Thursday, September 8

Today is Thursday of WEEK 3. There is nothing due today, which makes it the perfect day to get ahead and/or do some extra credit. Here is a link to this week's assignments; the extra credit is down at the bottom.

Update: The blog comment groups are ready to go! :-)

Class Procedures and Reminders

Blog commenting. After the Story post grace period ends at noon, I'll start putting together the new random blog groups for the blog commenting. I'll get that done this afternoon and will update these announcements when the groups are ready to go — I should be able to get that ready by 5PM at the latest.

Project Stack. I got a lot done yesterday! As of the end of the day on Wednesday, I had replied to any assignment turned in before 10PM on Sunday, and I am hoping to get through the rest of the assignments in the stack today (my goal each week is to get through the stack by the end of the week). You can check the stack to make sure I received your assignment. If you want comments back before the weekend, turn your project assignment in today.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

English Language. English has words that come from so many different sources! Find out more at the History of the English Language Chart.

Phonetic Etymology. This one comes from John Atkinson's blog; he has a good sense of humor about the English language. I like ham-mock:

Vocabulary. Did you know "thug" is a word from India? Find out more at Indian Words in English.

Featured Storybook. This project is from the Myth-Folklore class: Greek Heroes: The Untold Tales. Desperate and alone, a mysterious man named Joed discovers an ancient scroll in the midst of the desert. The scroll contains the stories of heroes, and these stories have the power to transform Joed's life completely.

Free Book Online: The Traditions of the Hopi by H. R. Voth. See the Freebookapalooza blog for links and the table of contents. There are lots of Coyote stories here, one of the great trickster figures of all time.

Words of Wisdom: Today's saying is Better bend than break (an English proverb). Find out more at the Proverb Lab. This is another one inspired by an Aesop's fable: The Tree and the Reed.

Today's Video: Google Translate Sings: The Beatles. Here's what happens when you let Google Translate play "telephone game" with the Beatles: ha!

Growth Mindset: Today's growth mindset cat can feel the learning: The emotions of learning: surprise, awe, interest, and confusion. You can find out more at the Growth Mindset blog.

Event on Campus: At 7:30PM in Gaylord 1140 there will be a talk by William Preston Robertson about The Big Lebowski and working with the Coen Brothers (details). Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.

September 8: Star Trek begins. Yes, today is a great day in the history of television — it marks the broadcast of the first episode of the original Star Trek series in 1966... 50 years ago! The original series then ran for three seasons until June 3, 1969. My devotion to Star Trek began in 1972, when the show was in reruns and I was able to watch every afternoon when I came home from school (I was in third grade). Live long and prosper, Star Trek!

For this fiftieth anniversary, the United States Post Office has issued commemorative stamps: Star Trek Forever.

Check out the Twitter stream for information and fun stuff during the day.