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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!

Why Can’t a Dad Be More Like a Mom? . . . Do We Really Want Them To Be?

July 27, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Men and housework and childcare. A man carries his affectionate toddler girl. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My friend Carol calls them “the little inequities.” She is talking about the small, countless ways that men fail to notice what needs to be done for their children. Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: I’m a Woman with a — Sprawling — Past

July 17, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

The trouble with painting inside your closets is — everything has to come out of them.
And then what do you do with all your beloved stuff?

Shepherd Bliss and Men’s Secrets — No Women Allowed

July 10, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Drum circle drummer for mens movement. photo by Joe Perez

Men’s No. 1 secret, Shepherd Bliss told me, the one they want to keep from women — and other men — is that they, too, feel powerless. Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: I Want to Kill My Snapdragons

June 26, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Maroon snapdragons growing in the yard of Barbara Falconer Newhall. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Those maroon snapdragons in my front yard are ugly. But they’re alive. Can I rip them out? Read more.

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

June 22, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

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.

Why Meditate — When I Could Be Sweeping the Garage?

June 15, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

I’ve tried meditating a few times – a very few times. Why would I want to sit inside my mind when I could be out in the front yard, snapping dead blossoms off the rhododendron, or in the garage, sweeping away the cobwebs?

The Writing Room: Splitting the Infinitive — How to Boldy Go There

June 1, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

“To boldly go where no man has gone before.” Nitpickers and pedants take exception to that stirring old Star Trek slogan. I don’t.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Sibling Loyalty: My Brother Has a Sister. And I’ve Got a Brother

sibling-loyalty  scowling-baby

Sibling loyalty. Sometimes it means you can ignore your writing deadline and have a fun visit with your brother who just had knee surgery.  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!

A valley oak is mostly dead with two fresh limbs growing from a rotten trunk. Photo by BF Newhall

Dead Stuff – Which I Will Be Too One of These Days

The back of a hiker's boots, on the trail. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Tending a Friendship — I’m on Her Calendar and She’s on Mine

japanese-anemone-close-up

My Front Yard — It’s a Happening Place

An older woman tries on dresses for her daughter's wedding day. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Mother-of-the-Bride Dress: What, Oh, What Do I Wear to My Daughter’s Wedding?

MORE DON'T MISS!

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