Saturday, February 10

Today is Saturday of Week 4. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Class Procedures and Reminders

Success Tip: Say "thanks" online. As you find really useful images and other valuable resources online, take a moment to say thanks to the people behind those web pages. That might include students in this class who have written a blog post that helped you! Your success online depends on the generosity of all the people who have created the educational Internet; expressing your thanks for those Internet resources is good karma. :-)

Project Stack. On Friday, I finished replying to all of the Week 3 assignments, and most of the Week 4 assignments that people had turned in already. On Monday I'll start working my way through the stack again in order, so to get back comments sooner, turn in your assignment today instead of waiting until Sunday. Over the weekend, I'll update the stack periodically so you'll know that I got your email.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog Stream. Every week there are all kinds of new stories people have written, and I wanted to share Oliver's story here: Ursa Major. It's a beautiful example of an ancient myth modernized. Plus, it also has a fabulous last line, which is always a great thing to have in your story.


India Item. Since Oliver's story was about Greek constellations, I wanted to share this podcast about star stories from ancient India; click this link to hear the podcast: Tribal Astronomy in Ancient India and the Stories in Our Stars.


Myth Video: And while you're pondering outer space, check out this great PBS video: Is Doctor Who a Religion? (And, yes, that's the same Mike Rugnetta from the Crash Course: Mythology video series.)


India Comic Book: And since we are on the subject of stars, for today's comic book I chose Dhruva and Ashtavakra: They Reached for the Skies. See the Amar Chitra Katha blog for the Bizzell Reserve call number and more information. Dhruva is the mythological character who became the unmovable "pole star" in the Indian tradition.


Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is also about the skies at night: The moon does not withhold the light even from the cottage of a chandala (a chandala is someone who disposes of the dead, an untouchable). Find out more at the Proverb Laboratory.


Writing: And here's an outer space mash-up: Being a Princess AND Darth Vader.


Reading: The wonderful author Madeleine L'Engle reminds us: A book, too, can be a star.


Growth Mindset: Today's growth mindset cat is also a sky-gazer: Creative thoughts got us to the Moon. You can find out more at the Growth Mindset blog.


Video: And here's a beautiful video about reaching the stars; it's a story told by the brother of Ron McNair, NASA astronaut: Eyes on the Stars.


Event on Campus: You can come see the OU spring musical tonight at 8PM in the Elsie C. Brackett Theatre: Nice Work If You Can Get It (details). Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.


February 10: James Mooney. Today marks the birthday of the anthropologist and folklorist James Mooney who was born on this day in 1861. You can read about his remarkable life and career at Wikipedia, and his monumental collection of Cherokee legends is available for you to read free online: Myths of the Cherokee.


And here is a video about Mooney's work:



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