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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
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DON'T MISS!

I've written hundreds and hundreds of posts over the years. To help you find your way to the best of the best, I've tagged my favorites "Don't Miss!" Scroll down here to find them.

Another way to locate Riffs on Life that you might enjoy is to click above on your favorite category – "My Ever-Changing Family," perhaps, or "Funny Button." You can also use the search box located way up top to hunt for stories by topic. There's fun reading at "garden," "aging," "kids" and, of course, "Jon."

Author Don Lattin: Americans Are More Thoughtful About Religion Than We Think

August 13, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

As part of the THIRST temporary art installation, hundreds of prayer flags hang from the circular path from the pedestrian bridge down to Lady Bird Lake in Austin. Photo by BF Newhall

Religion writer Don Lattin says there’s more to religion in America than atheists vs. fundamentalists. The real story is less alarming and much more interesting. Read more.

Journalist Kay Campbell: ‘WWG Bows to the Enduring Mystery of the Universe’

August 6, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

Barbara Falconer Newhall's book Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith on sale at Book Passage bookstore, Corte Madera, California. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My Religion Newswriters Association colleague Kay Campbell says this about Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith. Read more.

Dying Jesus . . . Dying Churches?

July 23, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

The flogging of Jesus Christ, and crucifixion, a painting at the Melk Abbey, Austria. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I saw a lot of Jesus in the old European churches I visited last month. Sad to say, in church after church, Jesus was almost always dead or dying. Read more.

Atticus Finch — Meet Mother Emanuel

July 14, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

My copy of "Go Set a Watchman" on the counter of my local bookstore. Atticus Finch story. Photo by Barbara Newhall

“Go Set a Watchman” didn’t have a craft problem. It had a theme problem – in the character of a bigoted Atticus Finch. Read more.

Cheap Thrills at the Glasmuseum Passau — Outrageous, Over-the-Top Decorative Glass.

July 2, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 3 Comments

Decorative glass circa 1835-1845. Bohemia. Round plate with amber Painted glass with chinoiserie motifs. glasmuseum passau. photo by barbara newhall

Spotted at the labyrinthine Glasmuseum Passau — wonderfully outrageous, phantasmagoric decorative glass. Gotta share it with you. Take a look. Cheap thrills. Read more.

I’m a Studs Terkel Wannabe — He Captured American Voices

June 25, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

Author Studs Terkel with books in background.

It was Studs Terkel’s oral histories that inspired me to record the voices of Americans talking about God. Read more.

Retired Is a State of Mind — Six Ways to Know If You’re There Yet

June 18, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

A trail alongside Bon Tempe Lake in Marin county, California. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Retired is a state of mind. Not a state of paycheck or work schedule or commute or how much time you spend at the office. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Book Openers: A Heather Donahue Lexicon — Flopsweat and Larfy Defined

Heather Donahue's book jacket Grow Girl: How My LIfe After "The Blair Witch Project Went to Pot"

Here’s some help with the pot-growing argot in Heather Donahue’s book, "Grow Girl."

 

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!

Baby-boy-Peter-Newhall-with-dads-hands-holding-him. Photo by BF Newhall

Why Can’t a Dad Be More Like a Mom? . . . Do We Really Want Them To Be?

A stuffed moose or elk hangs on the wall of the Antler Bar, Pentwater, Michigan. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Inside Pentwater’s Antler Bar — A Beer Too Many

I was important at the cast party for "The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin, San Francisco, June 15, 2017. Barbara Falconer Newhall and Jonathan Groff of TV show "Looking." Photo by Jon Newhall

For One Night I Was Important Again. Thank You Armistead Maupin

Small children with grandmother on Lake Michigan beach. Photo by BF Newhall.

A Manners-Challenged Kid Who Became the Apple of His Grandma’s Eye

MORE DON'T MISS!

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