I got pissy today, and wrote this piece for the school newsletter. When I googled how much the fine was I stumbled across some stuff I didn’t know, so I thought it was worth a blog post. Dropping and fetching kids is a hassle in winter, but remember… don’t park in disabled spots even whenContinue reading “Do your legs stop working when it rains?”
Category Archives: Entries that matter
Talking to myself about abortion
So this happened.
Christmas: Jesus, Gifts, and Stress
So Christmas is about three things for me. (Cunning readers may guess what they are based on the title.) This is the beginning of a three-part blog series on Christmas (aka holiday therapy for yours truly). Fairly obviously for a Christian, Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus aka the God I follow. Yes, I’m awareContinue reading “Christmas: Jesus, Gifts, and Stress”
The Woman Tax
Last night I crashed my car, because I am a woman. On Tuesday last week another creative Australian woman, comedian Eurydice Dickson, was killed in a park as she walked home from a gig. Like me, she sometimes takes slight risks in order to live her life and have the career she has. Continue reading “The Woman Tax”
My new belly button
It’s been about ten weeks since my stomach operation, and although I’m not fully healed I was just given the go-ahead to swim (my favourite and most effective exercise) yesterday so I’m pretty much in the clear. Some thoughts: It really really hurt a lot. There were times when I wasn’t sure it was worthContinue reading “My new belly button”
Sad, Bad, Mad: Cat Person
The New York Times published a short story, “Cat Person” and people have gone a bit nuts over it. Including me. Minor things first: *Trigger warning: This article might bring up traumatic memories for some people. *Cats are awesome and cat people are awesome. Cats are not the point of the story. (But some ofContinue reading “Sad, Bad, Mad: Cat Person”
A stitch in mine
It’s November. I’m not counting the days until Christmas, but I am counting the days until I get to experience something far less common and more painful: An operation. Yay! (This is a long entry, with a sprinkling of swear words. Feel free to skip to the bottom where there’s a link to donate money.)Continue reading “A stitch in mine”
Four years
I’m crying, but it’s not sadness. My husband Chris and I have been following the US election with increasing horror today. We both chose not to speak openly in the car on the way home, because our kids were with us. We exchanged a few careful words, and I asked Chris to drive. He knew without askingContinue reading “Four years”
An Immodest Proposal
*This is likely to be upsetting to people suffering from the effects of violence.* An Immodest Proposal For Preventing Poor Individuals in Non-Australian Lands From Being A Burden to the International Community, and For Making Them Beneficial to The Australian People and to Other Nations Struggling to Cope with their Comparatively LowContinue reading “An Immodest Proposal”
Homosexuality and Divorce
I really hope it’s actually a satire gone wrong, but apparently a Christian Canberra couple says they’ll divorce in protest if gay marriage becomes legal. In addition to the obvious point of, “Even if homosexuality IS a sin, how does it affect you at all? Wouldn’t that be for God to deal with, along withContinue reading “Homosexuality and Divorce”
Open Letter to Immigration Minister Peter Dutton
Felicity Banks fellissimo@hotmail.com Dear Mr Peter Dutton, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection: I was a teenager when I first realised there was something wrong with Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers. A case was being discussed on the radio of a gay man in danger due to his homosexuality. When I heard the story,Continue reading “Open Letter to Immigration Minister Peter Dutton”
The tiniest protestor
My mother and sister were both arrested today. Last week a new Migration Bill was passed granting extraordinary powers (including a great deal of secrecy) to the Immigration Minister. The following day, the government used its new power to begin the procedure of deporting 25 asylum seeker babies that were born here in Australia. EightContinue reading “The tiniest protestor”
This is what a boat person looks like
My little sister has just been arrested for taking part in a peaceful sit-in at Zed Seselja’s office here in Canberra. She and several others stayed in his office, refusing to leave until they were given an answer to one question: “When will the 789 children and their families be released from immigration detention?” HereContinue reading “This is what a boat person looks like”
Ten Questions for Feminist Mums
Regular readers will know that I’m a fan of feminist blog blue milk*. She likes to read the responses of other feminist mums to the following ten questions, and since I’m currently promoting my ebook SEE THROUGH, she’ll be posting extracts of this on her blog. How would you describe your feminism in one sentence?Continue reading “Ten Questions for Feminist Mums”
Mothers’ Day
For those of you wondering why your female parent is no longer speaking to you, it’s Mothers’ Day today: a scheduled annual day for spontaneous expressions of gratitude. Your mum gave you the gift of life X years ago (and has probably helped to keep you alive*since then). For my first Mothers’ Day CJ boughtContinue reading “Mothers’ Day”
Breasts: Not just for decoration
Every so often I hear about something so unjust, so wrong that I want to devote myself to fighting against it, possibly for the rest of my life. And by “every so often” I mean “actually quite often – too often to let myself follow through”. I don’t fight those wars, except sometimes with anContinue reading “Breasts: Not just for decoration”
One-sentence rant
I am disheartened that so many Australians do not trust Indonesia to kill cattle – but do trust Malaysia to jail refugees.
Oh, THAT invasion
The Sydney city council recently voted to re-word the official city literature so that the arrival of British settlers in Australia is now called a “European invasion” rather than the “European arrival”. Here’s a Daily Mail article. Some argued against the change of wording, either because the word “invasion” is rather unpleasant, or (more openly) onContinue reading “Oh, THAT invasion”
Save the world – in your PJs
Amnesty is an organisation that defends human rights internationally by researching unjust situations and then writing letters and petitions to those in power. Which means ordinary schlubs like you and I can simply go to their website, click a few buttons, and help save lives around the world. How awesome is that? http://www.amnesty.org.au/
Get it right – this time
I knew before I began my steampunk novel that I would need to learn a whole new set of rules when it came to my Koori character, Matilda (you’ll notice that’s not a Koori name – names are just one taboo area). A week or two ago I attended a lecture (in the gorgeously squished building above) byContinue reading “Get it right – this time”