Just when a lot of us were beginning to think that Covid and its Delta variant had begun to run out of steam, we learned about the pandemic’s latest mutation, the Omicron variant — apparently a great deal more virulent, transmissible and, we fear, potentially deadly than all its predecessors. While the world still has […]
Last Monday, November 1, 2021, was a big day for an old friend, Dr. Richard Kelley. I say “old” not just because he’ll soon be celebrating his 88th birthday, but also because I’ve had the pleasure of working with him now for nearly 20 years.1 Monday was big because it’s when his just-published book — […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Paddling-Outrigger.png657538Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2021-11-07 16:46:532021-11-07 17:02:40Birth of a Book
If you’ve seen claims that a shadowy, conspiratorial group called The Illuminati (“The Enlightened”) is behind everything that’s screwing up the world, I’ve got news for you. With simple click of your mouse, you too can enter the world of The Illuminati and revel in their power. Yes. If you’d like to roll up your […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Illuminati-scaled.jpg25601920Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2021-10-03 20:33:212021-10-04 17:51:21Are You Ready to Join The Illuminati?
Desperate to flee Afghanistan Two weeks ago, just days after the Taliban seized power in Kabul, I wrote about the news from Afghanistan and Washington. Among much else, I said: It is utterly irresponsible and shameful for our highest officials in Washington to be telling the thousands of U.S. citizens still stranded in Kabul and […]
Kabul, August 2021 I’ve been following the news from Afghanistan and Washington. Perspective calls for a few bullets. Here are mine: • How we got into a fight with the Taliban in the first place: The Taliban had been ruling Afghanistan for five years on September 11, 2001 — the day Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Kabul-runway.jpeg524705Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2021-08-22 19:01:162021-08-23 17:26:34Chaos in Kabul
Sandra Shakespeare got it exactly right when, in Romeo and Juliet, he penned this memorable line: What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet I mused on this thought in a previous blog post, but came to a conclusion different from the Bard’s. Margaux […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Sandy-with-hair-up-copy-1.jpg12001600Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2021-07-25 19:04:362021-07-25 19:10:23A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet
Back in the Cretinaceous Period when I was a kid, there was a popular TV program called Father Knows Best. In today’s “woke” age when “old white males” are no longer widely imagined to have all the answers, the premise of that show — that middle-aged guys might possess a special kind of wisdom — […]
Building in Israel hit by rocket from Gaza The world gives us much cause for outrage. Just this morning, I learned that the illegitimately “re-elected” president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, had his air traffic controllers and his MiGs force a civilian airliner from Ireland, which was crossing Belarussian airspace en route from Greece to Lithuania, […]
This is the writer and editor behind Pen-for-Rent Two weeks ago I celebrated something very nice — my Pen-for-Rent page on LinkedIn blew past the 10,000 followers mark. Greatly adding to my gratification at reaching this milestone was discovering (in the information provided by LinkedIn) that my page’s “engagement rate” of nearly 9% was higher […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/HD-3-footer.jpg20001673Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2021-05-16 17:08:142021-05-16 17:09:55Top of Mind
Matzah In the days leading up to the beginning of Passover1 last night, I’ve seen several articles on the web about matzah,2 cracker-like sheets of unleavened bread. That was all the food the Israelites (whom today we call the Jews) were able to take with them as Moses led them to freedom following generations of slavery […]
Nu, Omicron
/0 Comments/in Coronavirus, Humor, Language /by Howard DanielJust when a lot of us were beginning to think that Covid and its Delta variant had begun to run out of steam, we learned about the pandemic’s latest mutation, the Omicron variant — apparently a great deal more virulent, transmissible and, we fear, potentially deadly than all its predecessors. While the world still has […]
Birth of a Book
/0 Comments/in Hawaii, Places I've lived, Recollections, Thoughts, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielLast Monday, November 1, 2021, was a big day for an old friend, Dr. Richard Kelley. I say “old” not just because he’ll soon be celebrating his 88th birthday, but also because I’ve had the pleasure of working with him now for nearly 20 years.1 Monday was big because it’s when his just-published book — […]
Are You Ready to Join The Illuminati?
/0 Comments/in Humor, Thoughts /by Howard DanielIf you’ve seen claims that a shadowy, conspiratorial group called The Illuminati (“The Enlightened”) is behind everything that’s screwing up the world, I’ve got news for you. With simple click of your mouse, you too can enter the world of The Illuminati and revel in their power. Yes. If you’d like to roll up your […]
Shameful, Unforgivable
/3 Comments/in Current Events, History, Thoughts /by Howard DanielDesperate to flee Afghanistan Two weeks ago, just days after the Taliban seized power in Kabul, I wrote about the news from Afghanistan and Washington. Among much else, I said: It is utterly irresponsible and shameful for our highest officials in Washington to be telling the thousands of U.S. citizens still stranded in Kabul and […]
Chaos in Kabul
/0 Comments/in Current Events, History, Thoughts /by Howard DanielKabul, August 2021 I’ve been following the news from Afghanistan and Washington. Perspective calls for a few bullets. Here are mine: • How we got into a fight with the Taliban in the first place: The Taliban had been ruling Afghanistan for five years on September 11, 2001 — the day Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda […]
A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet
/0 Comments/in Family, Hawaii, Recollections /by Howard DanielSandra Shakespeare got it exactly right when, in Romeo and Juliet, he penned this memorable line: What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet I mused on this thought in a previous blog post, but came to a conclusion different from the Bard’s. Margaux […]
Happy WHAT?!
/0 Comments/in Family, Holidays, Humor /by Howard DanielBack in the Cretinaceous Period when I was a kid, there was a popular TV program called Father Knows Best. In today’s “woke” age when “old white males” are no longer widely imagined to have all the answers, the premise of that show — that middle-aged guys might possess a special kind of wisdom — […]
Cause for Outrage
/2 Comments/in Current Events, History, Thoughts /by Howard DanielBuilding in Israel hit by rocket from Gaza The world gives us much cause for outrage. Just this morning, I learned that the illegitimately “re-elected” president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, had his air traffic controllers and his MiGs force a civilian airliner from Ireland, which was crossing Belarussian airspace en route from Greece to Lithuania, […]
Top of Mind
/0 Comments/in Thoughts, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielThis is the writer and editor behind Pen-for-Rent Two weeks ago I celebrated something very nice — my Pen-for-Rent page on LinkedIn blew past the 10,000 followers mark. Greatly adding to my gratification at reaching this milestone was discovering (in the information provided by LinkedIn) that my page’s “engagement rate” of nearly 9% was higher […]
Matzah, a Leningrad Perspective
/3 Comments/in Holidays, Recollections, Russia-USSR /by Howard DanielMatzah In the days leading up to the beginning of Passover1 last night, I’ve seen several articles on the web about matzah,2 cracker-like sheets of unleavened bread. That was all the food the Israelites (whom today we call the Jews) were able to take with them as Moses led them to freedom following generations of slavery […]