#blogchallenge: Fortune Cookie #17

by Lillian Csernica on May 17th, 2018

 

Today’s fortune says:

You don’t get harmony when everybody sings the same note.

dis·cord

ˈdiskôrd/

noun

noun: discord

1. 1.

   disagreement between people.

   “a prosperous family who showed no signs of discord

   • lack of agreement or harmony between things.

     “the discord between indigenous and Western cultures”
2. 2.

   Music

   lack of harmony between notes sounding together.

   “the music faded in discord”

   synonyms:

   dissonance, discordance, disharmony, cacophony “the music faded in discord”

BusinessInsider.com

Here we have a bunch of people singing the same note in terms of the political ideology they espouse.  Is this harmonious? No. It is not.

robynbaldwin.com

marchingroundtable.com

thesizeitdownandtravelitupexperment.com

We need all the notes, all the chords, all the melodies to come together in the great orchestral voice of life. May a joyful noise until the Lord! Sing out with all your heart! Go tell it on the mountain! Punk rock, bagpipes, ocarinas and kazoos. Let’s do it!

culvercityobserver.com

The Writer’s Spellbook

by Lillian Csernica on August 1, 2017

AVAILABLE NOW ON SMASHWORDS!

One of the most important elements of a fantasy novel or a game world is the magic system. A logical and consistent magic system will do a lot to help improve the quality of the story… A better magic system means a better story, and a better story means more readers!

PLENTY OF FORMATS TO CHOOSE FROM!

EPUB MOBI PDF IRL PDB TXT HTML

Whether you’re a writer or a gamer, a graphic novelist or an historical reenactor, The Writer’s Spellbook will give you step by step guidance in making the crucial decisions that will bring your fantasy world to life.

 

Reblog: 20 Inspiring Pinterest Boards for Writers

by Lillian Csernica on May 13, 2017

Looking for inspiration? Technique? Some solidarity and comfort? Somewhere on this list you’ll find what you need, along with so much more. Enjoy!

 

Source: 20 Inspiring Pinterest Boards for Writers

Y is for Yearning (Art Nouveau – #AtoZChallenge)

by Lillian Csernica on April 29, 2017

Of all the pieces of art nouveau treasure I have seen in the course of this Challenge, these are the ones that I truly yearn to possess!

www,skinnerinc.com

Gold, sapphire, and plique-a-jour enamel pendant. Marcus & Co.

pinterest.com

Enamel brooch set with diamonds, circa 1905.

nelsonrarities.com

Plique-a-jour diamond, gold and platinum pendant.

http://www.skinnerinc.com

Jugendstil brooch. Silver, moonstone, and glass. German maker’s mark, probably Pforzheim.

sothebysaustralia.com.au

Of celestial design, the half moon-shaped black opal surmounted by a star motif accented with circular-cut diamond suspending an oval black opal surmounted by similarly set stars further suspending three lines of diamonds each terminating in an opal, completed by a trace link chain, brooch detachable, the opals together weighing approximately 14.50 carats, mounted in 15ct gold.

 

finescrollsaw.com

fairyblingmother.blogspot.com

Yes, the jellyfish earrings. How could I possibly pass these up?

fleurdulys.tumblr.com

Gold, diamonds, sapphires, and pearls.

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(Knee) Joint Ventures

by Lillian Csernica on February 13, 2017

Finally scheduled the physical therapy for my sprained knee. Here is yet another excellent example of “Be careful what you wish for.”

Those of you who have had physical therapy will know what happens first, especially with a joint problem. The physical therapist (PT) works the joint to see where the mobility issues are and just how serious your discomfort levels may be. In short, you spend the first fifteen minutes being tortured while your PT gets the lay of the land, so to speak.

My PT explained and demonstrated the exercises she wanted me to do in order to help heal the ligaments and get the knee cap realigned. No problem there. One exercise involves a rolling pin. That one I really must use in a story somewhere.

Now for the weird part. A nice young man wheeled in a machine on par with a fast food cash register that included an ultrasound gadget and one for infra red light. Ultrasound can break up scar tissue. I had no idea. The infra red light promotes healing. Don’t you just love science?

For me, they brought out the electrodes. One pair above my knee, one pair just below. This is where my anxiety spiked. I know what those kind of electrodes do, and I wasn’t looking forward to it. As much as the tech assured me this procedure was designed to reduce my pain level, I wasn’t buying it. Sure enough, Step One would be “adjusting the level to suit my needs.”

Translation: Finding out how much I could take before my muscles spasmed and I started swearing.

Ever seen Showdown in Little Tokyo? Dolph Lundgren, Brandon Lee, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, and Tia Carrere. WARNING: Our Heroes do start swearing.

You see where I’m going with this, right?

It got even weirder when my PT wrapped my knee in an ice pack. So first it feels like I’ve got all these little needles jabbing me, then the ice pack helped numb the area. Even so, when the tech tinkered with the voltage I freaked out, laughing like a maniac. It TICKLED. Sounds funny? It wasn’t. I kept doubling up, working my non-existent six-pack, laughing until I thought I’d have an asthma attack.

My PT said to the tech, “I think she’ll be low level.” Gosh, ya think so?

The tech adjusted the voltage, then set the timer for about ten minutes. My PT told me to yell if I needed anything.  Then the tech offered me this silly piece of comfort:

“Now remember, this machine cannot hurt you.”

Really? Tickle torture, muscle spasms, and making it hard to breathe? All that didn’t count as “hurting” me?

I survived the ten minutes without too much discomfort. To be fair, for the rest of the evening my knee did feel better. My PT said she expects to see improvement in six weeks, so I’ve got six more sessions. I confess I’m hoping I can do without the electrodes VERY soon!

 

Technical Difficulties

 

by Lillian Csernica on March 23, 2013

My software engineer husband is in the process of switching over my domain name to make this blog the center of my Internet universe.  This involves some reshuffling of providers and servers and other bits and pieces, so I want to let everybody know that any e-mail sent to me in the next two or three days might vanish into some server side pocket.  If you think it’s something I’m likely to reply to and you don’t hear from me, please resend.

Thank you for your patience.  We apologize for any inconvenience.  We will remain open during construction!