Sunday, October 7

Today is Sunday of Week 7, so that means you need to finish up the Week 7 assignments today if you have not done that already, along with any extra credit you want/need to do. Here is a link to Week 7, and here is a link to Week 8, which is a Review Week — you might enjoy doing those Week 8 review posts today, looking back on your work over the first half of the semester.

Class Procedures and Reminders

Half-way done! The end of Week 7 marks the end of the first half of the semester (14 weeks total, plus Dead Week). You can check your class progress, and on Monday afternoon I'm required to enter mid-term progress grades. To be passing the class at the end of Week 7, you should have a minimum of 145 points; if your goal is to get an A in the class, you should have around 200 points.

Project Stack. I'll update the stack periodically as people turn in those assignments today; to see what you have due for Week 7, check the email you received from me back in Week 6. You can always check the stack to make sure I received your email. The sooner you turn in your project, the sooner you'll get comments back from me next week.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog Stream. Erin did the "Happiness Jar" option from the HEART challenges, and this is her follow-up post about how it went: Happiness Jar.

Featured Storybook. This Storybook is about the Hindu creation myth known as the "Churning of the Ocean of Milk," or Samudra Manthan.

India Video. There are other creation stories from India too: Hindu Creation Stories.

Myth Video. Here's a Crash Course video about creation myths: Social Orders and Creation Stories.

Myth Item. After OU's unlucky day at the Red River Showdown this weekend, I thought I would share this infographic: Number Theories: Figures that bring luck ... and figures that don’t.

Writing. There's active voice, and passive voice... and passive-aggressive voice.

And here's something to ponder as Fall is upon us: Constant Change.

Growth Mindset Cats. Today's growth mindset cat bounces back from defeat: Sometimes you win, sometimes you . . . learn.

And here are some profound thoughts about time for the end of the week: The Secret Powers of Time.

Event near Campus. It's Groovefest in Andrews Park today (details).

Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.

October 7: Poe. Today marks the anniversary of the death of the poet and short-story writer Edgar Allan Poe in the year 1849; he was only 40 years old when he died. You can read more about Poe's remarkable and tragic life in this detailed Wikipedia article. Because his books are in the public domain, you can find them in many different online editions. Below is an image of the cover designed by the famous illustrator Gustave Dore for Poe's famous poem, The Raven:

And here is a film version of that poem:

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