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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

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Archives for 2009

A Case of the Human Condition: I Did It — I Offed Those Frightful Snapdragons

June 29, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

I yanked those ugly maroon snapdragons out by the roots. My front yard color scheme has been restored, and all is right with the world.

A Case of the Human Condition: I Want to Kill My Snapdragons

June 26, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Maroon snapdragons growing in the yard of Barbara Falconer Newhall. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Those maroon snapdragons in my front yard are ugly. But they’re alive. Can I rip them out? Read more.

Book Openers: Barack Obama — How He Got So Smart

June 23, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

President Barack Obama at his desk, thinking. White House photo.

Barack Obama was a president who could think. His memoir, “Dreams from My Father,” explains how Obama got so smart. Read more.

The Rhetorician in the White House — Or, How I Learned to Love the Passive Voice

June 22, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Barack Obama at pyramids during 2009 cairo visit.

The passive sentence gets a bad rap — it’s weak, it’s vague, it’s passive. But sometimes a neatly turned passive sentence is just what our ever-shrinking world needs. Obama’s Cairo speech is an example. Read more.

In the Garden With the Grammar Geek: Is It Ever OK to Use the Passive Voice?

June 19, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Garden Artisan Jillian Steinberger prunes the camellias in Barbara Falconer Newhall's yard. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Passive sentences can be wordy and vague — or useful. For me, a passive sentence is one that, like it or not, obscures the doer of the action. Read more.

Why Meditate — When I Could Be Sweeping the Garage?

June 15, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

I’ve tried meditating a few times – a very few times. Why would I want to sit inside my mind when I could be out in the front yard, snapping dead blossoms off the rhododendron, or in the garage, sweeping away the cobwebs?

GodsBigBlog: What Non-Believers Think of Obama

June 14, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

For the time being, at least, non-believers are okay with Obama’s stance vis-a-vis religion and spirituality. Check out this story on Politico.com.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

The Somethingists — They Don’t Believe in God, but They Do Believe in . . . Something

[caption id="attachment_1163" align="aligncenter" width="427"]The Helix Nebula. NASA Photo. The Helix Nebula. NASA Photo.[/caption]

Good news for those of us – count me in – who aren’t at all sure of what God is like. It’s called Somethingism. Read more.

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