Friday, October 30 - Sunday, November 1

HAPPY WEEKEND! You have reached the end of Week 10! The Week 10 Read and Respond assignment (blog commenting) is available now, and the remaining Week 10 assignments are due on Friday or on Saturday or Sunday - please make sure you get started on those assignments soon.

Storybook Stack. I'm still working my way through the stack of Storybook assignments that people have turned in (I was out of the office most of the day Thursday, so I will be busy catching up on Friday!). I've read and replied to all the Week 9 assignments turned in on time, but if you turned in a late Week 9 assignment, or an early assignment for Week 10, 11 or 12, it may still be in the stack. My goal is to get comments back to everyone by the end of the day Friday for assignments turned in before Friday at noon. If you want to check and make sure your assignment is in the stack, you can see the contents of the stack here. If you want comments back before the weekend, make sure you turn in your assignment by noon on Friday.

Storybooks: CHOOSING to Stop with Three Stories. (repeat announcement) There is nothing sacred about having four stories in a Storybook. Some of you may have missed two weeks' worth of assignments earlier in the semester, so you already know you will have just three stories total. Others of you may CHOOSE to finish with just three stories by skipping two of the remaining Storybook assignments. Quite a few students choose to have just three stories in their Storybook every semester, and it is fine with me! So, think about that now - if you want, you could skip the Week 10 and Week 11 assignments and turn in your third (final) story in Week 12, or you can turn in your third (final) story for Week 10 now, revise in Week 11, and then skip Week 12 and Week 13. It's up to you, based on your personal preferences and the number of points you will be needing to get the grade you want (410 total for an A, 360 total for a B, 320 total for a C). If you decide to include just three stories total in your Storybook, make sure you revise the Introduction to reflect your choice.

Extra credit. For those of you who would like to finish the class early so that you have more time available for your finals and end-of-semester projects in other classes, you can work ahead AND you can take advantage of the extra credit! If you can do all the various extra credit options each week for the next five weeks, that will give you an extra 25 points, plus there are 30 points of Grammar Quiz extra credit points available - in other words, it will allow you to skip almost a full two weeks of this class and finish up early. For those of you who have big end-of-semester projects or really difficult final exams, I would highly recommend doing extra credit in this class and working ahead so that you can finish up early and concentrate on the end-of-semester demands in your other classes.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN. Halloween is this Saturday, of course, and I thought it would be appropriate to make a list of all the great "scary" Storybooks that people are doing this semester in case you wanted to find some good stories to read for Halloween. So, here are some of the ghostly and scary Storybooks that people are writing this semester - you will find all kinds of wonderful stories to read for the Halloween holiday!
Plus, if you are curious about the Celtic origins of Halloween, be sure to take a look at Kerry's Storybook about the Celtic goddess Cailleach - she has just added her fourth story, which is all about the holiday of Samhainn... a holiday we know today as Halloween!

Waiting for the Great Pumpkin...

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Thursday, Octobery 29

Today is Thursday of WEEK 10 of the class. If you have not turned in your Week 9 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that UNTIL NOON today for partial credit. For those of you in Myth-Folklore or World Lit, Thursday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Wednesday.

Storybook Stack. I've still got some items left in the Storybook stack. You can check to make sure you assignment is in the stack here. If you turned something on Monday, you should have comments back from me; if you turned something in on Tuesday or Wednesday, it is probably still in the stack, and I will get to it today or tomorrow, Friday. If you want to get comments back before the weekend, please turn your assignment in by Friday at noon so that I can get comments back to you on Friday afternoon.

My Thursday schedule. Today, Thursday, happens to be the day this week when I have some out-of-office appointments that will keep me away from my computer for at least part of the day. As a result, I may be more slow to answer your emails, but if you have a question about anything, send me an email, and I will get an answer to you by the end of the day on Thursday at the latest.

October 29: Tulsi Vivah. This year (2009), the Hindu holiday of Prabodini Ekadasi in honor of Vishnu falls on October 29, and it is also the occasion for the celebration of the Tulsi Vivah, the symbolic wedding of Tulsi (which is also the name of the basil plant) to Vishnu in the form of the Shaligram (a dark-colored stone, symbolizing Vishnu). There is an amazing legend that accompanies this ritual, and the story will probably remind those of you in Indian Epics about the legend of Ahalya - but this time it is Vishnu in disguise! Here is the story: A woman named Tulsi was married to a demon named Jalandhar. Jalandhar had obtained a boon from the gods that he would remain immortal as long as his wife was chaste. So, without fear, he tormented the gods and the holy men. In desperation, they prayed to Vishnu for help. Vishnu took on the form of Jalandhar and stayed with Tulsi, who did not realize he had replaced her husband. He was able to seduce her, which meant Jalandhar was able to be killed. When Jalandhar died, Tulsi found out the truth: Vishnu had deceived her. Tulsi was angry and turned herself into a basil plant. Vishnu decreed that he would marry Tulsi (basil) in a symbolic ritual: in the Tulsi Vivah, Vishnu in the form of a dark-colored stone called the Shaligram marries Tulsi, the basil plant. This sacred symbolic marriage is performed every year and marks the beginning of the Hindu wedding season. Here is a photo taken of a Tulsi Vivah ritual - if you look closely, you can see the Shaligram stone representing Vishnu!

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Wednesday, October 28

Today is Wednesday of WEEK 10 of the class. If you have not turned in your Week 9 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that for partial credit. Wednesday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Tuesday.

Storybook Stack. As usual at the beginning of the week, there are still LOTS of Storybook assignments in the stack. If you turned something in before 10PM on Sunday, you should have comments back from me already. If you turned something in later on Sunday or on Monday, it is probably still in the stack waiting for me to get to it. If you want to check and make sure your assignment is in the stack, you can see the contents of the stack here.

The National Day on Writing. (repeat announcement) The OU Writing Center is inviting OU students to upload their best class writing assignments all day today, October 28, until midnight for publication online in a nation-wide writing gallery - plus, selected pieces of writing will also appear in a published book. You can read more at the Writing Center website, where you will also find the link for uploading your work if you want to participate.

Storybooks: Working ahead. Remember, you don't need to wait on my comments back about your Week 9 revisions before you move on to Week 10 and add a new story to your Storybook. Also, depending on your own personal preferences, some of you may choose to finish your Storybook WITH JUST THREE STORIES. So, think about that when you go to add the new story to your Storybook for Week 10. If you do not need the 20 points for adding the fourth story and revising it, you can choose to conclude your Storybook with just three stories in it, making this third story your final story. Quite a few students choose to do this every semester, and it is fine with me! If you decide to finish with just three stories, here is what you would do: Week 10 Third Story; Week 11 Revise Third Story; (skip Week 12 and Week 13); Week 14 Revise Introduction; Week 15 Final Revisions. It's up to you, based on your personal preferences and the number of points you will be needing to get the grade you want (410 total for an A, 360 total for a B, 320 total for a C).

October 28: The Philadelphia Experiment. Today, October 28, is the anniversary of the so-called Philadelphia Experiment in 1943... if such an experiment actually took place! Was it an experiment, or one of the great hoaxes of the 20th century? Did the U.S. Navy use Einstein's theories in order to render the destroyer escort USS Eldridge invisible - and when the ship reappeared, were there sailors actually embedded in the metal hull of the ship...? Was the ship then teleported to Norfolk, Virginia...? You can read more about this experiment/legend in this Wikipedia article - and it was also the subject of a 1984 film advertised in this poster:

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Tuesday, October 27

Today is Tuesday of WEEK 10 of the class. That means fairy tales in Myth-Folklore, Boccaccio's Decameron in World Literature, and in Indian Epics you're finishing up Narayan's Mahabharata. Note: If you have not turned in your Week 9 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that for partial credit.

Someone FINISHED already! I am pleased to announce that one student - Barry, in Indian Epics - has already finished the class. Wow. By working ahead and doing extra credit, he's reached 410 points for an "A" in the class. This is the first semester I've let people work as far ahead as they wanted, and it looks like it's been a good experiment! If there are others of you who are in the process of finishing up, remember to send me an email to let me know so that I can record your final grade for you in the Gradebook. Congratulations to Barry on finishing up the class early!

Storybook Stack. As usual at the beginning of the week, there are still LOTS of Storybook assignments in the stack. If you turned something in before 6PM on Sunday, you should have comments back from me already. If you turned something in later on Sunday or on Monday, it is probably still in the stack waiting for me to get to it. If you want to check and make sure your assignment is in the stack, you can see the contents of the stack here.

Writing Center. In addition to the writing you have been doing for this class, some of you probably have writing assignments, such as final papers and projects, which you will be turning in for your other classes. So, I wanted to remind you that for any kind of writing project you are doing in any of your classes, the Writing Center is the place to go for help. Whether you are struggling with the overall organization of your writing (finding a focus, working with paragraphs), figuring our research strategies for a research paper, or whether you have some basic questions about writing mechanics (especially punctuation), the tutors at the Writing Center can help. For hours and services, visit the Writing Center website.

In addition... for those of you who are aspiring writers, the Writing Center is participating in something called The National Day on Writing. Apparently they are asking OU students to upload their best class writing assignments starting at midnight tonight, October 27 (CDT), for 24 hours for publication online in a nation-wide writing gallery - plus, selected pieces of writing will also appear in a published book. You can read more at the Writing Center website, which will also be the link for some kind of upload feature that will be activated on October 27. I'm afraid I don't have any details about how that will work (I only found out about it by accident, when I went to get the Writing Center web address for today's announcements) - but if you have a piece of writing from this class or any other class you would like to upload as part of this project, you can visit the Writing Center webpage for instructions!

October 27: Birthday of Erasmus. Today marks the birthday in the year 1466 of the Desiderius Erasmus, one of the greatest scholars of the Renaissance. You can read about Erasmus's remarkable life and career in this Wikipedia article. Of all the great thinkers and scholars in the history of the world, Erasmus is my own personal hero. One of his books in particular has been very important in my own life - a huge collection of thousands and thousands of Latin proverbs, with little essays about each one, called the Adagia. Erasmus is also one of the most important figures in the history of critical editions of the Bible in Greek and in Latin. Below is a famous portrait of Erasmus by Hans Holbein the Younger; along the edge of the book facing the viewer the letters read "The Labors of Heracles" in Greek (ΗΡΑΚΛΕΙΟΙ ΠΟΝΟΙ = HERAKLEIOI PONOI), alluding to the amazing feats which Erasmus accomplished in his life as a scholar.







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Monday, October 26

Today is Monday. Week 9 of the class is now over. Monday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Week 10 will begin tomorrow - and those assignments are available now if you want to get started now!

Storybook stack. As always on Monday, I will have a huge bunch of assignments in the Storybook stack that were turned in over the weekend. The first thing I will do on Monday morning when I get to work is to update the list of items in the Storybook stack. So, after 8 a.m. or so on Monday, you will be able to check the contents of the stack to make sure I received your assignment. I will be reading and reply to the assignments in the order they were turned in.

Extra credit. For those of you who would like to finish the class early so that you have more time available for your finals and end-of-semester projects in other classes, you can work ahead AND you can take advantage of the extra credit! If you can do all the various extra credit options each week for the next five weeks, that will give you an extra 25 points, plus there are 30 points of Grammar Quiz extra credit points available - in other words, it will allow you to skip almost a full two weeks of this class and finish up early. For those of you who have big end-of-semester projects or really difficult final exams, I would highly recommend doing extra credit in this class and working ahead so that you can finish up early and concentrate on the end-of-semester demands in your other classes.

Spring 2010 enrollment - let me know TODAY. (repeat announcement) I know that some of you are graduating in December (congratulations!), but for those of you who will be in school next semester, I wanted to give you a chance to reserve a place in one of these online classes for Spring, if you are interested. The online courses all fill up very fast, but if you let me know TODAY, Monday, that you would like to take one of these classes in the Spring, I should be able to reserve a space for you.

October 26: Carlo Collodi. Today, October 26, marks the anniversary of the death in the year 1890 of the Italian author, Carlo Collodi, who is best known today as the creator of the the story of Pinocchio, the little boy made of wood. If you have never read the actual Pinocchio story, I highly recommend it - it's a surprising and beautiful and mysterious book, definitely one of the best books ever written for children, in my opinion. Here is Pinocchio in English online. You can also read an English version with the famous illustrations by Attilio Mussino online, which is the source for the image below:

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