End of the “Cretinaceous” — not much fun Fun is a funny word. The dictionary says it’s a noun, which is clear in sentences like: We had fun (fun is the object of the verb had) The roller coaster was a lot of fun (here, fun is the object of the preposition of) In recent years, however, fun has also come […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2DDFC62B00000578-0-image-a-34_1446037220320-1.jpg389634Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2018-09-02 18:00:412018-09-02 18:00:41Is It Fun or Is It ‘Barbarous’?
Back in the summer of 1965, my friend Arlee* and I drove through several West European countries. We picked up our car – a Fiat so tiny it made VW bugs look like whales – in Milan and headed south. Driving in a new country was exciting. I remember the amusing (to me) name of […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Supercortemaggiore-78-kb.jpg563800Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2018-08-26 17:51:482018-08-26 17:58:28The Power of Supercortemaggiore
My Soviet driver’s license (and, yes, I certainly needed a haircut!) I’ve just passed the written and vision tests needed (perhaps thanks to advancing age) to renew my driver’s license. The experience with the California Department of Motor Vehicles reminded me of a long-ago brush with Virginia’s DMV. It happened in 1978, shortly after I […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/License-USSR2-1.jpg24483264Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2018-08-19 18:24:302018-08-20 19:35:31Adventures at the DMV – and Elsewhere
Since I couldn’t find a suitable photo of a cigarette-smoke ring on Google, here are some shots of a volcano puffing one out. Wow! Last November, in writing about the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, I recalled the birth of my interest in Russia and the Soviet Union. I wrote that when I began […]
Here’s a Foreign Service story that’s too good not to share. Back in the early 1980s when I was working in Washington, D.C., I was assigned for two or three years to USIA’s Foreign Press Center, just six blocks from the White House. It was a great job. The FPC was located in the National […]
Arc de Triomphe at the center of the Place de l’Étoile – a hub with 12 spokes Back in 1965, I made my first trip to Europe. In Paris, I learned you could go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. But how to get there? It stands in the middle of the Place de […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ArcTriomphe1.jpg590900Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2018-07-22 17:15:182018-07-22 17:16:35Risking Life and Limb for a Good Photo
A couple of weeks ago (July 3), Donald Trump – who claims to take pride in his ability to write – published a tweet that read, in part, “…the Fake News constantly likes to pour over my tweets looking for a mistake.” Far be it from me to dump on a guy who, even if […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/POUR-vs-PORE.jpeg6001200Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2018-07-15 21:55:322018-07-15 21:55:32PORE vs. POUR
Two of the three ships that carried the first English colonists to Jamestown in 1607 I wrote last week about Chincoteague and Assateague, Part One of the “just the two of us” vacation that Sandra and I took in May. Here’s Part Two. It’s about our visit to Virginia’s “Historic Triangle” of Williamsburg, Jamestown and […]
Osprey returning to nest Before visiting our son Adam and his family in the Washington, D.C., area at the end of May, Sandra and I took a few “just the two of us” vacation days and visited two great destinations, each about three hours south of D.C. – Chincoteague and Assateague islands on Virginia’s “Eastern […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Chincoteague1.jpg13971500Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2018-06-17 18:11:002018-07-22 17:54:12Chincoteague, a Walk on the Wild Side
In the wake of this past Tuesday’s primary elections here in California and several other states, my attention was drawn* to a Los Angeles Times report on voter apathy. “No offense, but I never vote,” a man, age 63, told the reporter. Asked why, the man responded, “I don’t believe in the system.” As someone […]
Is It Fun or Is It ‘Barbarous’?
/0 Comments/in Language, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielEnd of the “Cretinaceous” — not much fun Fun is a funny word. The dictionary says it’s a noun, which is clear in sentences like: We had fun (fun is the object of the verb had) The roller coaster was a lot of fun (here, fun is the object of the preposition of) In recent years, however, fun has also come […]
The Power of Supercortemaggiore
/0 Comments/in Recollections, Travel /by Howard DanielBack in the summer of 1965, my friend Arlee* and I drove through several West European countries. We picked up our car – a Fiat so tiny it made VW bugs look like whales – in Milan and headed south. Driving in a new country was exciting. I remember the amusing (to me) name of […]
Adventures at the DMV – and Elsewhere
/1 Comment/in Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielMy Soviet driver’s license (and, yes, I certainly needed a haircut!) I’ve just passed the written and vision tests needed (perhaps thanks to advancing age) to renew my driver’s license. The experience with the California Department of Motor Vehicles reminded me of a long-ago brush with Virginia’s DMV. It happened in 1978, shortly after I […]
Blowing Smoke: Memories of 8 a.m. Russian Class
/0 Comments/in Language, Recollections /by Howard DanielSince I couldn’t find a suitable photo of a cigarette-smoke ring on Google, here are some shots of a volcano puffing one out. Wow! Last November, in writing about the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, I recalled the birth of my interest in Russia and the Soviet Union. I wrote that when I began […]
Nuts and Alligators
/0 Comments/in Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielHere’s a Foreign Service story that’s too good not to share. Back in the early 1980s when I was working in Washington, D.C., I was assigned for two or three years to USIA’s Foreign Press Center, just six blocks from the White House. It was a great job. The FPC was located in the National […]
Risking Life and Limb for a Good Photo
/0 Comments/in Recollections, Travel /by Howard DanielArc de Triomphe at the center of the Place de l’Étoile – a hub with 12 spokes Back in 1965, I made my first trip to Europe. In Paris, I learned you could go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. But how to get there? It stands in the middle of the Place de […]
PORE vs. POUR
/0 Comments/in Language, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielA couple of weeks ago (July 3), Donald Trump – who claims to take pride in his ability to write – published a tweet that read, in part, “…the Fake News constantly likes to pour over my tweets looking for a mistake.” Far be it from me to dump on a guy who, even if […]
Diving Into History: Williamsburg, Jamestown
/0 Comments/in History, Travel /by Howard DanielTwo of the three ships that carried the first English colonists to Jamestown in 1607 I wrote last week about Chincoteague and Assateague, Part One of the “just the two of us” vacation that Sandra and I took in May. Here’s Part Two. It’s about our visit to Virginia’s “Historic Triangle” of Williamsburg, Jamestown and […]
Chincoteague, a Walk on the Wild Side
/0 Comments/in Recollections, Travel /by Howard DanielOsprey returning to nest Before visiting our son Adam and his family in the Washington, D.C., area at the end of May, Sandra and I took a few “just the two of us” vacation days and visited two great destinations, each about three hours south of D.C. – Chincoteague and Assateague islands on Virginia’s “Eastern […]
Does Voter Apathy Exacerbate Political Polarization?
/0 Comments/in Places I've lived, Thoughts /by Howard DanielIn the wake of this past Tuesday’s primary elections here in California and several other states, my attention was drawn* to a Los Angeles Times report on voter apathy. “No offense, but I never vote,” a man, age 63, told the reporter. Asked why, the man responded, “I don’t believe in the system.” As someone […]