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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.

Barbie — Sex Object or Blank Slate?

July 29, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

barbie-sex-object-or-blank-slate an-8-year-old-girl-living-out-her-fantasies-as-a-swordswoman

Barbie: A sex object? Or a blank slate for girls to project their dreams on? Neither, if your daughter wants a doll who can fight dragons.  Read more.

Is It OK to Kill Stuff? Yes, If It’s a Mosquito or a Eucalyptus Tree

July 22, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

invasive-eucalyptus-in-california

Is it OK to kill stuff? I couldn’t kill the spider lurking in my shower. But I can kill invasive eucalyptus trees and dive-bombing mosquitoes.  Read more.

My Front Yard — It’s a Happening Place

July 15, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 14 Comments

my front yard -- it's a happening place ,with this lush-flower-garden

My front yard — it’s a happening place. Life forms are shooting up all over it, greedily taking up their allotted space in the universe.  Read more.

What Is Beauty? It’s Seeing the World for the First Time — At Abbott’s Lagoon

July 8, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

Abbott's-Lagoon

The exuberant summer foliage we witnessed at Abbott’s Lagoon the other day felt like a gift . . .  from somewhere. A tossed bouquet. Read more.

The Fourth of July — With Liberty and Justice for All

July 1, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

American-flag-detail with liberty and justice for all

Some think flying the American flag is a right-wing thing to do. For me, the flag is a symbol of good old “liberty and justice for all.”  Read more.

Tint My Eyebrows? It’s an Existential Question

June 10, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 16 Comments

fading-eyebrows-aging

It’s an existential question I’ve been asking myself lately: do I go gentle into that good night — or do I tint my eyebrows?  Read more.

Those Wild and Wooly Pandemic Hairdos — Tales From the Covid Shut-Down

June 3, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments

wild and wooly pandemic hair woman-with-pandemic-hair

I thought the flawless, pre-covid Nancy Reagan coiffure would fade away, and the wild and wooly pandemic hairdos would prevail. Wrong!  Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

We Got Our Shots! Sheltering at Home Week 46

we got our shots 79-year-old-gets-moderna-vaccine

Things were looking good last week. We watched the Inauguration. We had our first restaurant meal in nearly a year. And we got our shots.  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!

father-and-newborn-son

Father’s Day vs. Mother’s Day — And Today’s Liberated Dads

Writer Barbara Falconer Newhall in her writing room holding a copy of her book contract with Bondfire Books. Photo by Jon Newhall

Yea! A Book Contract for “Wrestling with God”

jon-and-Barbara-Newhall

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

A gray American domestic cat has curled up atop a 1986 TV set being used as a computer monitor in a home office. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Mom With Kids — The Home Office Blues

MORE DON'T MISS!

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