I can’t remember if I first fell a bit in love with political activist and film-maker Michael Moore when he made Bowling for Columbine, a documentary polemic arguing for saner gun control in his home country of the United States. It was either then or when my friend Steven, who had lived in the US, […]
Playschool, Rainbow, Sesame Street: I could still sing you the theme songs. The Muppets. The Smurfs, though I was disdainful of the lack of female representation, even at six. The Flintstones and every other Hanna-Barbera cartoon ever made. Happy Days, Diff’rent Strokes, The Cosby Show, Benson, Charles in Charge, M*A*S*H, The Beverly Hillbillies, Hogan’s Heroes, […]
Wanna hang out in the Mighty Manawatu? SBJ are going to spend a few days with my parents in PN, so I wondered about hosting a Sacraparental hangout. Whaddaya reckon? I know a few regulars there, but I suspect there are others I’m not in contact with, so now’s your chance. If you’re based in […]
A good listener is never short of friends. Some people are naturals at this popular skill, and you might be lucky enough to know one or two. Plenty of us have to learn the skill of being a good listener, though the kind intention does go a long way, too. The headline ‘act’ for the Do […]
Without wanting to profile y’all, there is an extraordinarily high chance that you are a fabulous parent. I have this cocky certainty because you read parenting websites. You’re interested. You realise being a parent is something we do, as well as who we are. I know endless folk who get their advice from www.slackraparental.com, evidenced […]
Being a woman equals being in community. The same might feel true for men (I hope it does), but I can’t write that blog post, being in possession, as I am, of two X chromosomes. One of the virtues of the mind-bending, paradoxical, beautiful, tricksy Christian doctrine of the Trinity (God is Three and One […]
Thanks to Pippa for these short videos from the United Kingdom’s Time to Change campaign. They’re short and engaging. You may like to pass them on to people you know who have friends or family with mental health problems (ie, almost everyone you know!) The Time to Change campaign website has some great resources and […]
What kind of parent were you going to be like? Did you always imagine yourself going on daily nature adventures or doing crafts with your pre-schoolers? Reading aloud around the fire on winter evenings? Dispensing your hard-won wisdom to a rapt audience of eager teenagers? If you thought about parenting much before you had kids, […]
We’re in Melbourne for a course my husband is doing (lucky me to be here and not doing a course!) and today I was out walking with SBJ in the suburbs. I saw a sign I liked on a building. I didn’t have my camera, but it said something like: One in five Australians lives […]
Much as with our teacher-appreciation lists the other day, most of us will be fortunate enough to be able to list some of the adults who took an interest in us as we grew up, and beyond. When I was eleven, Chris H gave me my first ‘fancy book,’ to start my grown-up book collection, […]