• 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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Featured Author: @dejan.vuckovic
Snowy Austrian Spring [My Travel Blog]

Images used with permission from @dejan.vuckovic

An invitation to be the best man at his best friend's wedding brought @dejan.vuckovic to Austria. He planned to do some cycling around upper Austria while he was there but when snows arrived, he ended up hiking around some of the beautiful lakes in the Salzburg area. Dejan has a wry sense of humor that shines throughout this post, and his photography is at least the equal of his wit. This is a post that will make you laugh and then the next moment will take your breath away with stunning winterscapes:
https://steemit.com/travel/@dejan.vuckovic/snowy-austrian-spring-my-travel-blog

I'm a cyclist, mountaineer and amateur photographer. Travel a lot in my spare time. I use to be a semi-pro rider when I was much younger. Now I'm doing it for pure fun and relaxation. I used to climb some of the top peaks - mostly in Europe. Now, since I am not so young anymore, I hike and enjoy the views ;)

Here on Steemit I started small curation group called Thank You Bicycle. Due to personal obligations, I put it on hold for month or two, guess I am going to reactivate that curation project in May.

Featured Author: @omitaylor
Breaking The Silence - An Autism Journey - Part 1

Images used with permission from @omitaylor

@omitaylor has one adult son and two younger children who are on the autism spectrum. This is a really open post, an unembellished look at how her life has completely transformed while living with and loving her kids. Indeed, she refers to herself as a new person now, saying that her oldest child has a "different mother" - herself, before her journey as a parent of autism spectrum children.

Autism as a journey has been one of transformation— while challenging, for the better... In later blogs, I'll be talking more about our journey and stories but also about the cutting edge work we've done, studies, and treatments we're using as a family to not only thrive with Autism but excel.

I now believe Autism, no matter how severe, is not a curse but a blessing in disguise. I no longer believe in curing Autism but accepting it and bringing it forward into the world as a variety of new people with unique (and often hidden) gifts.

https://steemit.com/blog/@omitaylor/breaking-the-silence-an-autism-journey-part-1

I'm a former musician who's been featured on MTV.de and HipHop DX, now a single stay at home mother of 2 kids with special needs. I'm learning to use my song writing talent in other ways— such as through blogging.

Featured Author: @creepyturtle
Italian folklore in 8 (creepy) pictures

As you might expect with a username like @creepyturtle, our next featured author is delightfully off-kilter. And no, I don't feel like this is inappropriate to say, considering when I said precisely that in a direct message, she replied, "This is probably the most beautiful compliment I ever had (I don't need to pretend I'm a normal person, yu-huuu!)".
Like its author, this post is difficult to categorize. This is an exploration of Italian superstitions illustrated with some really inventive photography featuring @creepyturtle's brother acting the role of jella, or bad luck. Apparently for Italians, bad luck is considered to be a sort of entity that can come around if invited by certain actions. Some of these superstitions were familiar to me as an American, while others were not (placing bread upside down on the table is bad luck?). You can tell @creepyturtle and brother jella had a lot of fun coming up with ways to represent each of these superstitions, and that fun is infectious; this post is a really enjoyable read:
https://steemit.com/culture/@creepyturtle/italian-folklore-in-8-creepy-pictures

I'm a part-time traveller, the other part is a lazy half-human/half-laptop&sofa creature. And if someone is wondering what is what and in wich percentages, well I would say: 50% traveller, 15% human, 15% laptop and 20% sofa (and to be more precise it's a white and green, brand new sofa)

The human me has got a passion for pirates, photography and cryptos (especially if the market is bullish).
The laptop is named after one of the luckiest galleons in the history of tales: Hispaniola, and it's doing great.

Featured Author: @alberenza
Caligula Episode 1- Some musings about Otaku culture included!

Screencap from Caligula anime used as fair use in review

Ostensibly a review of episode 1 of the Caligula anime, this post does double duty as a philosophical examination of Otaku culture at large. In both capacities it is exceptional and far reaching. As a review it is very thorough, and more than enough to convince me to give this series a try! But what I really found fascinating was a discussion of the experience of growing up a part of Otaku culture, and how that has impacted the plot devices that seem to resonate the strongest today.

Otaku culture pokes fun at itself, it's a trope in and of itself now. We're niche and lots of people still seem to think all anime is weird tentacle porn for paedophiles, and reject any given anime based on the art style alone. For as popular as anime is online, we're still a niche culture all things considered, growing at a very slow pace. We punish ourselves for liking something that society seems to think is lame, and that sense of self-loathing is expressed on the screen by fans who grow up to make anime and manga and video games of their own. That's why I feel that these kinds of shows that criticise anime and its fandom tend to be the best anime out there.

Because they're the most honest.

https://steemit.com/anime/@alberenza/caligula-episode-1-some-musings-about-otaku-culture-included

I was almost scared at first when I woke up to discover my post had received so many upvotes, as I had never expected something like this would happen for a second. But when I finally learned what had happened I was ecstatic that this group, that I previously knew nothing about, decided that my post was worth upvoting and featuring in a blog. My writing, as well as anime and games themselves, may not be for everyone but I am always looking to improve. And if you like what you see here, feel free to criticise me and discuss my posts with me so I can improve alongside the Steemit anime and Otaku community. Thanks again!

Featured Author: @shutter-bug
The Scenic Route--ZhangJiaJie (Avatar Mountains)

Imaged used with permission from @shutter-bug

There is an interestingly wide range of awesome photos in this post - landscape to architecture to food to macro nature photography - representing a broad slice of the Zhangjiajie region in China. @shutter-bug gives you plenty to chew on and taste the local flavor. The mist shrouded mountains (featured in the film *Avatar*) are rightfully famous, but they are not the only gems here: https://steemit.com/photo/@shutter-bug/the-scenic-route-zhangjiajie-avatar-mountains

I will be posting some photos from my adventures across Asia and other parts of the world here. I hope you all enjoy the exposures. Come enjoy the world with me, through my personal perspective and humble lens collection :)

We here @curie have started a new initiative. We want to hear your Curie stories! Simply create your own post using the tag #mycuriestory and tell us your Curie story. Tell us about the first time you got your own Curie upvote, what affect it had on you in your life and here on Steem blockchain.

We have decided to add one #mycuriestory post to each Author Showcase.

Featured #mycuriestory author: @vaughndemont
Curie Didn’t Change My Life, It Affirmed It

https://steemit.com/mycuriestory/@vaughndemont/curie-didn-t-change-my-life-it-affirmed-it

This Curie Author Showcase was written by Curie community representative @carlgnash with input from other Curie curators and reviewers. Author permission was sought and obtained from all authors featured in this showcase. All works the copyright of their respective authors and used with permission.