Friday, April 27

HAPPY FRIDAY! You have reached the end of Week 14! Here is a link to the class calendar. The countdown has really begun: the class is over one week from today, on Friday at noon.

Project Stack. I just have a few items left in the stack right now, so I should be able to get through everything in the stack by the end of the day. While you are waiting, you can check the stack to make sure I received your email.

Blog Stream. Here's a fascinating Wikipedia Trail from Baylie's blog: From Sati to the Pollyanna Principle.

ICYMI: In Case You Missed It. Here are some of my favorite items from announcements earlier in the semester. The items below come from Week 4 and Week 5.

Writing: Here's some writing advice from the Writing Laboratory: Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.

Myth Item. I know there are a lot of science majors in this class, so here is a cartoon by Tom Gauld: Mythical Scientific Creatures.

Video: And here's a beautiful video; it's a story told by the brother of Ron McNair, NASA astronaut: Eyes on the Stars.

India Item. Everyone in Indian Epics knows Hanuman now, so I wanted to share this story of Hanuman and the Ebony Tree.

Writing: Here's a really cool word game: word-unit palindromes.

Video: Here's a beautiful empathy video, which features a surprise revelation at the end: The Present.

India Item. Did you ever play the game "Chutes and Ladders" when you were a kid? Well, the game comes from India, where it is called Moksha Patam, with snakes and ladders:

Writing: If you ever wondered why commas are so complicated, it's because we use commas for so many different purposes, as you can see here: The 15 Punctuation Marks.

Video: And here's a feel-good video for Friday: Friends Furever: Be Together. Not The Same.

Event on Campus: The OU Arabic Flagship Talent Show and Dinner is taking place tonight in 145 Zarrow, 6PM-8PM (details). Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.

Roman Floralia. Today beings the ancient Roman festival called Floralia, which lasts from April 27 through May 3. Flora was a goddess in ancient Rome, and she presided over flowers and all blossoming plants. You can read more about the Floralia here, and you can see the goddess in Botticelli's painting Primavera (Spring); the smiling goddess Flora is the one all covered with flowers (detail view):

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