Wikipedia Trail: From Medusa to Grammy Awards

(Grammy Award)

There was a funny picture portraying Medusa on the class Twitter so that's where I am beginning this Wikipedia trail. Medusa was a monster in Greek mythology. She is described as a winged human with a hideous face and living venomous snakes in place of her hair. The myth is that when people look at her they would turn into stone. Medusa was beheaded by Perseus, but the head still retained its power to turn people into stone. The symbol of Medusa's head is used in modern culture, specifically as a logo for the fashion company Versace. Versace is an Italian fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. They produce Italian leather accessories. The founder chose the logo because Medusa made people fall in love with her and they had no way back; he wanted his company to have the same effect on people. Versace is described as the "Rock n' Roll" designer because they design for famous people like Bruce Springsteen. Bruce Springsteen was born on September 23, 1949 and is a singer and songwriter. He has sold more than 64 million albums and more than 120 million records. He has earned 20 Grammy Awards, 2 Golden Globes and an Academy Award. The Grammy Awards is an honor that recognizes outstanding achievement in English music industry. The first ceremony was held on May 4, 1959. The trophies handed out are gold-plated and are shaped like a gramophone. By 2009, 7,578 Grammy trophies were handed out.

Wikipedia Trail: From the Bermuda Triangle to The Grapes of Wrath

(Bermuda Triangle)

There was an article on the Bermuda Triangle on the class Twitter page so I started my Wikipedia trail began here. The Bermuda Triangle is also called the Devil's Triangle and is the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean. Aircraft's and ships are said to disappear here. The earliest suggestion of disappearances in the triangle were published by Edward Van Winkle Jones in September 17, 1950 in The Miami Herald. The Miami Herald is where the trail let next. The newspaper was founded by the McClatchy Company in 1903 and now employs over 800 people. It almost went out of business in the 1930's during the Great Depression but recovered. The Great Depression began in 1929 when the  stock market crashed and lasted until the late 1930's. Unemployment rates rose and and international trade dropped. Many books were written about the Great Depression including The Grapes of Wrath. The Grapes of Wrath was written by John Steinbeck in 1939 and it is set in the Great Depression. The family in the book is forced from their Oklahoma home by drought and travels to California to seek a job and a future.

Wikipedia Trail: From Queen of Sheba to Natalie Portman

(The Queen of Sheba visits King Solomon, Giovanni De Min)

While looking through the class Twitter stream, I came across a link to a reading about the Legend of the Queen of Sheba. After reading that article, I wanted to learn more about her so I looked her up on Wikipedia. This is where my Wikipedia trail began. The first article, called Queen of Sheba explained how the queen came to Jerusalem with camels, spices, gold, and precious stones. She gave these gifts to King Solomon and then returned to her land. I wanted to learn more about King Solomon so I linked to his Wikipedia page. The name of this page was just Solomon. Solomon was the king of Israel and son of David. He reigned from 970 to 931 BC. He built the First Temple in Jerusalem. This led me to the Wikipedia page named Jerusalem. Jerusalem means "City of Peace" and is considered the holy city in the religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. While reading about the city, I came across a section dedicated to residents. Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem and lived there until she was three years old. I went to her page next, titled Natalie Portman. Not only was she born there but she also has dual citizenship. Portman is a well-known actress and has starred in many movies including; Star Wars prequel trilogy and Black Swan.

Week 13 Review

It's the Sunday before Thanksgiving break is over so I am doing this assignment to make sure I completed all the assignments before break! Which also means class starts tomorrow. While rereading the announcements I came across a photo posted on Tuesday, 11/15.  I thought this was so cute. I was an avid reader as a kid (and still read whenever possible) so I thought that this accurately described my life. Over break I actually read the new Nicholas Sparks book. I love reading and am grateful that this class introduced me to some new stories that I probably never would have tried otherwise.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016 Link

Improvements

After reading through the ideas that are thinking of being implemented next semester, I had a few that I really liked and a few I was impartial about. I personally really liked the review weeks. It was a way for me to check and make sure that the points I had kept me on track for an A, while also allowing me to look at what I need to improve on. Maybe at the beginning of the semester, in Week 2, it can be a planning week for students to plan their schedule for the semester, and then in Week 9, students can review the work that they have completed and make sure they are on track. I tried the story planning option semester and I was not a huge fan of it. I just feel like its hard to write about how how you are going to plan a story. At least on the Internet. When I plan a story I brainstorm on paper with like lines connecting ideas so its hard for me to be able to write a blog post about that. One of the ideas I really liked was making audio students from recordings extra credit. I always retain more information by reading out loud, so if it were made an extra credit option, I feel like a bunch of people would do it every week, and would therefore be better able to remember and understand the stories they read.

Tech Tip: Pinterest Sidebar

I embedded my Pinterest board as a widget on the side of my blog! If you want to learn how here is the link! In this board you'll find pictures or articles relevant to this class!

Tech Tip: Sidecar Bar

Hello everyone! I added a new widget to my blog page! If you want to learn how just follow the link to tech tip! Only a few weeks left, so you all can do it!!

Tech Tip: Google Timer

For a tech tip this week I decided to try and set up a google timer. A lot of time I get so engrossed in studying that I forget to take a break, which has been proven to help retain more information. Short breaks are good while studying as it gives you a chance to stretch your legs, get a snack or something to drink or even check your social media or messages you missed while studying. If I play on being in the library for a long time I will set up a tomato timer on my phone. But sometimes that gets me distracted as I am then always checking my phone waiting for the break. The google timer is nice because you can play it right on your computer so you are never distracted by your phone while studying.

Reading Notes, Brothers Grimm, Librivox, Part A

(Disney's Aurora/Briar Rose, Link)

As the final extra credit reading notes in this class,  I decided to finish reading all the stories written by the Brothers Grimm. This was honestly probably my favorite section of the Grimm Brothers just because it contained most of the stories we all know, and I like seeing how these originals differ from the Disney version or storybook versions. Of course my favorite one in this section is Briar Rose. The only thing that I could really tell that was different between the two was the curse. In the Disney version it was said that Briar Rose would remain cursed until true loves kiss, but in this version Briar was only cursed for one hundred years. In this version the prince that rescues her still kisses her but it is just as she is waking up. But regardless, the Disney version of this story stayed pretty close to the original written by the Grimm Brothers.

Bibliography: Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm Link

Reading Notes, Hans Christian Anderson, Part A

(The Princess and the Pea Link)

I was originally attracted to this unit because in the description it said he was one of the authors of the Little Mermaid. However, I figure I will do another extra credit reading note on just that story as it is in the second part. The first part consists of stories somewhat widely known such as the Emperors New Suit and the Princess and the Pea. The latter was one of my favorite stories growing up. There was once a prince who wanted to marry a true princess. He searched the world many times but was never able to find one who was a real princess. One day a girl knocked on the gates of the palace claiming to be a real princess. The prince decided to test it. He put a pea beneath 28 mattresses that the princess was to sleep on. The next morning, when asked how she slept, the princess replied, "Oh, very badly! I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. It's horrible!" The prince determined no one but a real princess could be that sensitive so he married her.

Bibliography: Fairy Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Anderson and translated by H.P Paull Link

Reading Notes, Jacobs Fairy Tales, Part A

As some extra credit I decided to continue with the European unit so I chose Jacobs fairy tales. I loved reading these because they put twists on classic stories that we have heard our entire lives. I love all the Disney princess stories so my favorite in this collection would definitely have to be Beauty and the Beast. This story differed from the Disney version in a couple of ways. The first is how the youngest daughter (or Belle in the Disney version) came to be with the beast. In this version her father was caught stealing from the beast's garden so to avoid death, he told the beast he would bring his youngest daughter back. Something else that differed is the servants. In the Disney version they were ordinary people who were transformed into objects but in this version, they are just described as invisible hands. In the end of the Disney version, the beast fights the villagers and almost dies but is transformed when Belle says she loves him. In this version the youngest daughter finds the beast laying dead and says she loved him so he is transformed into a prince. Below is my favorite song from the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast.

Bibliography: Europa's Fairy Book by Joseph Jacobs Link

Reading Notes, Brothers Grimm, Hunt, Part B

(Red Rose and Snow White, Pinterest)

My favorite story in this second part of the Grimm Brothers was Snow-White and Red-Rose. I was expecting this story to be like the Snow White we heard as children but it was not. Snow White and Red Rose were siblings, who were so close that they liked to hold hands as they ventured out. One night they spent the night in the woods and as they awoke, a young boy was sitting near them. Their mother told them it was an angel who watched over good children. One night, there was a knock on the door and it was a bear. The bear meant no harm and only wanted to warm itself so the little family let him in. The bear came every night throughout the winter and took his leave during the day. When summer came, the bear went away for good. Later that summer, their mother sent them into the woods for kindling and they met a strange dwarf with his beard stuck. Snow White cut off his beard as a way to free him and instead the dwarf was angry and put a bad curse on the siblings. The sisters continued to meet the dwarf and free him or save him from his miseries until they came across him emptying his many jewels and gold. Their bear saved them by killing the dwarf and when that happened he transformed into the King's son. Snow-White married him, and Red-Rose married his brother and they lived happily ever after.

Bibliography: Household Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm Link

Reading Notes, Grimm Brothers, Hunt, Part A

The stories in this section were particularly long. So I choose to read one that I heard as a child and compare the differences between the two. This happened to be Hansel and Grethel. Hansel and Grethel had a stepmother who, when times got tough and there was a lack of food, told their father that he needed to take them into the forest and leave them there. Though it was hard, their father consented, but Hansel heard the conversation and took white stones into the forest to find his way back. The came back and stayed for a while until times got tough, and their father took them into the woods and left them again. This time they could not find their way out so instead they followed a snow white bird. The bird led them to a house built with bread and covered with cake. The children began to eat the house and were interrupted by the owner, an old woman. The woman locked them up with plans to fatten them, and then eat them. Grethel tricked the woman and pushed her into the oven before harm could be done. On the way out they took the woman's pearls and jewels. They eventually found their way home, into their fathers arms who regretted what he had done. Their stepmother was death, and the little family lived happily ever after with the many jewels.

(Hansel and Grethel, Pinterest)

Bibliography: Household Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm Link

Reading Notes, Brothers Grimm, Ashliman, Part B

The second part of this collection contained stories that were all unfamiliar to me. My favorite story in this part was called the Little Lamb and the Little Fish. There were a brother and sister who loved each other very much and their mother had died. They were being raised by a stepmother. The children were playing a game outside and their stepmother grew so angry at their happiness, that she cursed them. She turned the girl into a little lamb and turned the boy into a little fish. After a long time in that form there were visitors to the castle. The stepmother tried to get rid of the lamb by killing it, but the brother fish saw and begged the cook against it. The cook agreed and gave both the lamb and fish to a wise woman in the village. The wise woman, who was previously a wet nurse for the children,  recognized them and turned them back into their original forms and they lived happily ever after.

(The Lamb and the Fish, Otto Ubbelohde)

Bibliography: The Grimm Brothers' Childrens' and Household Tales translated by Dan Ashliman Link

Reading Notes, Brothers Grimm, Ashliman, Part A

(The Elves, Tumblr)

Fairy tales written by the Grimm Brothers are some of my favorite! So I decided to start with some of the most well known ones. Ashliman translated some that are very well known and some that are not so much. My favorite known one in this section is Little Red Cap. It is the story upon with the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood is based. However almost everyone knows that story. My favorite unknown one is called the Elves. In that story there is a poor shoemaker who only had enough money left for one last pair of shoes. He cut the leather and two little elves came in the middle of the night and sewed them into the finest pair of shoes that sold for double the price. This continued every night until the shoemaker stayed up to see who was sewing the shoes. When he saw it was little elves, he and his wife made some clothes, complete with shoes for them and set the outfits out. The next night when the elves came they saw the clothes, jumped for joy, put them on and ran off. But the shoemaker still lived happily ever after.


Bibliography: Grimm Brothers Children and Household Tales translated by Dan Ashliman Link

Week 12 Review

(Sunday's Announcement, Link)

I was really busy this week so I missed a lot of normal assignments and didn't get to read a lot of announcements. Today was catch-up day so I did a bunch of extra credit, caught up on the assignments not due until tonight, and read the announcements. My favorite picture was actually from today's announcement. It's pictured below. I love this because it shows people that you can be the most insignificant person in the world and, yet, you do still matter!

Tech Tip: Embedded Tweet

#Big12FB: This week's @AP_Top25...

8. @OU_Football
10. @WVUfootball
13. @CowboyFB

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) November 13, 2016

BOOMER SOONER! Moving up in rankings!

Reading Notes, More English Fairy Tales, Part B

For some extra reading notes, I decided to finish reading More English Fairy Tales. My favorite story in this collection was Rushen Coatie. This story was very similar to that of Cinderella. In this story, Rushen Coatie's father married, and his new wife had 3 children. They took all of Rushen Coatie's coats and gave her one mad of rushes. The made her sit in the kitchen nook. Before her mother's death, she told Rushen Coatie that a red calf will come and grant any wish. Her step-mother hoping that Rushen Coatie would die, only fed her a thimble of broth, a grain of barley, a thread of meat and a crumb of bread. So Rushen Coatie wished for food. Eventually the step-mother found out and had the calf killed. But Rushen Coatie could still make wishes on his bones. One day, the family went to church and Rushen Coatie had to stay and make dinner. So she wished for clothes and that dinner would be made and she went to church. There she met a prince who fell in love with her, but she had to return home and accidentally left her slipper there. The prince came and found her and they lived happily ever after.

(Rushen Coatie, John D. Batten)

Bibliography: More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs Link

Reading Notes, King Arthur, Part A

(Arthur, Walter Crane)

King Arthur was a story that many of us heard as kids. There even was a Disney movie made from the myth called The Sword in the Stone. The myth that this movie was based on was the first story I read in this collection. This story was a little different. In this story, Arthur pulled out the sword from the stone. However, no knights were present when it happened so in order to claim the throne, Arthur had to put the sword back and pull it out with witnesses. When he pulled it out his father and brother were present and much to his dismay his father said that he is not actually his father. That Merlin was his father. The rest of the stories in this collection were all about the adventures of King Arthur.

Bibliography: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang Link

Reading Notes, More English Fairy Tales

I really enjoyed the first unit of English Fairy Tales I read this week, so for some extra credit I decided to read more of them. I read the story "Tattercoat." This story reminded me of a variation of Cinderella. In this story, a mother died in childbirth. The child was raised by her grandfather who resented her for causing the death of his favorite child. So instead of "Cinderella" being raised by her stepmother, "Tattercoat" was raised by her grandfather. In both stories, the girls end up with the princes. The next story I really liked was "Scrapefoot." This storheiy is a variation on Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The only difference between the two is that instead of Goldilocks there is a Fox that sneaks into the bears home, sits in their chairs, sleeps in their beds and drinks their milk.

(Scrapefoot, John D. Batten)

Bibliography: More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs Link

Story: The Three Little Pigs

(The First Little Pig, L. Leslie Brooke)

There once lived a momma pig and three little kids
who lived very happily oh yes they did
Until one day when the kids were grown
The momma said you must go and live on your own

The littlest pig built a house out of straw
And one day a wolf knocked with his paw
He said, "Little pig, little pig, let me come in"
The pig responded, "Not by the hair of my chiny chin chin"
The wolf answered, "Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in"
The wolf blew the house down and then with a jig
Ate the poor, scared littlest pig

The second pig built his house out of wood
The wolf passed by and knew the pig would be good
So he knocked and said "Little pig, little pig, let me come in"
The pig responded,  "Not by the hair of my chiny chin chin"
The wolf answered, "Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in"
He took a deep breath, as the little pig fled

(The Third Little Pig, L. Leslie Brooke)

But when the house fell down, the wolf devoured the pig dead

The last little pig had a house made of brick
One day, a wolf knocked on the door with a lick
He said, "Little pig, little pig, let me come in"
The pig responded, "Not by the hair on my chiny chin chin"
The wolf answered, "Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in"
As hard as he tried, the house would not move
So the wolf thought of a plan no one would disapprove

He climbed to the roof and down the chimney stack
Only to realize he was now under attack
The last little pig had started a fire
And hung a pot of water over it with a wire
In fell the wolf when he climbed down the vent
No longer could the wolf give the pig any torment
The pig now lived in perfect content


Authors Note: The original story of "The Three Little Pigs" has basically the same plot as my story. I just made it into a rhyming poem. In the original story after the wolf threatens to blow down the third little pig's house, he tries to trick the pig by invites him to a turnip farm for dinner. The pig is smarter though and went to the turnip farm before the wolf said he was going to show up. The wolf next invites the pig to an apple farm to trick him out of the house. Again the pig went early and was up in the tree when the wolf showed up. The pig threw an apple far away and when the wolf chased it snuck back to his brick home. Finally the wolf invited the pig to the fair but once again the pig was smarter and went early. When the wolf showed up to the fair, the pig hid in a butter churner and rolled down the hill back home. The wolf then showed up to the pig's house, and snuck onto the roof and down the chimney. The pig had a pot of boiling water in the fire and the wolf fell in, so the pig cooked the wolf, ate him and lived happily ever after.

Bibliography: The Three Little Pigs by Joseph Jacobs link to reading

Reading Notes, English Fairy Tales, Part B

The second part of this collection was full of unfamiliar stories. There was a particular gruesome one called "Mr. Fox" in which a woman named Lady Mary married Mr. Fox. One day she went to her husbands castle and explored. She found a room full of young ladies skeletons, and watched as Mr. Fox cut off the hand of a young lady to get her diamond ring. Lady Mary then confronted her husband, and her brother and friends drew their swords and cut up Mr. Fox. The next story, "Johnny-cake" was a variation of the Gingerbread Man, although I definitely think the Gingerbread Man was cuter. This would be the story I would choose if I were to rewrite one. With this, I would make a sequel. Instead of Johnny-cake being eaten by a fox, I would have him outrun the fox, and write a sequel about his next adventure on the run.

(Johnny-Cake, John D. Batten)

Bibliography: English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs link to reading

Reading Notes, English Fairy Tales, Part A

This week is the beginning of the British/Celtic unit! I used the random story picker and it chose English Fairy Tales. The first story I read was "Tom Tit Tot." This story had the exact same plot as Rumplestiltskin by the Grimm Brothers. I also read "The Three Little Pigs." I think that if I were to chose a story from this first part to rewrite,I would choose this one! It was my favorite story to hear as a little kid. As this story is so well known, I think that it would be cool to write it in a rhyming poem!

Bibliography: English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs link to reading

Week 10 Review

(Blogspot)

While reading through the announcements this week, I noticed that everyday there is some kind of cat meme to motivate you! I love these especially because I lot of the time I just keep doing my homework and forget what I'm doing it for. Seeing those makes me smile, and reminds me that I'm doing all this work to be able to have a job that I love! The picture to the left is my favorite meme from this past week!

Tech Tip: Weather Widget

Hi everybody!
I added a weather widget to my blog! Scroll down to check it out! If you want to know how here is the link!

Reading Notes, Nursery Rhymes, Part A

This week I decided to read nursery rhymes for extra reading. This collection had a lot of different sections of nursery rhymes such as proverbs, songs, tales, riddles, games, paradoxes, and charms and lullabies. The songs consisted of a lot of well known nursery rhymes like "Three Blind Mice," "Little Bo Peep," and "London Bridge." I think a good idea for a story would be to take one of these and expand it and write a sequel. I could also write a story about "This Little Piggy," or "Hickory Dickory Dock."

(Three Blind Mice)

Bibliography: The Nursery Rhyme Book edited by Andrew Lang and illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke link to reading

link to Three Blind Mice video

Reading Notes, The Great Plains, Part A

(The Eagle, Wikipedia)

This week I choose to read Native American Stories from the Great Plains Unit. I realized after reading all the stories in part A that I really didn't like any of them. I don't know if I am just not interested in Native American myths or if the writing was just not interesting to read. There was one story that I didn't completely dislike and that was "The Eagle's Revenge." In this story a hunter, who had killed a deer walked outside and saw an eagle eating that same deer. So he shot the eagle. The chief of the tribe called for a dance, and during that dance a stranger appeared. The tribe told seven stories of great deeds and at the end of each story the stranger yelled, "hi." Each time hi was uttered one of the men leading the dance fell dead. After the stranger vanished, the tribe learned that the stranger was the brother of the eagle who was killed. With this story I could rewrite it into a poem.

Bibliography: Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by Katharine Berry Judson link to reading

Tech Tip: Twitter Follow

I already had a twitter but for this assignment I chose to follow some twitter accounts run by the University of Oklahoma. The first one I followed was the University of Oklahoma Class of 2018 account. I followed this one because this is my class, and they announce a lot of cool events, like free food on campus and also they keep you updated with emergency situations on campus. The second account I followed was the University of Oklahoma Football account. This is because I love football, but I don't always have time to sit down and watch a four hour game and this account posts play-by-play updates on the games.

Review

I was studying for a big midterm this week so I missed a lot of assignments and just skimmed the announcements. While reading them, I came across a meme that resonated with me (pictured below). It is from Thursday, October 20th's announcement (link to announcement). This picture spoke to me because it is basically saying like "don't bite off more than you can chew." So don't commit to more stuff than you can handle. I have a problem with this as I am in 18 hours this semester, I have sorority commitments,  I have a job, and I am shadowing in a hospital. So its just a little reminder for me for next semester to not commit to as much stuff! 

Reading Notes, Robin Hood, Part A

(Robin Hood, Louis Rhead)

For some extra credit this week I choose to read something from the British/Celtic Unit. The story I decided to read was Robin Hood. I really liked how in this story was set up like a poem, so there were stanzas, and every other line rhymed. This entire story reminded me a lot of the cartoon Disney Robin Hood. An idea I have to turn this into a story is to retell it based in current times. So make it like a modern day Robin Hood. I could also tell it like a newspaper reporting the thefts that Robin Hood make. I cant wait to read more stories from this unit!

Bibliography: The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child link to reading

Reading Notes, Tejas Legends, Part A

(The Pink Cloud)

This week I chose to read stories from a tribe that lives in the state I was born: Texas. The stories in this collection personified inanimate objects which I thought was really cute. My favorite story to read was called The Cloud That Was Lost. At night clouds rest on top of mountains, but one cloud chasing its tail, sailed off from the others. When night fell he found himself over a broad, flat land and growing sleepily stretching himself over the land. The flowers on the land looked up, saw the pretty colors of the cloud, and wanting to be colorful too, drank until the cloud was gone. That's how the wild phlox flowers got their soft pretty color. An idea I had for the story this week was to tell the story from the flowers point of view, or even change the ending so that the cloud does not disappear. 

Bibliography: When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends retold by Florence Stratton link to reading

Reading Notes, Turkish Fairy Tales

I never had the opportunity to read a story from the Middle East so for extra reading this week I decided to explore it a little bit. I chose to read Turkish Fairy Tales. I thought that these stories were very hard to read, and understand so an idea I had to write a story is to translate it into a way so that I and other readers are able to better understand it. My favorite story in this compilation is The Fish-Peri. Peri means fairy in Turkish, and this story is about someone who finds a fish and takes him home. He digs the fish a well and gives it a home, and in return the fairy fish cleans its owners house.

(The Fish-Peri)

Bibliography: Forty-Four Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos link to reading

Week 8 Growth Mindset

(Image from Cheezburger)

Reading the chart and comparing my mindset in this class and in my life to earlier this semester I noticed a lot of changes! For example at the beginning of the semester, I focused on grades now I know to focus on learning and the grade I deserve will come. A couple of my strengths in this class are being open to any and all feedback, being always ready to learn more and focusing on my own progress. Some of my weaknesses are I tend to do the minimum in the class to get the grade I need, and doing things at the last minute. One of the things I tend to be really good at overall in my life is being ready for things to change, and being willing to try new things. I think this is because I moved a lot growing up so I had to get used to doing these things. My weaknesses in life I think include playing it safe and comparing myself to others. To grow and improve myself I need to change the way I think so that I can start planning ahead in the class and start thinking of myself as an individual to stop comparing myself to others!

Week 8 Reflection

(Reading)

After reading back through the reading notes I have written this semester I have realized a couple of things. The first of which is the stories I have chosen I have not only enjoyed, but they have been very varied in their written styles and their topics which is a good thing. I have been able to experience many different authors and topics because of the stories I have chosen to read, and even though they are different it has not made me dislike any of them. The reading I have enjoyed the most has definitely been from week 1 and was Cupid and Psyche. This was because I really enjoy Greek mythology stories and it allowed me to read the original story that Beauty and the Beast was based on. My reading schedule and reading place have both been good and have allowed me enough time, and a quiet place to read each week. Each week after my morning classes I go to the library and complete my reading and reading notes. My reading notes started out making it easy for me to transition into writing stories but as the weeks went on I noticed I began to write more of a summary than ideas for my story that week. So that's something I need to work on for the second half of the semester.

Reading Notes, Nigeria, Part B

I noticed that in this collection of stories, they all are organized the same. They are all basically why an animal does something. That's not necessarily a bad thing it just gets boring to read after a while. So my favorite story in this second part was The Election of the King Bird. In this story there was a wealthy powerful King. This king, although wealthy did not own any slaves and instead called upon animals to do the work he needed. To do this efficiently he crowed head chiefs of each species. Elephant for land, Hippo for water and when it became time to crown the air chief, he didn't know which bird species to choose. So he held a contest. The birds competed against one another, until finally all agreed that the fishing eagle should be the king of the skies.

(African Fish Eagle, Arturo de Frias Marques)

Reading Notes, Nigeria, Part A

Last week I chose to read Asian folklore's so this week I chose African folklore's. My favorite story in this part was Why the Bat Flies by Night. A bat and a bush rat were really good friends and always ate together but the bat was jealous of the rat. When asked how the soup they ate (that the bat cooked) was so good, the bat said that he boiled himself in the water and the sweetness of his flesh added to the soup. The bat jumped in a pot of warm water to show the bush rat. The rat then went home and told his wife he knew how to make the best soup. And so he boiled water and jumped in it and died. The wife grew angry at the bat and reported him to the king, who gave orders that the bat should be a prisoner. The bat escaped and to keep from being captured had to change his habits so that he slept during the day, and hunted during the night. I think it would be cool to retell this story as like a front page headline in a newspaper.

(Why the Bat Flies by Night, Christie Allen)

Bibliography: "Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria" by Elphinstone Dayrell link to reading

Week 6 Review

(Ray Bradbury quote, link to source)

I had an extremely busy week this week, so while I was able to complete all the assignments, I didn't have a chance to read all the announcements. While reading back through them there were a lot of tips that could have helped me with the assignments. There also was a picture with a quote on it that was posted on Thursday's assignments. It was a quote from Ray Bradbury about people not reading. I love reading so I am able to do it in my free time however, I know a lot of people who never read because they would much rather watch TV or hang out with their friends. But this quote really resonated with me.

Link to Thursdays announcements

Reading Notes, Aesop for Children (Winter), Part A

(The Tortoise and the Ducks, Milo Winter)

As some extra reading this week I chose to go back to the Classical Unit we completed the first 2 weeks of school and reading something I never had the chance to: Aesop for Children. The stories in this collection were very short but still very cute to read. One of my favorites was the Tortoise and the Ducks. In this story there was a tortoise that was a home-body because he was unable to leave his home. Because of this, he was unable to attend a wedding for the goddess Jupiter. Years later he regretted not going, and wanted to see the world, so when he ran into some ducks he told them his troubles and they offered to help him see the world. They said that they would hold a stick between them while they flew and the tortoise could hold onto the stick with his teeth. Everyone was in awe, when they saw the tortoise flying, and one, a crow said that he must be the "King of Tortoises." The tortoise opened his mouth to respond and fell to the ground. The second story that I enjoyed was called the Travelers and the Sea. There were two travelers walking along the beach and they saw something in the water they thought was a treasure ship. As it got closer they thought it was a fisherman's boat carrying loads of fish. Finally it washed up on shore and the travelers thought it was a treasure chest filled with gold. They rushed to the object to find nothing but a log. The quote at the end is what I really liked. It said "Do not let your hopes carry you away from reality."

Story: Why the Lip of the Elephant Droops

(The Elephant, Flickr

There once was a family; a father, mother and twelve daughters. Now this family was extremely poor as there were so many mouths to feed. One day, the mother and father could no longer afford to feed their daughters and knew it was time for them to go. Their father placed a bunch of ashes in a basket, and covered them with a thin layer of rice, all he had left, then sent went with them into the woods to hunt for food. At the hottest point in the day, the father gave them all a strip of bamboo and told them to go fetch water for him, only he had poked a hole in the bottom of the bamboo so all the water leaked out. While they were occupied trying to get water, he returned home. Finally, the girls gave up and returned back to their camp to find nothing, but a basket of ash.

All began to cry, as they thought hope was lost. But a woman heard them and offered them a home if they would only clean her house and cook her meals. They accepted and returned back to the womans' home. There they lived happily for many years until one day, while picking berries for dinner, they were attacked by a tiger. They fled, running as fast and as far from the animal as possible. They finally slowed as they were extremely tired and were approached by an elephant. Wanting to rest for a while they asked to elephant to hide in his mouth. He agreed, and after all twelve girls climbed in, a long grey piece of clothing was left hanging outside his mouth. He traveled far until he landed back in the place the girls grew up in. Their mother heard the elephant wander up and came outside to see what the ruckus was about. She saw the clothing hanging out of his mouth and recognized it as one of her daughters. Thinking the elephant injured her daughters, she cursed him and his kind, so from then on, the lip of all elephants were destined to droop down like the garment hanging out of his mouth.

Bibliography: Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson link to reading

Authors Note: The beginning of this story is the same as the original. However, in the original the woman that found them offered them a home if they would take care of her daughter, while she was in the woods. They agreed and went to live with the woman. The first time the woman left, she said she was going to be gone just a short while and to not go into the garden. The woman ended up being gone the entire day but still the girls did not go into the garden. The next time she left she said the same thing, but the girls, thinking she was going to be gone the entire day went into the garden and saw human bones strewn about the yard. The woman that rescued them was a cannibal. The girls ran and first hid inside a cows mouth to rest. Then continued to run and hid inside the elephants mouth but the end of one of the girls dresses hung out. Meanwhile the woman came home and realizing the girls left, went to find them. She asked the cow where they went and he told her. She then happened upon the elephant and realizing the girls were inside his mouth, due to the dress hanging out, asked where they were. The elephant lied, and because he lied, she cursed him to a life of his lip drooping .

Reading Notes, Laos, Part B

This part contained many stories that I enjoyed however my favorite was "A Boy of the City Streets." This story began when three men approached a boy on the outskirts of a town. The boy asked where the men were going and as they were wise men, they grew angry when he spoke. So they caught him and planned to sell him. They traveled to another town, and on the way tried to get rid of him. Eventually they wanted him to go into the city for fire, and he said he will if he could tie them to a post. They agreed and the boy went into the town, and eventually sold the three wise men. I dont think that there is very much I could change in this story because its so simple and short but I could at least change the setting, or the wording to make it more present day. 

(Town in Laos, Pixabay)

Bibliography: Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson link to reading

Reading Notes, Laos, Part A

(Elephants Trunk, Flickr)

This week I chose to read Asian Folktales, called Laos. The first part of this collection of stories was interesting. I read about a lot of things including mystical spirits, giants and cannibals which I was definitely not expecting. The story in this part that I found most interesting was called Why the Lip of the Elephant Droops. There are 12 girls, whose parents abandon them in the woods (this part reminded me of Hansel and Gretel). A women finds them and says she will give them a home, if they will only play with her daughter. For a while they all lived in harmony until the women begins to go into the woods for a short time. She tells the girls not to go into the garden and they obey the first time. The second time they walk into the garden and see human bones. They ran away and climbed into an elephants mouth to hide from the women. When the girls climbed into its mouth however, part of one's dress hung out, and the women saw and cursed the elephant to have a trunk for the rest of its life. A trunk that looked like a garment. I just really like elephants, so to hear this folktale from a different country about why they have trunks was interesting. If I choose this story to rewrite however, I will not be making the woman a cannibal.

Bibliography: Laos Folklore by Katherine Neville Fleeson Link to the reading

Story: The Cruel Crane Outwitted

There once was a crane

(The Crane and the Fish, John D. Batten)

Some fish, a crab
Who lived in a pond that was oh so drab
The fish began to disappear
So the crane said
I know of a place not far from here
The water there is cool and clear
And we will all have nothing to fear
I can take you there one at a time
Where you can live peacefully for a lifetime
He took a fish in his mouth and flew away
But instead of saving he choose to slay
He continued to move the fish day by day
And left the bones beside the pond
Until all the fish were gone and conned
Only the crab remained
The crane flew towards the pond but the crab saw the bones
He knew what was happening and let out a groan
To avoid certain death the crab knew what to do
He strangled the crane and started his life anew

Authors Note: The original story has the same plot as the story above. The only thing I changed was I made it into a poem/story that rhymed.

Bibliography: The Cruel Crane Outwitted by Joseph Jacobs link to reading

Indian Fairy Tales, Reading Notes, Part A

(The Crane, John Dickson Batten)

This week I read Indian Fairy Tales. My favorite story in this collection was called The Cruel Crane Outwitted. This story was about a crane, who was having trouble finding food. So he told the fish that it was unsafe to stay in their current pond and he could move them to a new home. One at a time he took the fish in his mouth and "moved" them to the new pond, but was really eating them. Eventually he took a crab to the new pond, but the crane transported him around his neck. The crab saw the fish bones on the ground and knew what was happening so he killed the crane. Maybe for my story this week I can make this story have a happy ending, where the crane and fish and crab live peacefully together.

Bibliography: Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs link to reading

Week 4 Review

As I was looking over the previous weeks announcements, I found that there was a lot of important information that I missed. A lot of which were updates on the assignments due. So re-reading the announcements helped as now I can be 100% sure that I didn't miss anything important. My favorite thing from the announcements was a graphic, which is posted below. It was posted on Thursday, September 15th. Here's the link to that days announcements: http://ouclassannouncements.blogspot.com/2016/09/thursday-september-15.html

(Cloth vs. Clothes)

Tech Tip: Google Site Website

I just made a website for my storybook! Go check it out if you want! The link is https://sites.google.com/site/mythologyfolklorestorybook/. It was super easy and took barely any time at all so try to make one!

Feedback Focus

(Timing Method)

Out of the three strageties, the one that was most useful to me was reading out loud. This was because  I tend to read really fast, so I end up skipping a lot of the important details. By reading out loud, it forced me to slow down and really make sure that I read every single word in the story. The one that helped me the least was the timing strategy. This strategy just stressed me out because I felt like I was running out of time and I had the read the story super fast in order to finish in time. For the reading out loud strategy, the biggest advantage was it slowed your reading speed down. The biggest disadvantage is you have to be in a place where you are able to read out loud. For the copy and paste method, the biggest advantage is that you are able to take notes while reading, and also are able to keep track of how much you read. The biggest disadvantage is that it takes a little bit more time, and you have to stop after every paragraph in order to take notes on what you just read. The biggest advantage to the timing strategy is that it gives you a time limit, so you are basically forcing yourself to just read for 10 minutes and do nothing else. The biggest disadvantage is that sometimes the story is really long and you can't finish reading it in by when the timer goes off. I probably would only use the reading out loud strategy in the future, as I really didn't like the other two very much. I'm a really big color person so a strategy I use is to copy the story into word, and insert notes into the story in a different color. So if I had a really strong reaction to a certain part, then I would type my notes in a different color directly after that part. So its kind of like the copy and paste method, but I don't delete the story.

Fables of Bidpai, Reading Notes, Part B

(The Crane and the Fish)

My favorite stories in this second reading of Fables of Bidpai are " The Hare, the Fox and the Wolf," and "The Crane and the Crab." The Hare, the Fox and the Wolf begin when the Wolf wants to eat the Hare, however the Hare wanting to live tells the Wolf there is a very plump, tasty fox not far from them. So the Hare takes the Wolf to the Fox's den. The Fox saw them coming so when the Hare came inside and asked if he could bring a friend, the Fox said basically said sure but let me clean first. While cleaning the fox recovered a pit he had dug so when the Hare and Wolf walked inside they fell into the pit. Then the Wolf ate the Hare, and the Fox got away. The second story is called the Crane and the Crab. There was a very old Crane, so old that she couldn't get her own fish anymore. So in order to ensure her survival she told a crab that there were fisherman who were going to catch all the fish and leave the pond empty. The Crab went and told all the fish this, and the fish came swimming to the Crane for advice. The Crane said that she could take them to an enchanted pool, where the water is crystal clear and they could never want for food. But she could only take 3 or 4 fish a day. So everyday the Crane took some fish to the "enchanted pool" but the minute she was out of site she devoured the fish. Eventually the Crab wanted to go, so the Crane said yes because she wanted him out of the way. She told him to wrap his claws around her neck, and took off flying. The crab saw the fish bones at the Crane's hunting spot and knew he had been tricked so he tightened his claws and strangled her. 

Bibliography: The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Barrows Dutton link to reading

Fables of Bidpai, Reading Notes, Part A

(The Ass, the Lion, and the Fox)

To be honest, some of these stories I found to be extremely boring. But there were a few that I liked. The first is called "The King, the Falcon, and the Drinking Cup." In this story a king got separated from his company while hunting and grew thirsty. So he tried to drink from a stream but every time he raised the cup to his lips, a falcon came and knocked it away. Eventually the king grew so angry that he killed the falcon. When he sent someone to obtain water from the source of the spring, he found that poison was leaking into the spring, so the falcon actually saved his life. The second story that I liked was "The Merchant and His Iron." In this story I wonder if the merchant actually did anything to his friends son or was just lying about it. The third story I liked is called "The Ass, the Lion, and the Fox." In this story the Lion is ill and the only way he can be cured is if he ate the ears, and heart of an ass. The Fox didn't want the Lion to be ill as he ate the leftovers of the Lions prey, so he tricked the Ass to come near the Lion, and then once the Lion had slaughtered him, the Fox ate the ass's ears and heart himself.

Bibliography: The Tortoise and the Geese, and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Dutton link to reading

Tech Tip: Pinterest Board

Pinterest is one of my favorite things to use! I have used it for recipes, for ideas to decorate my room and apartment, for style tips, tattoo inspiration, basically everything. I guess you could say that I'm a Pinterest addict! Here is the link to my Pinterest board for Mythology and Folklore:

Story: The Fairy Frog

Once upon a time there lived an old couple, who had a son named Haina. One day Haina, who was grown, married and on his own, received word that his parents were ill and that he should come quickly. When he arrived, Haina's father gave him instructions about what should be done after their deaths. He told Haina to mourn them for seven days, and on the eve of the seventh, to go to the marketplace and buy the first thing offered to him, regardless of the cost, as it would bring him and his family good fortune.

Within the next couple weeks, both Haina's mother and father died. They had a funeral and Haina mourned for seven days. That evening he made his way towards the marketpalce. He had scarcely walked through the entrance when a man approached him, offering to him, a silver casket. Haina asked what was in the box, however the man was unable to say. So remembering his fathers advice, Haina purchased it for one thousand gold pieces; all the gold him and his wife had left.

(The Fairy Frog)

When he got home, Haina opened the casket and out sprang a frog. His wife was very disapointed but, she gave the frog some food, and a cabinet for its home. For the next eight days the frog continued to do nothing but eat. It grew to an enormous size and eventually Haina was forced to build it a shed outside. The frog ate so much that Haina and his wife had little to eat themselves. They were forced to sell some of their things to keep the frog supplied with food and were left in a state of poverty. Eventually Haina's wife broke down in tears. Suprisingly the frog then spoke and said, "as you have been kind to me, tell me what you want and I will grant your wish." Haina declared his wish first and told the frog all he wanted was enough food so that his family would never be hungry again. "Ask and you shall recieve" croaked the frog. There was a knock on the door at that very moment, and when answered, there, on the step, was a huge basket of food. Then Haina's wife spoke and announced that her wish was to be able to have a child, as she had been trying for over a year. "Ask and you shall recieve" croaked the frog.

(Haina's daughter)

Throughout the next year the frog continued to live with Haina and his family. Haina's wife had given birth to a baby girl, and the frog continued to eat until he was bigger than a person. One day, the frog again spoke and said, "It is time for me to leave you but, to repay you for all the kindness that you have shown me, I wish to give you one more gift." Haina's family, baby and all, followed the frog into the woods and, when they got there, the frog began gathering his gifts for them. At their feet, he deposited rare herbs that cure sickness, so that the family would never suffer from a fatal disease or sickness. He also dropped a handful of precious gems and stones so that the family would never again have to live in poverty. He gave one final gift to Haina, and that was a promise. A promise to return in 30 years when his daughter was fully grown, and if she showed the same kindness, a promise to grant any wish she desired, so her parents would never have to worry about her health or happiness again.

Haina and his wife thanked the frog relentlessey, however they still didn't know who exactly they were thanking. So when the frog began to hop away, Haina asked. The frog answered, "I am the fairy son of Adam, and am gifted with the power of assumming any form. Farewell." He then shrunk back down to his normal size and disappeared into the woods, not to be seen or heard from again. Well at least for the next 30 years...

Authors Note: The first part of my story has the same basic plot as the original story, I just changed the wording to make it more for this generation. However, I began changing the plot of the story when the frog first started granting wishes. In the original story the frog grants Haina's wife the gift of food, and Haina asks for the power of knowledge. So the frog wrote the seventy languages, and Law on strips of paper and made Haina swallow it. Once it was swallowed Haina became aquainted with all the knowledge in the world. Then the frog took them into the woods where he called upon the birds and insects to bring all the precious stones and herbs to Haina. The family from then on, became known for their knowledge, wealth, wisdom, and charity. But the frog never made any promise to come back, I added that part.

Bibliography: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends, "The Fairy Frog" by Gertrude Landa link to the reading

Reading Notes, Jewish Fairy Tales, Part B

(The Fairy Frog)

The second part of this reading, to me, did not contain nearly as many interesting stories as the first one did. However, while reading I did still find two that I liked. The first is called The Higgeledy-Piggledy Palace. In this story, there is a man and his extremely beautiful wife, Sarah. She was so beautiful that they feared the King attempting to take her. So the husband tried to hide her, after which, the palace guards find her and take her to the King. Once there, the King attempted to try and make Sarah his queen but began being haunted. He was unable to lay down on the bed as every time he tried, it got overturned. He was unable to touch Sarah, as every time he tried, he was injured. Eventually he figured out it was due to Sarah and he husband so he let them go. The second story is called the Fairy Frog. In this story a son was told by his dying parents to go into the village, and buy the first thing offered to him. The first thing offered was a little silver box, containing something unknown. True to his word, the son bought the box, and when opened at home a frog jumped out. This frog ate the family right into poverty, and eventually was so big that they could no longer take it. The frog offered to grant them what they wanted and he did. Eventually he spoke and said that since he had been treated so well, they were going to get a gift. After going into the woods, the frog gave them a huge pile of herbs and stones. Then told them he was a fairy and hopped away. My favorite of the two was definitely The Fairy Frog.

Bibliography: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa link to the reading