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

A Case of the Human Condition

I’m Barbara Falconer Newhall and I’ve got an incurable Case of the Human Condition. And since you do too, I’m counting on you to laugh and cry along with me as I riff on life as we know it . . . Below you'll read about my creaky, old fifties house, my forays into home gardening, my shopping stories, my spectacularly low-fashion wardrobe -- and more.

What I Really Wanted for My Birthday

September 22, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Nancy Selvin and Barbara Falconer Newhallat Nancy's studio with a Selvin tea pot she bought for her birthday. Photo by Barbara Newhall

What did I want for my biggest, fattest birthday yet? I wanted to visit to Nancy Selvin’s pottery studio — and go home a beautiful pot. Read more.

The Shame of Aging: The Big Seven-Five Has Finally Arrived

September 8, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

The shame of aging -- a writer has tossed old filed in a wastebasket. the Big Seven-Five. Photo by Barbara Newhall

It’s here. My birthday. The Big Seven-Five. I’m now officially old. But I don’t wear my trousers rolled. Read more.

Is an Istanbul Trip Too Risky for You? Here’s What You’re Missing

June 30, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Exterior walls of the ancient Hagia Sohia basilica of Istanbul. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Jon and I took the kids to Istanbul back in 2009. What we experienced was a energetic culture with a rich past, great food and beautiful people. Read more.

The Oakland Tribune Tower — A 1923 Structure With a Twenty-First Century View

June 2, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

the view from the Oakland Tribune Tower. In the foreground, the Bank of America Building. In the background, the 1111 Broadway and the Clorox Building. In the distance, the Bay Bridge. Photos by Barbara Newhall

As a reporter, I was never invited to the lofty heights of the Oakland Tribune Tower. On the paper’s last day of publication I finally got my chance. Read more.

Scaling the Mighty Willis Tower — With My Acrophilic Husband

May 15, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

View of Lake Michigan and downtown Chicago from the Willis Tower, Chicago. Photo by Barbara Newhall

The 108-story Willis Tower is my husband’s kind of place. I first noticed Jon’s acrophilia early in our romance, when we took a trip to Europe. Read more.

East Bay Heritage Quilters — Quilts, Dazzling Quilts

April 21, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Quilts and sewing supplies on display at the East Bay Heritgage Quilters show "Voices in Cloth 2016" in richmond, CA Photo by Barbara Newhall

Quilts and quilters were everywhere at the East Bay Heritage Quilters 2016 show Voices in Cloth in Richmond, California, last month. Read more.

Donald Trump Outs the Elephant in the Pro-Life Room

April 2, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

By Barbara Falconer Newhall Donald Trump has stepped in it again. And this time the manure comes from the elephant in the room — the pro-life room. I’m hoping against hope that Donald Trump — pro-life, pro-choice or whatever he turns out to be — never

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Now’s Your Chance to Let Your Roots Grow Out. I Did It. Here’s Why — Sheltering at Home Week 4

let your roots grow out. woman-with-white-air-barbara-falconer-newhall

Let your roots grow out? Not an easy decision. But I was home sick with mono, too sick to go to the hairdresser. Now I love my glamorous new look. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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  • A Case of the Human Condition
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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!

The hills of California's Grapevine pass are dry and silvery gold in the drought winter of 2014. Photo by BF Newhall

For Wetter, For Drier — I’m Married to California

Rebecca Foust, author of "Paradise Drive: Poems," spoke at Book Passage bookstore in Corte Madera, CA, in 2015. Writers Photo by Barbara Newhall

Two California Poets: One Romantic, the Other Not So Much

A dream about wrestling. Detail of a column in the Wurzburg Cathedral, shaped in a knot. Photo by Barbara Newhall

A Dream About Wrestling With — Uh, Who Was That Anyway?

Memento left at the scene of the Oakland Ghost Ship fire that killed 36 mostly young people, artists, musicians, LGBTQ folks. A few days after the fire, it was cordoned off as a "crime scene." Photo by Barbara Newhall

Oakland’s Ghost Ship — A Vigil

MORE DON'T MISS!

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