Curie Author Showcase (June 2nd, 2018)

• In spirit of Curie's mission to promote undiscovered but exceptional content, we wish to use this twice weekly section to provide an author showcase for some of the outstanding authors who received Curie upvotes in past week. Curie curators and reviewers nominate authors for inclusion in this showcase and author approval is sought and attained.

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Before we get into today's Author Showcase I have a few great things to share with you all.

The first announcement I would like to make is that Curie now has a dedicated Spanish Language Community. This new community's curators are @vadimlasca and @elfranz . The community just got started this week and is still working on an introduction post to share their goals and upcoming initiatives which will include a weekly post similar to this one to spotlight some of the great posts they find throughout the week. You can check out the new community and see the posts they are getting behind @la-colmena .

Our next announcement is that Curie is helping with some community building by offering the following sponsorships of some great contests here on the blockchain.

Our first sponsorship goes out to the Art Explosion contest run by @juliakponsford . We are giving them 36 Steem a month for two months. This will allow Julia to double the prize pool for each round from from 25 SBD to 50 SBD!

Next up we have given 180 Steem to the Steem Poker League @spl to sponsor a 20 SBD Friday Freeroll poker tournament. Head on over to their blog page for more details on how to enter the Friday Freeroll.

NEW 20 SBD FREEROLL! Thanks to @curie, we now have a 20 SBD Friday freeroll! A big thanks to the SPL team for getting us a replacement for the Community Funded Freeroll which ended, and a big high five to @curie for hosting what will be a fantastic weekly tournament. - @spl

@curie is also sponsoring Asher's Curation and Engagement Leagues. We have sent him 200 Steem to cover the next two months worth of prizes. For more info on what the leagues are all about and to find out how to enter head on over to this post - 🏆 The Curation and Engagement Leagues 🏆 - STEEM prizes available!

Last but certainly not least. We have sent 200 Steem over to the Steemit Open Mic competition to add to their prize pool for the next two months. Every week @curie upvotes numerous Open Mic entries, now we are furthering our support for the competition by adding to the prizes all their talented winners will be getting. For more information on the weekly contest go follow @luzcypher .

Featured Author: @manuelmusic
Steemit Open Mic Week 87 - Manuel Herrera (Original Song)

Image used with the permissions of @manuelmusic

After those announcements it is only fitting that we kick of this week's Author Showcase with an Open Mic entry done in Spanish!

One thing that always amazes me is when a musician can play a song with themselves. If that puzzles you, what I mean is they can play different instruments or melodies at different times, sing different parts of a harmony at different times, and then bring it all together in one perfect composition.

@manuelmusic does this for his original song, "Madre" off of his album Así soy yo ("Mother off of his album That's How I Am). Music can truly transcend language. You do not need to know a word of Spanish in order to enjoy this music.

Checkout Manuel's blog page to hear more of his amazing music. He just posted another song from his album "Desahogo" ("Relief")

Featured Author: @aussieninja
How to Ninja : Defensive Fortifications

Image used with the permissions of @aussieninja

Next up we have some ancient self defense strategies with step by step photos from the blockchain's favorite aspiring American Ninja Warrior - @aussieninja . In this post you will not only learn the ways of the ninja through a brief history rundown but you will also learn the ancient homesteading ways of the ninja.

Through the journey that this post will take you on you will find your self not only learning but also being entertained when you realize just how hilarious a ninja can be.

You can follow @aussieninja 's journey in his quest to become an American Ninja Warrior on his blog page as he chronicles his training regime every day. He has been on Australian Ninja Warrior but hopes to some day be joining the likes of Drew Dreschel, The Weatherman Joe Moravsky, and Kacy Catanzaro on the American version. So stay tuned to see him ninja-ing on a television set near you.

Featured Author: @amritadeva
Magical World (#16):
Archikidz Rotterdam, introducing children to architecture event

Image used with the permissions of @amritadeva

When I was a kid I took Mechanical Drawing and Architecture classes in school. I loved it and regret not sticking with it. If they had incredible events like the one you will read about in this next post I am pretty sure I would have continued on to some day become the next Frank Lloyd Wright. Well, maybe not, but I am certain I would have had a lot more fun doing it.

@amritadeva took two of her "little friends" to a great architecture competition for kids ages 7-11. They had about 45 professional architects on hand giving their time to help get these children interested in their trade. One of the interesting points about this Archikidz event in Rotterdam, Netherlands was that they didn't allow the parents near their children to help in anyway. It was almost entirely up to the kids, with some help from the pros, to make their unique "Secret Rooms"

If I'd have to say anything about what I love to write about, it would be that I'm a true believer in the concept that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And that there's a lot of magic and miracle in all of the little day to day things we go through, and we can put ourselves in a certain state of being where we capture life's beauty. That's the kind of state I want to be in, the kind of person I'd love to be, that is what I love to write about and share with others. This curated post is part of the Magical World series I am working on. And like I've added in the last sentences, my idea is that if we share the moments of magic we experience in our lives, we can really brighten things up! - @amritadeva

You can find all of the other parts of @amritadeva 's Magical World series on her blog page, including #17 which was just posted today - Magical World #17: Living someone else's life for a few days a week

Featured Author: @rubencress
[TRAVELS] The Rummu Quarry, Paldiski Area, Estonia

Image used with the permissions of @rubencress

We head off to Estonia next with one of Curie's resident photographers @rubencress . If you love great, unique, breathtaking, and 20 other superlatives photographs you need to be following Ruben. His recent photographic journey took him The Rummu Quarry which features some incredible landscapes and offered up some unique perspectives.

@rubencress is a passionate photographer from the Netherlands. He has been photographing for over a decade and started full-time freelancing since 2016. He is an ambitious type. He wants to inspire, motivate and activate people with his photography and tries to keep his articles at a high quality level. On Steemit he shared a diversity of different photography genres which we really enjoyed. (You guys curied me a lot lol)

"Photography is my ultimate passion and one of my get-aways. It is always changing and never boring. When I am sad, I photograph, when I have to work, I photograph, when I want to document something in my life, I photograph it, you get the badumtss picture? I try to capture the soul of a person, an item or try to capture the essence of a specific subject. With Steemit, I wish to inspire and eventually educate other people the art of photography. Anyone with a camera can take photographs, it is only the approach that makes the difference."

Ruben's piano skills are about as amazing and beautiful as his photographs are. You can check out his other incredible talent in his newest blog post Some magic in Helsinki

Featured Author: @scribblingwilly
Spaced Out Astronomy : Episode One(Comedy Open Mic #15)

Image used with the permissions of @scribblingwilly

Here is another post that many will be able to identify with. You remember those times as a kid where you look up at the nighttime sky and just stare at the stars and wonder what's out there. You go and talk your parents into getting you not quite the priciest and not quite the cheapest telescope for you for Christmas or your birthday. Then you unpack the thing, read the instructions in 4 different languages, and still have no clue what you are doing. You just want to spot the Sea of Tranquility up close, or find the rings of Saturn, but all you get is a blur of out of focus little specs of light that now look slightly closer.

Well, @scribblingwilly isn't going to let any of those issues (and many more) stop him from creating his own YouTube channel - Spaced Out Astronomy to talk about all things space and the struggles of an amateur astronomer. He manages to share his shortcomings in a hilarious and entertaining way.

I'm an Irish MC , I started rap as a hobby but it overtook my life, and then I needed another hobby to give myself a break from rap. After an attempt at gardening went pear shaped, I decided to get into astronomy.

Thats when I started doing a YouTube channel to get myself motivated to use my new telescope. I still rap all the time, but Im thinking of getting into youtubing now because its so much fun! - @scribblingwilly

I am sad to announce that at the time of this writing I learned that Spaced Out Astronomy is now dead. Never fear though, the show has now become Spaced Out Entertainment, because as Willy says, "While space is infinite, there's not really much to talk about in it." This new show even has its own rap theme song. This episode kicks off Conspiracy Month for the show. Go check it out! Spaced Out Entertainment: Aliens & UFOs (Conspiracy Month)

Featured Author: @fictionspawn
Beyond Faith and Reason (Read or listen to the story)

We finish up today's showcase once again with some great fiction. This post however is so much more than just a simple written sci-fi story. Author @fictionspawn included some of his amazing original artwork that goes with the story, and he does a great reading of the story so you can read it or listen to it.

He was a quantum physicist, and studied the smallest parts of the universe. Particles. Quarks and all that stuff. Complicated shit.

With a line like that from the story I know you are anxious to be on your way to read or listen to this great short sci-fi story. Enjoy.

Once you finish up that story check out @fictionspawn 's most recent story with the same setup, using his own artwork, and offering the option to listen to this new dystopian story. Teddy Bears (Illustrated story, read or listen)

This Curie Author Showcase was written by Curie Curator @randomwanderings (Gene) with input from other Curie curators and reviewers. Author permission was sought and obtained from all authors featured in this showcase. All works are the copyright of their respective authors and used with permission.