Thursday, December 8

Today is Thursday of WEEK 15. This is the last full day of class, so I hope you will be able to finish up now; these are the Week 15 assignments. The class is over tomorrow, Friday, at noon... but please don't put off your last assignments until then. If you can finish today, that would be great!

Class Procedures and Reminders

Project Stack. I have just a few assignments in the stack, and they are all from people who are done with the class. I know some of you will be turning in Week 15 Project assignments today, and you can check the stack to make sure I received your assignment.

This week's schedule. (repeat announcement) All the assignments are available now, and as soon as you get the points you need, you are all done with the class: 410 for an A, 360 for a B, 320 for a C, 301 to pass the class with a D. Please let me know now if you have any questions as you finish up the class!

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Time. Reading can be a metaphor for life: the next chapter.

Motivation. This lovely quote is from the author Louisa May Alcott.

Word from India. You probably did not know that this common English word comes from India: TANK.

Featured Storybook. This project is from the Myth-Folklore class: The Aviarium. You have entered into a mysterious museum known as The Aviarium... and now you are wondering if you will manage to make it out of there alive!

Free Book Online: Ocean of the Streams of Story translated from the Sanskrit by C. H. Tawney. See the Freebookapalooza blog for links and the table of contents. This is one of the most astounding collections of stories in the world; you can find out more at Wikipedia.

Words of Wisdom: Today's saying is No day so long but has its evening (a French proverb). Find out more at the Proverb Lab. Likewise: no semester so long but has its final week.

Today's Video: Just Another Day. Some thoughts from Brian Eno on the passage of time, day by day, season by season, year by year:

Growth Mindset: Today's growth mindset cat knows how to cope: Empathy reduces stress. You can find out more at the Growth Mindset blog.

Event on Campus: OU IT is giving away gift cards for Starbucks; change your password to see if you've won (details). Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.

December 8: Padraic Colum. Today marks the birthday of the Irish author Padraic Column in 1881. You can learn about his life and career at Wikipedia, and there are several of his books at the Freebookapalooza. One of my favorites is The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles:

Check out the Twitter stream for information and fun stuff during the day, or click here for past announcements.