Class Procedures and Reminders:
Storybook Stack. (repeat announcement) I 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. If you want comments back on your assignment sooner rather than later, turn your work earlier on Sunday rather than waiting until later. If you wait until Sunday evening, you will be farther down in the stack and will have to wait longer for my comments back to you next week.
Week 3 Responding. (repeat announcement) For the Read and Respond assignment, you should be looking for the Week 3 essay and story - so, if someone is working ahead, that means you will need to scroll down to find the Week 3 posts. For information about what to do if someone does not have the posts you are looking for, see the instructions at the assignment. Plus, there is another extra credit responding option this week, too! You'll find that information at the bottom of the regular assignment.
The following items are for fun and exploration:
Web Resource: Many of you in Myth-Folklore have already visited this wonderful website, theoi.com. For anything you want to know about the Greek gods and goddesses, this is the place to go!
Writing Resource: Wanna Live Forever? Become A Noun. This charming video from NPR features a fun song about the people whose names became nouns: sandwiches, leotards, shrapnel, and more!
Foreign Words in English: Today's foreign word in English is aphrodisiac, which we get from the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite. For details, see this blog post.
Featured Storybook: Tales of Gothic Creatures. This Storybook begins with stories around the campfire, but the campers begin to disappear, one by one . . . until the horrifying revelation in the final story.
FREE Kindle eBook: Deccan Nursery Tales by C. A. Kincaid. Here is a link to the book at Amazon, and this blog post provides additional information about the contents of the book. People in the Indian Epics class will recognize many of the characters mentioned in the titles of these stories.
Words of Wisdom: Today's proverb poster is Beware the tiger who offers you a golden bracelet (a proverb from India). Details at the Proverb Lab. The proverb alludes to a story in the Indian Hitopadesha in which a sly tiger lures travelers to their deaths by promising them a golden bracelet.
Ramayana Image: Today's Ramayana image shows Sita's trial by fire, in which the fire god himself, Agni, rises up to protect her.
Sunday Event on Campus: There will be a piano concert by Jonathan Shames and Stephanie Shames at 3PM in Sharp Concert Hall (details). Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.
February 2: Imbolc. In the Wheel of the Year holidays, February 2 is celebrated as Imbolc (sometimes spelled Imbolg), the cross-quarter day which is in-between the Winter Solstice (shortest day of the year) and the Spring Equinox (when the day and night are of equal length, with the days growing longer). Because the seasons of the year are opposite in the northern and southern hemispheres, when it is Imbolc in the northern hemisphere, it is the holiday of Lughnasadh in the southern hemisphere! Here is the Wheel of the Year showing the four main holidays at the solstices and equinoxes, along with the four cross-quarter days:
Note: You can page back through older blog posts to see any announcements you might have missed.
