Wednesday, February 28

Today is Wednesday of Week 7. The second part of the reading is due today, and I hope you are getting some good ideas for your own story as you read. Here is a link to the Week 7 assignments.

Class Procedures and Reminders

Success Tip: Use the Suggestion Box. Somebody left suggestions yesterday, which I thought was great! I really appreciate knowing what you need to succeed in this class and how I can help. If there's an easy fix, I can do that this semester; for more complicated changes, I redesign the classes every semester, trying out new ideas. Features of the classes now, like the Portfolio option, the Review Week coming up, etc. etc. started out as suggestions by past students. So, if you use the Suggestion Box, you are contributing to the success of future students in this class too: thank you!

Project Stack. Yesterday, I finished the Saturday assignment and started on the Sunday assignments; I'll carry on with the Sunday assignments today. While you are waiting on comments back from me, you can check the stack to make sure I received your email.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog Stream. I wanted to share this empathy post from Chelsea which contains a wonderful exercise about connecting with others to face our fears; it might be something you could try with a group of friends! She explains how it works in the post: Summit Event.

Word from Mythology. The English word "colossal" comes from the Greek "kolossos," as in the Colossus of Rhodes, a gigantic statue of the Greek god Helios.

India Video: The word "demon" which is often used to translate Sanskrit asura or rakshasa has a lot of incorrect connotations; this Epified video can help with that: Virtuous Demons: Prahlada, Mahabali, Vibhishana, and Ghatotkacha.

Myth Book Online: Today's free book is Oral Literature in Africa by Ruth Finnegan. See the Freebookapalooza blog for links and the table of contents.

Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is from China: Don’t stand by the water and long for fish; go home and weave a net. Find out more at the Proverb Laboratory.

Writing: Here's some passive/active verb humor: Passive-Aggressive Voice.

H.E.A.R.T.: I really like this quote from Kwame Anthony Appiah: Getting Used to One Another.

Growth Mindset: Today's cat knows that talent can grow and take new shapes: Your abilities are NOT carved in stone. You can find out more at the Growth Mindset blog.

Video: Here's a powerful video about empathy and the art of storytelling: Empathy, Neurochemistry, and the Dramatic Arc.

Event on Campus: Come to Meacham at 7PM tonight to hear Linda Sarsour give a talk: "Unapologetically American Muslim: The Struggle to Embrace Our Diversity" (details). Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.

February 28: John Tenniel. Today, February 28, marks the birthday in the year 1820 of the great English illustrator, John Tenniel, who is most famous for his illustrations to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. You can read about Tenniel's life and career in this Wikipedia article. Here is one of those iconic illustrations: A Mad Tea-Party.

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