Monday, October 19

Today is Monday of Week 9. We are officially into the second half of the semester now! Here is a link to Week 9 ... and also a link to Week 8 for those of you using the grace period this morning.

Class Procedures and Reminders

Reading and Storytelling. This week in Indian Epics you will be choosing a a one-week version of the Mahabharata to explore (details) and in Myth-Folklore, there are more African and Asian stories (details).

Project Stack. Today and tomorrow I'll be working on the projects that were in the stack from last week, and then I'll start working on the assignments that people turned in over the weekend. As always, you can check the stack to make sure I received your email.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog stream. Chris has come up with a really cool idea for a four-part microfiction experiment inspired by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse; here's the first one: White Horse and Pestilence.


Twitter stream. Something very cool from Peru: they are finding new Nazca "lines" ... including a cat! Nazca Lines in Peru.


From Legonium, it's Latin Lego Twitter: Giant Ginger, an immense monster, fights the soldiers who fear death.


There's so much great Navratri art at Twitter, and I thought this was especially cool: a push-pin Durga made up of thousands of pins!


And the goddess has been sighted in Indian ICUs!


Plus a Sunday-morning music concert by Joel Veena with his Indian slide guitar:

Storybook. Since Asia is one of the reading areas for Myth-Folklore this week, here's a Storybook with Asian stories: Love and Loss in Vietnam.


100-Word Stories. Along with this fascinating love story from the Sufi storyteller, Attar: The Princess and the Slave.


And a myth about the origin of love, as told in the film Hedwig and the Angry Inch:


And another video about the same myth: The Myth of the Missing Half.


October 19: Philip Pullman. Today is the birthday of one of my very favorite writers, Philip Pullman. If you have not read his Dark Materials books, I highly recommend them. You can find out more about his life and career at Wikipedia. This article just appeared recently in The Guardian: Philip Pullman on the journey of a lifetime.


And here's an interview: How to Write.



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