Showing posts with label current1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label current1. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 5

Today is Wednesday of Dead Week (Week 15). Here is a link to this week's items. All the assignments are ready to go; no need to wait! I hope you will be able to finish the class today or tomorrow; the class is over on Friday at noon. If you have any questions about that, let me know!

Class Procedures and Reminders

Project Stack. Yesterday I read through all projects from people who are not done with the class yet, and today I'll start sending back comments to those of you who are already done with the class. As always, you can check the stack to make sure I received your email.

Course Evaluations.The window is open at eval.ou.edu, and your feedback is really important, especially for the online course program .The only reason these online courses exist is because students find them valuable: your support for online courses matters! This is my last semester teaching at OU, but of course I hope the online course program will continue (I am a believer in the power of online courses), and if you want to see online courses offered in the future, this is a chance for you to share your thoughts about that.


The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog Stream. A very cool Wikipedia Trail from Dalton: From Brahma to Mahavidya, which are the aspects of the goddess, Devi, as you can see here:


For some music, another beautiful Maati Baani video: Jao Priya.



And here's a story from India: Rahu-Ketu, the Eclipse Demon (you can click here for a transcription of the story).


This is a Cherokee storyteller, Robert Lewis, talking about The First Fire.



And here's a surprising English word from Greek mythology: MORPHINE, which takes its name from the god Morpheus.


Some inspiring thoughts by the great fantasy writer, Neil Gaiman.


Did you get a good night's sleep last night? Here's some information about sleep and the brain (and you can click here for a transcription of the infographic).


These are some items from the announcements back in Week 9:

Another lovely comic from Grant Snider (larger view):


Something about monsters from Crash Course:


And perhaps you have heard of Cerberus, the three-headed hound of hell in Greek mythology? Well, here is puppy Cerberus! :-)


Plus a cat to inspire your reading (via Sudesna Ghosh) if you are doing a reading item today:


May 5: Cinco de Mayo. In Mexico, the Cinco de Mayo holiday is not a national holiday (it is celebrated mainly in the state of Puebla, in east-central Mexico), but in other countries, especially the United States, Cinco de Mayo has become an important holiday to celebrate Hispanic cultural heritage and traditions. You can read more about the holiday in this Wikipedia article, which is also the source for this great image of a children's Cinco de Mayo parade in Minnesota:


Some chill music for a Cinco de Mayo celebration:



Check out the Twitter stream for information and fun stuff during the day, or click here for past announcements.
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Tuesday, May 4

Today is Tuesday of Week 15; here's a link to all the Week 15 items. If you are doing the reading this week, you'll want to do the Reading A today per the usual schedule... and working ahead is definitely good too since this week is short, ending on Friday at noon.

Class Procedures and Reminders

Finishing the class. When you have the points you need (410-A, 360-B, 320-C), you can fill out the "Finished" form that you will see in Canvas: you're all done! 

Week 14 comments/feedback. The Week 14 blog comments and project feedback assignments are still available in Canvas; you'll see them at the top of Week 15, and they'll be available all week until Friday at noon. So, if you didn't get those done for Week 14, you can do them now if you want, and I'll be very grateful if you choose to do that: the commenting gets very ragged here at the end of the semester, and it's nice when people can get some comments on their work.

Project Stack. I'm focusing right now on the items where people need comments back from me to do the Week 15 final revisions. I hope to get through the rest of those today, and then I'll move on to the rest of the items in the stack. Thank you for your patience with that different approach this week! Meanwhile, you can check the stack to make sure I received your form.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog Stream. Charley has a wild Wikipedia Trail that goes from "Animal Sacrifice in Hinduism" to "Brigitte Bardot," via the Gadhimai Temple of Kali in southern Nepal:


A video for today from Crash Course: I'm sure you know Maui is the name of an island, but did you know he was a hero too? Ma'ui, Oceania's Hero.


Plus here is some beautiful music from Maati Baani in India for some good feels during Dead Week: Tore Matware Naina.



And some beautiful thoughts from the philosopher Alan Watts, with music by Hans Zimmer (Interstellar):


This is an Estonian proverb with a photo of one of the famous dwarves of Wroclaw in Poland: The one who is not strong enough to lift the stone must roll it. This is good advice for the end of semester: just keep rolling that stone!


And if you find yourself in a negative space, here are some tips for managing negative thoughts.


For a visual illustration of some of these same ideas, check out Grant Snider on the trap of negative thinking (larger view). It all depends on how you look at it!


These are some items from the announcements back in Week 8:

A PSA from India featuring divine examples to promote helmet safety: What Gods wear before they ride.


Something cool for any fans of Outlander: Sam Heughan Wants to Tell You a Story.


And finally, some typo humor from Tom Gauld.


Star Wars Day. Yes, May the Fourth has arrived... so, without further ado: MAY THE FOURTH be with you! You can read more about this Star Wars holiday at Wikipedia.


And of course I have to share Tushar Lall's India-themed Star Wars music:



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


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Monday, May 3

Today is Monday of Week 15 (a.k.a. Dead Week), the last week of the semester! Here is a link to this week's assignments.
Update: You will see that the Week 14 blog comments and project feedback assignments are still available in Canvas; I have moved them to the top of Week 15. I made those still available so that if you missed those items and want to do them, you still can. It's very helpful if you want to do those because the commenting gets very ragged here at the end, and it's nice when people can get some comments on their work even at the very end of the semester like this.

Class Procedures and Reminders

Dead Week. If you have not finished the class yet, you can use this week's assignments to get to your goal; the key thing is to make sure you complete all your work for the course by Friday at noon. As soon as you have the points you need (410-A, 360-B, 320-C), you are done. Just fill out the "Finished" form that you will find there in Canvas, and you are good to go!

Project Stack. As always, you can check the stack to make sure I received your email. I'm focusing first on the assignments from people who are not done with class yet, starting with the new stories people turned in for Week 14, and then moving on to the other Week 14 and Week 15 assignments. Thank you for your patience while I work through the stack this week, focusing first on people who need comments back for their Week 15 project.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog Stream. Someone added this super-adorable gif to the check-in-and-connect Padlet: waving bye for the end of the semester!


This is a fascinating infographic about religion that shows the distinctive presence of Hinduism in India: World Map of Religions.


This is a Smithsonian video on Native American Ledger Art.



Plus some thoughts from Grant Snider about keeping A Writer's Notebook.



These are some items from the announcements back in Week 7:

Something very cool and weird from the British Library: an art form called nari-kunjara, an elephant (kunjara) made of women (nari):


Chris found this amazing statue of Bhima for his reading notes post. It's from Bali, in Indonesia, where the Mahabharata is extremely popular (both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are well known beyond the borders of India).


For your listening pleasure, talking drums of Africa:


And from Crash Course: African Pantheons and the Orishas.


Plus... dragons!


For fans of dragons and/or Latin: A serpent, unless it devours a serpent, will not become a dragon. And for those of you who have studied Latin: Serpens, ni edat serpentem, draco non fiet.


May 3: Pete Seeger. Almost one hundred years ago today, on May 3 of 1919, Pete Seeger was born, and he left this world just a few years ago, in 2014. You can read more about Pete Seeger's career in this Wikipedia article, and I've included two videos here: a concert performance by Peter Seeger and Arlo Guthrie (son of Woody Guthrie), and a recent video from Amnesty International with Peter Seeger performing the Dylan classic, Forever Young.


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

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WEEK 14 WEEKEND: Last weekend of class!

It is now the WEEK 14 WEEKEND. So that means it is also the last weekend (!), since this class is over on Friday, May 7, at noon. Here is a link to Week 14 and also to Week 15. I hope you can finish up the class this weekend in order to have next week free to prepare for finals in your other classes. Here's more info about finishing up in this class.

Class Procedures and Reminders

Project stack. I replied to all the Week 13 projects on Friday, but there were some Week 14 and Week 15 items I did not get to; those will be at the top of the stack on Monday. As always, you can check the stack to make sure I got your project.

Making your plan to finish up. (repeat announcement) I hope everybody has a plan in place for the end-of-week Week 14 items plus any Week 15 items you need to reach your goal for the end of the semester (410 A, 360 B, 320 C). This is the last weekend of class, so if you normally do most of your work for the class on the weekends, try to get as much done this weekend as you can.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog stream. This is from a Portfolio site rather than from a blog: Drew recorded a reading of his story and then included that audio in the webpage. It sounds great! Take a listen: John and Alex in Unsimulated Purgatory. 


If you want to read your story and include the recording in your webpage or blog post, here's the SoundCloud Tech Tip.

These are some items from the announcements back in Week 6:

Something gorgeous from India: a famous statue of Shiva's bull, Nandi, in Andhra Pradesh, then and now:


More gorgeous art from India: a winged female deity, appx. two thousand years old:


Some electricity giants in Iceland :-)


Some of you in Myth-Folklore read the Iliad earlier this semester; here are the opening lines read in ancient Greek:


Inspiration if you have reading to do this weekend; it's a quote from Tyrion Lannister, a character in George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones: Books are better.


And here are not one but two videos with the Game of Thrones theme done in Indian style: Mumbai Dhol Tasha Cover and Rishab Rikhiram.



Check out the very long Twitter thread for SO MANY VIDEOS of classical music in cartoons: wow!

This is a cartoon about the perils of the cursive alphabet: demons and lemons! Plus an example from real life: demons for sale!



And here's some hieroglyphic humor: Emojis as Hieroglyphics.


And a video from PBS: Can You Speak Emoji?


Finally, just for fun, here's Goodnight, Moon re-imagined for the pandemic: Goodnight, Zoom...



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

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Friday, April 30

Today is Friday of Week 14. Yes, it really is Friday again! Here is a link to Week 14 and also to Week 15. If you can finish up the class either today or over the weekend, that will give you time next week to prepare for finals in your other classes. Here's more info about finishing up in this class.

Class Procedures and Reminders

Project stack. I made good progress on the stack yesterday, and I should be able to reply to the rest of the Week 13 items today, plus as many of the Week 14 and Week 15 items as I can. Meanwhile, you can check the stack to make sure I got your project.

Making your plan to finish up. I hope everybody has a plan in place for the end-of-week Week 14 items plus any Week 15 items you need  to reach your goal for the end of the semester (410 A, 360 B, 320 C). The class is over a week from today, on Friday, May 7, at noon, so if you normally do most of your work for the class over the weekend, make sure you build that into your plan. This weekend is the last weekend of the semester for this class!

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog stream. I thought this was so cool: for reading notes about Gaia and the whole idea of the Earth Goddess, Nhan included this animated gif of the earth in motion! Gaia's Secret.


Twitter stream. Some gorgeous Durga art from India: the goddess versus the water-buffalo demon.


And if you're facing a time-crunch at the end of the semester, here's a fun procrastination flowchart (larger view):


These are some items from the announcements back in Week 5:

A great cartoon from Grant Snider (see a larger view):


And I thought this was hilarious: hypnotic llama!



And a writing video: Grammar Lessons with Food. Watch out for the man-eating chicken!


With a very cool punctuation infographic; yes, the comma has too much to do, which is why it can be confusing about when to use, or not use, a comma. 


And yet another example of how punctuation saves lives:


April 30: Walpurgis Night. The night of April 30 is celebrated as Walpurgis Night in many countries of northern and central Europe, often with bonfires late into the night. The holiday is associated with magic and witchcraft, and it thus shows up in the Harry Potter books, where the Death-Eaters are referred to as the "Knights of Walpurgis." You can read more at Wikipedia, and here the witches of Wolfshagen im Harz in Germany doing their Walpurgis dance; find out more here: The Witch Dance.




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

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Friday, December 4

Today is Friday of Week 14. Yes, it really is Friday again! Here is a link to Week 14 and also to Week 15. If you can finish up the class either today or over the weekend, that will give you time next week to prepare for finals in your other classes. Here's more info about finishing up in this class.

Class Procedures and Reminders

Week 14 Blog comments. As you'll see, there's something different this week: you can add to the Advice Padlet as part of this week's blog commenting! Details here: Week 14 Blog Comments.

Project stack. I've got just a few projects in the stack, and I should be able to reply to everybody today. As usual, you can check the stack to make sure I got your project.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog stream. It's always when fun to see the microfiction people are doing, and here are two stories paired up... ominously for the fish, as you can imagine. Here's Ann Marie's post: Fish and Cats.


100-Word Stories. And here's a story about Anansi tricking some foolish fish: Anansi and the Fish-Children.


Twitter stream. From the OU Daily, an article about Jamelia Reed and her new book: OU student publishes book.


Some gorgeous Durga art from India: the goddess versus the water-buffalo demon.


And did you know that in ancient Rome there was a fixed number of hours in the day, so when the daylight was less in winter the hours were shorter, and then in summer the hours were longer because there was more daylight? Telling time: it's a cultural thing! This tweet shows how that worked:


Storybook. And here's a Storybook about curses and reincarnation over time: Reverberations of Time.


And if you're facing a time-crunch at the end of the semester, here's a fun procrastination flowchart (larger view):


Meanwhile, everyone needs friends, even T-Rex. A cartoon from Dinoman:


And music for the weekend: a T-Rex song to enjoy... sung by none other than Samuel Jackson!


December 4: Omar Khayyam. Today marks the death in the year 1131 of the great Persian poet and scholar, Omar Khayyam. He is best known in the West for his collection of poems called the Rubaiyat, and he is also renowned as a mathematician and astronomer. You can read more about Omar Khayyam's remarkable life and career in this Wikipedia article, and there is a wonderful statue of Khayyam outside Farzaneh Hall:


Here is a video with some of his famous poetry:



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