‘It is a tragedy when the human spirit dies before the body. But the answer is not to kill the body too, but to revive the spirit.’ So said Prof Margaret Somerville at a conference on euthanasia held in Wellington a couple of years ago. On Sunday I tried to canvass the arguments on both sides of […]
[Trigger warning: if you have experienced sexual assault, please just be aware that rape and rape culture are discussed in this post. Many of the links similarly lead to pages that need a trigger warning.] Sad, sickened, shocked, triggered, appalled, horrified, not-actually-that-surprised. Most New Zealanders could tick most of those boxes this week as our […]
Are you ‘courting’? ‘Going steady,’ as they said on Happy Days? Or my favourite early-twentieth-century ‘walking out together’? Yay! Enjoy it! What a very pleasant time of life, whatever you call it. The best piece of advice I have for you – just on the off-chance that you are in the market for some, and […]
I used to teach a course in legal writing that was famed for its pedantry (not thanks to me – on that occasion I didn’t make the rules). There was half a mark off for every error of any kind – punctuation, spelling, citation, style, everything. Before the first ‘opinion’ (the main kind of assignment […]
I haven’t received a telegram, so I can only conclude that the Queen thinks it’s easier to live to 100 years old than to publish 100 blog posts. I won’t hold it against her, I’m too busy celebrating! Thank you, dear conversation partners! Sacraparental is one of my favourite things, thanks to you. I love […]
Sure, most adults eventually marry or enter long-term partnerships, but even more adults in the West spend a considerable period of life as a single person. Actually, I’m just guessing about that, but it’s probably right. I read that nine out of ten American women will be widowed, given statistical life expectancy. Even among Christians, […]
I don’t have time for ads, generally speaking. Largely for this reason, I don’t watch tv except online or on dvd, and I rarely read newspapers and magazines in print anymore. But yesterday I caught up with two contrasting ad campaigns, both for men’s formalwear. (My interest in my husband’s wardrobe makes me more their […]
Blogging as hospitality Sacraparental is my lounge, on a night when we’ve all changed out of our work clothes, people’s kids are in bed and we have something delicious on the coffee table. You are invited to drop in, drop onto a sofa, and talk together about important and nourishing things. Silliness and chocolate and […]