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Barbara Falconer Newhall

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

  • A CASE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
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Barbara Falconer Newhall

GodsBigBlog: Hindus in America

June 30, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

Want to know more about Hinduism in America? Check out the Hindu American Foundation website — Obama’s Cairo oversight, America’s National Day of Prayer, Hindus and Jews meet.

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

June 29, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 1 Comment

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 10 Comments

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 2 Comments

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 1 Comment

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 3 Comments

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 3 Comments

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?

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

I’m Getting Ready to Die. Just in Case. Sheltering at Home Week 40

getting-ready-to-die-    Christmas-gifts

The coronavirus is out there. So I’m getting ready to die — starting with making sure my holiday gifts for my husband are wrapped and ready.  Read more.

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TO MY READERS

Please feel free to share links to my posts with one and all and to quote briefly from them in your own writing, remembering, of course, to attribute the quote to me and to provide a link back to this site.

My Oakland Tribune columns, btw, are reprinted by permission of the Trib. With the exception of review copies of books, I do not accept ads or freebies of any kind. Click on the "Contact" button if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

DON’T MISS!

Copy of a painting of Madonna and Child by Benozzo Gozzoli, 1420-1497. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall

Visions of the Baby Jesus Light Up Centuries of Art

A purple bearded iris blossom. Photo by BF Newhall

Purple Bearded Irises — Close Up and (Very) Personal

white blossoms of flowering tree up close

Nature Giveth and Nature Taketh Away

A Case of the Human Condition: Would My Husband Like to Add My Name to His?

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