Monday, February 18

Today is Monday of Week 6. (Yes, the semester really is one-third over: incredible!) Here is a link to the Week 6 assignments (and if you are finishing up Week 5 during the grace period this morning, here are the Week 5 assignments). I hope you will enjoy the new readings this week: it's the Middle East or India again in Myth-Folklore, while you will be starting the Mahabharata in Indian Epics!

Class Procedures and Reminders

Project Stack. As always, the project stack is HUGE on Monday. While you are waiting on comments back from me about your assignment, you can check the stack to make sure I received your email.

Start the week with extra credit. If you put off doing the extra credit until the end of the week, you might run out of time, but you can do Week 6 extra credit at the start of the week, or at any time during the week. So, if you feel like tinkering with your blog to add new features or playing with some meme generators, try the Tech Tips, or any of the other extra credit options.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog Stream. This is not from the blog stream; instead, it's a new addition to the Pets Padlet. Thank you, Kaitlyn! (Yes, it's a Tech Tip.)

Free Book Online. Today's free book is The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Barrows Dutton with illustrations by E. Boyd Smith. This is one of the reading options in Myth-Folklore next week (and a reading option later in the semester for Indian Epics too).

Free Audiobook. Today's free audiobook is The Odyssey as retold by Alfred J. Church, in honor of the all versions of the Odyssey (see below for Kazantzakis').

Featured Storybook. This Aladdin Storybook is a fun example of flipped characters: Aladdin's Adventures. You know all about Aladdin, but not this version of the story: this time Aladdin is the wealthy and powerful prince, and his beloved is a young woman without money but with the wit and intelligence they will need to survive all the palace intrigue!

Myth Video. This is another Crash Course video: Mythical Caves and Gardens.

India Video. Here's an Epified video for getting started on a new epic this week: The Mahabharata - An Introduction.

India Item. Here's a fact sheet about Vayu, the Wind God who was the father of Hanuman in the Ramayana, and who will be the father of Bhima in the Mahabharata.

Writing. This is an astounding infographic; click to learn more: 69 Rules of Punctuation.

And here's a flowchart for Mondays: Time for coffee.

Growth Mindset Cats. Growth is about exploration: Use your energy to explore.

There is a vast world to explore, as you can see in this video: Powers of Ten.

Event on Campus. Enjoy a free lunch today at noon in Headington and learn about the Fall 2019 Honors in Arezzo Italy program. "Lunch and Learn" is free and open to all students. (details)

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

February 18: Nikos Kazantzakis. Today marks the birthday of the Greek poet and novelist, Nikos Kazantzakis, who was born in 1883. You may know him as the author of the book The Last Temptation of Christ, and he also wrote a continuation of the Odyssey, a modern epic poem picking up where Homer left off: The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel. You can read more about his life and career in this Wikipedia article. Here is a photograph of the inscription on Kazantzakis's tomb: Δεν ελπίζω τίποτα, δε φοβούμαι τίποτα, είμαι λέφτερος (I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.).




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