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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
  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Xi’An to TX and Mao to LBJ — I’ve Been Traveling and I’m Back

October 3, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 3 Comments

Writer Barbara Falconer Newhall poses with a mock-up of Pope Francis at the Religion Newswriters Association conference in Austtin, 2013. RNA photo

China, Austin, a Religion Newswriters conference — I had a great, traveling September. It started with on my birthday on September 6, which lasted only a few hours because Jon and I were on a plane to Shanghai when somewhere over the Pacific we hit the International Date Line. Read more.

American Hispanics: They Like the Pope, but the Church — Not So Much

October 3, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

A mural dipicting Jesus on the cross is painted on an fuse box next to a telephone at a convenience store in east Austin, TX. Photo by BF Newhall

More news from the Religion Newswriters Association conference I attended in Austin – a Public Religion Research Institute survey of Hispanics in America turned up some surprises. For example, 69 percent of Hispanics in general have a favorable view of Pope Francis, but only 54 percent look favorably on the Catholic Church. Read more.

Who Is a Jew? The Pew Research Center Tackles the Question — And Gets Some Answers

October 2, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 11 Comments

title page of the Bleichrode 1923 German edition of Jewish prayer book. photo by bf newhall

 

Who is a Jew? Before it could undertake its 2013 survey of U.S. Jews, the Pew Research Center had to think hard about what makes you Jewish in twenty-first-century America. It turns out that believing in God is not essential to Jewishness, and neither is being married to a Jewish spouse. Having a sense of humor helps a lot, however . . . Read more.

Shanghai Chic — It’s All About the Shoes in This Skyscraping Town of 24 Million

September 27, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

By Barbara Falconer Newhall Young people are flocking to swashbuckling, get-rich-quick Shanghai. Come back soon to see what they’re wearing on their feet. I’m just back from a two-week blitz tour of China and am off to Austin for a Religion Newswriters Association conference tomorrow. There will be plenty to share when I get back. […]

The Lost Poems of Jane Johnston Schoolcraft — A Native Michigan Voice Rediscovered

September 19, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments

Pine and oak trees growing on a bluff along Lake Michigan. Photo by BF Newhall

In the process of moving their collection, the librarians at the Illinois State Historical Library came across some boxes of old documents. One of them contained a lost cache of writings by Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, a little known Ojibwe poet from Michigan. Read more.

Five Things I Like Best About My Kitchen

September 12, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 14 Comments

A stainless steel bar mounted over a ceramic cooktop holds a Tonala platter. Photo by BF Newhall

We remodeled our kitchen in 2000, and we made some design decisions that still make me happy. Read more.

Rugs, Afghans and Scarves — My Pentwater Cousin Weaves Them All

September 5, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

A white and cream wool shawl with long fringes handwoven by Mary Helen Blohm. Photo by BF Newhall

I wrote about my outdoorsy cousin Jeanie a couple of weeks ago. This week it’s my artsy cousin Mary Helen’s turn. She weaves gorgeous rugs from fabrics she gets at yard sales. Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

The American Flag Is Flying in My Liberal, Elitist, San Francisco Bay Area Neighborhood Today. Here’s Why.

Stars and Stripes. A man hangs the American flag on the front of his house. Photo by Barbara Newhall

‘The right wingers don’t own the American flag flag,’ I said as my husband hung the Stars and Stripes from our garage. ‘It’s my flag too.’ Read more.

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  • A Case of the Human Condition
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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!

 

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Clip from video of NBC News report on Donald Trump's statement to Chris Matthews that if abortion is made illegal a woman should be punished for having one. NBC News Video

Donald Trump Played Me. Here’s How

strappy wedge sandals, short cropped jeans and bare ankles in shanghai. photo by bf newhall

Shanghai Chic – Where a Woman’s Style Starts With Her Shoes

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