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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."

Book Openers: Is Polygamy Normal?

October 25, 2011 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Love Times Three authors

Is polygamy normal? If gays can get their marriages legalized, what’s to keep all those polygamists from seeking legalization of their status as well? Read more.

Found: Big Bucks in My Sock Drawer. Lost: My Mother

October 5, 2011 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Tinka Falconer's gravesite. It's not lost. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall

I just found four brand new hundred-dollar bills in my sock drawer. Where in the world did that money come from? Read more.

Book Openers: Forgiveness Is Tough — Atonement, Even Tougher

October 3, 2011 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Beyond Forgiveness book jacket. author phil cousineau

TV host Phil Cousineau looks at the flip side of forgiveness — atonement — in his new book “Beyond Forgiveness.” Read more.

Book Openers: Meet the Polygamist Family That Inspired TV’s “Big Love”

September 20, 2011 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Inspired Big Love: Alina, Vicki and Valerie with husband Joe Darger at the 2011 RNA conference.

I got a close-up look at the polygamous Darger family, three wives, one husband, who inspired the TV series “Big Love.” Read more.

Tinka Falconer: Her Ninety-Three Years

July 8, 2011 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Here’s an obituary for my mother, Tinka Falconer, who died in December. Read more.

The Writing Room: My Book’s Almost Done, Sorta

April 9, 2011 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

[caption id="attachment_4618" align="aligncenter" width="450"]My computer monitor in action. Photo by Bf Newhall My computer monitor the day before my mother broke her hip and brought progress on my book to a halt for a year. Photo by Barbara Newhall[/caption]

My book is close to done. I’ve been working on it for nigh on to 13 years now. Can’t imagine what it will feel like to have it done-ish. Read more.

The Writing Room: Write About My Aging Mother? I Don’t Think So . . .

June 5, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Ten reasons why I’m finding it impossible to write about my 92-year-old mother, even though she’s all I can think about right now . . . .

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

The Rhetorician in the White House — Or, How I Learned to Love the Passive Voice

Barack Obama at pyramids during 2009 cairo visit.

The passive sentence gets a bad rap — it’s weak, it’s vague, it’s passive. But sometimes a neatly turned passive sentence is just what our ever-shrinking world needs. Obama’s Cairo speech is an example. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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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!

dilapidated-side-yard

Fixing Up That Homely Old Side Yard — At Last

Small tweed and leather purse. Photo by BF Newhall

My Mother’s Goneness

Barbara Falaconer Newhall taking a gift from the family Christmas tree. Photo by Jon Newhall

The Perfect Christmas Tree — I Finally Found It

Memento left at the scene of the Oakland Ghost Ship fire that killed 36 mostly young people, artists, musicians, LGBTQ folks. A few days after the fire, it was cordoned off as a "crime scene." Photo by Barbara Newhall

Oakland’s Ghost Ship — A Vigil

MORE DON'T MISS!

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