Last week I recounted my 1971 adventure motoring down the lower reaches of the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea. Today, I’ll go back only to June 2006, when Sandra and I had an altogether different kind of watery adventure – at a bird refuge on the shore of Lake Takern in southern Sweden. Several […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/bird-refuge2.jpeg7301169Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2018-01-07 19:11:072018-07-22 17:57:07Refuge for Birds, or …?
A Stone Age celebration As 2017 comes to a close, here’s another holiday-related recollection that comes to mind. It’s from the time I was in Papua New Guinea on my way home to the United States following Peace Corps service in India. What, you might ask, does this have to do with the holidays? Hang […]
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I’d been thinking of republishing last year’s Christmas blog post, but today, just as Santa is harnessing the reindeer and filling his sleigh with toys in preparation for tonight’s globe-girdling ride, I’m recalling another long-ago Christmas event that I hope readers will find of interest. This was one of our family’s many holiday gatherings in […]
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The “Czar Cannon,” cast in 1586, stands in the Kremlin. Former U.S. and Russian presidents Barack Obama and Dmitri Medvedev provide perspective on its size. Here, from my personal recollection, is an interesting footnote to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan 38 years ago this month (Dec. 24, 1979). It illustrates the overarching principle governing Soviet […]
As the holidays approach, so do family gatherings. If the relatives are coming to town, the question arises: what should we call the occasion, a visit or a visitation? I can’t tell you how often I’ve seen the word visitation misused for visit. It reminds me of the times I’ve seen simplistic erroneously used for […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Visitation-of-plague.jpg600476Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2017-12-10 11:03:482017-12-10 11:07:29Which Is it? Visit or Visitation?
If not for our ears, we might all be wearing a pince-nez Every once in a long while I get a flash of insight. It happened again yesterday morning as I was putting my glasses on and glanced over at our cat. As I slipped the eyeglass “temples” – the supports that extend along the […]
Wine Country It’s now been almost two months since the outbreak of the fires that wrought havoc in Sonoma and Napa counties – and, especially, in Santa Rosa. Plenty of ink has been spilled on articles and photos documenting the destruction. If you, the reader, are not from this area and would like an […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/IMG_0015.jpg32642448Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2017-11-26 16:00:532018-06-24 19:14:17California Wine Country: Still Open for Business
I’d been considering re-posting the blog item I wrote last year at this time, My Most Memorable Thanksgiving, when I recalled another unconventional celebration of this wonderful holiday from my boyhood. I was perhaps 6 or 7 at the time, and my parents were going to do something unusual for the four-day weekend. They decided […]
The defining moment of the October Revolution, as Soviet propaganda wished the world to see it. Like so much else in the Soviet version of history, it is a false picture. As a student of Russia, I find it impossible to ignore the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, which took place this past Tuesday, […]
Sandra on Oahu’s North Shore Today is the birthday of my life’s companion, Sandra Kelley. It brings to mind the most memorable surprise party I can recall – Sandra’s 50th, in 1996. As it happened, November 5 fell on Election Day that year, which presented a great party theme. The trick, for me, as Conspirator-in-Chief, […]
Refuge for Birds, or …?
/0 Comments/in Recollections, Travel /by Howard DanielLast week I recounted my 1971 adventure motoring down the lower reaches of the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea. Today, I’ll go back only to June 2006, when Sandra and I had an altogether different kind of watery adventure – at a bird refuge on the shore of Lake Takern in southern Sweden. Several […]
A Glimpse of the Stone Age
/0 Comments/in Holidays, Recollections, Travel /by Howard DanielA Stone Age celebration As 2017 comes to a close, here’s another holiday-related recollection that comes to mind. It’s from the time I was in Papua New Guinea on my way home to the United States following Peace Corps service in India. What, you might ask, does this have to do with the holidays? Hang […]
Not Your Everyday Christmas Story
/0 Comments/in Holidays, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielI’d been thinking of republishing last year’s Christmas blog post, but today, just as Santa is harnessing the reindeer and filling his sleigh with toys in preparation for tonight’s globe-girdling ride, I’m recalling another long-ago Christmas event that I hope readers will find of interest. This was one of our family’s many holiday gatherings in […]
Guns, not Butter
/2 Comments/in Places I've lived, Recollections, Thoughts /by Howard DanielThe “Czar Cannon,” cast in 1586, stands in the Kremlin. Former U.S. and Russian presidents Barack Obama and Dmitri Medvedev provide perspective on its size. Here, from my personal recollection, is an interesting footnote to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan 38 years ago this month (Dec. 24, 1979). It illustrates the overarching principle governing Soviet […]
Which Is it? Visit or Visitation?
/0 Comments/in Humor, Language, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielAs the holidays approach, so do family gatherings. If the relatives are coming to town, the question arises: what should we call the occasion, a visit or a visitation? I can’t tell you how often I’ve seen the word visitation misused for visit. It reminds me of the times I’ve seen simplistic erroneously used for […]
The Fortuitous Evolutionary Design of Human Ears
/0 Comments/in Humor, Thoughts /by Howard DanielIf not for our ears, we might all be wearing a pince-nez Every once in a long while I get a flash of insight. It happened again yesterday morning as I was putting my glasses on and glanced over at our cat. As I slipped the eyeglass “temples” – the supports that extend along the […]
California Wine Country: Still Open for Business
/0 Comments/in North Bay, Places I've lived, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, Travel /by Howard DanielWine Country It’s now been almost two months since the outbreak of the fires that wrought havoc in Sonoma and Napa counties – and, especially, in Santa Rosa. Plenty of ink has been spilled on articles and photos documenting the destruction. If you, the reader, are not from this area and would like an […]
Another Memorable Thanksgiving
/0 Comments/in Holidays, Humor, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielI’d been considering re-posting the blog item I wrote last year at this time, My Most Memorable Thanksgiving, when I recalled another unconventional celebration of this wonderful holiday from my boyhood. I was perhaps 6 or 7 at the time, and my parents were going to do something unusual for the four-day weekend. They decided […]
Bolshevik Revolution – A Somber Centenary
/6 Comments/in History, Places I've lived, Recollections, Thoughts /by Howard DanielThe defining moment of the October Revolution, as Soviet propaganda wished the world to see it. Like so much else in the Soviet version of history, it is a false picture. As a student of Russia, I find it impossible to ignore the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, which took place this past Tuesday, […]
Choose the Flooze
/0 Comments/in Hawaii, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielSandra on Oahu’s North Shore Today is the birthday of my life’s companion, Sandra Kelley. It brings to mind the most memorable surprise party I can recall – Sandra’s 50th, in 1996. As it happened, November 5 fell on Election Day that year, which presented a great party theme. The trick, for me, as Conspirator-in-Chief, […]