This pair of words can create amusing confusion. Serve means to provide goods or services. For example, “This restaurant serves excellent steaks.” Or, “The waiter serves flaming desserts with great flair.” (Pun intended. Not sorry!) Service, on the other hand, when used as a verb, has several specific meanings. The most common one is to perform […]
Last week’s post was a funny story about my son Adam, from when he was 7. This week, in the interest of “equal time,” I’d like to put my daughter Naomi in the hot seat and tell about something that happened when she was about 4. (In the photo above, taken when we were on […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Naomi-Adam-Dec-1977.jpg24483264Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2016-10-02 00:04:482016-11-22 18:35:28What Happened to Your Penis?
Adam The morning of his 70th birthday, September 23, 1982, my kids and I were visiting my dad, Nathan I. Daniel, in Honolulu. My stepmom, Connie, was busily overseeing last-minute preparations for the surprise party she had planned for that evening. Although it was going to take place in a restaurant – a great way […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Young-Adam-1.jpg21911258Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2016-09-25 16:15:082016-11-22 18:37:06Never Entrust a Secret to a Seven-Year-Old
Nathan I. Daniel, Danelectro Founder, 9/23/1912 – 12/24/1994 A lot of people know about Danelectro – especially the now-retro-looking electric guitars, which have become collector’s items and have even given rise to that sincerest form of flattery, a company of the same name as the 1940s, 50s and 60s Danelectro, which manufactures reproductions of the […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/NID-Long-Branch-higher-res.jpg424614Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2016-09-18 15:07:172019-08-25 17:43:04A Tribute to My Dad, Danelectro Founder Nathan I. Daniel, on His 104th Birthday
Fifteen years ago today, with the al-Qaida attacks that murdered nearly 3,000* innocents in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, the world changed. Since that horrible day, perhaps even more ink has been spilled on those events than blood on September 11, 2001. I will waste little additional ink here. Readers can find plenty more on […]
Soviet propaganda poster: “Forward. To the victory of communism!” Banner shows profiles of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin. Foreground figures are idealized representations of a laborer and a collective farmer in the “workers’ paradise.” On the eve of Labor Day, I’m reminded of an incident that took place back in early 1978, when I was posted to […]
This video clip about typing is a funny way to call attention to a concern I have about a particular use of the word type. (For clip, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypDwh2ShJ6A. Alert: I suggest watching the clip only after reading the rest of this short post. Clicking on the link may take you away from the post.) Something I read […]
An article recently posted by a Facebook friend about the “ancient kinship” of Sanskrit and Russian brought to mind a linguistic “insight” that popped into my head several decades ago. Ever since I learned, as a graduate student, about the great prehistoric migrations of people out of the Eurasian steppes, westward into Europe and southward […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/tree_1.png874620Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2016-08-21 17:00:342016-11-27 18:05:14A Linguistic ‘Insight’ That Was Not Terribly Insightful
We were recently reminded of a wordy phrase that we see and hear way too often: “the majority of ….” Example: “in the majority of cases …” Here are a few others, found on the internet: “the majority of the cookies,” “the majority of the population,” “the majority of the rain,” “the majority […]
To avoid embarrassing anyone, I’m not going to mention any real names here, but years ago, when I was in college, I knew a guy who ate apples in a distinctly distinctive way. Or, as some might say, “very uniquely”! This fellow – I’ll just call him “Fred” – would pick up an apple in […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/apple-core-control-1.jpg476806Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2016-08-07 17:00:012016-08-08 14:36:57An Apple a Day
‘Serve’ vs. ‘Service’
/0 Comments/in Humor, Language, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielThis pair of words can create amusing confusion. Serve means to provide goods or services. For example, “This restaurant serves excellent steaks.” Or, “The waiter serves flaming desserts with great flair.” (Pun intended. Not sorry!) Service, on the other hand, when used as a verb, has several specific meanings. The most common one is to perform […]
What Happened to Your Penis?
/0 Comments/in Humor, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielLast week’s post was a funny story about my son Adam, from when he was 7. This week, in the interest of “equal time,” I’d like to put my daughter Naomi in the hot seat and tell about something that happened when she was about 4. (In the photo above, taken when we were on […]
Never Entrust a Secret to a Seven-Year-Old
/0 Comments/in Humor, Recollections /by Howard DanielAdam The morning of his 70th birthday, September 23, 1982, my kids and I were visiting my dad, Nathan I. Daniel, in Honolulu. My stepmom, Connie, was busily overseeing last-minute preparations for the surprise party she had planned for that evening. Although it was going to take place in a restaurant – a great way […]
A Tribute to My Dad, Danelectro Founder Nathan I. Daniel, on His 104th Birthday
/0 Comments/in Danelectro, Hawaii, Recollections, Thoughts /by Howard DanielNathan I. Daniel, Danelectro Founder, 9/23/1912 – 12/24/1994 A lot of people know about Danelectro – especially the now-retro-looking electric guitars, which have become collector’s items and have even given rise to that sincerest form of flattery, a company of the same name as the 1940s, 50s and 60s Danelectro, which manufactures reproductions of the […]
9/11/2001 – 9/11/2016
/0 Comments/in History, Recollections, Thoughts /by Howard DanielFifteen years ago today, with the al-Qaida attacks that murdered nearly 3,000* innocents in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, the world changed. Since that horrible day, perhaps even more ink has been spilled on those events than blood on September 11, 2001. I will waste little additional ink here. Readers can find plenty more on […]
‘You’ve Got Communism’
/1 Comment/in History, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielSoviet propaganda poster: “Forward. To the victory of communism!” Banner shows profiles of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin. Foreground figures are idealized representations of a laborer and a collective farmer in the “workers’ paradise.” On the eve of Labor Day, I’m reminded of an incident that took place back in early 1978, when I was posted to […]
‘These Types Of’ vs. ‘Like These’
/3 Comments/in Humor, Language, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielThis video clip about typing is a funny way to call attention to a concern I have about a particular use of the word type. (For clip, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypDwh2ShJ6A. Alert: I suggest watching the clip only after reading the rest of this short post. Clicking on the link may take you away from the post.) Something I read […]
A Linguistic ‘Insight’ That Was Not Terribly Insightful
/0 Comments/in History, Humor, Language, Thoughts /by Howard DanielAn article recently posted by a Facebook friend about the “ancient kinship” of Sanskrit and Russian brought to mind a linguistic “insight” that popped into my head several decades ago. Ever since I learned, as a graduate student, about the great prehistoric migrations of people out of the Eurasian steppes, westward into Europe and southward […]
‘The Majority of’ vs. ‘Most’
/0 Comments/in Humor, Language, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielWe were recently reminded of a wordy phrase that we see and hear way too often: “the majority of ….” Example: “in the majority of cases …” Here are a few others, found on the internet: “the majority of the cookies,” “the majority of the population,” “the majority of the rain,” “the majority […]
An Apple a Day
/0 Comments/in Humor, Recollections /by Howard DanielTo avoid embarrassing anyone, I’m not going to mention any real names here, but years ago, when I was in college, I knew a guy who ate apples in a distinctly distinctive way. Or, as some might say, “very uniquely”! This fellow – I’ll just call him “Fred” – would pick up an apple in […]