Please Help

I want you to do something.
It will take less than a minute and is something you do unconsciously every minute of every day.

Take a long slow deep breath. Feel the way the in-rush of air tickles your nose, moves through freely your trachea and bronchial tubes, filling your lungs. Feel the way your lungs receive the air, graciously and effortlessly.

If you have something to eat or drink nearby, take a sip or a bite. Chew it slowly and think for a minute about how easily your body accepts that food or beverage and how readily your digestive system starts to absorb nutrients and transform that bite of food or sip of beverage into energy-giving, cell-rejuvenating, life-sustaining fuel.

It's not easy for everyone.
Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disease that affects the lungs, sinuses, pancreas, liver, intestines, and male reproductive system. CF is caused by a genetic mutation. In healthy people, a gene, referred to as CFTR, produces a protein that regulates the movement of salt and water through the cell walls.

This process directly affects how the body makes sweat, mucus and enzymes for digestion. In people with CF, this protein does form properly, which impedes normal cell activity. A thick, heavy mucus develops that clogs the internal organs, impedes digestion, makes the patient susceptible to bacterial and viral infections, and makes taking a simple breath a moment-by-moment challenge. CF is the most common life-shortening disease diagnosed in children.

There is no cure.
My friend Jenn’s daughter Cassie was diagnosed with CF three years ago. Cassie is a beautiful little girl, and I think she deserves a fighting chance to grow up to be a beautiful woman.

Jenn is participating in the CF Great Strides walk, and is holding a number of auctions on eBay to help raise money for Great Strides and the CFF. 100% of proceeds from each auction will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Please take a moment to visit http://cassiebug.jcracek.com/cf_auctions.php for links to the eBay auctions, which begin on April 1. Auction items include original artwork, signed books, collectibles, gift baskets, jewelry, crafts, and more.

Please take a moment to bid, and to pass this on.

Original post by Yaaresse on LiveJournal

The Word-Hoard: blash, pooster, and tumbies

This week's word-hoard feature: blash, pooster, and tumbies.

I invite you to listen in and leave me a comment with your creative use of each week's word-hoard featured words! You can subscribe to this podcast (and this whole blog for that matter) by clicking on the RSS icon in the right-sidebar. Or, if you'd like to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes, you can do it one of two ways:

1. Search for "Julie K. Rose" or "Word-Hoard" in the iTunes store; the podcast will show up in the search results, and you can simply click the "subscribe button"; or

2. Choose the Advanced menu, and then Subscribe to Podcast. This will bring up a dialog box, where you can paste this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/YULh.

Myths, folklore & symbolism

"A sign for the Annunciation Day, the spring equinox, from the clog almanacs."

Get the full story at symbols.com.

Ultimate road trip playlist?

(cross-posted from my LJ)

A bit off-topic from my normal posts, but listening to Beck's "The Golden Age" got me thinking: what is your ultimate road trip playlist?

Here's mine, at least as of right this moment. What's yours?

1. Long Way Round - Stereophonics
2. Keep the Car Running - Arcade Fire
3. The Remedy (Acoustic) - Jason Mraz
4. Driving - Everything But the Girl
5. Faron Young - Prefab Sprout
6. When You Come - Crowded House
7. The Golden Path - Chemical Brothers
8. The Fox - Nickel Creek
9. God Put a Smile Upon Your Face - Coldplay
10. Thou Swell - Count Basie & Joe Williams
11. Golden Years - David Bowie
12. The Engine Driver - The Decemberists
13. Untitled (4) - Sigur Ros
14. This Joy - Stephanie Dosen
15. The Golden Age - Beck
16. Over the Hillside - The Blue Nile

ETA: I realize this wouldn't even get me from here to Tahoe...maybe you can help me fill it out for a full trip - let's say San Jose to Death Valley (8 hours).

Mullein

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
mullein: A plant common in Europe, Africa, and Asia, it was used in antiquity as a medicament to protect one from anxiety and against misfortune. In the Middle Ages it was associated with Mary. (Herder)

Full interview posted: Megan Hart

The full text of my interview with erotic fiction author Megan Hart is now posted at the Writers & Soundtracks blog.

The Word-Hoard: naology, numen, lipsanotheca

This week's word-hoard feature: naology, numen, and lipsanotheca.

I invite you to listen in and leave me a comment with your creative use of each week's word-hoard featured words! You can subscribe to this podcast (and this whole blog for that matter) by clicking on the RSS icon in the right-sidebar. Or, you can add the feed to your LiveJournal Friends page.

1. Search for "Julie K. Rose" in the iTunes store; the podcast will show up in the search results, and you can simply click the "subscribe button"; or

2. Choose the Advanced menu, and then Subscribe to Podcast. This will bring up a dialog box, where you can paste this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/YULh.

Myths, symbolism, and folklore



"...a sign for the planet Mercury...In some cabbalistic mysticist contexts...[it] was used to signify the archangel Raphael."

Learn more at symbols.com.

Booking Through Thursday meme

A good one this week!

You’ve just reached the end of a book . . . what do you do now? Savor and muse over the book? Dive right into the next one? Go take the dog for a walk, the kids to the park, before even thinking about the next book you’re going to read? What?

(Obviously, there can be more than one answer, here–a book with a cliff-hanger is going to engender different reactions than a serene, stand-alone, but you get the idea!)

Well, like she said, it's different based on the type of book. If I'm reading non-fiction, I'll just slide right into the next non-fiction book.

Not a lot of books I read have cliffhangers, so I don't have that complication. Usually, I need a few days between fiction books. I like to, like she said, savor and muse over the book. It's like I need to let that dream fade away, create some headspace, so I can then travel to a new place, refreshed. If I've really enjoyed the book, I like to consider what happens after The End, and what all the subtext means, and replay powerful or well-loved scenes in my head.

If I've really loved the book, and hate to leave the world that's been created, I have to fight the urge to turn the book over and start again. I do that every time I get to the end of the LOTR trilogy, and I did that when I got to the end of the 20 (and 1/4) Aubrey-Maturin cycle by Patrick O'Brian. I slowed down reading the last couple of books, savoring them, because I was so gutted it was almost over. If I have successfully fought the urge to start a well-loved book again, I can't read other fiction for a week or two. I've usually got two books going at the same time, so I'll have a non-fiction already in process, ready to fill that void.

Hand and foot washing

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
Hand and foot washing: In almost all religions people wash (especially their hands) before holy actions as a sign of ritual purification. Pilate washed his hands, symbolically expressing his denial of responsibility. In the Orient, washing the feet of strangers and guests was understood to be an act of kindness. Christ's washing the feet of his disciples was both a demonstration and a symbol of his serving love; his action has been reenacted since the seventh century in the Catholic liturgy of Holy Thursday. (Herder)

Pear tree

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
pear tree: Combining fruit wood with a white blossom, because of its delicacy and transience it is a symbol of mourning. In the Middle Ages the pear tree (probably because of its pure white blossoms) was a symbol of Mary. Because of its shape, which suggests the female form, the pear has be construed sexually in psychoanalytic dream interpretation. In folk belief many pears indicate the blessing of many children. (Herder)

Writers & Soundtracks - Megan Hart

The latest Writers & Soundtracks podcast is now live over at the blog.

This week, I interview erotic fiction author Megan Hart.

New story published: Dryad

Hurrah, I've had another story published - this time at the fantastic British magical realist e-zine, Serendipity.

The story's called Dryad, and is based on a gorgeous piece of art that my friend Catrina Horsfield did last year. Neil (the editor) also included Cat's gorgeous artwork with the story, which is frigging awesome.

Do check out the back issues of Serendipity - there are some really fantastic stories that I know you'll enjoy.

The Word-Hoard: dejectile, catapedamania, comploration

This week's word-hoard feature: dejectile, catapedamania, and comploration.

I invite you to listen in and leave me a comment with your creative use of each week's word-hoard featured words! You can subscribe to this podcast (and this whole blog for that matter) by clicking on the RSS icon in the right-sidebar. Or, you can add the feed to your LiveJournal Friends page.

1. Search for "Julie K. Rose" or "Word-Hoard" in the iTunes store; the podcast will show up in the search results, and you can simply click the "subscribe button"; or

2. Choose the Advanced menu, and then Subscribe to Podcast. This will bring up a dialog box, where you can paste this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/YULh.

Jaguar

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
Jaguar Among American Indians, particularly those of Central America, it is a chthonic being related to the powers of the moon and to the hidden secrets of the earth; for this reason it is sometimes also a psychopomp (spirit guide). The twilight of evening is pictorially represented as the sun being swallowed by a giant jaguar. The jaguar, however, is also associated with the sun during the nocturnal movement of the stars. The jaguar is said to be the lord of the mountain ranges, the wild animals, the echo, and the drum call; it is called "heart of the mountain". Often it is symbolically contrasted to the eagle (which is associated with the sky and the sun). Among the Indians of South America is found the legend of a four-eyed jaguar, perhaps a symbol of the profound wisdom of chthonic powers. (Herder)

Myths, symbolism, and folklore



"A sign engraved in a rock face in Galicia in northern Spain about 3000 B.C."

Learn more at symbols.com.

Heima

Sigur Rós have posted the entirety of their movie Heima on YouTube! 97 minutes of incredible music and beautiful Icelandic vistas! For free!

I was just lamenting yesterday that Netflix didn't have this yet. Ask and ye shall receive. Hooray!

Manna

Myths, symbols, & folklore
manna: "According to the Old Testament, it was a miraculous food that fell from heaven for the children of Israel during their wanderings in the wilderness as they fled Egypt. According to Talmudic tradition, it was created on the evening of the sixth day of creation. It was also interpreted by Jewish and Christian authors to be a symbol of the Logos. In addition, it is a symbolic designation for every sort of supernatural nourishment." (Herder)

Writers & Soundtracks - interview with Adrienne Odasso

The full text of my interview with A. J. Odasso is now live over at the Writers & Soundtracks blog, along with links to many of the songs on her playlist.

The Word-Hoard: yabbock, swillking, jurr

This week's word-hoard feature: yabbock, swillking, and jurr.

I invite you to listen in and leave me a comment with your creative use of each week's word-hoard featured words! You can subscribe to this podcast (and this whole blog for that matter) by clicking on the RSS icon in the right-sidebar. Or, you can add the feed to your LiveJournal Friends page.

1. Search for "Julie K. Rose" or "Word-Hoard" in the iTunes store; the podcast will show up in the search results, and you can simply click the "subscribe button"; or

2. Choose the Advanced menu, and then Subscribe to Podcast. This will bring up a dialog box, where you can paste this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/YULh.

Genuflection

Myths, folklore, and symbolism
Genuflection: A ritual symbolic action that was often legally binding, it is a sign of reverence, humility, and submission. (Herder)

Check out these great reviews by Heather Domin in this quarter's Historical Novels Review.

Swallow

Myths, folklore, and symbolism:
swallow: As a regularly returning migratory bird, it often symbolizes spring, light, and fertility. Its nesting on houses was considered propitious. In the middle ages it was a resurrection symbol because it returns after the passing of winter and because it could supposedly impart sight to its young by using the sap of the celadine (just as God could make the dead see again on the Day of Judgment). (Herder)

Myths, symbolism, and folklore



"Design found in Norway on a piece of tapestry from the Viking era."

Learn more at symbols.com

Please Help

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide). A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that:

* clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections; and
* obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food.

The Great Strides walk and auction raises money to help find a cure for this disease. My friend Jenn has a daughter, Cassie, who was diagnosed with CF three years ago; Jenn is organizing a fundraising auction to benefit the CF Foundation.

There are a lot of ways you can help:

1. Contribute to the eBay auction that Jenn is coordinating - either by donating items to auction, or bidding on those items

2. Contribute to Team Cassiebug - you don't need to live in Texas to be a part of their Great Strides team!

3. Purchase a copy of Cadberry's Letters, a book written by Jenn to explain CF to kids

Please, take a moment to visit her post at http://tapestrymlp.livejournal.com/395008.html to learn more about CF and the details on how you can help contribute and make a difference.

I also challenge you to spread Jenn's post and this information far and wide. We have a huge network of friends, communities, colleagues, and family on the Internet and beyond - if we all take a moment to spread the word and take the time to contribute, we really can help make CF history!

Writers & Soundtracks podcast #1 live today!

The first Writers & Soundtracks podcast is live over at http://writersoundtracks.blogspot.com/.

The inaugural podcast features writer A. J. Odasso, who has a unique playlist, and some interesting things to say about writing and music.

And a preview: I'll be interviewing erotic fiction author Megan Hart on March 18. Yay!

The Word Hoard: callipygian, gynotikolobomassophile, satyriasis

This week's word-hoard feature: callipygian, gynotikolobomassophile, and satyriasis.

I invite you to listen in and leave me a comment with your creative use of each week's word-hoard featured words! You can subscribe to this podcast (and this whole blog for that matter) by clicking on the RSS icon in the right-sidebar. Or, you can add the feed to your LiveJournal Friends page.

1. Search for "Julie K. Rose" or "Word-Hoard" in the iTunes store; the podcast will show up in the search results, and you can simply click the "subscribe button"; or

2. Choose the Advanced menu, and then Subscribe to Podcast. This will bring up a dialog box, where you can paste this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/YULh.