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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
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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."

When Your Kids Don’t Fight — Enough

October 6, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

brother-and-sister-holding-hands-halloween

My children do not tease each other like the normal sibling pair. They are nice to each other. I worry. Where did Jon and I go wrong?

Amazing Clay — More Wonderful Stuff from the Berkeley Art Center Show

October 3, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

Massive ceramic figure by Wanxin Zhang, "God Bless You." Photo by BF Newhall

Some more wonderful stuff made of clay by three artists featured in the show, "Local Treasures: Bay Area Ceramics," at the Berkeley Art Center through Nov. 18 — Wanxin Zhang, Ted Fullwood and Clayton Bailey. Read more.

Ceramics Envy at the Berkeley Art Center — I Want to Get My Hands into that Earthy, Messy, Squishy Clay

October 2, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

Nancy Selvin's Large Pot with Green Base 2012. Photo by BF Newhall

 

I’m a writer, but whenever I visit my friend Nancy Selvin’s ceramics studio, I wonder whether I’d rather be working with something more tangible than words and ideas — like clay.

Religion Scholar Huston Smith at 93 — ‘Be Happy!’

September 29, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 10 Comments

huston smith and mary busby of Sagrada bookstore sing How Can I Keep From Singing? Photo by BF Newhall

 

Ninety-three-year-old Huston Smith rolled into the Sagrada bookstore in Oakland, California, in a push wheelchair the other day, ready to do what he does best – say something. At 93 and plagued as he is by hearing loss, weakened eyesight and debilitating osteoporosis, you’d think the popular author and religion scholar would be ready to take it easy. Not so. Read more.

Buddhist Writing — Wisdom or Chicken Shit?

September 28, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 1 Comment

jack kornfield. Photo by robert vente

Jack Kornfield and Sylvia Boorstein are two of my favorite Buddhist writers. But I don’t follow their advice entirely — I don’t meditate.

Buddhist Teacher Jack Kornfield on Sex, Drugs and Enlightenment

September 22, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 3 Comments

mt tamalpais marin county CA with blue sky

Want to know more about the sex lives of Buddhist teachers in America? Are you considering downing some ecstasy or a bit of mushroom to fast-track your spiritual growth? Wondering about that person in the meditation hall who seems to be having a psychotic break? Check out Jack Kornfield’s book.

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

September 21, 2012 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

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."

 

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Kindergarten Looms for a 5-Year-Old and His Mom

Peter, ready for his first day of kindergarten at Bentley School, September, 1986. Photo c 1986 B.F. Newhall

What is to become of a 5-year-old who won’t — can’t? — draw? This is not a frivolous question. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • 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!

Christina Newhall says yes to the dress. Her wedding dress -- with a sign from the Nordstrom store. Photo by Barbara Newhall

The Bride Said Yes to the Dress . . . The Mother-of-the-Bride Diaries Begin

damaged-mandala-sand-painting

Widowed: The One Good Thing About Grief

watering-the-Christmas-tree

Widowed: Or, How to Wrestle a Christmas Tree Into Its Stand Without Calling the Neighbors for Help

japanese-anemone-close-up

My Front Yard — It’s a Happening Place

MORE DON'T MISS!

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