Grading and points. Some people have been asking me about the points and grading, so let me refer you again to this Grading Information page. In short, you need 410 to get an A, 360 points to get a B, and 320 points to get a C. When you get the number of points you need, you are done! It is fine with me if you decide to stop doing work for the class whenever you have the grade you want to receive (many of you are taking this class for Gen. Ed. requirements, which means you just need a C to get graduation credit). My only request is that you please let me know when you are done - that is a big help to me in managing things for the class.
Mix and match points. Now that there are just five weeks of the semester left, you might want to plan to do some "mix and match" in terms of just which assignments you want to complete this semester to get the points you need for the grade you want to get. So, based on the assignments you enjoy most/least in the class, you can certainly skip some assignments, provided that you end up with the points you need at the end. My only recommendation is that you do this cautiously. You don't want to skip so many assignments that you end up not getting the points you need for your desired grade.
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 or on Monday morning. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I received your assignment. As usual, I will be reading and replying to the assignments in the order they were turned in, starting with the ones that were turned in on Friday afternoon and on Saturday.
All Saints Day - All Souls Eve. The reason Halloween was celebrated yesterday, on October 31, is that it was the Eve of All Hallows, i.e. the Eve of All Saints, which is celebrated today, November 1. Today is also the eve of All Souls Day which is celebrated on November 2. The holiday of All Saints celebrates all those who have died and attained blessedness in heaven, while All Souls celebrates all those who have died but who have not yet achieved the sanctity of heaven. In many countries, November 1 is a holiday during which people visit graveyards, bringing flowers to the graves of the dead. For example, November 1 is an important national holiday in Poland, where it is called Wszystkich Świętych, which means "All Saints" (image source):
