Curie Author Showcase (March 3, 2019)

Through pleasant writing and some illustrative photos, @peterschroeter gives us a tour of the upsides and downsides of his 1999 BMW 320i E46, elegantly displayed under a white cover in the first image. @peterschroeter performs himself an oil change, explaining the reasons why he thought he should replace one part or another, all told from his experience of knowing this car for its almost 400.000 km.

To complete the article, he also talks about the installation of a micro/pollen interior air filter and a Bluetooth adapter for the CD radio, as well as about the track adjustment on a local tire shop. Overall, @peterschroeter's post makes a brilliant guide for anyone, car lover or not, about getting to know your vehicle and how it is to maintain it optimally by yourself.

Following the crank case ventilation (CCV) restoration in Part 1 it was now time to do an oil change as most of all oil consumption in these M52 and M54 engines comes either from a faulty CCV or a leaking valve cover gasket. Since I changed my gasket a while back when doing the spark plugs and ignition coils...

...I figured any oil consumption must be due to the CCV as the M52 usually never burns any oil at all. I've had documented oil consumption on this engine of .3L/1000km or 1/2 a quart on 1000 miles. Before doing the oil change I bought not only the filter, oil pan screw, O-rings and the oil but also the oil level sensor as mine had been broken for some time. — @peterschroeter

@peterschroeter’s blog is all about cars and photography, and both at the same time. Here’s some personal information he has shared, straight from his introduction post.

I'm 34, engaged, a freelance head hunter, part-time 3D designer, all out petrolhead, hobby photographer and I generally love to do things people tell me can't be done, won't be done or simply will never happen. Spoiler: they do.

Photos! Love them! Love contrast lightning, exotic places, great moments. Take them with cameras, phones and whatever is at hand. I'll probably split everything into two as there are the regular photography and my lifelong passion for automotive art and photography. — @peterschroeter

@alequandro often goes with his brother on a Saturday hike, and as this article shows this time was no different. He decided to embark on an excursion he had never done before: The Damned of the Horse, a mountain trail from the Santa Felicita Valley, located in Romano d'ezzelino, in the province of Vicenza (northern Italy).

@alequandro documented the hike, from the sight of a chapel at 200 m above sea level, to an old, hidden observation point made for military purposes, at 1000 m above sea level. @alequandro's photos are stunning and are meant to portray with fidelity the beauty of Italian mountains, hills, and landscapes. Here’s an excerpt of @alequandro’s narration of the hike.

The path starts with the sight of a religious chapel. This area had been a strategic military point during the First World War. During the war, there was even a train station that was used to bring the materials and supplies for the army. Throughout the day I met 10 people, the weather was great even though when we walked through the valley we felt a cold wind coming from the north. It was easy to gain altitude and the tired legs reminded me of the reason. — @alequandro

Here’s some of what @alequandro shared about himself with me in personal communication.

My name is Alessandro Berton, I'm 34 and I'm an Italian architect. My passion for photography was born many years ago when I used my dad's Polaroid and many years later an analog Nikon F50. After a few years of break from photography, while I was attending the University of architecture in Venice, I rediscovered my passion for photography. Thanks to my parents I can say that I have always had a passion for nature and excursions, so it was natural for me to start taking the camera with me while hiking. Steemit was a real discovery for me. It gave me the opportunity to tell through my photos, experiences, my shots, my passions!

Most of my posts are intended to make Italy known to the Steemit community. Italy is full of wonderful places and most of the times hidden ... I want to go and visit them and show them to everyone! That's why I invented a series of posts with the title "Discovering Italy with alequandro" that sums up my mission! I have many other projects in progress, including Flying LEGO, an animated series with the stop motion technique where the protagonists are the LEGO that in some episodes I fly on a drone over the landscapes of northern Italy. — @alequandro

The song I'm sharing with you today, and the story behind it, might shake your soul and touch your heart to the very core. As @zipporah was working on a new musical production, her brother Saul fell critically ill, and she had to drop everything to catch a last-minute flight South, to the hospital where he's now recovering. @zipporah's song entangles then a heartfelt melody, built through skilled guitar playing and a beautiful voice, and powerful lyrics, resulting from the mix of feelings towards his brother and herself.

Though it took effort to remember and draw myself away long enough to pull this together, I finally made myself take a break to do so – just under the wire. I then returned to Saul's bedside to play him this song as his evening lullaby. I've been playing for him daily, hoping he can feel the love I'm beaming him with. Tonight he kept raising his eyebrows as I sang – that was enough for me to believe that he heard and appreciated it. — @zipporah

I’d like to wish Saul a fast and full recovery, and the best for @zipporah and her family. Without further ado, here’s @zipporah’s song. I recommend you to go to the original post and listen to it while reading the lyrics.

Besides her talent for music, @zipporah has an amazing eye for photography, and a unique vision she has been sharing in her blog, making it truly outstanding. Here’s some personal information from her introduction post.

I'm Zipporah Lomax, known by most as simply 'Zippy'. My namesake was Moses' wife from the old testament, meaning 'Little Bird' in Hebrew (or some variation of 'bird', depending on who's translating.) (…) A San Francisco native, I made the move to Portland, Oregon in late 2012. Though I've lived in other rain-drenched cities (Seattle & Vancouver, BC), the lushness of this place has turned me into a pluviophile – a lover of rain. I'm certifiably obsessed and spend an unreasonable amount of time on the hunt for perfect, watery spheres.

Though I'm creatively multi-faceted, photography is my primary focus – both professionally and otherwise – with a particular strength for portraiture and a keen appreciation for kids and all things tiny. Photography has always held a particular magic for me – this incredible technology that allows us to archive ephemeral moments – to gather illuminated details and fleeting reflections and make a record of them – to, quite literally, write (graph) with light (photo.) To my eye, light speaks the most beautifully poetic language. Studying its linguistic patterns has been one of my life's greatest joys – as well as my most reliable coping mechanism. — @zipporah

In @juliamulcahy's work of fiction, we follow the beginning of a woman's day, or internal journey, as the plot will eventually develop. Through a narrative filled with sensorial images, the female slowly gets us into her world and its characteristics. Who is she? What is to know about her? Those are few of the questions that @juliamulcahy's creativity will awake in you, triggering your curiosity, while tangentially addressing relevant issues for societies like depression and anxiety. Here's an excerpt of the story, to catch your attention even more.

Oh well, she thought, If I'm going to do this thing, I'd better drag my sorry arse out of bed. The slump she'd been in for the whole last month was still in effect but she knew if she wanted things to change she would just have to push through it. With a deep breath and a quick stretch she managed to pull her heavy body from the bed. It was time. Time to make things happen. She padded softly from her bedroom and made her way down the stairs. (…) — @juliamulcahy

These 637 words represented @juliamulcahy’s first day of March Madness, an initiative for creative writers carried by Freewrite House. I’m sure she will continue to produce more and hook us with her story, as by the time I’m writing this the part two and three of The Crumpled Letter have been published already. I encourage you to go check them on @juliamulcahy’s blog! In the meantime, here’s some personal information that Julia shared with me.

Julia Mulcahy has always had a passion for the English language and spent many years working as an English teacher when she lived in London. Now she lives in the West of Ireland with her family, and takes great delight sharing her creativity in the Steemiverse. She is a proud member of the Welcome Wagon, BuddyUp and Freewrite House communities over on Discord and is a regular contributor of the Drop In the Ocean show.

When she discovered Steem back in October 2018 she couldn't believe her luck. Here was a space where she got to write for fun and find many like-minded people to hang out with. She enjoys opening up her inner muse, The Little Voice, and seeing where she takes her. She has now decided to embark on March Madness with other Freewrite House authors and is looking forward to seeing how her story unravels.

To prevent burnout, most artists recur to getting inspiration from their own lives, using art also as an escape valve for stress, anxiety or depression. That is exactly what @hglucky13 did, representing through this illustration her craving for some rest and self-care. In a time-lapse video, we get to witness the whole creation process of this very detailed and appealing character.

A few days ago, I got a serious hankering to do some major beauty care regimens. Since my tax return had recently come in, I decided to splurge a bit on some products to help rejuvenate my tired skin. I felt old and wrinkly and dry and equated myself to a lizard in desperate need of moisturization. The visual that put in my head sparked the idea below, and this time I managed to capture ALL parts of the creation process. — @hglucky13

My name is Lindsay and I suppose I would describe myself as a bilateral-thinking creative with a good sense of humor and an undying love of all things Sci-Fi. My BFA is in Graphic Design and Illustration, but I started as a programming major, ended up working as a Financial Analyst, and in my freetime I like to make finger puppets… I realize that’s a lot of seemingly random information to cram into a couple of sentences, but at 30 years old, I’ve gotten tired of telling the same “Who am I?” story over and over again.

Over the course of my life, creating things seems to be the longest running constant. I’ve written stories, drawn artworks, illustrated comic books, sewn and created costumes and toys, and I’m currently working on making a person for the first time. I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands and had a vague understanding of the futility of life, so making things has always felt like the easiest way for me to leave behind proof that I existed.— @hglucky13