Defeating a Creative Block

Quont, Mernac's God of Lust: Question of the Week – 7

Whenever I feel blocked, I go sit in my garden at night and stare up at the sky. There's just something about seeing all of those stars, the moon, the planets, making out the constellations -- it just gets my imagination going. Then I can fantasize that I'm really on an adventure, maybe making camp for the night before continuing on my journey to find something or someone. Out there alone, with just nature to keep me company, my imagination seems to run wild.

Until the first strange noise which I tend to believe is a serial killer coming to get me but always ends up being the cat coming to check and see what the heck I'm doing out there.

If the weather is bad and I can't go outside, I add a bit of lemongrass oil to the bathwater and soak for a while, then dig through a box of old photos that belonged to my grandmother (we're talking photos going back to the 1900's) and try to imagine what life was like and what was going on when the picture was taken. (Hmm, maybe the big box of old pictures is where I got my love for photography.)

New Disciples!

Wow, the family is really growing! We have three new additions to the rank of Disciple: Wolf, who will be a fellow Disciple of Elsen, and Naysia and Shanyaks, who join the Shadow Guard as Disciples of Terees.

Please stop by to say hello and congratulate them!

Response to Quont's Question

Quont, Mernac's God of Lust: Question of the Week – 6

Vickielysia's answer:

I visit Mernac during the cold winters when the people welcome fire for its warmth instead of calling on Elsen to send me back to the Ethereal Fire Plane. There's just something so soothing about the sound of rushing water as my flames melt the ice.

My answer:

*blinks* Relax? Huh? Who has time to relax? I have stuff to do and things to see and fried foods on a stick to eat!!!!

Ohhh, you meant in general...sorry. People seem to assume that vacation is for relaxing...HA! I usually feel like I need a vacation from my vacation by the time it's over with.

So how do I relax? I like to start with a nice Margarita
Then I put the ocean waves CD on, lie down on the couch and lose myself in whatever fantasy comes to mind (usually it involves being in a tropical location with no phones, no faxes and no internet connections, but a nice group of cabana boys to cater to my every whim).

Video from the Fair

A Day At The Fair (Pt. 2 of the pics)

Poor Poppy the Bear has been reassigned to guarding the bathrooms.

Now we move on to The Farm.

Rice!

Corn!


Milo? What the heck is Milo besides one of the characters in Milo and Otis?

Kiwi! California is the only place in the United States where Kiwifruit are grown (in case you care).

(You don't really need me to label this "Sunflower", do you?)


I just thought this picture turned out kind of cool for a night-time pic.

The water tower.

That's all the pictures for now, but I'm going back out Friday so I should have more then! And I'll try to get some of the video uploaded to YouTube over the next couple of days.

I'm Back! (for the moment, anyway)

Yes, I've returned briefly to share some pics with you all. Today I went to the State Fair -- wahoo! Where else can you get your Coca-Cola fried and drink your watermelon?

I must admit that the pictures turned out rather craptacular, especially since I got a pit in my lens that causes a red dot to appear in certain photos (I cloned it out of most of the pics already, but there are a few that I didn't). Boo!

On the other hand, I got some incredible video! The Budweiser Clydesdales performed -- it's something that you just have to experience, those horses are so powerful and so HUGE but the way they work together is beautiful.

But enough of that, here is what you've been waiting for :-)

This is the "World Famous California State Fair Fountain". I'm not sure what qualifies it to be "World Famous", but the health department tested the water and decided that after 40 years it qualifies as a threat to public health. Therefore the fence is around it to keep everyone out of the water. Since 1967 kids have played in that fountain; I remember playing in it, so this makes me very sad. Hopefully the fair will raise the $500,000 that they need to replace the pumping system so we can all play in the fountain again.

All around the fountain are banners, one for each of California's 58 counties.

The American River flows through Cal Expo.

Forget bumper cars, we have bumper boats!



There are rainforests in California?

I'm going to divide this into two posts so it doesn't take forever to load with all of these pictures ;-)

Pictures From Years Past

I'm trying to organize my photo folders in anticipation of taking lots and lots of pictures *big grin* and I thought these might provide some inspiration for Mernacian flora. It was part of a floriculture display at the California State Fair in 2003.

(I don't know when acrylic started to be considered 'floriculture' either...*shrugs*...but it looks very Mernacian, no?)

Off on vacation!

Well I'm not actually off to anywhere, just taking a break from everything and focusing one whole week on my photography (minus one day to visit the JellyBelly Factory -- mmm, Jelly Bellys).

I'm looking forward to having this time with no splitting my time between work, Mernac, and other projects. Just me, my camera and the open road (now before you go getting some romantic image of me zooming down the freeway with the top down, I should tell you that I drive a minivan. Maybe not as sexy, but all of my photography stuff fits in it and if need be, I can stow all of the seats and sleep quite comfortably in it.) and the only limitation is how much gas I can afford LOL.

Take care, and I'll see you all in a week if I don't post pics sooner!

Another Week Almost Over

Wow, where does the time go? I swear I hardly get to set any fires these days. Good thing I have my sis Anemo to help me spread those flames!

Elsen has been incognito for a bit...turns out he and Werk have had a bit of a falling out and Werk cast one of his illnesses on our poor Father Elsen!

Traesha, Quont's lusty Disciple, has her own blog now -- check it out if you dare! Just be careful...she isn't called the Great Man-Eater for nothing!

I shall be on vacation next week, which means the inhabitants of Mernac don't have to worry about me inflicting any fires on their lands. Not that it means they can all breath easy -- Anemo will still be blowing through from time to time, and Traesha and Frost will be busy seducing their victims and Quont will be tackling the questions of the lusty Mernacians. Not sure when Canu will be back. I miss Canu. His sweet songs are one of the few things that eases my soul when I become agitated.

I should be heading back to my little niche in the Ethereal Fire Plane now...behave yourselves and play nicely, and I'll leave cookies at a few of the Temples of Elsen so you can occupy yourselves with finding them.

My Favorite Sounds

My answers to Quont's question:

Vickielysia's favorite sound would be the crackling of a fire and the howl of the wind to fan the flames.

My favorite sounds would be a baby laughing, glass wind chimes and rain on the roof.

Weekly Progress Report - August 13, 2007

Well, here it is, another week come and gone and have I done all that I wanted to? Of course not.

In regards to missing connections, the following stories were reviewed and connections added where necessary:

The Crone's House

Ancient Seelos

Yep, that's it. Two whole stories. Yay me!

So what have I done this week? Well...

I had a lovely time visiting with my sister, Anemo. She chose me to be her Featured Artist -- I am so honored!

Ah, but that did not take up the entire week, no. Thanks to Quont and the questions posted on His blog, I have been devoting more time to my photography. My latest challenge is selective coloring -- something which I have long admired but never been brave enough to try until now. Here is the result.


The method of doing it is pretty easy, but the actual doing it, pixel by pixel around the edges, is very time consuming and not easy on the eyeballs. Still, I think the end result was worth it.

Now, though, I'm beginning to worry that perhaps I don't belong at Mernac. My goals and dreams have little to do with being an artist or a writer...well maybe when they organize the first Mernacian convention I can take publicity photos.

My Dream Job

In response to Quont's Question of the Week:

Well this is an easy one! My dream job would be to work for National Geographic and travel the world photographing all of the wonders, the cultures and sights to share them with the rest of the world!

Any job where I was photographing things would be a dream job for me. Yes, I do mean anything. I once had a job offer to photograph railroad accidents for investigations, and I thought that would be the coolest job in the world (I'm not squeamish in the least so the sight of blood, guts and body parts doesn't make me lose my lunch so long as none of the parts were originally mine).

Wow, that was short and sweet, wasn't it?

A short post on a rather scary thought

When I need a laugh, I go to the bug report forum at Mernac because that's where all the funny posts are.

Bottled Djinn, Gorilla Sucubbi and a new snack product are just a small sample of what awaits in this thread (not to mention a certain Disciple's grandchildren wanting to visit the darkside for cookies). What, you ask, do these things have to do with reporting problems with the website? Nothing, but at least it's guaranteed to bring a smile to your face by the time you're done reading through the thread.

What art form are you?

Kind of scary how close to the truth these quizzes can be!

What Art Form are You?

Photography

You are probably one to see things from new perspectives. Often times you can be called the peace maker, because you see all sides of arguments or issues. You're well-versed and controversial. People are drawn to your creativity, and most often times wonder what you're thinking. They can't tell what you're thinking, which makes them want to get to know you better! You're a sweet and caring person, who is family and friend oriented.Personality Traits: Kind, Caring, Humble, Loving, Lovable, Optimistic, Romantic, Sensitive, Rational, Confident.
Take this quiz!








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