Class Procedures and Reminders:
Storybook Stack. There are still some Storybook assignments in the stack (late Week 12 Storybooks, plus early Week 13-14-15 Storybooks), and I am making my way through them in the order that they were turned in. If you want to check and make sure your assignment is in the stack, you can see the contents of the stack here. I hope to get through the stack on Friday (although if you turn something in on Friday, it will probably go into the stack for Monday - it all depends on how crazy the day turns out to be).
Week 12 Responding: Check your groups. The groups for Blog Responding are basically the same as last week, but there have been some adjustments based on the folks who are finished with the class (the blog responding will get a bit chaotic in the last weeks of the semester as people finish up, mix-and-match their points, etc). So, before you do the blog responding assignment, double-check on your group to make sure you are responding to the right people. There will be new groups next week!
Gradebook Declarations. (repeat announcement) Some of you are under a lot of pressure at the end of the semester with projects and tests in your other classes. So please, if you do not have time to fully complete one of the assignments for this class, just skip it and make up the points later. Read each Declaration carefully and do NOT make the Declaration if you have not completed the work. And if you have any questions about an assignment, just send me an email - I promise to get back to you promptly, and I can always record points for you manually after the deadline. So, if in doubt, please write and ask!
The following items are for fun and exploration:
Featured Resource: Writing Tips from Famous Writers. Here is a lovely collection of writing tips; my favorite was this one by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the author the The Little Prince, surely one of the most perfect books ever written.
Words of Wisdom: Today's proverb poster is You buy land, you buy stones; you buy meat, you buy bones (an English proverb). Details at the Proverb Lab. I really enjoy rhyming proverbs - and this one is very wise, too: nothing is perfect!
Mahabharata Image: Today's Mahabharata image is Yama, who is the Hindu god of Death and also of Dharma. His vehicle is a water buffalo, as you can see.
Friday Event on Campus: It's Lebanese Cultural Night, with doors opening at 7PM at the Natural History Museum... and featuring a very yummy dinner menu, plus entertainment! (details). Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.
Saturday, November 8: Bram Stoker. November 8 marks the birthday in 1847 of the Irish novelist Bram Stoker who is, of course, most famous for his invention of the modern literary figure of Count Dracula, published in 1897. Stoker's Count Dracula along with other vampire traditions has in turn given rise to a whole genre of modern vampire fiction including the recent Twilight series of novels by Stephanie Meyer. You can read more about Stoker's life and career in this Wikipedia article. Stoker's Dracula has inspired many later novels, films and even comic books, but I will confess that my favorite Dracula is Count von Count of the Muppets!
Here is a YouTube of Patrick Stewart and the Count:Note: You can page back through older blog posts to see any announcements you might have missed.
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