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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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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Need some levity? Read on!

My Big Brother Loves Me — The Cataract Chronicles Continued

August 7, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

In 1962, when Barbara Falconer Newhall returned from summer in Europe with souvenirs for family. Barbara Newhall photo

When my big brother saw me without glasses for the first time in a half century, his reaction took me by surprise. Read more.

Is That a Fibonacci Blooming in Our Yard?

July 14, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 3 Comments

Purple columbine blossoms in our rock garden in spring. A fibonacci number expressed. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Is ours a strictly mathematical universe? Are those columbines blossoming in our garden just a string of fibonacci numbers? Read more.

Write Another Book? I Dunno . . .

June 9, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

The Bay Area Book Festival was held June 4 & 5, 2016 in Berkeley, California. Rob Bell signed copies of his "How to Be Here." He talked about -- write another book? Photo by Barbara Newhall

Write another book? I don’t mind the writing. What’s giving me pause is the grueling, humiliating work of promoting the darned thing once I’ve written it. Author Rob Bell had some advice. Read more.

Jesus Was a Loser — Does That Make Donald Trump a Winner?

May 26, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

Barbara Falconer Newhall with Scott Dikkers, editor of "Trump's America: The Complete Loser's Guide" at Book Expo America 2016. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Jesus was a loser who couldn’t keep his hair out of his eyes. That’s satirist Scott Dikkers channeling Donald Trump in his new — very funny — book “Trump’s America: The Loser’s Guide.” Read more.

Scaling the Mighty Willis Tower — With My Acrophilic Husband

May 15, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

View of Lake Michigan and downtown Chicago from the Willis Tower, Chicago. Photo by Barbara Newhall

The 108-story Willis Tower is my husband’s kind of place. I first noticed Jon’s acrophilia early in our romance, when we took a trip to Europe. Read more.

Oakland Tribune: The Trib Is Dead, Long Live the Tribbers

May 5, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 19 Comments

On April 4, 2016, former employees of the Oakland, California, Tribune, had a wake in honor of the paper's last day of publication. Photos by Barbara Newhall

The Oakland Tribune is dead. But dozens of Trib staffers live on. On the California paper’s last day, they gathered for a wake. Read more.

My Purple Rain Garden: Is the Universe Trying to Tell Me Something?

April 28, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

Pansies so purple they appear black -- are they flourishing in honor of Purple Rain by pop singer Prince? Photo by Barbara Newhall

Lots of rain and lots of purple in our garden this year. Purple nemesia, purple iris, purple pansies. What gives? Is this a Purple Rain message from the spirit world? Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

At Orinda Books: The Author Talked — And So Did the Audience

Author Barbara Falconer Newhall and interviewee Sister Barbara Hazzard gave a book talk at Orinda Books in Orinda, California, May 16, 2015. Photo by Jon Newhall

It was an afternoon of lively interaction between author, audience, and Sister Barbara Hazzard, who read from the story she tells in “Wrestling with God.” 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!

A three-by-five card with a teenager's promise to do work for her mother; it's a gift coupon. Photo by BF Newhall.

A Forgotten Gift From My Teenaged Daughter — No Good After December 31

Stars and Stripes. A man hangs the American flag on the front of his house. Photo by Barbara Newhall

The American Flag Is Flying in My Liberal, Elitist, San Francisco Bay Area Neighborhood Today. Here’s Why.

father-and-newborn-son

Father’s Day vs. Mother’s Day — And Today’s Liberated Dads

Jack Shoemaker of Counterpoint Press spoke at the Oct. 5 meeting of Left Coast Writers at Book Passage, Marin. Photo by Barbara Newhall.

Jack Shoemaker of Counterpoint Press Shares Fifty Years of Book Publishing Wisdom

MORE DON'T MISS!

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