I am driven to create things. I actually feel psychologically tortured when I am not working on some project or other. This is why I have my hands in so many little projects. My creativity's an itch that needs scratching. A lot of scratching. Like a drug addict picks scabs. Lately, though, despite my writing for several websites, having written an entire novel last month, being nominated in four... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation to a worthy cause. Thank you! ...

My image of life in convents is informed by the movie "Sound of Music". I'm not sure it's become more accurate by watching this movie by Pedro Almodóvar. Yolanda seeks refuge in a convent as her boyfriend kills himself (?). It turns out that her background as a drug addict and a singer in a nightclub makes her fit in perfectly in this particular convent.I have decided to see as many of Pedro Almodóvar's movies as I can. That does, of course, involve seeing not only his biggest hits, but also movies that are a bit more of average quality. ...

I consider myself a very private person with candid moments. People who know me well consider me a mixed bag: self-effacing but occasionally overbearing; awkward but generous; guarded but occasionally very revealing. This is one of those candid moments. I weighed the privacy of my family and newborn carefully before writing this blog post, and came to the conclusion that sharing our experiences is a gift to the wiqaable family and friends, as much as it is a gift for Jacob, a reminder that I will fight to protect him and use my words for education and empowerment with every ...