Welcome to My Website . . . I Hope You’ll Stay a While
Hey, everybody! Come take a look at my updated website — lots of great stories and pretty good pictures.
A Case of the Human Condition: Am I Scotch?* Or Midwestern?
Genealogically speaking, I’m not that far removed from Scotland. My father’s father was born near Glasgow. But the complex – presumably – set of beliefs and customs he and his parents brought with them to the shores of Lake Michigan in 1873 are lost to me now. Tartans have given way to Levi’s. Haggis has succumbed to pizza and Chinese take-out. When I think about where I come from, I do not think of Scotland. I think of Michigan. Read More.
Take a Second — To Celebrate the Fabled Leap Second
My brother-in-law Skip loves to throw a party. This time it was a party in honor of — the Leap Second. Join in, kick back and enjoy the extra second in your life, compliments of Skip. Read more.
A Checkerspot Butterfly in Marin — And Other Insects I Have Known and (Tried to) Love
I spotted an endangered butterfly — the checkerspot — in Marin county. A couple days later, one appeared outside my kitchen window.
Zumba at The Hills! Authentic, Never-Before-Published Video of Real People Moving Their Bods!
Want to see some sexy dancing? My favorite Zumba teachers and their fast-footed Zumba students show their stuff on a video. That’s me on the left. Read more.
My Mother’s Goneness
My mother is gone, but when she died, she left a few things behind — a battered old purse, a small sofa she liked to call the loveseat. Read more.
Purple Bearded Irises — Close Up and (Very) Personal
[caption id="attachment_28388" align="aligncenter" width="500"]
An iris blossom close up. Purple. Photo by Barbara Newhall[/caption]
There’s a heck of a lot of erotica going on inside an iris blossom. Stamen. Pistel. Haft. Claws. And, of course, those fuzzy, caterpillar-like beards. Read more.
The Writing Room: My Flesh Is Weary — Too Much Book-Writing, Not Enough Yoga
Can you guess who wrote this? “Of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” Hint: The writer’s been dead for at least two millenniums. Read more.
Confessions of a Carnivore: Why Eating Meat is OK — Sorta
[caption id="attachment_8640" align="aligncenter" width="500"]
Cattle feed lot extending acres into the distance at Harris Ranch, CA. Photo by BF Newhall[/caption]
I don’t see a clear difference between slaughtering a pig and cutting down a seven-story tree. Between netting the wild salmon I eat for dinner and harvesting my breakfast oats. Faced with a choice between killing a pig and killing the tree in our backyard – I’d kill the pig. Read more.
I’m a Meat-Eating Loser – I Didn’t Win the New York Times Ethicist Contest
I’m a meat-eating loser. I didn’t win the “Why It’s OK to Eat Meat” essay contest the New York Times Magazine put on a few weeks ago. But I’m OK with that. Read more.