diamondie <span class="user-symbol regular" data-quicktip-text="" data-show-tooltip="" data-gruser-type="regular">

The unending non-holiday

Losing a beloved pet is heart-breaking for anyone, but even more so for someone who has already lost so much to years of being sick. Even when you have a neurological illness that few people understand, animals can provide unconditional love and support.
Helen still has her other bichon frisé dog Snuffe, but the recent loss of "her little shadow" Lillen (pictured) dealt a devastating blow, especially since any stress tends to make chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) even worse.
Helen studied Swedish and English, became a librarian and had three children in just over three years. For several years she was effectively a single parent, as her husband worked in a different city, and she had no family members around to help.
Then, when the children went to school and she was planning to return to work, Helen got sick. She was constantly suffering from colds and flus and ran a fever for many months. After that she never recovered.
That was 16 years ago. Helen, 57

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Where there is will, there is pain
Timo is 22. He used to do gymnastics in the Finnish national team. He wouldn't let something little come in the way. It's not that he is a perfectionist, he just wanted everything. Or at least a Masters of Science and to be a top athlete.
Then Timo got an ear infection, not exactly a major illness, but that's when things started to go wrong. After a few weeks of tinnitus and antibiotics he got well again. Almost. He was more tired than usual and started struggling with brainfog.
Six months later the doctor of the Olympic committee diagnosed Timo with mycoplasma, a bacterial infection which is usually only a short-lived problem, but sometimes becomes chronic. The first round of antibiotics tided him over for 2-3 months, the second for a month. The third one no longer did anything.
This was in 2007. Despite not feeling well Timo spent the summer training, hoping to be among the three athletes to gain the coveted spot in the Word Championship team. Train

Where there is will...

Waking up is simply a transformation into another dream. Even in the dark I can make out fuzzy outlines of familiar things in the room: the poster with cats, the wooden chair, the nightstand and the clock on it, all shaking back and forth with the jitter in my eyes.
Through the hazy lines pain seeps into my consciousness. My shins are bursting with a dull throbbing feeling, which turns into a searing ache as it approaches the knee. The knees, like every joint in my body, are being rubbed with caustics. As you go higher, the legs, especially the right one, have a deep gnawing inside of them, occasionally like squirming maggots but recently more like rats, or perhaps boars.
My arms, shoulders and upper back are being pounded with incessant piano hammers that occasionally hit the perfect key to sear a nerve. My stomach is filled with boiling liquid, which I guess is needed to power the steamroller that keeps flattening my head. Even my eyes and mouth are smoldering like hot coals. My hand

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Threesome

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Flicker

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Rainbow girl

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Blockparty - Hero Edition

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At first it was known as atypical polio or epidemic neuromyasthenia (myasthenia means muscle weakness). Epidemics were first reported in the 1930s and from the beginning it was clear this was an infectious neurological illness. In the 1950s most doctors started using the name myalgic encephalomyelitis or ME, for a painful inflammation of the brain and the spinal cord.
In the 1980s multiple epidemics took place in the United States. There had just been a major scare about AIDS and the authorities didn't want to frighten people with another mysterious illness. ME was reborn under the laughable name of chronic fatigue syndrome. Soon it became known as "yuppie flu", suggested to be neurotic workaholics' overreaction to normal everyday ailments.
Many still believe that frantic and perfectionistic "type A" personality is a risk factor for CFS/ME, even though research does not support this idea. One study found CFS/ME as common in Nigeria as in the Western world. Still, considering that rest

Mind games

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Bunny died for your tasty sins

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Bicameral mind

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Burned by democracy

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The air in the waiting room is heavy and rigid. I think they can sense that something is wrong.
"It's so hard to put them down, isn't it?" says the woman next to me. She looks like she hasn't slept.
"Incredibly hard," I admit. "I wish bios weren't so frail."
"But for the duration of their short lives they give you unconditional love," she points out.
I look at Jimmy and wonder if I'm doing the right thing.
"It's alright," she reassures me. "If you really love your humans, you won't let them suffer needlessly."
And she's right, of course.

Affection

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Cyberpunkture

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Browse Gallery

Favourites

Deviants in Print - Maija Haavisto

Welcome once again to "Deviants in Print," a series of articles highlighting deviantART writers who have been published by traditional or nontraditional means.
I recently spoke with Maija Haavisto, also known as ~diamondie, a long-time dA member whose extensive track record of writing includes journalism, textbooks, novels, poetry, short fiction on subjects as diverse as technology, medicine, food, science-fiction, and many other things besides. Maija has recently succeeded in getting her novel Marian ilmestyskirja, or Maria's Book of Revelations published. Let's hear what she has to say about the novel, the writer's life, and the emerging genre of "cripfic."
First, give us a bit of background. Who is Maija?
I am a 27-year-old Finn who moved to Amsterdam last year. When I was five I decided I was going to be an author. I’ve been writing for a living since the

Memnalar

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2nd Annual Six Word Story Contest!

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
-Ernest Hemingway
About the Contest|Ernest Hemingway was bet by his friends that he could not write a six word story. This is what he came up with. He was paid by his friends $10, we are offering SO MUCH MORE!
We judges are challenging you all to come up with a six word story as well, but since you wil be getting a lot more than Hemingway did, we also ask that you illustrate the story as well some how.
Now, these illustrations can be anything. They can be photographs, vectors, paintings, sculptures, you name it. There cannot be any extra words of any sort in the illustration itself unless they are the words of the story. There must only be on illustration.
This is the perfect chance for you guys to show off your skills across different mediums or gain new skills.
How to Deviate|The contest entries should be submitted under literature. You should click the "Add Text" button to put the six word story in. For the illustration, once you hav

Death-By-Romance

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Contest - Acrostic Haiku

Type of Contest: Acrostic Haiku.  Joining poetry from both eastern and western influences.
About the contest:  I’ve combined two forms of poetry : Acrostic (http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/acrostic.html) and the Haiku (A word about Haiku by MSJames ).  One Western and one Eastern, and together, I think they make a wonderfully, beautiful form of poetry that will challenge you yet excite you at the same time. If you’re a poet, then try your hand at something as difficult as the villanelle yet much more visually impressive.  However, if you’re a writer of prose, then why not try something as small and exciting as this.  There’s certainly nothing to lose, but there are many things to be gained.
Start: May 3, 2009
Deadline:  June 5, 2009 11:59:59 pm GMT
Rules:

Mattiello

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Diamondie's novel The Atlas Moth out now!

diamondie's novel The Atlas Moth is out as of today, May 18th. The book is somewhat of a "joint effort" between different DA members, as it was edited by obenson and the cover design is by Shurakai-Zero. So what is it about? As the back cover describes it: "Infused with black humor, The Atlas Moth is an unsurvival story about death, Chinese checkers and butterfly collections and how they all tie together."
"There is no reason to put things off for any longer. Everything feels so natural. In fact I can hardly wait. I should learn patience, it's a shame there's no time for that."
Compared to other twenty-somethings Piia's life is centered on quite different matters. She is only interested in death and the closest you get to it is by sleeping without dreams. On the other hand Piia's best friend Venla wants to live until one hundred. There's only a year left until that, but Piia doesn't plan to be around that long.
On online forums Piia gets to discuss her favorite to

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Great Prose Exposed: WordCount Feature #14

Welcome to WordCount's Feature #14! Halloween may be weeks away yet, but that doesn't mean we can't start the celebration early, especially when we have 17 new pieces to brighten up the season.
If you're new to the WordCount project and want to know what it's all about, head over to our WordCount FAQ to get all your questions answered.
While you're at it, check out our Call For Applications and see if you're interested in joining the crew! Did we mention that we're looking for Occult & Spiritual and Horror & Mystery staff members? What better time to apply?
If your thirst for prose isn't quenched by all that, we present you with our work-in-progress: the 2008 Prose Daily Deviations listing. In this journal entry we have compiled all the prose DDs from th

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The Alternative Party - now with Front 242

The Alternative Party is a Finnish demoparty which has been held almost every year since 1998, so it celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. The recent parties have featured a theme from love to corporations and this year the theme is steampunk. There are many cool compos (competitions) to participate in, such as dynamic demo competition, 1 channel tracker music competition, CSS graphics competition, steampunk costume contest and even a FogScreen interactive demo competition.
This year the party will also feature a special music guest - none other than Front 242, the pioneers of EBM! This is also their first ever gig in Finland. There will be other DJs and art

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ASCII art contest: winners announced

Winners of my fourth and last ASCII art contest have now been announced. There was a total of seven entries and here are the winners:

1st place

Size of by Faux-Pseudo

2nd place Tea Party by juansrx

3rd place:

Tentacle :monochrome: by ansi86
Faux-Pseudo wins a copy of the Dark Domain DVD and a bonus DVD also somewhat related to the artscene! He is not a very well-known artist on DA, but he is an active poster on alt.ascii-art.
The rest of the entries:
Old Man Time

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Great Prose Exposed: WordCount Feature #13

Hello and welcome to our August feature! It's hard to believe that summer is nearly over, but we've got the perfect way for you to enjoy what's left: 16 pieces of deviantART prose and a new Published Work, care of your fellow community members.
We would also like to hear one final "Hurrah!" for our former Gallery Director, GeneratingHype, who returns to the ranks of Lit Seniors as of today. We're sure he'll continue to serve the community as steadfastly as always, but if you've a moment to spare, do stop over to his little corner of dA and thank him for all that he has done during his six-month tenure as GD.
GeneratingHype is the Creator and Doomlord Commander of the WordCount Project.
:resume: 100 words or less

Letting go by MSJames
Fictional Life Stories: If you love someone, let him go--unless he's hanging from a rope.

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Creative For A Second: art from people with CFS/ME

Creative For A Second is a book containing art from people with CFS/ME (chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis). This infectious neurological illness affects an estimated 0.5% of the population, including many young people. Its severity varies widely, with some of the affected able to work/study and others so sick that they have to be fed by a tube. Some sufferers even die.
Many people with CFS/ME find creativity an important outlet and continue working on visual art and written work despite symptoms such as fatigue, muscle weakness, vertigo, chronic pain, vision disturbances and cognitive impairment, even through being bedridden. Art can make it easier to communicate and explore feelings of disability, isolation and loneliness - but also to maintain an identity which isn't just based on being ill and to enjoy those parts of life one can still participate in.
The project was started in late 2006 by Kirrily Anderson (kirrily), a talented designer and artist who g

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Great Prose Exposed: WordCount Feature #12

Welcome to our July Feature! If you're looking for a hideaway from the summer heat or something to read besides those beach magazines, we've got the perfect remedy for you. Our staff has scoured the deviantART pages for the best of the best, and as always, we've assembled them by word count for your convenience!
We're especially proud of our Published Work feature this month, and if you'll take a look at the author, you'll see why. Now get reading!
:resume: 100 words or less

Apple cider by ifuwuraself-helpbook
Contest Fiction: A drabble that describes childhood and the bond between sisters with seemingly simple words, but hides a deeper story within.
:resume: 101-300 words

Sailors by Sindakri
Philosophical Fiction: A vicious cyle reminiscent of the tal

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Assembly 2008 is coming

There's only a few weeks left until Assembly 2008, the biggest demoparty in the world now held for the 17th time. The event will take place in Helsinki, Finland from the 31st July to the 3rd of August. Like in the previous years over 5,000 visitors are expected to attend the event, including plenty of foreigners, likely from every continent. Of course this will also include Deviants from many countries. I've met people from the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia and even South Africa at Assembly.
Demoparties are gatherings of the demoscene, a digital art community focused on the creation of demos, realtime animated presentations originally intended to showcase programming skills. The medium has developed vastly since its birth in the eighties and modern demos often look like commercial animations or music videos, but demos are still executable files and the program code remains an essential part of them. For an example of a demo you can watch

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Exploring The Artisan Crafts Galleries, part II.

So, here's my 2nd report. I'm really thrilled with all the things that people make.

Hope you'll feel the same way.

If you have any suggestions, you can:

leave me a note, or

post your comment here - link.
CATEGORIES:
Textiles

Culinary Arts

Metal Work

The Helm by GreyReith Avian Fruit Dish by Becca-ca-ca
Jewelry
Stargazer by Kayfin Polymer clay sunflower ring by merylu onyx marquise earrings by annie-jewelry :thumb88976053:
Custom Dolls
les Eryths II by aeko Fyodor by Captivus :thumb90105969: MapleStory Plush Slime3 by TheCurseofRainbow
Miscellaneous
Small wire Titania Fairy Wings by FaeryAzarelle Pysanky 006 by DaisyOdd sushi by tehKOTAK dark box by prok-art
Folding & Papercraft
Cherry Blossom Ball by lonely--soldier Trad. Morning Glory Kusudama by HuajunChen Starlight Rainbow by NotRomeo handmade coptic journal1 by palindromenoise
Leatherwork
Desert Cowboy Gun Holster by ElVaqueroMuerto Mock Caspian Accessories by Azmal Pouches and Bandolier by North-Steading :thumb

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CONTEST: SHATTERED WITHIN vinyl single cover

Shattered Within - a new Finnish metal band from Kouvola, Finland - is soon to release their first single “Horizon”.
You can become the cover artist of an exclusive vinyl single of this song!
25 unique 7"inch vinyl singles will be pressed with 25 different cover designs and one of these designs will be chosen as the official CD single cover.
The designer of the official single cover wins a Boomblaster from JVC!
The winning cover will be published at hardcoresounds.net webzine.
Send your proposal for the single cover to this journal: https://jlm.deviantart.com/journal/19031570/
before July, 18th 2008.

Check out the band at:
Web page: www.shatteredwithin.fi
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/shatteredwith1n

[http://jlm.deviantart.com/journal/19031570/]

jlm

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Great Prose Exposed: WordCount Feature #11

Summertime is finally here! If you need a break from those last few assignments--or better yet, if you're already done!--then find a nice cool spot and settle in for some leisure reading. Not only do we have a spectacular assortment of staff picks to share with you, but we at WordCount have a special surprise for this Feature #11.
In lieu of a Published Works section we are pleased to present the two First Place Winners of ThornyEnglishRose and batousaijin's Tots and Teens Contest. The winning pieces in the two prose categories, 12 and Under and Teen Fiction, both exhibit a balance of charming appeal and refreshing creativity; both are certain to impress you, readers, as much as they have the judges and staff at WordCount.
Therefore, without further ado, we bring you the winners: ElectroBaby and RockerLane1110!

Tots and Teens Contest Winners!

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