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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

Religion Scholar Huston Smith at 93 — ‘Be Happy!’

September 29, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

huston smith and mary busby of Sagrada bookstore sing How Can I Keep From Singing? Photo by BF Newhall

 

Ninety-three-year-old Huston Smith rolled into the Sagrada bookstore in Oakland, California, in a push wheelchair the other day, ready to do what he does best – say something. At 93 and plagued as he is by hearing loss, weakened eyesight and debilitating osteoporosis, you’d think the popular author and religion scholar would be ready to take it easy. Not so. Read more.

Buddhist Writing — Wisdom or Chicken Shit?

September 28, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

jack kornfield. Photo by robert vente

Jack Kornfield and Sylvia Boorstein are two of my favorite Buddhist writers. But I don’t follow their advice entirely — I don’t meditate.

Buddhist Teacher Jack Kornfield on Sex, Drugs and Enlightenment

September 22, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

mt tamalpais marin county CA with blue sky

Want to know more about the sex lives of Buddhist teachers in America? Are you considering downing some ecstasy or a bit of mushroom to fast-track your spiritual growth? Wondering about that person in the meditation hall who seems to be having a psychotic break? Check out Jack Kornfield’s book.

Book Openers: A Heather Donahue Lexicon — Flopsweat and Larfy Defined

September 21, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Heather Donahue's book jacket Grow Girl: How My LIfe After "The Blair Witch Project Went to Pot"

Here’s some help with the pot-growing argot in Heather Donahue’s book, "Grow Girl."

 

The Writing Room: Heather Donahue and Me – How I Got Hooked on a Pothead

September 16, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Heather Donahue's book jacket Grow Girl: How My LIfe After "The Blair Witch Project Went to Pot"

I bought Heather Donahue’s book about marijuana farming, "Grow Girl," because she’s a writer friend of a writer friend of mine. This is what happened.

Sam Lamott Couldn’t Make It, but Anne Arrived With a Bouquet of Bons Mots

September 15, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Anne Lamott. Photo by BF Newhall

Sam Lamott was too busy being an art student and the father of a 2-year-old to show up at a book signing for “Some Assembly Required,” the book he wrote with his mother, the best-selling author Anne Lamott. But Anne was present and had pithy things to say about writing — and being the mother of a 22-year-old father. Read more.

Welcome to My Website . . . I Hope You’ll Stay a While

September 14, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Hey, everybody! Come take a look at my updated website — lots of great stories and pretty good pictures.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Christmas Is Big. Bigger Than Christianity — And Donald Trump

The Parrocchia church spires in San Miguel de Allende, where Christmas is big. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Christmas is big. Christianity’s biggest holiday is leaving the religion in the dust with 15 times the Internet mentions of Christianity. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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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!

gravestone-jon-newhall

Widowed: It’s Been a Year and He’s Still Gone

Glacial erratics at inyo national forest. photo by bf newhall

Buddhist Writing — Wisdom or Chicken Shit?

My grandfather David Falconer in 1893. Photo by Ludington Studios

A Case of the Human Condition: Am I Scotch?* Or Midwestern?

Cover of the book "Trump's America: The Complete Loser's Guide," by Scott Dikkers.

Jesus Was a Loser — Does That Make Donald Trump a Winner?

MORE DON'T MISS!

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