The following are some thoughts I was invited to write about “national service” – in view of my having served in the Peace Corps and the U.S. Foreign Service – for inclusion in the Class Book of the Yale University Class of 1966, in preparation for our 50th reunion next weekend (June 3-5, 2016): Don’t […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Peace-Corps-1.jpeg299299Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2016-05-29 17:00:332017-01-29 19:27:09Helping Bring Progress to the Third World & Crack Open the Iron Curtain
Last week, I told a tale about a trilingual conversation my dad witnessed between guitar immortal Andres Sergovia and luthier Mario Maccaferri. Much of that conversation would have been unintelligible to my dad – whose familiarity with other languages was limited to Yiddish (the native language of his immigrant parents) and high school French and […]
This week, I was reminded of a story that my dad, Nathan I. Daniel, a pioneer in the field of electric guitars and musical instrument amplifiers, used to tell about the time he met Andres Segovia, perhaps the greatest guitarist the world has ever known. The meeting took place in the early 1950s at the […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/andressegovia-recitalintimo.jpg12051170Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2016-05-15 17:00:052018-06-29 19:29:17On Playing the Guitar, Segovia Didn’t Always Have the Last Word
Chai: a wonderful thirst-quencher I was fond of long before it became trendy. Actually, I often drank tea as a boy, as it was my parents’ regular post-prandial refreshment. They enjoyed it with lemon rather than milk, which (unlike coffee, to which they would always add milk) made it acceptable after a meal with meat […]
A few nights ago, my wife Sandra and I were enjoying a meal at an Italian restaurant, and – just as a falling apple is said to have triggered Sir Isaac Newton’s discovery of the universal laws of motion (aka gravity, planetary orbits and all the rest) – my plate of spaghetti triggered another insight. […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/shirt_splatter_cpr.jpg12011600Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2016-05-01 19:26:012016-08-08 14:43:38Complicating the Search for a Unified Field Theory
When I married my “starter wife” (defined in “The Fly,” below) I was not yet 30 and in more ways than one was just getting acquainted with the various responsibilities of life as an adult. I was living in Washington, D.C., at the time, but was preparing to leave on my first Foreign Service assignment […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/baby-grand-piano-7065475-1.jpg160107Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2016-04-24 17:48:072016-08-08 14:43:56Pianos and Diaper Buckets: The Perils of Intercontinental Moves
“Track record.” This expression bugs us at Pen-for-Rent. It pops up everywhere that people wish to point out an individual’s history of accomplishments – in other words, his/her “record.” Why “track record”? Is the discussion about a race horse? That’s right, it appears that it was folks involved in horse racing who contributed this shopworn […]
I wrote this article in December 2015 for the 2016 edition of the annual Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce directory (aka the Santa Rosa Community Resource and Business Guide), which was published this week. Text begins beneath photo “Charming” … “tempting” … “idyllic” … “stunning” … “a jewel” … “a delight” … “great for families […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Courthouse-SQ3.jpg5761024Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2016-04-10 17:00:062017-10-01 07:02:29Courthouse Square Reunified – More Than the Sum of Two Halves
A book whose contents I’ve been editing on and off over the past year and a half has now been published. Pancheri – Our Story is the life’s avocational work of an extraordinary guy, now a friend, Gene Pancheri, a retired chemical engineer living in Cincinnati, who discovered his family’s roots in a sub-Alpine valley […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Pancheri-book.php_.jpeg320315Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2016-04-03 19:54:432016-08-08 14:45:37Seven Centuries of 'Sex, Lies But No Videotape'
My last Foreign Service overseas assignment was to Japan in 1985. This was no ordinary assignment to our embassy in Tokyo or one of the U.S. consulates around the country. No, this assignment was to the U.S. Pavilion at an international exposition, Tsukuba Expo ’85 (http://bit.ly/1RweFds), held that summer in Tsukuba Science City, 35 miles […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/th-1.jpeg299245Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2016-03-27 18:40:252016-08-08 14:46:12'One of the Cowboy States'
Helping Bring Progress to the Third World & Crack Open the Iron Curtain
/2 Comments/in History, Places I've lived, Recollections, Thoughts /by Howard DanielThe following are some thoughts I was invited to write about “national service” – in view of my having served in the Peace Corps and the U.S. Foreign Service – for inclusion in the Class Book of the Yale University Class of 1966, in preparation for our 50th reunion next weekend (June 3-5, 2016): Don’t […]
Oh, Brother!
/0 Comments/in Holidays, Humor, Language, Recollections, Travel /by Howard DanielLast week, I told a tale about a trilingual conversation my dad witnessed between guitar immortal Andres Sergovia and luthier Mario Maccaferri. Much of that conversation would have been unintelligible to my dad – whose familiarity with other languages was limited to Yiddish (the native language of his immigrant parents) and high school French and […]
On Playing the Guitar, Segovia Didn’t Always Have the Last Word
/0 Comments/in Danelectro, History, Humor, Language, Recollections /by Howard DanielThis week, I was reminded of a story that my dad, Nathan I. Daniel, a pioneer in the field of electric guitars and musical instrument amplifiers, used to tell about the time he met Andres Segovia, perhaps the greatest guitarist the world has ever known. The meeting took place in the early 1950s at the […]
Chai … Чай … चाय
/2 Comments/in Humor, Language, Places I've lived, Recollections, Travel /by Howard DanielChai: a wonderful thirst-quencher I was fond of long before it became trendy. Actually, I often drank tea as a boy, as it was my parents’ regular post-prandial refreshment. They enjoyed it with lemon rather than milk, which (unlike coffee, to which they would always add milk) made it acceptable after a meal with meat […]
Complicating the Search for a Unified Field Theory
/0 Comments/in Humor, Thoughts /by Howard DanielA few nights ago, my wife Sandra and I were enjoying a meal at an Italian restaurant, and – just as a falling apple is said to have triggered Sir Isaac Newton’s discovery of the universal laws of motion (aka gravity, planetary orbits and all the rest) – my plate of spaghetti triggered another insight. […]
Pianos and Diaper Buckets: The Perils of Intercontinental Moves
/0 Comments/in Humor, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielWhen I married my “starter wife” (defined in “The Fly,” below) I was not yet 30 and in more ways than one was just getting acquainted with the various responsibilities of life as an adult. I was living in Washington, D.C., at the time, but was preparing to leave on my first Foreign Service assignment […]
Track Record
/0 Comments/in Humor, Language, Thoughts, Writing & editing /by Howard Daniel“Track record.” This expression bugs us at Pen-for-Rent. It pops up everywhere that people wish to point out an individual’s history of accomplishments – in other words, his/her “record.” Why “track record”? Is the discussion about a race horse? That’s right, it appears that it was folks involved in horse racing who contributed this shopworn […]
Courthouse Square Reunified – More Than the Sum of Two Halves
/2 Comments/in History, North Bay, Places I've lived, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielI wrote this article in December 2015 for the 2016 edition of the annual Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce directory (aka the Santa Rosa Community Resource and Business Guide), which was published this week. Text begins beneath photo “Charming” … “tempting” … “idyllic” … “stunning” … “a jewel” … “a delight” … “great for families […]
Seven Centuries of ‘Sex, Lies But No Videotape’
/0 Comments/in History, Humor, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielA book whose contents I’ve been editing on and off over the past year and a half has now been published. Pancheri – Our Story is the life’s avocational work of an extraordinary guy, now a friend, Gene Pancheri, a retired chemical engineer living in Cincinnati, who discovered his family’s roots in a sub-Alpine valley […]
‘One of the Cowboy States’
/0 Comments/in Humor, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielMy last Foreign Service overseas assignment was to Japan in 1985. This was no ordinary assignment to our embassy in Tokyo or one of the U.S. consulates around the country. No, this assignment was to the U.S. Pavilion at an international exposition, Tsukuba Expo ’85 (http://bit.ly/1RweFds), held that summer in Tsukuba Science City, 35 miles […]