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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 Case of the Human Condition: When Your Six-Year-Old Wants to Talk Money

April 20, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A six-year-old boy dressed as a cowboy for halloween. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My six-year-old wanted an allowance. Jon and I debated. Fifty cents a week? 75? “Let’s not talk in cents,” said Peter. “Let’s talk in dollars.” Read more.

A Mother Who Prevailed at Auschwitz

March 23, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Stones left on the wall of the Dohany Street Synagogue, Budapest, in memory of Jews lost in the Shoah. Photo by Barbara Newhall

When Ernie Hollander’s family arrived at Auschwitz in 1944, his mother was ordered to the right, his sisters to the left. Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: Choose Me, Please!

March 16, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Jury summons. Barbara Falconer Newhall was summoned for jury duty.. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Jury duty is a lot like fourth grade softball. Something in me wants to be on the team. If there is choosing going on, I want to be among the chosen. Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: Banning Barbie in West Virginia

March 5, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

By Barbara Falconer Newhall Ban Barbie? Seriously? Yes, says Jeff Eldridge, a second-term Democratic delegate to the West Virginia legislature. Eldridge asserts that the Barbie doll encourages little girls to develop their physical beauty over their intellectual and emotional development, so he’s introduced a bill banning the sale of Barbie dolls in the state of West Virginia. “I […]

A Case of the Human Condition: James Dean’s Last Day — Video with CHP Officers on the Scene

March 1, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

The highway patrol officers on the scene of the car crash that killed James Dean are interviewed in an excellent new video, along with the officer who cited Dean for speeding hours before his death.

A Case of the Human Condition: Even Barbie Has to Turn Fifty Sometime

March 1, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Barbie doesn’t look it, of course, but this month the busty, slim-hipped fashion doll turns 50. Read all about it in Mary Jo Murphy’s article  in today’s New York Times. Posting here tomorrow — “Dolls and Daughters,” what happened when my daughter, then seven, and I tried to play with her Barbie.

A Case of the Human Condition: The Day James Dean Died — The Eyewitnesses to Speak on February 28

February 26, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Fans of the legendary film star James Dean will meet face-to-face the CHP officer who was first on the scene of the car collision that took Dean’s life as well as the officer who ticketed Dean for speeding just before his death.

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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"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
  • My Ever-Changing Family
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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!

 

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Wanxin-Zhang's-Inauguration-Day-2009-large-ceramic statue. Photo by BF Newhall

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