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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

Gary Kamiya — A Fun Guy Sings a Love Song to San Francisco

October 17, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Bearded author, editor and cofounder of Salon.com Gary Kamiya reads from his new book at Book Passage. Photo by BF Newhall

Due to a common writing misstep, Gary Kamiya, a highly experienced writer and editor, found himself with only six months to write a 385-page book. The San Francisco author and co-founder of Salon.com described his predicament recently to a gathering of writers at Book Passage, Marin county’s powerhouse independent bookstore. Read more.

The Ghost of 300 Million Drought-Killed Trees Hovers Over a Lake in Texas

October 10, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Motorists get a glimps of the THIRST Ghost Tree temporary art installation from the Lamar Bridge in Austin, TX. Photo by BF Newhall

 

Some temporary art installations – you’re glad they’re temporary. But there’s an installation in Austin, Texas, right now that deserves its full ten weeks of fame.

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

October 3, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

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

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

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

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.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Wanted: An Evening Handbag That’s Pretty — And Big Enough to Do the Job

A small silver evening bag at Nordstrom with ruching and a chain sells for $268. Photo by BF Newhall

There’s no such thing as a presentable evening bag that can hold what a woman – a real one – needs to put into her purse these days. 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!

 

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Blood and Guts in My Backyard. Or, Nature Tidies Up

Two lepidoptera sucking nectar from a white and yellow pansy in a San Francisco Bay Area garden in May. Photo by BF Newhall

In the Garden: Look What Happened to My Front Yard Over the Weekend

Widowed: If I Visit His Grave, Will It Help?

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