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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.

A Checkerspot Butterfly in Marin — And Other Insects I Have Known and (Tried to) Love

June 27, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

I spotted an endangered butterfly — the checkerspot — in Marin county. A couple days later, one appeared outside my kitchen window.

Zumba at The Hills! Authentic, Never-Before-Published Video of Real People Moving Their Bods!

June 2, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Barbara Falconer Newhall Zumbas with teacher Toni. Photo by Jon Newhall

Want to see some sexy dancing? My favorite Zumba teachers and their fast-footed Zumba students show their stuff on a video. That’s me on the left. Read more.

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.

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

In My Rain-Battered Garden — Nothing Is Forever, Not Even Those Poppies

March 31, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

I mucked around in the soil beneath this blue beauty, but I couldn't find the Annie's Annuals ID stick. Anybody know what it is? Photos by Barbara Falconer Newhall

St. Jerome kept a human skull on his desk to remind him of his mortality. We gardeners don’t need a skull . We’ve got stuff dying on us every day. Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Shanghai Chic — It’s All About the Shoes in This Skyscraping Town of 24 Million

By Barbara Falconer Newhall Young people are flocking to swashbuckling, get-rich-quick Shanghai. Come back soon to see what they’re wearing on their feet. I’m just back from a two-week blitz tour of China and am off to Austin for a Religion Newswriters Association conference tomorrow. There will be plenty to share when I get back. […]

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!

A WordPress blog post edit page. Photo by BF Newhall

Writing Tips — Begged, Borrowed, but Mostly Stolen From My Favorite Writing Coaches

Two schoolage kids in a friendly fight. Polaroid phot by Dave Falconer

When Your Kids Don’t Fight — Enough

My grandfather David Falconer in 1893. Photo by Ludington Studios

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

A father and his son play in a swimming pool in Miami Beach, Florida. Photo by Barbara Newhall

The Day Our Son Didn’t Drown — Family Stories

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