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

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, 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, 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