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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’s Riffs on Life

My Mother’s Goneness

May 13, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Small tweed and leather purse. Photo by BF Newhall

My mother is gone, but when she died, she left a few things behind — a battered old purse, a small sofa she liked to call the loveseat. Read more.

Purple Bearded Irises — Close Up and (Very) Personal

May 8, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

[caption id="attachment_28388" align="aligncenter" width="500"]Irises -- An iris blossom close up. Purple. Photo by Barbara Newhall An iris blossom close up. Purple. Photo by Barbara Newhall[/caption]

There’s a heck of a lot of erotica going on inside an iris blossom. Stamen. Pistel. Haft. Claws. And, of course, those fuzzy, caterpillar-like beards. Read more.

The Writing Room: My Flesh Is Weary — Too Much Book-Writing, Not Enough Yoga

May 6, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

The cluttered desk and computer of a busy writer. Photo by BF Newhall.

Can you guess who wrote this? “Of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” Hint: The writer’s been dead for at least two millenniums. Read more.

Confessions of a Carnivore: Why Eating Meat is OK — Sorta

April 24, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

[caption id="attachment_8640" align="aligncenter" width="500"]Cattle feed lot extending acres. Photo by BF Newhall Cattle feed lot extending acres into the distance at Harris Ranch, CA. Photo by BF Newhall[/caption]

I don’t see a clear difference between slaughtering a pig and cutting down a seven-story tree. Between netting the wild salmon I eat for dinner and harvesting my breakfast oats. Faced with a choice between killing a pig and killing the tree in our backyard – I’d kill the pig. Read more.

I’m a Meat-Eating Loser – I Didn’t Win the New York Times Ethicist Contest

April 22, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Artichokes stacked for sale at Whole Foods, Berkeley, CA. Photo by BF Newhall

I’m a meat-eating loser. I didn’t win the “Why It’s OK to Eat Meat” essay contest the New York Times Magazine put on a few weeks ago. But I’m OK with that. Read more.

A Makeover in the Works — We’re Updating My Website

April 9, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A Makeover in the Works — We’re Updating My Website

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

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

Barbara Falconer Newhall with Scott Dikkers, editor of "Trump's America: The Complete Loser's Guide" at Book Expo America 2016. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Jesus was a loser who couldn’t keep his hair out of his eyes. That’s satirist Scott Dikkers channeling Donald Trump in his new — very funny — book “Trump’s America: The Loser’s Guide.” 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!

Jon Newhall sitting on our deck quietly, seen through a window, with trees. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall

Why Meditate — When I Could Be Sweeping the Garage?

The view from the bow of a ferry boat making its way through the San Juan Islands in summer. Photo by Barbara Newhall

San Juan Islands Flora: Or, I Cling, Therefore I Am

Cover of the book "The Abundance" by Annie Dillard. Photo by Barbara Newhall

At the Feet of Annie Dillard, Memoirist, Essayist, Observer of the Real

nail-in-a-wall

People Don’t Die Anymore — They Pass

MORE DON'T MISS!

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