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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: 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.

How Selective Service Made a Man of My Son — Without Even Trying

February 23, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

The 1998 Selective Service pamphlet -- I left it at the post office.

In a few weeks my son would be eighteen, time to sign up for Selective Service. I’d filled out forms for him for years, but this was different. This piece of paper could send him off to war. Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

When a Widow Laughs. Or, a Backyard Work in Progress

widow laughs during BACKYARD-CONSTRUCTION-MESS

Standing in the mess that is our backyard, talking and laughing with the landscaping crew, I wonder: Is it OK when a widow laughs?  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!

march 6, 1977 jon and barbara newahall greet guests at University Club, San Francisco, a their wedding reception. Photo Peter Luers Studio.

Leap Year 1976 — The Day I Popped the Question

food-abundance

World Hunger — Is It Up to Me to Fix It? Sheltering at Home Week 20

A toddler has a bandage on her forehead after hitting her head on a wall. PHoto by Barbara Newhall

The Center of the Universe Lives at Our House

Crying 18-month-old girl in arms of a babysitter. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Telephoning Those Teenage Babysitters — Rejected Again

MORE DON'T MISS!

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