Tuesday, October 1

Today is Tuesday of Week 7. Here is a link to the Week 7 assignments. It's African and Asian stories in Myth-Folklore this week, and finishing up the Mahabharata in Indian Epics. I hope you will enjoy this week's reading!

Class Procedures and Reminders

My schedule today. I'll be out of the office for part of the day, but I should be back at my desk this afternoon, so I'll answer any emails then. I've got some eye trouble that is requiring a bunch of trips to the eye doctor. It's mythological, ha ha: I'm using eye drops related to the mandrake root! Anyway, thank you for your patience when my schedule gets kind of wacky like today.

Project Stack. As always, you can check the stack to make sure I received your assignment. If you turned in something before noon on Saturday, you should have comments back from me, and I'll keep working on the Saturday assignments later today when I get back to my desk.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog Stream. In Jose's tech tip blog post for last week, I learned that he had updated his Canvas profile name and also the picture: it's the Aztec god Huitzilopochtli, who is a key figure in his Storybook: Huitzilli's Journey. What a cool Canvas avatar picture!

Storybooks. Jose's Storybook is the first Aztec project in class, but there was an Inca Storybook a few years ago: Legends of the Inca.

Twitter Stream. During Navratri, there is all kinds of beautiful goddess activity at Twitter, and I wanted to share this lovely picture of the author Chitra Divakaruni from her Twitter stream, where she has Durga to her right and Lakshmi to her left. Some of you in Indian Epics may be reading her book Palace of Illusions later in the semester; it's a retelling of the entire Mahabharata from Draupadi's point of view. And her latest novel is about Sita: Forest of Enchantments.

Indian Epics Today. Today's character is a key figure at the start of the Mahabharata: King Pandu, the father of the heroes known as the Pandavas. He almost did not have sons, though, all because of a curse: Pandu's Curse.

Story of the Day. Today's "why" story for today is about the spider-trickster Anansi and why spiders run up high on the roof where you can't reach them: Why Spiders Live on Rooftops. It's a story about Anansi and "Tiger," but don't be fooled by the name tiger. Just as mountain "lion" refers to the cougar or panther, the same is true of "tiger" in African storytelling traditions, referring not to Asian tigers but instead to leopards and panthers as found in Africa, like this African leopard:

Proverbs. Here's a proverb from Mali about the leopard: Goats cannot live in a herd of leopards.

Myth-Folklore Video. And here's another Anansi story: Anansi and the Snake.

H.E.A.R.T.. As the semester gets more hectic, remember to give yourself encouraging feedback too: Self-Talk.

HEART Video. And here are a few thoughts about the biology of positivity.

Mindset Cats.  As always, the mindset cat knows that mistakes are part of how we grow and learn.

Event on Campus. Tonight at the Sam Noble Museum Auditorium, Charles Kimball and Imam Imad Enchassi will present a talk on Truth Over Fear: Overcoming Islamophobia through Education, Dialogue, and Cooperation from 6:30PM - 8:30PM (details).

October 1: International Day of Older Persons. You can find out more about this international holiday at the United Nations website, and there will be lots happening at the Twitter hashtag today: #UNIDOP, 

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