Story: Brer Rabbit Adventure

One day, Brer Rabbit was walking through the woods looking for some berries to eat. As he was walking through the woods he saw some fellow rabbits and told them good morning. He asked them if they had seen any food around this neck of the woods and none of them said that they had. So, Brer Rabbit continued down the trail looking for some berries to eat.

As he continued down the trail he met a group of squirrels. He noticed that they were eating some fresh fallen acorns. Brer Rabbit asked the squirrels if he could eat some of the acorns, in which the squirrels replied no. Feeling hungry by now, Brer Rabbit asked the squirrels if they had seen any food nearby this neck of the woods and all of the squirrels said they hadn’t so Brer Rabbit moved along down the trail.

As he continued down the trail Brer Rabbit became more and more hungry for something to eat. He thought to himself that anything at this point would do. Then at the far end of the trail where he had never been he saw a small blackberry bush with fresh, ripe berries. Brer Rabbit started bouncing down the path till he suddenly remembered that this was the Bear’s neck of the woods. But as he skidded to a halt it was too late, and Brer Rabbit had been caught in a hidden trap set by the Bear.

Brer Rabbit was suddenly swung of by his legs into the air in one fast swoop. He sat there dangling in the air by the rope and tree. Then Brer Rabbit caught glimpse of the Bear in the distance by the blackberry bushes. Brer Rabbit thought to himself that he knew he shouldn’t have come this far down the trail. He let his hunger overwhelm his decision making. Lastly, he thought this for sure would be the last time he would ever be hungry if he didn’t find a way down from this trap.

Brer Rabbit tried swinging himself up the rope to pull himself up the tree, but couldn’t grasp the it. Then the Bear in the distance caught sight of Brer Rabbit struggling in the distance. The Bear knowing the rabbit was going nowhere took his time eating berries before making his way to him. Meanwhile, Brer rabbit thought of a good idea. He began swinging himself on the rope from side to side gaining momentum with each swing. On his 5th swing he had almost gotten close enough to the branch above to grab it. On the 6th swing he reached for the limb, however narrowly slipped off it and lost all of his momentum. One good thing came from the swing attempt however. Brer Rabbit was able to free one leg. With this leg he grabbed the section of rope above his head and pulled it near his front two teeth.

Brer Rabbit in Trap

Then the bear, having had enough berries, started coming down the trail towards the rabbit. Brer Rabbit started rapidly gnawing at the rope to get free. Once the bear had gotten only feet away Brer Rabbit broke through the rope and fell from the trap! The bear stunned from what feat the rabbit had accomplished decided to let him get away. Brer Rabbit never went down that part of the trail again.

Author’s note: This story was inspired by Brer Rabbit. In some of the stories from this African Tale, he is a brave rabbit which throws caution to the wind. Often times it gets him in trouble or dangerous situations. I used bits and pieces from the original story, but also threw in a moral ending to the story. In fact, there are two morals, one for each main animal in the story. I stayed away from dialogue in this story to focus more on the setting and thought process of Brer Rabbit while he was trapped.

Bibliography: Brer Rabbit by Joel Chandler Harris

(illustration by A. B. Frost)

Reading Notes: Brer Rabbit Part B

This week I have decided to read Brer Rabbit by Joel Chandler Harris. I actually chose this reading based on a friend's suggestion so I am excited to see what it is about. Below are my reading notes over part B:

• I think its neat how much onamonapia there is through out the reading. This really forces the reader to read out loud to get the full effect of the story. The storytelling I write this week will probably incorporate this in somewhere.
• Sometimes the language is hard to follow when reading in your head which really forces the reader to read aloud. This would be neat because it is almost constant dialogue from a third person storyteller.
• I think it is neat that there are similar stories in Brer Rabbit from different times. These stories remind me a lot of Aesop's fables where there is a moral
• It would be interesting to incorporate a vowel shift throughout the story I write this week. Similar to how there are accents in the North or South U.S.
• The last element I may try to include would be the short songs or verses that the animals sing. It is almost campfire esque.  

(illustration by A. B. Frost)

Reading Notes: Brer Rabbit Part A

Brer Rabbit
Wikipedia

This week I have decided to read Brer Rabbit by Joel Chandler Harris. I actually chose this reading based on a friend's suggestion so I am excited to see what it is about. This post will cover part A.

• I like that this story has a strong southern atmosphere. 
• The accents in the story make it hard to read but adds a lot to the character development. 
• I also like that the story is based on animals
• The brer rabbit reminds me of the rabbit from alice and wonderland because it wears clothes and a top hat. 
• I find it interesting that the rabbit is the sly/tricky one in this story. I feel like rabbits are normally seen as helpless or adorable. 
• Overall, this portion of the story has a good underlying theme of anger management and I am looking forward to part B

Thanks for reading. 

Reading Notes: Adam and Eve Part A

For the extra credit reading assignment, I decided to go with a biblical themed unit and read part a of the Adam and Eve unit. Story source: King James Bible (1611): Genesis 1-2. Below are my reading notes:

• General sentence structures start with the word "And". I think this would be a neat way to frame a story and gives a delivery which just says the way things happened or are.
• There seems to be a fairly logical sequence of the delivery of man and the things around him. It would be cool to write a story starting from the very principles of what is necessary and then build it out.
• Faith is a very interesting topic and how it is personified through a snake was interesting. It is a first sign of doubt of God's power. I think it would be a interesting way to add the element of doubt into a story. 
• It was interesting that Adam had control of what areas of the earth would remain waste and which would be developed. This almost tackles that interesting free will or fate argument.
• The story of how Satan is "kicked out" of heaven is interesting. I would think that under logical sense you would just rid of Satan as a being all together. However, there is a reason for everything and is probably apart of His bigger plan.

(Fall of Satan, by William Blake)

Review: Comma Humor

Laura Gibbs: Minions

I chose this meme because I love minions and think they are hilarious. In addition, ill placed commas are also humorous. Thanks for reading!

Famous Last Words: Heating Up

This week was an average writing week for me as compared to last week. I felt as if the plot in my most recent story "Sinbad's Journey" was not as good as my last.. On the other hand, I am looking forward to starting a new type story unit. I was not the biggest fan of the Arabian Nights stories. One of the reasons was just because there were some interesting points that were not thoroughly explained. Areas of the plot that I thought were going to develop simply puttered out in one or two sentences. I began writing down some ideas on my whiteboard for all of the scenarios that could have made these stories take a different turn. My hopes are that our next reading unit will be a little easier to follow and that the main plot will seem more logical. In addition, I am hoping to find really good content for next week's storytelling assignment.

How I felt reading the past two weeks' stories (flickr)

In my other classes things have started to heat up. As I saw in one of my other petroleum engineering friend's post, "We're in the eye of the storm" so to speak. I have two tests coming up on Monday and Tuesday. The first being probably easier than the second however that professor is more unpredictable as to content. I also helped my lab group finish up a lab report this weekend in which I was a main contributor on data and editing. My writing skills that have developed in this class have helped me become more inept to spot grammatical errors in other classes. I am looking forward to what I continue to improve on and I hope to improve my writing. My goal is to write something very well the first time, so I don't have to spend so much time revising it. I also want to continue to expand my knowledge and experience of different writing styles. I haven’t yet ventured into a super creative or different approach however I am willing to give it a shot.

Wikipedia Trails: From Sinbad the Sailor to Hydrography

Since I read The Voyages of Sinbad this week it felt natural to start out with Sinbad the Sailor, from which took me to the Indian Ocean since that is what he sailed. Then learning history about the Indian Ocean I found myself learning about the International Hydrographic Organization, from which I found myself trying to learn more about Hydrography in general.

Milo Winter: Sinbad the Sailor

Growth Mindset Meme: Comfort Zone

Outside our comfort zone (cheezburger)

One of the hardest things for myself and I'm sure many others is stepping outside our comfort zone and trying something foreign. The reason I picked this meme is because it is often very true that we find happiness in the things that we never expected we would, that are outside our normal comfort zone. Thanks for reading.

Learning Challenges: Every Morning

Every Morning (Laura Gibbs)

I picked this meme because I like the live in the moment feel of this motivational poster. It is often hard to just move forward from the things that bothered us yesterday, but the only things we can control are the things that happen today.  Every day is a fresh start and a new you. Thanks for reading.

Tech Tip Week 5: About Me Sidebar

Hey all, I added a new about me sidebar to my page. If you would like to know more about me though you can check out my introduction. Thanks for reading.

Story: Sinbad's Journey

Sinbad began life as a poor merchant along the coast. Every day he watched as the great wooden vessels came in and out of port. He dreamt that one day he would be fortunate enough to buy his own vessel so that he could sail the seas and trade goods to foreign countries. One day, as he was watching from his cart of fruit along the coast, he saw a giant bird’s egg on the shore. Sinbad, being the curious fellow he was, went to investigate. As he looked upon it, it glimmered in the sunshine like a great pearl. Then Sinbad thought of an idea. He knew that this was no ordinary egg and began to fantasize of the great fortune it might bring him. So Sinbad dumped out his cart of fruit and secured the egg in it. As he was dragging it off the shore, he saw a great shadow in the sand with wings spread very wide. He immediately knew that this had to be the mother bird and began running faster with his cart to his home. Before the bird could cause any harm to Sinbad he made it inside safely with the egg. He waited a few hours before leaving his home and decided to attempt to sell the egg while the bird was away. Upon seeing one of the wealthy vessel owners in the market, Sinbad struck a deal to trade the magnificent egg for his ship and crew.

The next morning Sinbad set sail with his crew on the open seas. Sinbad stood upon the bow of the ship soaking in the fresh air and great view of the open ocean. As he stood there he thought to himself of the great change in circumstances he had gone through in just 24 hours.

Sinbad and his crew sailed for six days and six nights without seeing another ship or land. They were seemingly lost, for they intended to set sail for the west Indies. Then a member of his crew in the crow’s nest lookout saw an island in the distance. As they approached the island it looked barren and uninviting. Sinbad and his crew landed on shore the island and began to cautiously explore. One member of the crew spotted a giant bird’s egg on the beach. Sinbad, in disbelief, saw the egg and immediately began to think of the riches it could bring him again. He ordered his crew to load the egg on ship. Once his crew had gotten the egg aboard the vessel, Sinbad began to set sails back to the port.

Suddenly, there was a piercing screeching noise coming from the island. A shadow soon came over the boat that was three times the shadow of the previous bird that Sinbad had narrowly escaped. The angry bird was carrying a giant boulder with its talons. It let it loose above the vessel and exploded Sinbad’s ship into thousands of splinters. Sinbad luckily grasped onto a piece of the wreckage and floated at sea for two days. On the third day a ship heading to Sinbad’s home port picked him up and took him home.

The next morning Sinbad was back to selling fruit out of his cart and thinking about what could have been.

The Voyage: (Roc, by E. J. Detmold)

Author’s Note: The story was inspired from the Voyages of Sinbad. There are a few elements I wanted to change from the source story and there are some elements that I wanted to keep. For one I wanted to give a reason for Sinbad’s misfortune at the end of the story. It seemed as if in the source story he was lucky or unlucky sometimes, but for no reasonable explanation. In the source story, the bird is originally angry with Sinbad and his crew for eating the roc egg, before crushing his vessel. I wanted to add the spin of theft of the second roc egg instead of his crew eating it to explain why the roc was angry with Sinbad and his crew. In addition, I wanted to add the theme of rags to riches and back to rags. I feel that the story really stresses the impact of greed versus the original story is more of ambition and luck themed. Taking the second egg off the island proved to be too greedy. Sinbad is still his lucky self and ends up surviving this voyage and returning home though. In addition, I included the giant bird which wrecks Sinbad’s vessel, but I felt that my source for the bird’s anger and dash of karma gave the story some new perspective. Lastly, at the end of the story I think Sinbad asks himself if he would do it any different if given another chance. In my opinion, he probably regrets taking the second egg. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments!

Bibliography: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).

Reading Notes: Voyages of Sinbad Part B

I selected to read The Voyages of Sinbad from the source:The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898). For one I was interested to this because of reading the Odyssey, but also I read another passage from this source last week that was very interesting. Below are my reading notes for part B:

• There is an element of Karma which happened to Sinbad's crew when the ate the roc's egg. I have not yet had a theme where the consequences showed in one of my stories, however I am intrigued at the possibilities it may hold.
• The old man seems to be a trained hustler in tricking Sinbad into thinking he is old and weak. His escape is similar to Odysseus since he is able to use the wine to get the old man off his back.
• Each time he travels among these voyages he becomes more and more lucky to return home and sort of admits it when beginning the sixth voyage.
• I am a fan of the more realistic circumstances that have arrived when Sinbad is captured and sold into slavery.
• Each time Sinbad comes into good fortune it seems that he always remembers to take care of the poor or give some away. I wonder if this possibly explains the luck of his travels and returning home each time.

Voyage of Sinbad: (illustration by Rene Bull)

Reading Notes: The Voyages of Sinbad Part A

I selected to read The Voyages of Sinbad from the source:The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898). For one I was interested to this because of reading the Odyssey, but also I read another passage from this source last week that was very interesting. Below are my reading notes:

• Sinbad seems to be a relatable guy. I mean if I had a fortune at this age I'd probably struggle to not blow it. He seems very entrepreneurial to take on the idea of boarding a vessel.
• Similar to the Odyssey I can sense that the tide will turn on the luck of the crew. 
• I am a fan of the great detail in which the the enormous animals are described. This is very similar to the Odyssey and how Homer takes great care in character description.
• Unlike Odysseus, I get the impression that Sinbad does not use his wits to get out of his hard circumstances. Rather it seems to be happen stance or a bit of luck that he escapes his hardships. I would like to incorporate this happy go lucky character into my next story though.
• This is another case of where I wish the story would've ended a few chapters earlier. The story turns very grim with Sinbad as a character. He does turn robin hood "esque" but I'm not a fan of how this one turns out so far. Hopefully part b will be more positive.

Second Voyage: (Roc, by E. J. Detmold)

Reading Note's: Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes

For the extra credit half unit I decided to read the native american story: Myths and Legends of the Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes, edited by Katharine Berry Judson (1914). Below are my reading notes:

• The story opens up with the creation of the earth and I find it interesting how the "earth-maker" makes his decisions to create things. It is a logic of well if I create this then I must create this. It's the chain effect of creating a problem which creates more and more problems.
• I think it is strange that the Earth was depicted as all underwater at first and then the crawfish made the land for man. And then the justification for creating tobacco is comical.
• I like the agreement in which everyone finally gets something so that the bear will give them rice. There is a theme of heavy reliance upon nature and the animals in each story.
• Again then theme of animals is strong. I find it very interesting that the eagle was the one who taught the Indians to fish. The eagle seems to be a prevalent creature of the culture and this would make sense. Also I don't see the correlation between pigeons and wild maize, but it's interesting.
• The last interesting thing I wanted to note upon was the reasoning for why the children and Manabush had to work so hard anytime they wanted to make sugar.

Laura Gibbs: (maize)

Famous Last Words: Writing Skills Improving

This week was especially tough in all of my classes. Mostly because the homework's that were assigned were especially long and took much of my time this week. As a result, I am not super pleased with my storytelling for week four however I believe that it can be improved with later revisions. My best writing I think will come through with the revisions I will perform on my week three story. Thanks to a lot of help from Laura and some time, I will be able to enhance the delivery of my story. After doing some pre-revisions I already feel as if now it gives the reader a more engaging feel when he or she reads it. I changed the sentence structure of a few sentences from passive to active by either changing the main verb of the sentence or changing the whole sentence all together. I never realized before that when telling stories that this could have such an impact, but now I realize the impact it has on the reader. I hope to continue to improve my writing skills as this online course progresses. Fixing minor grammar mistakes each week also helps me to refine my skills as a short story teller. In the end this is also helping me outside of this class in my other writings. For me, it is like getting another English class while taking this course and reminding me of the proper etiquette of writing.

Brave Soul (cuddlebuggery)

I am appreciative of what this class has already offered me and am looking forward to more. At first I was overwhelmed with the word count and workload, but now I am really handling it well. Three hundred or five-hundred words is nothing now for me to get done within an hour and be of quality work. My goal for next week is to continue polishing my writing skills and also time manage my tasks in this class and in my others. It will be especially tough this week because I have a close approaching test this Monday in my geophysics class. Thanks for reading.

Review: Punctuation Struggles .'!",_;:

Laura Gibbs: Punctuation Marks

I found this to be a pretty interesting announcement. For one it is exactly true with stating the difficulty in which to understand all the rules of using commas or apostrophes. In addition, I thought it was neat that this was shown as exponentially harder than periods. Thanks for reading.

Wikipedia Trail: From Arabian Nights to the Sea of Japan

I started out with Arabian Nights because it was the story I read this week. I found out that this series was framed by another group of storytellers which set the setting in Baghdad. Reading some brief history of the city I found out it was almost destroyed in 1258 by the Mongol Empire. I didn't realize how big the mongol empire actually was until I read that it stretched from western Europe to the Sea of Japan. Lastly, I selected this because I felt like I should familiarize myself with geography anytime possible.

Wikipedia: Sea of Japan

Learning Challenges: Carpe Diem

Time Management Meme

This learning challenge is always a tough one for me to accomplish. My goal for this next week is to prioritize my homework tasks better so I can stay ahead in all my classes. Besides, pushing things off only makes things worse. Thanks for reading.

Growth Mindset Meme: Dare to Fail

Growth Mindset Meme 

I picked this meme because it may be silly but it reinforces daring to try anything. This cat may or may not get caught stealing these burgers, but it will have at least tried to complete a goal/dream. Therefore, no matter how big or how small, every dream is worth chasing. Thanks for reading.

Feedback Focus

Laura Gibbs: (falcon)

The first reading technique is one I do often. Reading out loud helps me to really understand dialogue between characters, however I feel that when I read in my head I have a better imagination of setting. Maybe it's a multi-tasking thing. The copy and delete technique was one I was indifferent about. One thing that I did like for a longer story is the sense of accomplishment after finishing each paragraph. The last technique was my least favorite just from the standpoint that I felt like I was rushed reading the story. I consider myself a pretty slow reader compared to most therefore I wanted to take more care to understand a story before leaving comments. The read out loud technique is the one I will continue to use as it was my favorite.

Story: The Levels of Storytelling

A man and his son went down to the river dock to go fishing. They cast their lines out as far as they could and then set up their lawn chairs. As five minutes passed the boy grew impatient with the inactivity of his fishing pole so he asked his father, “Dad, can I have a soda pop out of the ice chest?”

The father replied, “Yes, of course.” The boy anxiously popped open his soda can and drank it until it was all gone. Another five minutes passed and the boy grew impatient again.

This time he asked his father, “Dad, will you tell me a story until the fish wake up to bite?”

~~~~~~
The father nodded and said, “I will tell you the story of the wolf and the crane. One day the wolf who was king of the woods was struggling. The wolf, needing help, saw a crane crossing the river.

He quickly cried out, “Please help me! I’m choking on a bone!”

The crane responded, “I cannot help you because all wolves are ungrateful.”

The wolf, feeling confused, replied, “How can you not trust me if we have never met before?”

The crane responded, “I will tell you the story of the wolf and the lamb and this will explain why you cannot be trusted.

~~~~~~
There once was a lamb drinking water from the same stream as one of your brother wolves. As the lamb took water from the stream the wolf howled out, “How dare you muddy the water I drink from!”

The lamb replied, “I meant no harm and I will be on my way.”

The wolf, stepping in front of the lamb’s path, said, “Not so fast. You have talked badly of me before.” Before the lamb could reply the wolf ate the poor lamb up.”

The crane then said, “See, this is why a wolf cannot be trusted. How will I know you will not do the same after I help you?”

 The wolf, desperately needing help, replied, “I will give you a gift if you help me in my time of need.” The crane decided to help the wolf and freed him from the bone he was choking on. Once relieved the wolf replied, “My gift for you helping me is that I will not eat you today.” The crane feeling angr… The boy interrupted, “Why would the wolf do that when he said he was going to give him a gift? And why did he still do it after the crane told the choking wolf the story of the wolf and the lamb?” The father replied, “Well you see, not all wolves can be trusted even if they say they can. In this case the wolf was a liar but maybe the next one will be true to his word. The moral of the story is th..”

The boy scrambled for his fishing pole as it slid across the dock. He grasped the end before letting it slip into the water and shouted, “Dad! Come help me reel this big fish in!” After the father and son had reeled the giant fish in the boy said, “Dad, tell me the story of how fish get so big.”

Wikimedia: Father son Fishing

Author’s note: This story is inspired by a couple stories. The style of the story comes from The Arabian Nights' Entertainments. The way the story develops with another level of storytelling is the idea I was chasing. The character who tells the story each time also changes, therefore giving that perception of a new dimension of storytelling. In the story of Scheherazade from The Arabian Nights’ I liked the style in which it was told, but I was not a fan of the grimness of it. Therefore, I changed it to more of a children’s style and included some elements from Aesop’s Fables. In addition, this story differs from my previous in the fact that this entire story is almost all dialogue. I felt like I was able to capture better traits of each character’s personality through the levels of storytelling by the use of dialogue. Lastly, since the story is fairly off topic from the source I included the boy asking his father to tell him another story at the end. I felt this element is similar to how in the story of Scheherazade she is able to transition from levels of storytelling and back while keeping Sultan intrigued. Thanks for reading!

Bibliography: The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs (1894).  

The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).

Reading Notes: Arabian Night's Part B

For this week I've decided to read  The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898). The notes below will cover Part B:

• Right off the bat, I noticed that this is very different then the Aladdin story told by Disney. There is definitely a glaze over the sadder parts of the story, however in a way gives it a neat perspective.
• One interesting difference is that there are two genie's and how that ultimately changes this story. It is really interesting how Disney spun the story a different way than original and is similar to our storytelling assignments each week.
• The ending of the third book reminds me of the Ramayana in such that if it would've ended now I would've been pleased. Obviously this is where Disney decided to end the tale.
• This story is somewhat complex and similar to part A where characters introduced at the beginning of the story reappear again at the end for a major plot change. I would like to include this element along with the story inception element.
• Lastly, an unforeseen element at the end was the twin brother of the magician. So it would be neat to leave the reader with something that came from left field. 

Laura Gibbs: Genie and Aladdin

Reading Notes: Arabian Night's Part A

For this week I've decided to read  The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1898).. The notes below will cover Part A:

• The story starts right off into the plot which causes the reader to scramble for a bit to grasp what is going on. I like this abruptness style to storytelling.
• I like how clever Scheherazade is in her quest to end the evil deed which Sultan does each day to his new wives. In addition, Sultan is forced into granting her wishes which is a character ploy I would like to include in my story.
• At the end of each story Scheherazade tells she introduces a new character to tell the story. In addition, a genie appears in one of the stories to grant wishes. In which, her story that she tells is a direct reflection of the situation shes in. It's like story inception!
• She almost begins to taunt Sultan with her story as it goes on. I like again the deception and indirect character manipulation throughout the story.
• When Scheherazade wants to live longer her get out card is to intrigue Sultan with the thought of another story even though she can't remember the rest of the other story. However, now as she tells the story she directly addresses Sultan. This ploy evolves the impact of how the story develops and ultimately acts as a tool to hypnotize Sultan to do what Scheherazade wants.

(Persian miniature: a polo match)

Famous Last Words: Job Search

Wikimedia: Career Fair

This week I felt like I wrote a better story based off the source stories within Aesop’s fables. I was able to use a style similar to how the fables build up suspense throughout the body before revealing the punchline and ultimately the moral of the story. In addition, I was able to successfully add more dialogue throughout my story this week. Which I thought was able to communicate the personality of characters in the story without just describing it in third person. For the rest of the assignments in this class, I feel I have been staying ahead of the game and on schedule. I haven’t stayed exactly on the schedule I set forth at the beginning, however I haven’t procrastinated to the point where I have missed assignments.

In my other classes things are starting to pick up and I have a couple projects due in the following weeks. Therefore, staying on schedule will be very vital and completing all my assignments on time the next couple weeks. I think my favorite class I have so far is Drilling II. The professor is knowledgeable not only in the classroom but also in the practical application in the real world, which I am a fan of. In addition to classes picking up, I also am on the job hunt since this is my last year. The career fair is this week so I’ll be busy doing last minute edits to my resume and practicing my elevator speech. Times are somewhat tough for my specific major, however I am trying to remain optimistic on the potential unforeseen opportunities. Lastly, I am looking forward to my readings this next week. I believe I am going to read Homer’s Iliad, which I have seen some others from the class have already done. There seems to be some interesting paths for storytelling from it. Thanks for reading!

Review: Emoji Nonsense

Laura Gibbs: Emojis as Hieroglyphics

This was my favorite announcement for reasons that can probably just go unsaid. I guess that's the whole point of emojis, to not have to explain with words, lol. Thanks for reading!

Reading Note's: Aesop's for Children (Winter) Part A

For the extra reading assignment I decided to read the Aesop's for Children however with illustrations by Milo Winter. I thought it would be neat to have an illustration to tie back to my original thoughts on some of these storytelling's. Below are my notes of the reading:

Milo Winter: Farmer and the Stork

• I like the picture of the tortoise and the two ducks for the reason of its establishes a sense of curiosity for the viewer. Then after reading the tale you realize that curiosity was the demise of the tortoise.
• The dog, the cock, and the fox is a great classic story where the fox ultimately gets a taste of his own deception. Many of the Aesop's fables are hard to predict the ending. Some times the ending's will be harsh and blunt. Other times the fox will come out the loser in the situation. It is interesting the style and how the build up of the story changes with each type of outcome.
• The ass and his driver was a very comical picture to me which related perfectly well to how the story ends with the donkey go over the cliff and not listening to reason. Though in a modern sense, the voice of reason is often the hardest to listen to.
• The farmer and the stork was perhaps my favorite story. Immediately from the illustration I could see it was a story about judgement. And indeed it was and the moral was about the judgement of the company who surrounds you. It reminded me of a interesting saying: "We judge others by their actions, however we judge ourselves by our intentions."

Bibliography: The Aesop for Children, with illustrations by Milo Winter (1919).

Wikipedia Trail: From The Wolf and the Crane to John George Bartholomew

Wikipedia: Wolf and the Crane

This week I've started my trail at one of the classic Aesop's fables, The Wolf and the Crane. The wolf promises a reward if the crane helps him from choking to death, the crane does, but then the wolf's reward is he won't eat the crane. I then selected the link to read about Cranes. Mainly just because I wanted to go an animal oriented path. Next I found it interesting that cranes inhabit all but two continents. One being South America and the other Antarctica. Therefore, my next path led to Antarctica. Reading some about Antarctica's history I learned who named it its formal name. That man being cartographer John George Bartholomew. Lastly, I clicked on him because I couldn't remember exactly what else he was famous for then I remembered he was a pioneer for map making and created the first color contour maps.

Learning Challenges: Happiness Jar

Happiness Notes (oulbh)

The learning challenge I would like to bring up this week is Happiness. I thought this was a neat idea and will be my new years resolution for next year. I feel as if myself and humans can always remember the bad things in life but often forget the good things that happen to us everyday. We take it for granted or become complacent in the little things others do for us all the time. Thanks for reading and be happy! 

Growth Mindset: Risky Cats

Cat Taking Risks (Islam Abudaoud)

My growth mindset this week is to not live within the boundaries that we are given, but rather be willing to go outside my comfort zone. To be honest, taking this course is way outside my comfort zone. However, now after three weeks of storytelling and blog posts I have really opened up a side of me that I didn't know existed. This is why we take risks, to discover new talents. Thanks for reading.

Tech Tip: Weather Gadget

This tech tip involved using an HTML box  and I recommend learning it to anyone. Now my readers can check out the weather for good ole Norman, OK when stopping by. Thanks for reading.

Tech Tip: Newsreel Sidebar

I have decided to add a search bar to the footer of my blog in case anyone would like to see if a common keyword occurs in any of my posts. I thought this might be useful for storybooks and seeing if I had written any similar topics as another classmate. Thanks for reading.

The Lone Wolf

One day the wolf was walking down to the river to get a drink of water. When he arrived at the river to get a drink of water, he realized that all of the other animals of the forest were beginning to make their way to the other side of the river away from the wolf. The wolf thought nothing of it and after getting his drink of water from the community river he went back home and went to bed.

The next day the wolf woke up and was thirsty. He again made his way down to the river bank to get himself a drink. After he took his drink of water from the river, he again noticed that all of the other animals of the forest were on the other side of the river far away from him. The wolf began to think to himself that maybe he had a stench or maybe the water on the side of the river where he was drinking was not as good as the other side of the river. The wolf decided to bathe himself in the river and then went back home to go to sleep.

On the third day, the wolf woke up and was thirsty as usual. He made his way down to his spot on the riverbank where he would normally drink from. This time before taking a drink of water he looked around and noticed again that all the other animals of the forest were on the other side of the river. So, the wolf decided to cross to where the cranes were drinking water and take a drink from there.

Once the wolf had made it to the other side of the river near the cranes, he took a drink of water. After he took his drink of water he noticed all of the other animals of the forest started moving to the spot where he drank the previous days.

Feeling frustrated the wolf cried out to the cranes, “Why will no one drink from the same side of the river as me?”

Once the cranes had crossed the river to the other bank, one yelled back, “Because a wolf cannot be trusted by a crane.”

The wolf, beginning to feel angry, then yelled at the group of goats, “Why will goats not drink from the same side of the river as me?”

One of the goats then yelled back, “Because a wolf cannot be trusted by a goat.”

The wolf, now feeling even angrier about being an outcast, then yelled to the other wolves, “Can a wolf not be trusted by other wolves?”

A moment of silence came over the wolves until the alpha wolf stated, “A wolf who is not trusted by a crane nor a goat cannot be trusted by his own kind.”

The wolf, feeling that he had heard enough, made his way back to his home. He began to eat his sorrows away enjoying his favorite meal of goat and later cleaning his teeth with a crane’s beak.

Author’s Note: This story is inspired from Aesop's Fables. In many of the fables, the wolf is portrayed as the antagonist in the story and I wanted to keep that theme. The specific stories that came to mind were The Wolf and the Crane as well as the Wolf and the Goat. These are both tales where the wolf is either ungrateful or forcefully harmful to another animal of the forest. In addition, I also liked the writing style in the fables where many times there will be a build-up to the punch line. I was able to replicate this by having the wolf revisit the river three days. Ultimately, he finally builds the curiosity and anger to ask the other animals why no one will drink water by him. In doing so, I was able to set up the story so that the other animals gave an indirect answer to his question. This was an element which kept the reader wondering and the wolf as well. Then, in the end, the subtle details of what the wolf does when he arrives back at home alludes to the moral of the story. I wrote the ending of the story to be somewhat ambiguous and give the reader an ending thought on what it might be. Lastly, another element to my story, that I didn’t include last week, was the use of dialogue. Thanks for reading.

Picture courtesy of W.H. Drake: The Two Jungle Books
Bibliography: The Wolf and the Crane, The Wolf and the Goat by Jenny H. Stickney

Week 3 Reading Part B: Aesop's Fables

Continued is my reading notes over Aesop's Fables. My goal for part B of this reading is to identify a moral or two to incorporate in a storytelling for this week. Below are my reading notes:

Wikipedia: Wolf and Crane, Wolf and Lamb

• The story of two pots reminds me of the person who trusts everyone versus someone who trusts no one. This reminds me of the quote that it is equally a crime to trust no man as all men. This intrigues my interest as a possible moral.
• The story of the oak and the reed is another good fable of how pride and boastfulness is not always the path to success. As the little reed was left standing in the wind storm.
• The Ax and the trees reminds me of the story of the Wolf and the crane. Its moral shows how kindness can be misrepresented as weakness or foolishness and should be given out upon good judgement. This is definitely a candidate for my next storytelling theme.
• The eagle and the arrow is a story that portrays a sense of irony to me. It is ironic how the eagle dies from a weapon used from feathers of his kind. This will also be a neat literary element I can include in my story.
• The nurse and the wolf story was the first story about the wolf which I have seen that the wolf doesn't come out on top. In addition, it seems to be a theme that the wolf is always the portrayed negative character in all of the stories. Another interesting theme to which I could include in my story.

Thanks for reading.

Bibliography:  Aesop's Fables by Stickney

Week 3 Reading Part A: Aesop's Fables

This week I decided to read Aesop's Fables. Below are my reading notes for part A.

• The story of the wolf and the lamb reminds me of the logic people use to justify their wants even when they know they are wrong.
• A trend of many of these fables are for the protagonist in the story to do a task three times or more then the punch line of the story comes. This is a characteristic I would like to include in my next story.
• The story of the Wolf and the crane reminds me of someone who doesn't remain true to their word. In a sense, its the wolf convincing you that we should be thankful for what could've been done to the crane. It's almost an interesting allusion to what happens today in our world.
• My favorite story is of the little fish and the fisherman as its general moral is that something is always better than nothing. I haven't decided which moral ending my story will have, however I will definitely be consciously trying to reach one when writing this week.
• The story of the Ox and the frog was a somewhat grim story to me which almost felt as if some people view life as not as important as others. The punch line is also to not try to accomplish what is impossible. 

(The Porcupine and the Snakes)

Bibliography:  Aesop's Fables by Stickney

Famous last words: Staying ahead

This week I was proud of myself in accomplishing both of the reading assignments assigned. It is always a good feeling to get the semester off right and not be behind or piling up late work. I am looking forward to keeping this momentum going through the semester, and it is my goal to not have to do any of the extra credit assignments as replacement grades. I also enjoyed reading the stories of other classmates of mythology and folklore this week. I have a few styles of writing that I am again going to try and incorporate in my upcoming writing. I noticed that Jenna used a great deal of dialogue in one of her posts and I want to try and do the same. The hardest part for me is framing the argument, conversation, or commands for the dialogue. In addition, I enjoyed reading a story, by Andrew of one of the Aesop’s fables. It was also well written and had good use of dialogue throughout the story.

Famous last words of Books (justoutsidethebox)

In addition, I felt like I had a good week in my other classes. I actually met a petroleum engineer who was taking this online class too, which was neat! We were able to exchange ideas and plans on the idea of starting a storybook versus a portfolio.

Homework has really started to ramp up in my other classes and I am hoping to keep up my writing performance throughout this semester. I am curious to see if I will be able to stick to my original schedule set out at the beginning of the year, or rather just try to get assignments finished whenever I have a breathing moment. My prediction is that the second option will probably be the most likely and I will be scrambling to keep every class balanced. Nevertheless, I am ready for the challenge and anxious to expand my learning. Thanks for reading!

Week 2 Review: Google

Image courtesy of Laura Gibbs 

I use Google almost everyday so this was my favorite post. I like learning new tips for making my life easier or faster. I use many functions of Google search such as Google scholar and reverse image search.

Wikipedia Trail: From Polyphemus to Immortality

The starting point for my trail is the giant cyclops named Polyphemus which appears in ninth book of Homer's Odyssey. I chose this because this was part of the reading I did this week. Odysseus landed on the cyclops' island when traveling home from the Trojan War, therefore that was my next trail. This interested me to research and learn more about the war that Odysseus was coming from. The war essentially was over the golden apple to which Zeus presented before the fairest women. Therefore, my next link was the golden apple. The last thing I led to was immortality because this is what the golden apple ultimately grants and stands for.

Wikipedia: Polyphemus

Feedback Thoughts

My favorite article was Be a Mirror: Give Readers Feedback That Fosters a Growth Mindset. I like the idea of giving feedback which promotes opening the brain to a new dimension of thinking. I myself have trouble sometimes taking constructive criticism but I feel that when I think about it in terms of growth mindset it changes my acceptance. The best way that I've improved my acceptance of feedback is through working jobs. At each place I've worked I received feedback in many different ways and forms. And the one thing I realized was that every piece of feedback is at your discretion to accept or reject. Therefore, looking at it in a sense of it's up to me to choose how I accept then it means I should never take feedback personally, rather just use good judgement on the context and purpose of the feedback. Thanks for reading.

Wikimedia: Business Feedback Loop

Tech Tip: New Background

Hello all! Just wanted to say that I've browsed through the different templates and themes on blogger and have decided to change my blog to this golf background with green themed links. I saw it to be fitting with my other golf related posts. Comment on what you think of it, Thanks!

Growth Mindset: School for Growth

The University of Oklahoma encourages growth mindset in many ways. It is an extremely important part of any university to require a growth mindset because this is how students learn to think for themselves. In all of the classes I have taken the professor allows for class interaction which allows student to freely express their thoughts or questions on each topic. Being a petroleum engineer, I feel lucky to go to a university that has all the resources for me to succeed. There is equipment on campus that has help me gain knowledge and insight into the ideas covered in class.

Wikimedia: University Seal

Learning Challenge: Time Management

This week I have decided to focus on time management. I think that time management is a key factor to being successful not only at school but in life as well. I have grown in my time management abilities since freshman year. I now am able to break up my school work throughout the week in order to still have time for friends and family. It is important to work hard but also to give yourself time to do the things that you enjoy. I think it will be my goal during senior year to keep good grades but also make more time to golf while the weather is nice.

Wikimedia: Alarm Clock