Santa Rosa Symphony Last Saturday evening Sandra and I attended a concert by the Santa Rosa Symphony. The orchestra’s music making, as always, was wonderful. But a sour note, for me, was one I’ve been hearing, with increasing frequency, in recent years — the need to endure the performance of dissonant modern compositions as the […]
Bait breath! A few days ago, while reviewing a blog post (which, to protect the not-so-innocent, I won’t identify), I came across a phrase I feel sure many readers have seen a time or two: After much waiting with baited breath, … You know where I’m going, of course. Should the phrase be baited or bated breath? […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Nepal-Everest-view1.jpg12281818Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2019-01-06 19:34:072019-01-06 20:24:18Learning to Ride a Motorcycle — From an Instructor With Whom I Shared No Common Language
Hank Gosho at Tsukuba Expo ’85 (low resolution from heavy cropping of original photo) A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog post about Don Jones, a colorful character who, among much else, had offered to teach me Japanese in 10 hours. Today, I’d like to tell you a little about another friend and […]
White Castle Last week, in writing about a couple of brushes I had with George H.W. Bush before he was president, I mentioned that while I was working at the U.S. Mission to the UN for a couple of months in the fall of 1971, I’d usually have lunch at one of mid-town Manhattan’s many […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/White-Castle.jpg300400Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2018-12-09 18:27:012018-12-09 18:41:54A New Cultural Experience
The death, several days ago, of George H.W. Bush, brings to mind a couple of brushes I had with the man who would later serve as the 41st president of the United States. The first of these “brushes,” in 1971, was entirely impersonal. He and I were both serving at the U.S. Mission to the […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/george-hw-bush.jpg5621000Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2018-12-02 18:51:202018-12-11 05:22:06My Brushes With Bush
Under Lenin’s gaze, Naomi, age 4, in blue dress at left foreground, participating in her Leningrad preschool’s celebration of the Bolshevik Revolution’s 60th anniversary, November 1977. One year ago, calling it a “somber centenary,” I wrote about the 100th anniversary of Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution (October Revolution). Now, on the revolution’s 101st anniversary (actually last Wednesday), a […]
This is what anti-Semitism can lead to The horrific murders last Saturday in Pittsburgh, driven by anti-Semitism, prompt me to share some thoughts and perspectives. This will be a lengthy piece, so let me begin with the three thoughts uppermost in my mind. First, although the murderer appears to fit within the stereotype of classic fringe-right-wing, […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/20101007-KDS-Holocaust-boy.jpg6521000Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2018-11-04 18:00:302018-11-14 05:28:48Anti-Semitism, Both Right- and Left-Wing
Gaijin (Japanese for “foreigner”) Back in 1984, I mentioned to a friend, Don Jones, a U.S. Information Agency colleague, that I’d just been assigned to the staff of the U.S. Pavilion at Tsukuba Expo ’85.1 Don was, I’d guess, about two decades older than me. I’d first met him a few years earlier when we were […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Gaijin.jpg295672Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2018-10-28 16:52:562019-01-05 21:14:49Wanna Learn Japanese in 10 Hours?
Honduran migrants I began writing this post two days ago after reading about the “caravan” of several thousand Honduran migrants that has been halted at Mexico’s southern border. If and when they are eventually allowed to cross into Mexico, it appears that most of them hope to keep heading north to the U.S. Presumably, most […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/migrant-caravan.jpeg8401260Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2018-10-21 17:32:162018-10-21 19:06:54Mentally Wrestling With the Illegal Immigration Issue
Prix Fixe Concerts
/0 Comments/in Santa Rosa, Thoughts /by Howard DanielSanta Rosa Symphony Last Saturday evening Sandra and I attended a concert by the Santa Rosa Symphony. The orchestra’s music making, as always, was wonderful. But a sour note, for me, was one I’ve been hearing, with increasing frequency, in recent years — the need to endure the performance of dissonant modern compositions as the […]
Bated or Baited Breath?
/2 Comments/in Language, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielBait breath! A few days ago, while reviewing a blog post (which, to protect the not-so-innocent, I won’t identify), I came across a phrase I feel sure many readers have seen a time or two: After much waiting with baited breath, … You know where I’m going, of course. Should the phrase be baited or bated breath? […]
Learning to Ride a Motorcycle — From an Instructor With Whom I Shared No Common Language
/0 Comments/in Language, Recollections, Travel /by Howard DanielNepal countryside. One of those snowy peaks is Everest, but I don’t recall which one except that it’s not the one that looks tallest, a result of its being closer than the others to my vantage point on a road outside Kathmandu. (All photos: ©Howard E. Daniel, 1971-2018) Speaking with a motorcycle-loving friend recently, I was […]
Hank Gosho, Sensei
/0 Comments/in History, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielHank Gosho at Tsukuba Expo ’85 (low resolution from heavy cropping of original photo) A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog post about Don Jones, a colorful character who, among much else, had offered to teach me Japanese in 10 hours. Today, I’d like to tell you a little about another friend and […]
A New Cultural Experience
/0 Comments/in Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielWhite Castle Last week, in writing about a couple of brushes I had with George H.W. Bush before he was president, I mentioned that while I was working at the U.S. Mission to the UN for a couple of months in the fall of 1971, I’d usually have lunch at one of mid-town Manhattan’s many […]
My Brushes With Bush
/0 Comments/in History, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielThe death, several days ago, of George H.W. Bush, brings to mind a couple of brushes I had with the man who would later serve as the 41st president of the United States. The first of these “brushes,” in 1971, was entirely impersonal. He and I were both serving at the U.S. Mission to the […]
Нет, Моя! No, It’s Mine!
/0 Comments/in Language, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielUnder Lenin’s gaze, Naomi, age 4, in blue dress at left foreground, participating in her Leningrad preschool’s celebration of the Bolshevik Revolution’s 60th anniversary, November 1977. One year ago, calling it a “somber centenary,” I wrote about the 100th anniversary of Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution (October Revolution). Now, on the revolution’s 101st anniversary (actually last Wednesday), a […]
Anti-Semitism, Both Right- and Left-Wing
/4 Comments/in History, Recollections, Thoughts /by Howard DanielThis is what anti-Semitism can lead to The horrific murders last Saturday in Pittsburgh, driven by anti-Semitism, prompt me to share some thoughts and perspectives. This will be a lengthy piece, so let me begin with the three thoughts uppermost in my mind. First, although the murderer appears to fit within the stereotype of classic fringe-right-wing, […]
Wanna Learn Japanese in 10 Hours?
/0 Comments/in History, Language, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielGaijin (Japanese for “foreigner”) Back in 1984, I mentioned to a friend, Don Jones, a U.S. Information Agency colleague, that I’d just been assigned to the staff of the U.S. Pavilion at Tsukuba Expo ’85.1 Don was, I’d guess, about two decades older than me. I’d first met him a few years earlier when we were […]
Mentally Wrestling With the Illegal Immigration Issue
/3 Comments/in Thoughts /by Howard DanielHonduran migrants I began writing this post two days ago after reading about the “caravan” of several thousand Honduran migrants that has been halted at Mexico’s southern border. If and when they are eventually allowed to cross into Mexico, it appears that most of them hope to keep heading north to the U.S. Presumably, most […]