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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
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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Need some levity? Read on!

Telephoning Those Teenage Babysitters — Rejected Again

May 2, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

An ivory colored touch-tone telephone, c.irca 1970s, with coiled cord and handset. A babysitter phone list is next to it. Photo by Barbara Newhall

What did teenage boys and moms in need of a babysitter have in common back in the day? They had to call up teenage girls. Read more.

“Listen to Your Mother” — Moms Across the Country Get the Mic for Mother’s Day

April 25, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

Nancy Davis Kho read from her story published in "Listen to Your Mother" (Putnam) book reading at A Great Good Place for Books bookstore in Oakland, CA, April 24, 2015. Photo by Barbara Newhall

It was a fun night at A Great Good Place for Books when three funny ladies celebrated “Listen to Your Mother” an Erma Bombeck style collection of mom stories. Read more.

What If You Threw a Book Launch — And Everybody Came?

April 23, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

A room full of empty chairs at Book Passage bookstore, California, awaits Barbara Falconer Newhall's book launch for "Wrestling with God." Photo by Jon Newhall

Was anyone going to show up? My author event Book Passage  would start soon, and there were dozens of very empty chairs, waiting to be filled. Read more.

A Cemetery Comes to LIfe — With Tulips

April 9, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 1 Comment

Tulips of many colors hang upside down over the entrance to the Tower Chapel at Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, Calif., during its annual Tulip Exhibition. The design, titled "Puddle Jumping," is by the Merritt College Floral Design Department. Photo by Barbara Newhall

By now my faithful readers know that I’ve got a thing about tulips. So, of course, I dropped everything to take in a local tulip show last weekend. Read more.

The Dracena Is Dead. Long Live the Dracena

March 5, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments

Homeowner succeeds in removing eight-foot stalk from an overgrown dracena marginata plant. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I did it. I cut the dracena marginata growing wild in our living room down to size. Read more.

Help! My Dracena Marginata Has Hit the Ceiling — What Can I Do?

February 26, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments

A dracena marginat houseplant has grown so tall that it is crushing itself against the homeowner's ceiling. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My dracena marginata is doing itself in. It’s hurling itself against our living room ceiling. What’s a plant owner to do? Please advise. Read more.

The Atheists Are Coming – Out of a Closet Near You

February 19, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 3 Comments

A bumper sticker offered at the Religion Newswriters Conference in 2014 reads "Praying Is Begging." Photo by Barbara Newhall

The Openly Secular movement is calling on atheists in America to come out of the closet and declare their unbelief to friends, family and coworkers. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

I’m Bored. No, It’s Worse Than That. I’m Boring. Sheltering at Home Week 10

I'm boring. But I haven't always been. old-woman-pole-dancing

I’d love to chat with the neighbor I spot on the street. But nothing’s happening in my locked-down life. I’ve got no gossip, no big news. I’m boring. 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!

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Widowed: The Meaning of Life? It’s on My To-Do List

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Hanging Pictures: Too Much Art. Not Enough Wall Space. Sheltering at Home Week 24

Garden Artisan Jillian Steinberger prunes the camellias in Barbara Falconer Newhall's yard. Photo by Barbara Newhall

In the Garden With the Grammar Geek: Is It Ever OK to Use the Passive Voice?

Iceland poppy blooms in an Oakland, CA, garden. Photo by BF Newhall

Photo Op: It’s Blooming Springtime on Our Hill — In March

MORE DON'T MISS!

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