Class Procedures and Reminders:
Storybook stack. As of the end of the day on Tuesday, I had gotten caught up with all the Storybooks that had been turned in. As always, you can check the contents of the stack to make sure I have received your assignment!
Week 15 schedule. (repeat announcement) The schedule for Week 15 is compressed because of finals. Instead of lasting for the whole week and the weekend, Week 15 will end at NOON on FRIDAY, December 6. So, please make sure you get your assignments all turned in by that time. All the Week 15 assignments are available at this time, with the exception of the Responding assignment which will become available on Thursday (tomorrow).
Finishing the class. (repeat announcement) For those of you who are not done with the class yet, I hope you have a specific plan in place for the assignments that you will complete in order to get the points you need, and I would urge you not to put any of those assignments off until the last minute. As you reach the points you need for your final grade in this class - 410 points for an A, 360 points for a B, 320 points for a C - let me know, and I'll record the letter grade for you there in the Desire2Learn Gradebook.
The following items are for fun and exploration:
Featured Resource: Mythical Lake Monsters of America. Learn about the mythical lake monsters of all fifty states, including the giant octopus of Lake Thunderbird in Oklahoma!
Words of Wisdom: Today's proverb poster is When the bee comes to your house, let her have beer; you may want to visit the bee’s house some day (a Congolese proverb). Details at the Proverb Lab. You can imagine how delighted I was to find just the right image to go with this proverb!
Mahabharata Image: Today's Mahabharata image is Damayanti's Swayamvara. As you can see, the gods have disguised themselves to look like her beloved Nala!
Wednesday Event on Campus: You can see University Theater's production of CORAM BOY at 8PM in the Rupel Jones Theater - and be sure to look for Victoria (Indian Epics) in the cast! (details) Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.
December 4: Omar Khayyam. Today marks the death in the year 1122 of the great Persian poet and scholar, Omar Khayyam. He is best known today for his collection of poems called the "Rubaiyat" (quatrains), but in his day he was renowned as a mathematician and also as an astronomer. Here is one of the quatrains in the famous translation by Edward FitzGerald:
With them the Seed of Wisdom did I sow,
And with my own hand labour'd it to grow:
And this was all the Harvest that I reap'd -
"I came like Water, and like Wind I go."
And with my own hand labour'd it to grow:
And this was all the Harvest that I reap'd -
"I came like Water, and like Wind I go."
You can read more about Omar Khayyam's remarkable life and career in this Wikipedia article, which is also the source for this image of Omar Khayam's tomb in Neishapur, Iran.
Note: You can page back through older blog posts to see any announcements you might have missed.
