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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Need some levity? Read on!

Noah Lukeman on the Colon, That Most Majestic of Punctuation Marks . . .

August 14, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="374"]Noah Lukeman portrait. Noah Lukeman[/caption]

Ever since I read Noah Lukeman’s treatise on the comma in a 2006 issue of The Writer’s Chronicle, I have been a fan. A devotee. No, let’s face it, a groupie. Read more.

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?

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Travel Adventures: The Poop on China – And the Pee

In Suchow, this little boy was set out on the doorstep of his house to pee, To expedite things, his pants were open at the crotch. I have preserved his dignity by retouching the photo to close up his fly. Photo by BF Newhall

I’ve been contemplating writing this little photo essay on the toilets of China ever since I traveled there last September. It’s taken me all this time to overcome my mid-century Midwestern upbringing, where nice people didn’t talk about poop and pee in public. My nose for news finally prevailed, however when a Mainland Chinese couple allowed their toddler to urinate publicly on the streets of Hong Kong.

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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!

 

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jon Newhall works the Sunday NYT crossword puzzle in the SF Chronicle. Photo by Barbara Newhall

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