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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!

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.

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.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

At Orinda Books: The Author Talked — And So Did the Audience

Author Barbara Falconer Newhall and interviewee Sister Barbara Hazzard gave a book talk at Orinda Books in Orinda, California, May 16, 2015. Photo by Jon Newhall

It was an afternoon of lively interaction between author, audience, and Sister Barbara Hazzard, who read from the story she tells in “Wrestling with God.” 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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