• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
  • WRESTLING WITH GOD BOOK
  • CONTACT

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
  • WRITING & READING
  • MY ROCKY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
  • WIDOWED
  • FUNNY BUTTON

Barbara’s Riffs on Life

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

October 10, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

[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.

The Rise of the “Nones” – Young Americans Are Doing Without Church

October 9, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Rose window from interior of the National Cathedral, Washinton, DC. Photo by BF Newhall

 

I was in Bethesda, Maryland, for the annual Religion Newswriters Association conference last weekend. Here’s what I found out about the religiously unaffiliated in America. Read more.

When Your Kids Don’t Fight — Enough

October 6, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

brother-and-sister-holding-hands-halloween

My children do not tease each other like the normal sibling pair. They are nice to each other. I worry. Where did Jon and I go wrong?

Amazing Clay — More Wonderful Stuff from the Berkeley Art Center Show

October 3, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Massive ceramic figure by Wanxin Zhang, "God Bless You." Photo by BF Newhall

Some more wonderful stuff made of clay by three artists featured in the show, "Local Treasures: Bay Area Ceramics," at the Berkeley Art Center through Nov. 18 — Wanxin Zhang, Ted Fullwood and Clayton Bailey. Read more.

Ceramics Envy at the Berkeley Art Center — I Want to Get My Hands into that Earthy, Messy, Squishy Clay

October 2, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Nancy Selvin's Large Pot with Green Base 2012. Photo by BF Newhall

 

I’m a writer, but whenever I visit my friend Nancy Selvin’s ceramics studio, I wonder whether I’d rather be working with something more tangible than words and ideas — like clay.

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.

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 111
  • Page 112
  • Page 113
  • Page 114
  • Page 115
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 142
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

GET MY Riffs on Life BY EMAIL

True stories often told through a humorous lens–because you just can't make them up!

We respect your privacy and do not share your email with anyone.

 

LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

How to Grandmother – When the Grandkids Live 2,500 Miles Away

Berkeley CA ceramist Nancy Selvin with her dog in front of her large painting, 2013. Photo by BF Newhall

My friend Nancy is a potter – a world-class ceramist to be exact – and a grandmother. Much as she loves her work, Nancy wants to spend time with her grandsons – and not just a Thanksgiving dinner here and a birthday party there. The trouble is, the young boys live a continent away. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
  • My Ever-Changing Family
  • On Writing & Reading
  • My Rocky Spiritual Journey

 
Need some levity? Push my Funny Button!

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!

A mural painted on a building in East Austin TX shows a man with sombrero and Spanish lady and the words, "Viva el Este." Photo by bf newhall

SXSW: The Funky Charms of East Austin, Texas

barbara-falconer-newhall-at-a-writing-retreat

I Write. Therefore, I Procrastinate. Why?

grandmother-skypes

Grandparenting Via Webcam — Helping Out Those Frazzled Parents. Sheltering a Home Week 13

charity-donations

My Deceased Husband’s Mail — I Like Getting It

MORE DON'T MISS!

© 2009–2026 Barbara Falconer Newhall All rights reserved. · Log in