Friday, January 19

HAPPY FRIDAY! You have reached the end of the Orientation week! Here is a link to the Orientation assignments, plus a link to the class calendar so that you can move on to the Week 2 assignments when you're done with Week 1. With Week 2, the regular class routine will start to take shape!

Class Procedures and Reminders

Success Tips: Finish on Friday. Every week there are some assignments due on Friday or over the weekend, based on what is most convenient for you. If you do have a chance to finish the week those end-of-week assignments today, I would urge you to do so. It's tempting to put off the rest of the assignments till the weekend, but just think: if you can finish up the week today, Friday, then you will have more weekend to enjoy!

My comments. I think I've managed to comment on all the Favorite Places posts, so today I'll start on the Introduction posts, and I'll carry on with those next week, and in Week 2 you all will start reading each other's Introduction posts next week also.

THANK YOU. I owe everybody a big thank you for all the work you did getting your blogs set up: now we have a blog network. You should all be really proud of that accomplishment, and I'm excited to see what you will create and share here in our own part of the blogosphere!

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog Stream. Some people wrote very elaborate "Favorite Places" posts, and I wanted to share this one from Callum all about the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. This photo shows Elk Mountain; read more at Callum's blog for all the details.

Mythology. This fabulous diagram shows different kinds of hybrid mythical animals based on how the creatures overlap in the diagram: Mythical Creatures (full-sized view).

India Video. Manish Vyas is one of my favorite India musicians, and here is a video he made about the santoor, an instrument especially associated with Kashmir: About the Santoor.

Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is also from Kashmir: Be encouraged, O pilgrim, though your destination is far off. Find out more at the Proverb Laboratory.

Writing: Here's an item about the power of blogging; find out more at the Writing Laboratory.

H.E.A.R.T.: Here are some wise words to ponder about today and every day: Forget yesterday. It has already forgotten you. Don't sweat tomorrow. You haven't even met. Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift: today (HEART blog).

Growth Mindset: Today's growth mindset cat keeps on climbing: The higher you climb, the more you can see. You can find out more at the Growth Mindset blog.

Video: Here's a music video from Shakira with a great growth mindset message: Try Everything.

Event on Campus: There will be a free showing of Blade Runner 2049 at 6PM, 9PM and midnight in Meacham (details). Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.

January 19: Edgar Allan Poe. Today, January 19, marks the anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe in the year 1809, over 200 years ago. You can read more about Poe's remarkable and tragic life in this detailed Wikipedia article, and the Penn Online Books page contains a list of his books which are available online. Below is an image of the cover designed by the famous illustrator Gustave Dore for Poe's famous poem, The Raven:

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