Class Procedures and Reminders
Microfiction extra credit. A lot of people did some microfiction writing for the Story Lab this week, and I'm hoping you will want to contribute some of those stories to a class anthology. There's a Microfiction extra credit option available every week, so if you want to try writing some microfiction this weekend, please do! Plus there are lots of microfiction experiments in the comment randomizer too.
Project Stack. On Friday I managed to reply to all the Week 11 projects in the stack, but there were a lot of Week 12 and Week 13 projects that I did not get to; those will be at the top of the stack on Monday! Meanwhile, you can check the stack to make sure I received your project.
The following items are for fun and exploration:
Blog stream. There is always good stuff in the blog stream AND at the class Padlet. If you haven't done that check-in-and-connect extra credit option, I highly recommend it. You can see the Padlet in Canvas too. People have been adding such fun stuff!
Twitter stream. As someone who uses way too many exclamation marks, I could definitely relate to this tweet:
Dear person,
— ryan bamsey (@OhChickenBalls) April 15, 2021
I hope this email finds you well! Here is my reply to the question you asked! Everything ends with an exclamation point so I seem friendly!
Here is one sentence ending in a full stop to show that I am not unhinged.
Many thanks!
Ryan
And here is some writing advice from a second-grader:
Some Indian art: it's a beautiful Vishnu-and-Lakshmi riding on Garuda.
Some of you may be listening to Child Ballads about Robin Hood in Myth-Folklore, and here's the old folk ballad Tam Lyn in a remarkable new version by Benjamin Zephaniah (lyrics here):
An incantation bowl from Jewish Babylonia; find out more at Aeon: Magic bowls of antiquity.
Some of you may be listening to Child Ballads about Robin Hood in Myth-Folklore, and here's the old folk ballad Tam Lyn in a remarkable new version by Benjamin Zephaniah (lyrics here):
For comparison, here's a more traditional version of that ballad (lyrics here):
This is a lovely video about dancing... and about creative expression in general: Live to Inspire: Dance.
Plus a beautiful Buddha Doodle from Molly Hahn:
April 17: Benjamin Franklin. Today marks the anniversary of the death of Benjamin Franklin in the year 1790; he was born in 1706. You can find out more at Wikipedia. There is also a delightful bit of Latin verse composed in Franklin's honor by the French statesman Turgot: Eripuit caelo fulmen, sceptrumque tyrannis, "He ripped the lightning from the sky, and the sceptre from the tyrants." The painting below shows "Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky," by Benjamin West (Philadelphia Museum of Art).
April 18: Moreau. Today marks the death in 1898 of the great French painter, Gustave Moreau; he was born in 1826. Moreau is famous for his paintings on subjects taken from classical mythology, and you can read about his life in this Wikipedia article. One of his most famous paintings shows Oedipus and the Sphinx:
Here is a video of his paintings:
Check out the Twitter stream for information and fun stuff during the day, or click here for past announcements.
