that the study of history is dull […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Zaporozhian-Cossaks.jpg7571280Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2019-06-02 16:06:462019-06-02 22:20:39Who Said History Is Boring?
A business letter In his novel 1984, George Orwell wrote about Newspeak,1 which “Big Brother” — i.e., the totalitarian government — wanted to substitute for Oldspeak (everyday English). In 1984’s dystopian society, the objective of Newspeak was to strengthen government control of the populace by shaping and limiting its vocabulary. I’ve begun this piece by referring […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Business-letter.jpg282426Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2019-05-26 17:28:242019-05-26 17:32:30‘CorporateSpeak’ and Condescension in Business Letters
If you must smoke, please do it quietly! Yesterday a friend asked if I’d like to speak at his Rotary Club in a few months. We tentatively agreed on a topic, namely the title of this post. The following is a preview of some of the territory I expect to cover in this and another […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/aloud-allowed.jpg700700Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2019-05-19 16:58:072019-05-19 18:12:47Unless You’re Prepared for People to Ignore — and Maybe Sometimes Laugh at — What You Write, You Might Need the Help of an Editor or Copywriter
What I Did on My Summer Vacation, Part One
/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Howard DanielThe “whole fan damily” — well, almost! Think back to your school days and a typical assignment on the first day back in the classroom — being asked to write that dreaded essay, “What I Did on My Summer Vacation.” Here’s mine. Sandra and I went traveling. No. Not to an exotic “garden spot” like […]
The Restaurant Review You’ve Always Been Tempted to Write
/0 Comments/in Humor, Recollections, Travel /by Howard DanielPierogi On Thursday evening (Aug. 8), Sandra and I celebrated our 32nd anniversary* at one of our favorite restaurants, Tisza Bistro, just two miles from our home. Yesterday, after getting a request to comment on our dining experience, I wrote a glowing review. I’m supplying a link to it here because I want to demonstrate […]
Cats!
/2 Comments/in Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielAmong the many criticisms leveled at Facebook and other social media is the amount of time so many of us spend watching cat videos. To human eyes (and brains), cats are wonderfully entertaining. Years ago I watched a feline performance, in person, that still makes me smile whenever I see a cat rub against someone’s […]
A Little-Heralded Footnote to Apollo 11
/0 Comments/in History, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielAll the attention to the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969, reminds me of my own peculiar little footnote to this historic event. At the time, I was a Peace Corps volunteer living in the north-central Indian village of Rajnagar (rough translation: Kingston) where I was working, together with […]
From Bali to Timor — a Memorable Flight
/0 Comments/in Places I've lived, Recollections, Travel /by Howard DanielA DC-3 With the 50th anniversary of mankind’s first landing on the moon just days away, I’m reminded of a somewhat more down-to-earth flight that I experienced only a year or so after Apollo 11. It was on my trip home to the United States from India, where I’d been serving in the Peace Corps. […]
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
/0 Comments/in Humor, Language, Travel /by Howard Daniel1965: The author of this blog in Zurich, after learning what could go wrong Have you ever looked at one of those ubiquitous signs in public places that display a laundry list of prohibited activities … NO Swimming NO Running NO Fingernail Biting NO Playing 3D Chess […]
National Doughnut Day — Did It Roll Right Past You?
/0 Comments/in Humor, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielNaomi (here in a forest outside Leningrad, 1977 or 78) in the hooded snowsuit which, with its neck slightly unzipped, prompted a passerby to claim she was “naked” I hope you didn’t miss National Doughnut1 Day this past Friday. If Facebook had not brought it to my attention, I certainly would have. As it turned out, […]
Who Said History Is Boring?
/0 Comments/in History, Humor, Language, Places I've lived /by Howard DanielIlya Yefimovich Repin: Zaporozhian Cossacks Write a Letter to the Turkish Sultan Advisory: Despite this blog’s ordinarily being family-friendly, this post is not appropriate for readers under the age of 18 (no nudity, just language). The painting above is one of the strongest possible refutations of the notion that the study of history is dull […]
‘CorporateSpeak’ and Condescension in Business Letters
/0 Comments/in Language, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielA business letter In his novel 1984, George Orwell wrote about Newspeak,1 which “Big Brother” — i.e., the totalitarian government — wanted to substitute for Oldspeak (everyday English). In 1984’s dystopian society, the objective of Newspeak was to strengthen government control of the populace by shaping and limiting its vocabulary. I’ve begun this piece by referring […]
Unless You’re Prepared for People to Ignore — and Maybe Sometimes Laugh at — What You Write, You Might Need the Help of an Editor or Copywriter
/0 Comments/in Humor, Language, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielIf you must smoke, please do it quietly! Yesterday a friend asked if I’d like to speak at his Rotary Club in a few months. We tentatively agreed on a topic, namely the title of this post. The following is a preview of some of the territory I expect to cover in this and another […]