Class Procedures and Reminders
Blog comments. Thanks to everybody for the "favorite places" posts! I'm still reading through those and making comments; I don't comment on all the blog posts, but since this is everybody's first post, and since the "favorite places" are so much fun to learn about, I'm trying to comment on all of them. Later this week you'll be reading and commenting on each other's blog posts; I'll have more information about that in tomorrow's announcements!
Your announcements for the class. If you are involved in campus activities that you want me to help publicize, please let me know. I'll be glad to include them here in the class announcements! Send me specific information about day-time-location, and also a link to a webpage or any additional online information you have about the group or activity.
Call me Laura! Really! I know that it can be confusing when different classes work differently in terms of formality, names, etc. — but you really can call me Laura, and I've written up this blog post to explain that I am actually not a professor, just an instructor... so "Professor Gibbs" would not be me. But you can just call me Laura!
The following items are for fun and exploration:
Spelling Humor: Potato. Nope, there are no rules of English spelling. :-)
Mythology Words in English: Today's mythology word in English is JANUARY, which takes its name from the god Janus, who looks both forward and backward. For details, see this blog post.
Featured Storybook: Mermaids: An Eternal World of Waters. Inside a mysterious grotto on the ocean's shore, Lydia finds a tattered book, adorned with pearls and clamshells — a magical book which "shows" the dramatic stories of Melusina and other famous mermaids.
FREE eBook: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. This blog post provides additional information about the contents of the book, and you can also find out more at Wikipedia.
Words of Wisdom: Today's proverb poster is A book that remains shut is but a block (an English proverb). Details at the Proverb Lab. So, open a book — and open your mind!
Ramayana Image: Today's Ramayana image is Rama and Lakshmana. Rama (on the right) is the hero of the Ramayana, and Lakshmana is his ever-faithful brother.
Wednesday Event on Campus: There will be a symbolic "New Year, New Me" paper-shredding experience in the first floor lobby of the Union, 11:30AM-12:30PM (details). Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.
January 14: Makar Sankranti. Today is the Hindu holiday of Makar Sankranti, which you can read about in this Wikipedia article or here in this BBC article. It is celebrated under various names and with various rituals throughout India. In many places, kite-flying is part of the holiday, as you can see in this lovely image from the Makar Sankranti celebration in Mumbai:
Note: You can page back through older blog posts to see any announcements you might have missed, and you can check out the Twitter stream for information and fun stuff during the day.
