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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!

I Can’t Believe I Got in the Water With That 1400-Pound Whale

October 31, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 15 Comments

Marine World foto, Newspaper reporter Barbara Falconer Newhall in wet suit and Marine World trainer Deirdre Ballou in boots and rain coat with bottle-nosed dolphin Spock at edge of tank in 1979. Marine World photo.

Last weekend I watched the CNN documentary “Blackfish” and saw a Sea World trainer attacked and pulled underwater by an out-of-control killer whale. I had to wonder — could that have been me? “Blackfish” traces the deadly history of killer whales at places like Sea World, and it brought back memories of the day I found myself in a tank of water with a 1400-pound pilot whale named Koko. Read more.

SXSW: Quirky, Lovable Austin, Texas

October 24, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

Cartoon of LBJ showing off his scar in the Johnson Presidential LIbrary in Austin, TX. Photo by BF Newhall

Austin, Texas, is quirky – in a good way. During a recent visit, every bridge, park and intersection I encountered in this Central Texas city made me smile. Read more.

Gary Kamiya — A Fun Guy Sings a Love Song to San Francisco

October 17, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

Bearded author, editor and cofounder of Salon.com Gary Kamiya reads from his new book at Book Passage. Photo by BF Newhall

Due to a common writing misstep, Gary Kamiya, a highly experienced writer and editor, found himself with only six months to write a 385-page book. The San Francisco author and co-founder of Salon.com described his predicament recently to a gathering of writers at Book Passage, Marin county’s powerhouse independent bookstore. Read more.

The Ghost of 300 Million Drought-Killed Trees Hovers Over a Lake in Texas

October 10, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 14 Comments

Motorists get a glimps of the THIRST Ghost Tree temporary art installation from the Lamar Bridge in Austin, TX. Photo by BF Newhall

 

Some temporary art installations – you’re glad they’re temporary. But there’s an installation in Austin, Texas, right now that deserves its full ten weeks of fame.

Xi’An to TX and Mao to LBJ — I’ve Been Traveling and I’m Back

October 3, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 3 Comments

Writer Barbara Falconer Newhall poses with a mock-up of Pope Francis at the Religion Newswriters Association conference in Austtin, 2013. RNA photo

China, Austin, a Religion Newswriters conference — I had a great, traveling September. It started with on my birthday on September 6, which lasted only a few hours because Jon and I were on a plane to Shanghai when somewhere over the Pacific we hit the International Date Line. Read more.

Shanghai Chic — It’s All About the Shoes in This Skyscraping Town of 24 Million

September 27, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

By Barbara Falconer Newhall Young people are flocking to swashbuckling, get-rich-quick Shanghai. Come back soon to see what they’re wearing on their feet. I’m just back from a two-week blitz tour of China and am off to Austin for a Religion Newswriters Association conference tomorrow. There will be plenty to share when I get back. […]

Five Things I Like Best About My Kitchen

September 12, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 14 Comments

A stainless steel bar mounted over a ceramic cooktop holds a Tonala platter. Photo by BF Newhall

We remodeled our kitchen in 2000, and we made some design decisions that still make me happy. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

A Book of Essays From Cartoonist Cathy Guisewite — Did She Write It or Did I? Sheltering at Home Week 26

Cathy-Guisewite-cover-subtitle

Cathy Guisewite’s thoughts about life in “Fifty Things That Aren’t My Fault” look a lot like the thoughts running around in my own brain. Read more.

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!

Christina Newhall, age 7, playing tug of war at a party. Photo by Barbara Newhall

No to Bride Barbie — Yes to a Real-Life Wedding

Out-Takes From a Small Town Police Blotter Reveal a Serious Case of the Human Condition

anne lamott at montclair presbyterian church november 2012. photo by bf newhall

Good Books I Haven’t Really Read: Anna Quindlen, Stephen Prothero, David Talbot and a Book About French Love . . .

sunny-cheerful-airbnb-house

Widowed: I Don’t Like My Life

MORE DON'T MISS!

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