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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!

A Case of the Human Condition: Would My Husband Like to Add My Name to His?

May 29, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Jon and I had been married nearly 12 years. It was time to pop the question again. I had taken his last name as mine. Would he like to add my maiden name to his?

What’s Rhetoric? Let My Two-Year-Old Enlighten You

May 25, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

My daughter Christina discovered the art of rhetoric when she was being weaned from baby bottle to plastic cup. She’d say, “I want milk and I don’t want it in a cup” — an elegant illocutionary statement that usually got her what she wanted, her bottle.

A Case of the Human Condition: The Day She Popped the Question

May 15, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Things were getting serious. My boyfriend had moved his goldfish into my apartment. I had returned from a long weekend to find that Jon had moved his dimestore pets from his place to mine. He was sheepish about this.

The Writing Room: Writer’s Block and the Toxic Reader

May 11, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

writer's block is addressed insightfully in Jane Anne Staw's book Unstuck

Writer’s block? Not my problem. At least, that’s what I thought until I read Jane Anne Staw’s book, “Unstuck.” Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: Feminine, Feminist Pink

April 27, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Girls wear pink, but grown women like this one opt for daring spike heels. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Christina likes pink. Given a choice, my five-year-old daughter will take the pink balloon, the pink panties, the pink baseball bat. Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: When Your Six-Year-Old Wants to Talk Money

April 20, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A six-year-old boy dressed as a cowboy for halloween. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My six-year-old wanted an allowance. Jon and I debated. Fifty cents a week? 75? “Let’s not talk in cents,” said Peter. “Let’s talk in dollars.” Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: Choose Me, Please!

March 16, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Jury summons. Barbara Falconer Newhall was summoned for jury duty.. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Jury duty is a lot like fourth grade softball. Something in me wants to be on the team. If there is choosing going on, I want to be among the chosen. Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Writers Need Editors – And Mine Wants My Manuscript Turned In, Now

Barbara Falconer Newhall frowns and frets as she gets started on editing the manuscript for her book, "Wrestling with God." Photo by Barbara Newhall

It’s time to put the final tweaks and edits on my book manuscript so that my editor can send it off to be formatted – and published. It’s been years since I started work on “Wrestling with God.” I’ve written draft after draft and tried format after format. I’ve been wrestling with that manuscript and what I want this book to be as fiercely as I’ve been wrestling with God and who that might be. 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!

 

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