Friday, December 7, 2018

Famous Last Words: Finally Done

So these really will be my famous LAST words. No pressure. As I scramble to finish this very last assignment before I have to leave for my 11:30 class (and mentally kick myself AGAIN for not doing this last night) I've been thinking about... well... just how hungry I am really. Not much else. I'm really excited to be finishing up this semester on a relatively high note (at least in this class). I'm thinking maybe I will start a blog next semester. Nobody will read it, but it'll be fun. I can make it like an online diary. Sharing life advice with freshmen starting OU in the fall.

So my adventure last night, and why I didn't do my homework like I should have, was all because of a little Yorkie that I'd like to share with you because he is just TOO adorable. On Tuesday, I signed a lease for next year at Callaway House Apartments. Out of the Residential Colleges and into a big girl apartment! I will be living with one of my best friends and sorority sister, Alyssa, in a two bedroom/2 bathroom unit. I'm mostly excited to have a kitchen. Anyways, Alyssa is from the Tulsa area and her parents needed a dog sitter. Enter Moose:

(Personal Photo)

This little ball of fluff weighs about 1 lb soaking wet, and is beyond spoiled. Last night we drove to OKC to meet her parents and do a dog handoff before they got back on the highway to head to somewhere in Texas (don't ask me, I can hardly navigate around my own state, let alone the midwest).

This Saturday is my sorority's annual holiday dinner with our brother fraternity. The (ideal) plan for saturday is to come home after spending the night at my boyfriends, head over to Alyssa's place, and spend like 6 hours baking with christmas music and a dog (in his christmas sweater) before getting all dolled up to go have a big family dinner with my sisters. I wish everyone the best of luck on their finals, and have a great holiday season!

Review: Week 15

It seemed only appropriate for me to choose the picture and video from today's announcement. I especially like that the christmas card has so many different languages on it. The video was SO cool. I can't believe someone managed to arrange THAT MANY recordings into an actual song, and all of the singers are good too! The scrolling credits are longer than the actual song because there were that many people. I can only imagine how much work this took.



Wikipedia Trails: From Anti-Suicide Smock to Cherokee

The Random Article button took me to a rather sad starting point this morning. Anti-suicide smocks are gowns specifically designed to keep people from forming them into nooses. There was also mention of an anti-suicide blanket, which led me to the Quilting page. Many quilting patterns were done by Native Americans. One tribe of native americans that is well known, especially in Oklahoma, are the Cherokee. That is where we end out trail today. On a much happier note thankfully.

via Pixabay

Learning Challenge: Learn About Sleep

This article mainly reinforced what I have learned and have tried to practice this semester. ALWAYS choose sleep. Studying until 4am means nothing if you can't function enough to remember what you studied the next day.

via Wikimedia Commons


Article: Why Sleeping May Be More Important Than Studying

Growth Mindset: Learning from Other Students

Quote 1:

R.U.N.

I've always like the word run. When we get negative feedback, let's take it in stride. We accomplished something that received feedback. We have the potential to make it better, to do better.
R-Rejoice
U-Under
N-Negativity

I don't handle negative feedback well, so this will be one to keep in mind going forward,

Quote 2:

YOU WILL BE OKAY
My mantra is something my mom always tells me when I'm freaking out or stressed over schoolwork. When she says "You will be okay," there is a sense of "you will be okay because you better have put in the effort for this test/essay/whatever and so you will do okay because you put the work in, right?" It  emphasizes the process - the process of studying/writing a paper/listening and paying attention.

This is a big issue for me. When I put in so much effort, only to have a grade come back not as high as it needed to be.

via Flickr

Tech Tip: Canvas Dashboard

I turned off my color overlay!!! Man I wish I would have known how to do that earlier. I would highly recommend everyone go do this. If your class actually has a picture set up for it on Canvas, you'll be able to see it clearly now! That being said, if there ISN'T an image selected you can still choose a color to have displayed for each class.

Seriously, where was this all last year??? I feel cheated.

Reading Notes: Nursery Rhymes (Part A)

This sin;t my typical Reading Notes style, but the main thing I would want to consider doing is rewriting pieces from the Tales and Proverbs sections in the same style as the two Songs sections. What can I say, I like rhyming!

There's also a piece in Songs, Part One about Johnny and I have the urge to redo it in the style of the "Keke Do You Love Me' song.

via Wikimedia Commons


Story Source: Nursery Rhymes

Week 15 Story: The Lost Mother

Author's Note: A lot of the russian fairy tales (or rather all of them) center around people coming back from the dead. In the first story I read, there is a mother who had died in childbirth found nursing her child at night. When she is discovered, she leaves without saying anything and the baby is dead in the crib. I decided to ignore the last paragraph about the baby dying and make a new ending where the mother is some sort of vampire. This is what happened after she was discovered:

Sarah froze when the lights came on. She hadn't thought about what to do if caught, she just wanted to see her baby one last time. The lad was so hungry and, to her surprise, she was still producing milk. Even in death. One of the men rushed out of the room to fetch her husband. This was going to be hard to explain.

Her dear, sweet John rushed into the doorway and stopped, looking at her. He would glance down to their son in her arms, still suckling, but always returned to her face. A look of both longing and pain could be seen in his eyes. The babe unlatched from her bosom and snuggled into his mother's arms. John watched the movement and suddenly became enraged.

"Out damned spirit!" he shouted. "Leave my beloved's body to rest and my house to mourn. It is a cruel trick which you play here this night!" Then he began reciting passages from the bible that would be needed for an exorcism. Sarah knew this would not work, unfortunately. If only it were that simple. She turned and gently set the baby back in his crib and waited. When the yelling finally stopped, and everyone in the room realized that it had had no effect on her, she spoke.

"Oh Jacob, if only your sweet reading would save me. I'm afraid I'm beyond even God's help now. I don't have the slightest idea how to begin to explain this, but if you'll let me I would like to try." Sarah took a step forward and reached for him, but he shrunk back and held the wooden cross from the mantle in front of him. This would not, as she now knew, hurt her. However the fear in her husband's eyes did more damage than he would ever know.

She decided to just start explaining and let things happen as they will. "When I was a young girl, there was a strange man that came to my town. He claimed to be a doctor, but no one knew where he was from. He had no family and no story, but our most recent physician had just died under mysterious circumstances, and we needed a new doctor." Sarah took a deep breath. They were all listening, good. "Well this man has no distinguishable family titles, but was very wealthy. He seemed to have taken a liking to me, but there was something about him that I didn't like. I refused him, despite his insistence for my hand in marriage. I'll be forever thankful for my mother and father for agreeing with me that he was not fit to be my husband. The man eventually left after being rejected for the 9th time. He vowed though, that one day he would be back to have me for all of eternity. I didn't think much of it because then I met you, my dear husband. I fell in love and I haven't thought about this man for another day in my life. Until he came back suddenly. That day that our son came into the world. The bleeding wouldn't stop, so you called for a physician, and in walked the man who refused to leave me alone. When he sent you from the room with the baby, he bit into himself like an apple, then forced me to drink the blood from his wrist.That bleeding suddenly stopped. I was healed! But just as I was about to shout for you, he grabbed the pillow and smothered me."

"I don't understand." Jacob interjected, "you say you died, and i myself buried you not a fortnight ago. So how can you be standing here before me tonight?"

"The blood that healed me did this. The doctor who killed me was a child of the night, and by my demise coming with his blood in my veins, so have I become one too."


Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Reading Notes: Russian Folktales (Part B)

2. The Headless Princess

  • Synopsis:
    • A boy coming back from his lessons peeps into the princess' window
      • She takes her head off
      • The boy tells everyone what he saw
    • The princess becomes suddenly ill
      • She tells her father that if she dies, he should have the priest's son read the psalter over her casket for three nights in a row
      • This boy is the boy that saw her through the window
    • The princess dies
      • The boy is asked to read the psalter
    • The boy tells his grandmother about what he saw and what he has been asked to do
    • His grandmother gives him some instructions to stay safe
      • Take a knife and draw a circle in the ground
      • Read your psalter, but whatever you do, don't look behind you
    • The boy obeys his grandmother and is protected when the princess rises from the dead each night and attempts to attack him
    • At the end of the third night, when the sun rises, the casket does not close behind the princess when she falls dead again
    • The king comes to the church and sees his daughter's body face down in her now open casket
    • When the boy tells the king what had happened, he orders a stake be driven through her heart
    • The boy is heavily rewarded for surviving
  • Possibilities
    • That wasn't the daughter
      • possession/impersonation
      • the real daughter is found after they put the stake through the heart of the one in the casket
6. The Two Friends
  • Synopsis:
    • Two friends agreed that whomever got married first would invite the other to his wedding, dead or alive
    • One of the friends died
    • When the living friend got married, he stopped by his buddy's grave and invited him to the wedding
    • His friend came back to life and convinced him to have a drink at his "place" before the ceremony
    • They shared a total of three drinks
    • For each drink the groom had, 100 years passed in the world above
  • Possibilities
    • Explore the story of the groom being reintegrated into society 300 years in the future
10. The Dog and the Corpse
  • Synopsis:
    • A man goes out hunting with his dog
    • On the way home (after dark) they encounter a living corpse
    • The dog attacks the corpse when it rushes them and the hunter makes a run for it
    • The next morning, the dog returns home and tries to bite him for the betrayal
    • The dog continues to hate his master for a whole year
      • They have to chain him up to keep him from attacking
    • The dog breaks loose one day and tries to kill his master
    • The dog is put down
  • Possibilities:
    • I just want the dog to live
      • Maybe he could get adopted out?
Ghost
via Max Pixel
Story Source: Russian Fairy Tales, W. R. S. Ralston

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Reading Notes: Russian Folktales (Part A)

1. The Dead Mother

  • Synopsis:
    • A couple is happily married
    • The wife dies in childbirth
    • The father hires an old woman to care for the child
      • The child will not be soothed
    • At night, the baby sleeps, well, like a baby despite crying uncontrollably all day
    • The nanny decides to stay up one night and try to figure out what it is that calm the child
    • She hears someone go into the baby's room and the crying stops
      • She tells the father about this
    • The father and his men decide to hide in the baby's room over night to try and catch the person who has been coming in to nurse and soothe the child
    • When the person enters, the men spring out and shine a light on the intruder
      • It's the mother, dressed in the same clothes she had been buried in
  • Possibilities:
    • What if the mother is a vampire???
    • How do the people react to finding her?
8. Wednesday

  • Synopsis:
    • A woman goes to bed after deciding to get up early and finish her work in the morning
    • She forgets to cross herself before going to sleep
      • This apparently summons a demon into her home
    • She discovers that the demon wants to kill her and manages to banish it
  • Possibilities:
    • I want the demon to just be genuinely helpful
      • It's just lonely and wanted to help
Little Demon Dude Just Doing His Best
via Pixabay

Story Source: Russian Fairy Tales, W. R. S. Ralston

Monday, December 3, 2018

Famous Last Words: One Week Left

Well, I did it. For the second week in a row I have completed all six regular assignments and all eight extra credit assignments. This past week was absolutely insane, and this coming week won't be much better. On the brightside, I no longer have the take my Experiencing Music final. Speaking of, if anyone is still in need of their fine art gen ed, I would HIGHLY recommend this class. It's so much easier and more fun than Understanding Music.

Anyways, on Friday my professor announced that anyone who had a 95% or above no longer had to take the final exam. Per the syllabus, we get three absences in that class before our grade is affected. I was a good noodle this semester and didn't skip a single class period (for this course at least). So I don't have to go to the last three classes (M/W/F) this week. All they will be doing is studying for the final, that I no longer have to take. It hurts my heart a bit because that was the one class I actually enjoyed showing up to. This course doesn't count. We don't actually have to go to class. I mean, Why couldn't I get out of my Organic Chemistry final instead?

This week I have this class (I need the week 15 help), an oral exam in Italian, and a research presentation in Organic Chem. It's gonna be a struggle with lots of late nights. Then, this weekend, my sorority is doing a holiday dinner with our brother fraternity. I'm going to go over to my friend Alyssa's apartment to get all dolled up and bake a crap ton of pumpkin bread. I'm so excited!

After finals week, I'm flying from OKC to Florida where I'm meeting my family to go on a week long Caribbean Cruise! It's gonna be a lot of fun, especially since the drinking age at most of the places we'll be stopping is only 18 (RIP to my little bro who's only 17). I hope everyone can finish out this semester strong. We're so close guys!

Also, I finally got my pink christmas lights hung up in my room! Yay!

Me realizing just how hot these 90s era lights were
making my flammable body pillow
(Personal Photo)

Reading Notes: American Indian Fairy Tales (Part B)

1-3. The Boy who Snared the Sun

  • I just want to see the boy get pulled into the sky by his lasso.
4-6. How the Summer Came
  • There is mention of a great flood in this culture too
    • There has to be some truth to it
7-8. Fairy Bride
  • I would love to write about the girl's point of view as she goes to the fairy world and gets married

Fairy Bride
via Pexels

Story Source: American Indian Fairy Tales, W. T. Larned

Review: Week 14

Source: Class Announcements, Sunday, December 2
I chose this picture this week because it's dead week and I feel this meme on a spiritual level. It's been a rough semester.

For the video, I went back another day to the Saturday, December 1st class announcements. This short story is absolutely adorable and the sullen teenager playing video games reminds me a little bit of my younger brother. Have a look!


Wikipedia Trail: From Ebenshausen to Nuclear Fusion

I started of this joureny with the "Random Article" button on Wikipedia. It took me to Ebenshausen, a municipality in central Germany. Then it was off to Vehicles Registration Plate. Next was Metal. Finally, I ended on Nuclear Fusion.

Germany, my starting point.
Source: Wikipedia

Learning Challenge: Crying Alone in My Room Before Class

This week I looked at the Empathy Challenge "I Wish My Teacher New..." reading the note from so many young children about fighting parents, sketchy financials, and even homelessness has me fighting back tears as I type this. The worst part is that it was done anonymously, so there isn't much that can be done about the situations since you don't know who wrote it. I understand why it probably had to be that way though. I just want to go hug all of these poor babies.

Boy Crying via Pixabay



Growth Mindset: Kitty Cats

Challenge: Explore the random Growth Mindset Cats

I'm actually VERY allergic to cats, so these kittens will have to do. Here are three of my favorites:

Look at this cute little bean :) (Source)

This cat has no shame at all (Source)

SO CUTE!!! AHHH!!! (Source)

These are in no particular order of preference. I just found two super cute kitties. For the second photo, I related to the "What Have I done..." look on the cats face a little too much.

Tech Tip: Canvas Mobile App

I've had the Canvas App downloaded since freshman year. You can technically access Canvas through the OU app, but the dedicated Canvas app works so much better. The interface is smoother and more colorful the the OU app. I would highly recommend anyone who isn't using this already to go download it! If nothing else, it's really helpful for checking your grades easily. I wish it would alert me to due dates, but there's probably just a setting I missed. Oh well.

Friday, November 30, 2018

Week 14 Story Lab: Overview of Mythology

I am in love with Crash Course videos just in general and this trio was no exception! I was a little disappointed that it wasn't one of the Green brothers hosting the episodes though. Overall, these video were fun and informative. I appreciated that they took the time in the first episode to apologize in advance for the possibility of insult to some religions, and that inherent sexism in hero stories was addressed at the beginning of the 3rd video (episode 25). The joke about Rick Riordan was cool too because I was that kid that got a *little* too into the Percy Jackson series in elementary school. The progression of stages that are discussed were super interesting. Listening to the descriptions actually made me think of the story of Disney's Mulan (if you include the sequel). There is also some similarity to the personal stories of those who have served overseas.

Video Source: Overview of Mythology Playlist

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Reading Notes: Hans Christian Andersen (Part B)

1-6. The Little Mermaid

  • What if the Little Mermaid hadn't saved the prince
    • But instead of dying he turned into a merman!
  • The Plopi seemed to recognize the potion
    • Perhaps this has been done before?
  • It would be fun to look into her time as a daughter of the air
  • What if another human had fallen for her and married her?

These are really short reading notes, but it was also just one big story so  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Mermaid Watercolor
via Max Pixel

Story Source:  Andersen Fairytales

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Reading Notes: Hans Christian Andersen (Part A)

Note: These are all very famous tales, so I didn't feel the need to include a synopsis with these reading notes.

1. The Princess and the Pea

  • Inverse what the prince is looking for
    • Princess are too sensitive
    • Mom keeps trying to set him up
    • He puts a pea under the mattresses
      • If she complains, he refuses her
    • He falls in love with a street girl
      • Forgotten royal lineage so she ends up being okay to wed?
2. The Emperor's New Suit
  • Narrative from the swindlers' POV
    • The getaway during the parade
6. The Little Match Seller
  • The girl must live!
  • What if someone in the house takes the trash out and sees her?
    • She could get adopted!
    • Yes, I like this

The Little Girl
via Pixabay

Story Source: Andersen Fairytales

Monday, November 19, 2018

Famous Last Words: I did EVERYTHING???

It's official! This is my last assignment for week 13! I realized (a little too late) that I was WAY behind on point, so for week 13 I did everything. Yes, everything. All of the normal work as well as all 8 extra credit assignments. I'll be honest, I didn't know if I was gonna be able to pull this off. I'm going to have to do the same for week 14 as well as the extra dead week assignments in order to pass the class, but I'm optimistic! All of the stories and portfolios/storybooks I read this week were fantastic. I'm so proud of how far everyone in the class has come. Myself included! Who would've ever thought that I would be successful(ish) at running a blog? Who knows, maybe I'll start up a personal blog after this class. We'll see.

As far as my plans for this coming week, I'm honestly just ready to be home in Maryland for a bit. My flight leaves at 5:05am Wednesday morning, which I'm not excited about. I also haven't even started packing yet 😅. Unfortunately it looks like I'll have quite a bit of homework to do over break, but none of it is too terribly difficult. I have one test today on Monday and two quizzes (in the same class) on Tuesday this week before I get to leave. My Italian teacher tried to move our test to Tuesday too, but thankfully that got shut down. Especially since it's a Monday/Wednesday/Friday class anyways!

My adorable friend Alyssa, who was awesome enough to
agree to drive me to the airport at 3am on Wednesday.
Source: Personal Photo


The reason I had to use the grace period for my extra credit assignments this morning is because last night was the initiation ceremony for my sorority. I took a little this semester, so it was definitely a proud mama moment.

I don't necessarily want to leave this class, but I'm kind of ready for this whole semester to be over. Bring on Week 14!

Review: Week 13

Source: Class Announcements, Saturday, November 17
I chose the above image because it makes my heart warm and embodies the ideals that my family has always supported, especially around the holidays.
I decided to watch the video from the Tuesday, November 13th class announcements because I LOVE animals and the android advertisement was just too cute. I've imbedded it for y'all to enjoy in case you missed it.



Wikipedia Trail: From Mermaids to the Element Lithium

I started on the mermaid page because they are probably my favorite mythological creature. Then I checked out Sirenomelia, a birth defect that leaves a child's legs attached to one another, vaguely resembling a mermaid. The condition is usually fatal, but it turns out the longest surviving patient is from the place where my uncle lives now! Next up was the Andes Mountains. This is the mountain range that runs along the west coast of South America. Apparently this mountain range holds very high deposits of Lithium. Which is our fourth and final stop on this trail.

Thanks for joining me on this journey!
Source: PublicDomainPictures.Net

Tech Tip: Getting Started with Twine

This was SO much fun! I made a game that will guess what number you're thinking of. Now to figure out how to post it to my blog... That can be for next week. Something tells me I'll spend WAY too much time on this if I don't stop now. I would highly recommend checking out this Tech Tip!

Source: Pixabay

Learning Challenge: Review Your Class Schedule

At the beginning of the semester, I had my three hours divided into two three hour chunks on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This worked okay until my Organic Chemistry class started kicking my ass and I needed that time to review functional groups and conjugation properties. I have since shifted to working 1-2 hours a night every day of the week after classes. This seems to be working better for me, but unfortunately I screwed up bad enough in the beginning that the highest grade I can hope to get in this course is a C. Because of this, I will most likely be spending most of my Thanksgiving break working on Week 14 assignments. This class obviously didn't go quite as well as I had planned, but I did learn a lot about needing to ask for help earlier rather than later. Thankfully, when Laura contacted me about my lack or work, my grade was still salvageable. This also made me take a step back and reevaluate ALL of my classes and helped me get into a much better rhythm all the way around for the back end of this semester.

Useful, but I feel attacked right now. :)
Source: Learning by HEART

Growth Mindset: Focusing on "Yet"

Challenge: Explore Growth Mindset Beyond School

This semester I have applied a Growth Mindset best to being on my sorority's social committee. There were a lot of events planned last minute and the only way to keep from going crazy was to stay hopeful and take things one step at a time. With finals week approaching, and my list of homework growing, the "I haven't done it YET" mindset will hopefully help to keep me somewhat sane.

Source: Growth Mindset and Feedback Cats

Reading Notes: American Indian Fairy Tales (Part A)

2-3. Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind

  • Synopsis:
    • The indians go north the fish in the summer
    • when the north wind (winter) starts to approach, they head back south
      • One decides to stay
    • The north wind is angry that anyone would dare to defy him
    • The north wind tries to destroy the indian
      • it doesn't work
  • Possibilities:
    • Told from the North Wind's point of view
4-5. The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds
  • Synopsis:
    • A little boy and his sister go swimming
    • They come out of the pool of water and climb onto a rock
      • They fall asleep
    • The rock magically grows as tall as a mountain
    • Their parents can't find them
    • The Coyote determines that they are at the top of the mountain
      • None of the animals can jump high enough to reach the children
    • The inch worm arrives and offers to climb
      • It takes him a month, but he gets to the top and wakes the children
    • The kids come down safe and sound
  • Possibilities:
    • From the Inchworm's perspective
via Flickr
Story Source: American Indian Fairy Tales, W. T. Larned

Friday, November 16, 2018

Week 13 Story: The Second Generation of Nuggets

Author's Note: This week's story is based on the Nun's Priest's Tale from Eva March Tappan's Canterbury Tales. In the original story, there's a rooster who has a dream about a fox stalking him. His girlfriend, essentially, calls him a scaredy-cat so that he'll ignore the dream. A few days later, the rooster is singing when he suddenly sees the fox in the bushes watching him. Through some flattery, the fox is able to convince the rooster to keep singing. When the rooster closes his eyes and starts to belt out his song, the fox grabs him by the neck and takes off.

Via GoodFreePhotos


The screeching was, in truth, quite beautiful. It would be a shame to end such lovely music, but the fox was hungry. He slowly crept closer to the chicken cage as the rooster slept. Closer... closer... but as he was about to grab the rooster through a hole in the chicken wire, he woke up! A nice, juicy looking hen waddled over to comfort him.
"I dreamt of an orange creature, coming to take me!" cried the rooster. The fox slowly backed into the forest as the rooster looked around frantically. The whole hen house was awake and alert now, he'd have to try again later
Two days later, the fox returned to the farm. The rooster was singing again. The fox paused a moment in the bushes next to the pen to listen. He remembered the roosters father. He too had had a beautiful voice. The father had made delicious chicken nuggets as well. Such a shame, but food was more important than music. The squirrels had learned to stay up in the trees whenever he came through. Just then, his stomach rumbled. The rooster stopped and snapped his head in the direction of the sound. He gave a startled scream when he saw the fox.
"No please, continue!" said the fox. "I was just enjoying your wonderful singing. I remember when your father used to crow. He would close his eyes and stretch his neck out to sing. Would you, perhaps, be willing to close your eyes and stretch your neck out while you sing? I do miss him so." Flattered, the rooster agreed and began to sing once again. Once the rooster had his eyes closed, the fox leapt out and grabbed the him by the neck. The fox took off running through the forest, back to his hole, thinking of all the ways he could prepare the rooster for dinner.

Bibliography
The Cock, The Hen, and The Fox, Eva March Tappan

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Reading Notes: Canterbury Tales (Part B)

3-5. The Cock, the Hen, and the Fox

  • Synopsis
    • A widow and her two daughter live on a small farm
      • They are poor
    • They have a rooster and seven hens
    • The rooster dreams of a fox one night
    • His favorite hen calls him out for being afraid
      • The rooster then tells her two stories about how dreams can sometimes be real (ish)
    • The rooster goes about his day, ignoring the dream at the insistence of his girlfriend (?)
    • While he's singing one morning, the fox approaches
    • The fox tells him he just wants to enjoy his music
      • He flatters the rooster
    • The rooster goes back to singing and gets attacked
      • The hens scream as the fox runs away with the rooster
    • The widow and her daughters hear the screaming and chase the fox
      • The whole damn village ends up chasing him
    • The rooster tricks the fox into speaking, but when he opens his mouth the rooster flies up into a tree
  • Possibilities
    • Any story about dreams being real
    • Fox's perspective
      • What if he really did know the roosters father?
    • What if this widow is the same one from part A?
Source: Pixabay

Story Source
Canterbury Tales, Eva March Tappan

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Reading Notes: Canterbury Tales (Part A)

Canterbury Pilgrims by Thomas Stothard
via WikiMedia Commons

1-2. The Unknown Bride

  • Synopsis:
    • A knight fails to uphold his vows
      • Should be out to death
    • The ladies of court save him from punishment by their favor
    • He shall not be put to death fi, in a year, he can discover what it is that women want most
    • He travels the country asking women what they want most
      • No two answers are the same
    • He happens upon a group of young women dancing in a field
      • They Scatter
    • When he reaches the clearing there is only an old hag there
    • She tells him the answer to his question in exchange for a promise to do the first thing asked of him
      • He agrees
      • All women want to rule over their husbands
    • The knight returns to the queen's castle with his answer
      • It is correct
    • The old lady demands he fulfill his promise to her in front of the whole court
      • She wishes to marry him
    • At first, the knight protests, but gives in
    • There isn't much happiness at the wedding
      • His new wife calls him out for being inna bad mood
    • The old women asks him if he would rather have an old, but faithful wife or a young, but cheating one
    • The knight realizes that maybe things aren't so bad afterall
    • He kisses his bride and she transforms into a beautiful young women
      • The ones he had first seen in the field?
    • They live happily ever after
  • Possibilities
    • Told from the woman's point of view
      • Who are her friends?
      • What were they doing in that forest?
      • Why did she want to marry the knight?
9-11. The Revelers
  • Synopsis:
    • Three men were drinking in a tavern when they heard a bell outside
      • The bell was for a funeral
    • The squire and bar keep told them that death had been running around killing people
    • The three men swore to go hunt death down and kill him
    • On the way, they ran into an old man
      • He pointed them in the direction of death
    • Death was not by the tree, but a pile of gold was
    • The youngest was sent back into town for bread and wine
      • While he was gone the other two devised a plan to kill him so they wouldn't have to share the gold
      • Along the way, the lone man came up with a plan to poison the other two
    • All three men ended up dead, so no one got the gold
  • Possibilities
    • Was the old man death?
    • Was the gold even real?
      • What if it was the magician from stories 6-8?
Story Source:
Canterbury Tales, Eva March Tappan

Friday, November 9, 2018

Week 12 Story: I'm Bad at Titles

Author's Note: This week's story is based on an encounter in the Fairie Queen section. Britomart, the protagonist, is a girl who disguises herself as a knight to go find a man she saw in a magic mirror and fell in love with. In this particular encounter, she comes upon a man being beat up by 6 knights for not wanting to renounce his love for his wife and pledge loyalty to their mistress. Britomart fights off all six of them with her enchanted spear. I decided to do a modern rewrite about a punk rock chick fighting off a bunch of bullies.

The last bell rang, signalling the end of the day. Students rushed into the hallway, eager to get home for the weekend. Brittany slowly sauntered out of her Calculus class. There was no need to rush. The student parking lot was dangerous enough without being exposed on the back of a motorcycle. She popped her headphones in and began blasting the latest Fall Out Boy album. If she was lucky, she could talk her dad into buying her a ticket, not that she had anyone to go with. The hallways quickly emptied and Brittany began making her way out of the building. As she passed the doors to the gym locker rooms, she heard some yelling over the screaming music in her ears. She removed one headphone to see what all the commotion was.

The noise had been coming from the guys' locker room. The vile, homophobic slurs were vaguely distinguishable over the sound of flesh being struck. Ronny, the only openly gay kid in the school, was getting beat up again. Knowing the gym teacher either didn't know, or didn't care. Britt pushed her way into the room. The six jocks stopped dead when the realized there was a girl there with them. Ronny was curled into a protective ball on the floor, bleeding lightly from his lip.

"Come on Ronny," Britt called, "let's get you home." The poor kid slowly stood up, shaking.

"Wow, you need a chick to come save you, Ronald?" one of the bullies said, shoving Ronny as he walked past, "be sure to thank her properly when she takes you home. Maybe getting some real action will straighten you out!" The jocks all chuckled, but Brittany was furious. She wasn't happy about the poor kid getting beat up on a daily basis, but they weren't exactly friends, but the oversized meat heads had just gotten her directly involved.

"How about I decide who I want to screw, thanks," she said.

"Wow. Rejected. Is that why you're gay? because none of the girls wanted you?" The big oaf gave Ronald another little shove, and Brittany started swinging.  It took all of about 60 seconds for the whole group  to be laid out on the floor of the locker room, clutching various body parts and moaning. Her years of Jiu-Jitsu and self-defense classes were quite useful every once in a while. She quickly ushered the poor kid out of the locker room.

"Wow, that was... thanks," Ronald said in awe.

"Yeah, don't mention it. Maybe try to not to get yourself cornered again, okay kid?"

Source: Pixabay

Bibliography:

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Reading Notes: Fairie Queen (PartB)

1. What Britomart saw in the Enchanted Chamber

  • Synopsis:
    • Britomart is in a chamber in a castle (See readings from Part A)
    • A parade comes through the room
      • Many different attributes, plus the Maiden
        • Love, Fear, Hope, etc.
    • Parade circles the room 3 times
    • Parade exits into an adjoining chamber
  • Possibilities:
    • Explore more into why each attribute was present
    • What happened before they entered the chamber?
Source: Wikipedia
Story Source: Fairie Queen- Britomart

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Reading Notes: Fairie Queen- Britomart (Part A)

2. How Britomart Fought with Six Knights

  • Synopsis:
    • Britomart, Sir Guyon, and Prince Arthur are riding in the woods
    • A girl rides across their path on horseback
      • She's escaping a man
    • Guyon and Arthur follow to help the girl
      • Britomart keeps on her path
    • Britomart comes upon a castle and sees 6 knights ganging up on one
      • She breaks up the fight
      • It's because the poor sap getting beat up wouldn't give up his wife to pledge loyalty to the other six's lady
    • Britomart refuses to renounce her love
      • The 6 attack
    • Her enchanted spear subdued them easily
    • She agrees to enter the castle to claim her reward for winning the battle
  • Possibilities:
    • Re-write like a high school bullying scene
8. How Britomart Walked through Fire
  • Synopsis:
    • Chasing a Giant
    • FInds a knight
      • He is sad
      • His wife has been kidnapped
    • Offers to help
    • Goes to evil wizard's castle
    • Protected by seemingly impenetrable fire
    • Britomart charges the fire and is allowed through
      • The knight can't follow
    • Britomart explores the castle
      • No signs of life
      • "Be Bold"
  • Possibilities:
    • These stories are all one big tale
      • What if it's a game of Dungeons and Dragons?
Source: WikiMedia Commons

Friday, November 2, 2018

Week 11 Story: The Great Game

Author's Note: This story is (very loosely) based on a cherokee myth were the mammals challenge the birds to a sports game of some sort. While the original tale focuses on the creation of the bat and flying squirrel, this retelling will be about what actually happened during the game in a sports commentator-like fashion. I decided to make the challenge a soccer game, since that's the sport I know the best. Sorry for making it so short. I had to take a friend to the hospital last night, so my time to work on this got cut down significantly (she's doing okay now though). This one may end up on my portfolio, where I'll be sure to edit in more commentary about the actual game play.

Source: Max Pixel

(Scott Serpent) Welcome back to the Mythology Sports Center! I'm your host, Scott Serpent. Today's game is a showdown between the high-flying Birds and the four-legged Mammals! The Mammals are the first to enter the pitch and would you look at that warm up lap?
Bear, the team captain, is showing off some of that impressive strength he's known for. If the other team was out here already he would be getting a caution for sure. What do you think Fred?

(Fred Fish) Oh for sure, Scott. That's an intimidation tactic if I've ever seen one. Just look at how the referee is watching them. This is sure to be an intense match. Here comes the Birds now! Bear is showing off for sure, but Eagle, the Bird's captain, isn't one to be underestimated. Let's go down to Sally Spider on the pitch to chat with the apparent underdogs for this match. sally, how are things looking down there?

(Sally Spider) Hi Fred, the Birds have just emerged from their locker room and it seems like we may be seeing two new players on the field this game. I'm here with Barry Bat and Sammy Squirrel, two rejects from the Mammals tryouts who, due to some unfortunate injuries in last week's contest, will be part of today's starting lineup. How are you two feeling about today's match?

(Barry Bat) You know Sally, Sam and I are just super excited to be here and to have this opportunity. The Birds took a chance on us and invested so many resources into our equipment and training and we just want to get out there and leave everything we've got on the field. We're looking forward to a great game!

(Sally Spider) Well good luck today guys! The referee has just blown his whistle for the five minute warning, so let's send this back up to you guys in the box to watch this exciting match unfold. Fred. Scott.

(Scott Serpent) Thanks for that, Sally. We're gonna take a short break here folks, and we'll be back with more live action coverage after a few words from today's sponsors...

Bibliography:
The Ball Game of the Birds and the Animals

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Reading Notes: Myths of the Cherokee (Part B)

2. The Ball Game of the Birds and Animals

  • Synopsis:
    • The animals (mammals) challenged the birds to a ball game
      • Soccer/Handball?
    • The animals bragged a lot
      • Bear (Captain, Strength)
      • Turtle (Physical Resolve)
      • Deer (Speed)
    • Two smaller animals were rejected from the team, so they went to the birds
      • The Eagle (Captain) accepted them
    • They were given wings
      • Bat
      • Flying squirrel
    • The two new animals won the game for the birds
  • Possibilities:
    • Write about the game as if it were a sportscast
Source: WikiMedia Commons

11. Snake Boy and Snake Man
  • Synopsis:
    • Two Stories
    • Snake Boy
      • Boy brings hunted birds to grandma
      • Rest of family gets jealous
      • Boy turns himself into snake
    • Snake Man
      • A hunter isn't supposed to eat squirrel
        • Reasoning unclear
      • Hunter eats Squirrel
      • Hunter turns into snake because he ate squirrel
  • Possibilities:
    •   Relate this to the rest of the snake stories

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Reading Notes: Myths of the Cherokee (Part A)

2. The First Fire
  • Synopsis:
    • The world was cold
    • The gods created fire
      • They placed it on an island in a tree
    • Because of the water, the animals sent 4 different birds
      • None succeeded
      • All were left with some type of physical marking as a result of their attempt
    • Next, two swimming snakes crossed the water
      • Both attempts failed
    • Finally, the water spider went to the island
      • She made a basket out of her web
      • She carried a coal in the basket back to the mainland
    • The world had fire
  • Possibilities:
    • Any 1st person POV
6. The Deluge

  • Synopsis:
    • Talking Prophecy Dog
    • Build a canoe
    • Flood
    • Only the family on the canoe survived
  • Possibilities:
    • There have been quite a few readings now that have mention some type of "Great Flood"
      • Perhaps there's some truth to the stories since they appeared independently in multiple regions
      • Deluge/Noah's Ark/etc. told from God's point of view
      • Dog backwards is God. Coincidence? I think not!
Source: Pixabay


12. Flint visits the Rabbit
  • Synopsis:
    • Flint has been killing animals
    • Rabbit offers to kill Flint
    • He invites Flint to come see his home
    • When Flint falls asleep, Rabbit drives a stake through him
      • He explodes
  • Possibilities:
    • Make this the same rabbit in all of the stories
      • Combine
Story Source: Myths of the Cherokee

Friday, October 26, 2018

Week 10 Story: The Hawk and the Hen

Author's Note: I decided to go back to my week 7 reading notes for this week's story. The basis for this tale is that a hawk marries a hen, but she she ends up running away with the rooster from across the street. My thoughts with this were to turn the characters into humans and make it into a cheesy soap opera/romance novel. I make no promises for how this will turn out.

Jeffrey Hawkins carefully tightened his grip on the leather steering wheel of his Corvette. Late September was always the perfect time for a drive through the country. His parents had finally returned to their penthouse in the city for the social season. It had been 3 grueling months of his father's business discussions and listening to his mother whine about her lack of grandchildren. His older brother had decided to run off with his boyfriend, now husband, that past winter. After being formally disowned, (while genuinely caring people, their parents were still a little behind the times in certain social aspects) the family legacy now rest on Jeffrey's shoulders. He began to grow uncomfortably warm in the sun, despite having the top down. He pulled off at a quaint little convenience store on the side of the road for some water. He pushed open the creaky old door and a little bell tinkled. Strolling casually to the back of the store, Jeffrey grabbed a plastic water bottle out of the refrigerated section. He walked back to the front, threw a $20 on the empty counter, and began heading for the door to return to his afternoon drive. He had just grabbed ahold of the handle when a small voice called out, "Excuse me mister! Where you not wanting your change? This is an awful lot for just one water bottle."

"No that's quite alright," Jeffrey replied, turning towards what he assumed was the owner who had been in the back and not heard him come in. When he turned his head however, he found himself looking in to a pair of beautiful green eyes. Partially recovering from his shock, his gaze moved from hers and took in the rest of her. She was on the shorter side, and her auburn hair was tied up in two braids with a few wispy strands falling in her face. She was covered in dirt and dust, having been in the back storage room like he had assumed, but her nose was covered in a sprinkling of freckles from being out in the sun all summer. He was in absolute awe of the beauty that was standing before him now, adamantly shoving the change from his purchase at him. As he continued to stare, a little smirk began to appear on her face. It was at that moment, when a little dimple appeared on her cheek, that Jeffrey knew she was the one. He reached out and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.  Oddly enough, she leaned into the touch. "What's your name, miss?"

"Henrietta. Henrietta Jones." Her voice was surprisingly breathless. He leaned in slowly, giving her a chance to pull away. She didn't, so he kissed her.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

Two months later, they married. Jeffrey's mother protested at first at such a short engagement, but eventually gave in, too excited at the prospect of finally being a grandmother to complain too much. It was a small, quiet ceremony, but beautiful nonetheless. The first three years of their marriage was bliss, but when Jeffrey's father grew ill, he spent more and more time away from home to deal with the family business. It was during one of these business trips that Henrietta ran into Russ Ster at the store. Russ was her childhood love and the feelings never really faded. Russ greeted her and gave her a hug. When he noticed the wedding ring on her left hand, his face fell.

"Well dang nabbit, Henrietta. You really did run off with that rich fella!"

They agreed to go out to dinner that night and catch up. Just as friends of course! But as the weeks went on with her husband gone and seeing Russ more often, Henrietta's heart began to change loyalties. By the time Jeffrey was able take a significant break from work, he returned home to find a note and divorce papers on the counter.

Image result for broken heart
Source