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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

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Barbara’s Riffs on Life

At the LA County Museum of Art: Van Gogh, Kandinsky and a Bump on the Head

June 19, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

After Barbara Falconer Newhall bumped into a glass wall, spilling her latte, a barista arrived with a mop to clean up the mess. Photo by BF Newhall

Like any normal, safety-conscious person, I was watching where my feet were about to step as I left the café at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.. I did not see the – tastefully faint – safety strip in the glass wall. Whack! My forehead hit the glass. Wham! The back of my hand hit the glass. Bam! My knee hit the glass. Splash! My latte crashed to the floor. Read more.

Little Girls Are Superior to Little Boys — Here’s Why

June 12, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 9 Comments

A 5-year-old boy wearing shorts holds on to the arm of a 3-year-old girl in a dress. Photo by BF Newhall

Little girls are superior to little boys. This fact is not written down in black and white anywhere. The popular baby books talk warily around the topic of sex differences. And researchers will make only minor, technical concessions to the superiority of girls. Read more.

At the Breast Cancer Center — Where Everyone Is Super Nice to You

June 5, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

Image of a breast cancer cell courtesy the National Cancer Institute.

A smiling receptionist greets you as you enter the lobby of the Carol Ann Read Breast Health Center in San Francisco’s East Bay. She directs you to the registration desk, where there’s no wait. A nice woman with pretty eyebrows is ready to help. Everyone here is nice, really nice. Read more.

Actor Robert Morse – Sweaty at 36, Sublime at 83

May 31, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

A black and white photo of actor Robert Morse as a young comedian gawking for the camera.

The last time I saw Robert Morse there were beads of sweat on his forehead. It was 1967 and he was working the crowd on the set of a local TV comedy show. Robert Morse was on. He was going for laughs and he was going for them with the intensity of a rocket launch. He was doing what mid-life folks do – he was striving.

Robert Morse — Don’t Miss His Madcap “Mad Men” Season Send-Off

May 29, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

actor robert morse in black tie smiling

Spoiler alert — skip this if you haven’t had a chance to see last Sunday’s “Mad Men” half-season finale.

Travel Adventures: The Poop on China – And the Pee

May 22, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 3 Comments

In Suchow, this little boy was set out on the doorstep of his house to pee, To expedite things, his pants were open at the crotch. I have preserved his dignity by retouching the photo to close up his fly. Photo by BF Newhall

I’ve been contemplating writing this little photo essay on the toilets of China ever since I traveled there last September. It’s taken me all this time to overcome my mid-century Midwestern upbringing, where nice people didn’t talk about poop and pee in public. My nose for news finally prevailed, however when a Mainland Chinese couple allowed their toddler to urinate publicly on the streets of Hong Kong.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

I Miss My Friends. But I Miss My Acquaintances More — Sheltering at Home Week 5

I miss my acquaintances. A Zoom exercise class gave me the chance to say hello to some of them.

I miss my acquaintances. I miss the shopkeepers, the women in my Zumba class, the friends of friends, all the people who know me, but don’t know my name. 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!

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Grace Falconer Perlmutter Kleis — How to Be a Glamorous Gal at Age 98

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Polarization in America: Here’s Something You Can Do About It

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Widowed: Yes, It Does Get Easier, Sad to Say

a bookshelf of books from many religions, including buddhism, taoism, christianity, judaism and islam. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Coleman Barks and Rumi — What a Few Lines of Poetry (and a Witch) Taught me

MORE DON'T MISS!

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