Dan J. Harkey

Master Educator | Business & Finance Consultant | Mentor

Humor

Expect Stories, One-liners, and Satire that Make the Point and Make You Laugh

Welcome to Humor—where I translate real life into laughs without losing the truth.

These posts deliver witty commentary, satire, and observational stories drawn from real estate, mortgage lending, private money, government policy, bureaucracy, and the economy.

Expect sharp takes on incentives, second-order effects, and the unintended consequences that show up after the press conference—usually with a bill attached. If you like humor that exposes the script while keeping you entertained, start here.

Search Results

When Leaders are Forced To Run Against the Wind: Quick Read

Leadership Response When Conditions Turn Adverse

Running Against the Wind: Resilience in Action-Quick Read

The Discipline of Forward Motion in Adverse Conditions

Percy Faith, Bandleader, Orchestrator, Composer, and Conductor.

The Architect of “Mood Music” in the Billboard Era

Johnny Hartman, a jazz singer who specialized in ballads, was active from 1946 to 1983.

The Baritone Who Made Ballads Feel Like Conversation

Burt Bacharach, composer, songwriter, producer, and pianist, composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950’s to the 1980s—one of the all-time greatest.

Burt Bacharach’s innovative approach to pop composition should inspire admiration and appreciation among music enthusiasts, highlighting his role as a pioneer in shaping the modern pop sound.

Shirley Bassey, Singer with an Expressive Voice and Recordings of Theme Songs.

Career from the mid-1950s to the present.

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers.

Blues, jazz, and swing. Tours with an 8-piece “little Big band.”

“All Hat, No Cattle”:

The Phrase That Exposes Empty Swagger

Rodgers and Hammerstein II

Duo composers Richard Rodgers and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II. Careers from the 1920s until the 1960s and later.

Ennio Morricone,

Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpet player, composed more than 400 scores for cinema and television. Also has more than 100 classical works.

Maurice Jarre,

French composer and conductor, Active 1958 to 2001. Collaborations includes Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Train (1964), Doctor Zhivago (1965), Mohammad, Messenger of God (1976) Lion of the Desert (1981), A Passage to India (1984) Witness (1985), Fatal Attraction (1987) and Ghost (1990), A Walk in the Clouds, and many others.

Kay Kyser,

Band leader and radio personality between 1926 and 1950

Russ Columbo,

Baritone, songwriter, violinist, actor, Active 1921-1934.

Jimmy Dorsey,

Clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and prominent band leader. Brother Tommy. Active 1920-1957.

Capacity vs. Capability: Part II

Why Smart Decisions Require Both

Jay Black: Lasting Legacy of “This Magic Moment”

Jay & The Americans

Vera Lynn

The Voice That Carried Britain Through War

Al Jolson

Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, and actor. Active between 1904 and 1950.

Ozzie Nelson,

Band leader, actor, director, and producer. Active from the early 1930’s until 1975. Graduated from Ossie Nelson and His Orchestra to The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

Cole Porter

Composer and Songwriter. Active from the early 1920’s until 1964.