Thursday, September 5

Today is Thursday of Week 3. For a lot of people, it is Storytelling Day: have fun with your new story this week! Here is a link to the Week 3 assignments.

Class Procedures and Reminders

Project Stack. I've replied to the assignments turned in before Sunday at 10PM. I'll finish the Sunday assignments today, and then move on to the assignments turned in on Monday and Tuesday. While you're waiting to hear back from me, you can check the stack to make sure I received your submission form; my goal each week is to clear out the assignment stack by the end of the day on Friday.

Look for stories everywhere. You really can find storytelling ideas everywhere you look! Everyday household objects, things you see walking around campus, foods you eat, snatches of other people's conversations you overhear: there are story ideas lurking everywhere, and the more you use your imagination to dream up stories, the easier it will be to write stories for this class every week. You can learn to read like a writer, and you can also learn to look and listen like a writer too!

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog Stream. And I'll resume now the parade of adorable pets; this time it's Scout and Knox; find out more at Lauren's blog post. :-)

Twitter Stream. Thursday is always a great day of the week for learning about folklore because of #FolkloreThursday, and this week's topic is especially cool: Folklore of Writing, Patterns, and Symbols. Check on that hashtag anytime today and see what's going on!

Indian Epics Today. Now that everyone in Indian Epics has started the Ramayana, here is the main hero of that story: Rama is today's character! More about Rama. Here you can see Rama and his devoted helper, Hanuman:

Storybooks. So here's a Storybook inspired by Rama... and by OU sports: Lord Rama: The Greatest OU Football Player.

Story of the Day. The story of the day comes from Aesop's fables; it tells why the camel does not have horns, and why his ears aren't much to look at either: Jupiter and the Camel.

Proverbs. Meanwhile, here is a Latin proverb in praise of camels:

Writing. This is a cartoon from the great Grant Snider to inspire you in your writing today: A Writer's Hierarchy of Needs.

Mindset Cats. And today's mindset cat recommends curiosity: Follow your natural curiosity and see what you learn.

Indian Music Video. Mash-ups are a wonderful form of creativity in storytelling and also in making music; this Chaiyya Chaiyya / Don't Stop mash-up is really cool, and for more Shankar Tucker, see below.

Writing Video. Playing games is a great way to cultivate both your curiosity and your creativity! Here's a video about Dungeons and Dragons: Can Dungeons and Dragons Make You A Confident and Successful Person?

Event on Campus. The OU Board and Card Game Club gets together every Thursday 6:30PM-9PM in Headington College D127, 200 West Lindsey across the street from Headington Hall (details).

September 5: Teacher's Day. Today is celebrated as Teacher's Day in India in honor of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. He was a philosopher and writer, and he was also the president of India from 1962-1967; Radhakrishnan was born on this day in 1888. You can read more about his life and career at Wikipedia. This graphic shows Radhakrishnan and the words of the Guru Mantra.

And here's a beautiful performance of the Guru Mantra with Shankar Tucker on clarinet:

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