Sunday, January 26

Today is Sunday of Week 2. The Read and Respond assignment, along with the Internet assignment and Storybook assignment, are due today. So, if you have not finished those up already, now is the time.

Class Procedures and Reminders:

Week 2 Internet. (repeat announcement) For the Week 2 Internet assignment, you will be creating a website using Google Sites. I've provided detailed instructions, so I don't think you'll run into any problems, but if you do, send me a note. I don't check email as often on the weekends, but I do check email occasionally, and if you run into a snag with that assignment, I'll be sure to write you back.

Stack. (repeat announcement) I also don't update the Storybook stack as often on the weekends, but you can check there to make sure I received your assignment; I'll update it at least once or twice over the weekend.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Seek the Firefly. I wanted to share this new blog project by Andrew (Myth-Folklore). I was happy to see that the blog has a "Story Time" too! So, I've subscribed and am looking forward to seeing where this will go. If any of you have some kind of project that you'd like me to share in the announcements, please let me know!

Writing Resource: Neil Gaiman's Eight Rules of Writing. Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite writers, especially his novel American Gods. Of course, I like his first piece of advice very much: Write!

Writing Humor: I thought you might enjoy this bit of writing humor!

Foreign Words in English: Today's foreign word in English is nemesis. In Greek, Nemesis was the goddess of vengeance and retribution. For details, see this blog post.

Featured Storybook: Odysseus Goes Shopping. In the beginning, there was a list - a shopping list, and adventures worthy of Odysseus await Sam, our intrepid shopper, as he dutifully attempts to acquire all the items on that shopping list in time for Thanksgiving dinner.

FREE Kindle eBook: Hitopadesha translated by Edwin Arnold. Here is a link to the book at Amazon, and this blog post provides additional information about the contents of the book. It is one of my favorite story collections from ancient India!

Words of Wisdom: Today's proverb poster is The birth of a golden deer is impossible; nevertheless, Rama longed for the chase (a Sanskrit proverb from the Hitopadesha; see above). Details at the Proverb Lab. The meaning of this proverb will be very clear to all of you in the Indian Epics class!

Ramayana Image: Today's Ramayana image shows Dasaratha's funeral. This is from an illustrated edition of the Ramayana prepared for a Mughal prince.

January 26: Republic Day honors Sundarlal Bahuguna. On this day in 1950, the Indian Constitution came into force, making India officially a "Republic," and so January 26 is celebrated as "Republic Day" in India. You can read more about the holiday at Wikipedia. Each year on Indian Republic Day, heroes of the nation are celebrated. One of the heroes who has been honored as a hero of the nation on this day is the environmental activist, Sundarlal Bahuguna, a member of the Chipko movement which is fighting to preserve the forests in the Himalayas. The image shows Sundarlal Bahuguna standing in front of a painting that depicts his meeting with the Dalai Lama (source):



Note: You can page back through older blog posts to see any announcements you might have missed.