Leonid Brezhnev The passions whose flames are being fanned on both sides by the Trump impeachment trial bring to mind a joke that Russians would tell each other (if they felt confident the KGB wouldn’t overhear them) back in the 1970s when I was posted to the U.S. consulate-general in Leningrad (today, St. Petersburg). At […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Brezhnev-scaled.jpg25601920Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2020-01-26 15:13:092020-03-29 20:43:32Trump’s Impeachment Reminds Me of a Soviet Era Joke
Visualization of Soviet fighters intercepting KAL 902 I’ve begun reading a fascinating book, Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended, by Jack Matlock, who, as the U.S. ambassador in Moscow, 1987–91, had a bird’s-eye view of history in the making. I’m still in the early chapters of the book, but a few days ago […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/707_kal905.png8251917Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2020-01-19 19:31:532020-03-29 20:44:58Creating a ‘Newspaper’ for an Audience of One
Bull-headed butting. I thought I’d scanned a photo of this phenomenon from my collection of slides taken in India, but I can’t seem to locate it. I found this shot on the web. Have you ever tuned in to the National Geographic Channel and watched a few minutes of creatures demonstrating how survival of the […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/bulls-head-butting-scaled.jpg19202560Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2020-01-12 19:39:322020-03-29 20:46:45National Geographic Wild — In My Own Backyard
Well, it happened again. I missed the deadline for the annual1 holiday letter to friends and family. Happily, I’m still nearly a month ahead of schedule for a Groundhog Day message. So, if you’re tempted to proceed any further, consider yourself among the first to read my breathless (or is it, at age 75, out-of-breath?) […]
The illustration above, which I posted tongue in cheek on social media several weeks ago, depicts telekinesis.1 It reminds me of an actual demonstration of physical “levitation” — raising a recumbent person off the ground without actually touching him — that I witnessed some 50 years ago. This is an unvarnished account of what I […]
About six months ago, I had an “entertaining” airline experience — not to be confused with in-flight entertainment — which led me to write to “Dear Mr. Delta.” This past week, I had another experience — not quite so entertaining — which prompts me to pen this “Dear Mr. United” missive. The experience in question […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/United-Airlines-tails.jpg8001200Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2019-12-08 18:17:292020-04-05 20:41:36Dear Mr. United
Turkey With Thanksgiving just over the horizon, you can almost taste the turkey. Thanks to my having lived and worked in several countries in the first part of my career, I have a bit of personal history with the word for that bird. Peru It began in 1971 in Brazil. On my first Thanksgiving there […]
Sonoma County Wine Country (photo by Howard E. Daniel) Last week, I wrote about our escape from the Kincade Fire. Actually, our experience was more like an unplanned family gathering than a helter-skelter flight of refugees. But if you’ve been following the news, you’ve probably also seen that the fire triggered the evacuation of roughly […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Wine-Country1.jpg32642448Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2019-11-10 19:42:472020-04-05 20:42:57Fire Can’t Shut Us Down! Sonoma Wine Country Is Still Open for Business
Three of the five thousand to whom we are grateful! (Courtesy: Facebook) Sandra and I are back home — safe, warm and grateful. For anyone reading this who may not know what we’re grateful for, it’s this: Despite what looked for a time like pretty unfavorable odds, Northern California’s Kincade Fire did NOT burn our […]
Trump’s letter to Erdogan Among the flotsam and jetsam washed up on my computer screen by this week’s deluge1 of Trump-related news was a letter that the U.S. president wrote to his counterpart in Turkey, the bloody-minded, bloody-handed Recep Tayyip Erdogan.2 Much-criticized not only for its threatening content but also for its distinctly unpresidential tone […]
Trump’s Impeachment Reminds Me of a Soviet Era Joke
/0 Comments/in Humor, Places I've lived, Recollections, Russia-USSR /by Howard DanielLeonid Brezhnev The passions whose flames are being fanned on both sides by the Trump impeachment trial bring to mind a joke that Russians would tell each other (if they felt confident the KGB wouldn’t overhear them) back in the 1970s when I was posted to the U.S. consulate-general in Leningrad (today, St. Petersburg). At […]
Creating a ‘Newspaper’ for an Audience of One
/0 Comments/in History, Places I've lived, Recollections, Russia-USSR /by Howard DanielVisualization of Soviet fighters intercepting KAL 902 I’ve begun reading a fascinating book, Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended, by Jack Matlock, who, as the U.S. ambassador in Moscow, 1987–91, had a bird’s-eye view of history in the making. I’m still in the early chapters of the book, but a few days ago […]
National Geographic Wild — In My Own Backyard
/0 Comments/in India, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielBull-headed butting. I thought I’d scanned a photo of this phenomenon from my collection of slides taken in India, but I can’t seem to locate it. I found this shot on the web. Have you ever tuned in to the National Geographic Channel and watched a few minutes of creatures demonstrating how survival of the […]
Holiday Letter
/4 Comments/in Holidays, Recollections /by Howard DanielWell, it happened again. I missed the deadline for the annual1 holiday letter to friends and family. Happily, I’m still nearly a month ahead of schedule for a Groundhog Day message. So, if you’re tempted to proceed any further, consider yourself among the first to read my breathless (or is it, at age 75, out-of-breath?) […]
Levitation
/0 Comments/in California, Humor, India, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielThe illustration above, which I posted tongue in cheek on social media several weeks ago, depicts telekinesis.1 It reminds me of an actual demonstration of physical “levitation” — raising a recumbent person off the ground without actually touching him — that I witnessed some 50 years ago. This is an unvarnished account of what I […]
Dear Mr. United
/0 Comments/in California, North Bay, Places I've lived, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, Travel /by Howard DanielAbout six months ago, I had an “entertaining” airline experience — not to be confused with in-flight entertainment — which led me to write to “Dear Mr. Delta.” This past week, I had another experience — not quite so entertaining — which prompts me to pen this “Dear Mr. United” missive. The experience in question […]
It’s a Turkey
/0 Comments/in History, Language, Places I've lived, Thoughts /by Howard DanielTurkey With Thanksgiving just over the horizon, you can almost taste the turkey. Thanks to my having lived and worked in several countries in the first part of my career, I have a bit of personal history with the word for that bird. Peru It began in 1971 in Brazil. On my first Thanksgiving there […]
Fire Can’t Shut Us Down! Sonoma Wine Country Is Still Open for Business
/2 Comments/in California, North Bay, Places I've lived, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, Travel /by Howard DanielSonoma County Wine Country (photo by Howard E. Daniel) Last week, I wrote about our escape from the Kincade Fire. Actually, our experience was more like an unplanned family gathering than a helter-skelter flight of refugees. But if you’ve been following the news, you’ve probably also seen that the fire triggered the evacuation of roughly […]
Safe, Home, Warm and Grateful
/4 Comments/in California, North Bay, Places I've lived, Santa Rosa, Thoughts /by Howard DanielThree of the five thousand to whom we are grateful! (Courtesy: Facebook) Sandra and I are back home — safe, warm and grateful. For anyone reading this who may not know what we’re grateful for, it’s this: Despite what looked for a time like pretty unfavorable odds, Northern California’s Kincade Fire did NOT burn our […]
“Diplomatic” letters
/0 Comments/in History, Thoughts /by Howard DanielTrump’s letter to Erdogan Among the flotsam and jetsam washed up on my computer screen by this week’s deluge1 of Trump-related news was a letter that the U.S. president wrote to his counterpart in Turkey, the bloody-minded, bloody-handed Recep Tayyip Erdogan.2 Much-criticized not only for its threatening content but also for its distinctly unpresidential tone […]