This has got to stop

Whatever it is I've been doing lately, Planned Parenthood wants me to knock it off.

Desert Thai: an adventure in Adelanto

If you ever find yourself in a place called Adelanto, California, do yourself a favor and visit this charming little restaurant.

It is, without a doubt, the most interesting Thai restaurant you will ever encounter.

Adelanto is a small desert town in San Bernardino County. Except for one busy intersection full of fast-food franchises and drugstores, it consists mostly of boarded-up storefronts, empty lots, and hundreds of Pentecostal churches.

In the midst of this Cormac McCarthy-esque scene, you will find the restaurant “Thai Siam”.

The Baron and the Baby

The adventures of Baron Von Hugenstein: fun for the whole family.

Photographic proof that children of all ages can enjoy the erotic adventures of Baron Von Hugenstein in "The Baron Rides Again: An Antebellum Tale of Liberation and Sexing".

Available here in print and for e-readers on Amazon.com.

You're welcome, world.

God's not dead.

But boy, He's gonna be once mom finds out that He's the one who ate all the cookies.

Video de la presentación de "La Urraca Muerta"

Un clip de la presentación multidisciplinaria de "La Urraca Muerta", basada en mi cuento del folclor ruso.

Se presentó en el Foro Cultural Goya, Ciudad de México, el jueves 10 de julio.

Intervinieron:
Artista visual: J. C.
Bailarines: Ireri Mugica y
Músico: Jorge Atala

Vean la publicación anterior para leer el texto del cuento.

La Urraca Muerta

El cuento de "La Urraca Muerta" forma parte del libro "Más Frío que la Nieve: Cuentos Sobrenaturales de Rusia", el cual se publicará próximamente.

Se presentará una representación artística del presente cuento el lunes 7 de julio y jueves 10 de julio en la Ciudad de México, en el Centro Cultural Goya (Col. Roma, metro Insurgentes). Si se encuentran en la capital, les invito a pasar a ver la obra multimedia.

Qué disfruten de este relato de brujería y magia negra.

* * * *

La Urraca Muerta

С волками жить—по-волчьи быть.

El que con lobos anda, a aullar se enseña.

            -Proverbio ruso

Andréi trepó por la escalera esa tarde de abril.

El campesino ruso se subió al pajar de su establo; después se acercó a la ventana que daba con la calle. La ventana no contenía vidrios; consistía únicamente en un marco vacío. Andréi miró hacia abajo, viendo los perros que andaban por el sendero de terracería. El cielo estaba nublado; se esperaba un aguacero esa tarde. Miró a su alrededor, viendo los animales dentro del establo. A pesar de la firme estructura del establo, hecho con gruesas tablas de pino, las bestias se veían desprotegidas y vulnerables. Andréi entendió, pues, que existen cosas en este mundo que son capaces de burlar las construcciones físicas. Aunque el establo se hubiera hecho de piedra y ladrillo como los castillos del Zar, sus muros jamás lograrían proteger a los animales de un peligro inmaterial.

Para protegerlos, Andréi tendría que recurrir a otras medidas.

An article which I wrote with my Pappy, Len Schmidt, for PRISM magazine. See the beginning of the text below; click on the link at the end to link to the magazine and read the entire article. Images are from the blog of PRISM magazine.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH BEING COMFORTABLE?

IN PRAISE OF THE MUCH-MALIGNED “COMFORT ZONE”

by Len and David Schmidt / original illustrations by Caitlin Ng

No matter where we turn these days, we seem to run into a preacher telling us that we need to “get out of our comfort zone.” The exhortation is often couched in positive terms: “You can do it! God wants you to move out of your comfort zone and into your faith zone!” Sometimes, however, the message contains darker undertones and nearly threatening implications: If you’re in your comfort zone, if you’re using your natural talents and gifts and feel fulfilled doing so, watch out…God just might take it all away from you.

To be sure, at certain times in life we definitely need to move beyond our personal comforts. The “comfort zone” becomes a problem when we fall into complacency and laziness, when we trust in our material abundance as if it were eternal, when we assume our spiritual life no longer has any room for improvement.  We must stretch ourselves to pursue worthwhile goals, to help others in need, and to answer even the most delightful calls on our lives—a marriage, for example, or a cross-country move for a new job. Most importantly, getting out of our unhealthy comfort zones is an integral part of spiritual growth. When we move beyond our customary patterns, ruts, addictions, habits, and dysfunctional relationships, it almost always feels uncomfortable—but it is always worth it in the end. As C. S. Lewis once said, “The blows of [God’s] chisel which hurt us so much are what make us perfect.”

If all we meant by the “comfort zone” were a state of indifferent complacency, it would make sense to always set our sights beyond it. Many preachers cast a broader net with the term, however, suggesting that we should make a conscious effort to be uncomfortable for the sake of being uncomfortable—that discomfort is a desirable state to inhabit...

Click this link to read the entire article:

http://prismmagazine.org/whats-wrong-with-being-comfortable/