Famous Last Words - Week 7 - My Writing This Week

Well, I'm not really sure where this past week went!! Oh, YES I DO, I was studying for 3 exams all week long.  So, needless to say I got a wee bit behind on staying ahead in this class; I spent today catching back up again and getting started on week 7.

I've always thought that I did my best work when I was "under the gun," so to speak.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not a procrastinator.  It causes me pain to wait until the last minute to get assignments or readings done.  But you all know how it is, some weeks are just so stinking full of things to do for all of your classes, that you have to prioritize.  The first test I had, got precedence over the other classes, etc.  Well, being under the gun this weekend to get assignments in before the deadline got me writing a new 1st story for the storybook and I got the reading diaries completed for week 7 as well.   I think I did some pretty good work this week.  As any of you who have read any of my blogs probably knows by now, I don't think I have a very good gift for writing, not creative writing anyway, but this week I feel like some of my creative juices were really flowing.

I'm experimenting with different styles of writing and trying to find styles that suit me best, but also suit my stories best.  I had to do a rewrite on one of my stories for my storybook this weekend and I think I did a pretty good job.  Of course, I won't really know until the comments start coming in!!!

Week 7 - Unit: Folklore of Laos

Reading Diary B:

To Aid a Beast
This was a great story about a hunter who aided a man, a tiger, and a snake.  All of whom promised not to forget his good deed and to help him if ever the time came that he needed their help.  One day, the man called to the tiger and the tiger came, brining a golden chain.  This chain, unfortunately came from the daughter of the Chow whom he had killed the day he was freed.  The hunter took the chain to the city (not knowing of where it came) to try to sell.  The man he attempted to sell the chain to was the very same man he had freed and promised to help.  Instead, the man turned the hunter into the Chow as the murderer of the Chow's daughter.  He was blinded and thrown into chains.  He begged for 7-days reprieve.  While he was chained, he called to the snake who came to his aid and restored his sight.  He then blinded the wife of the Chow.  The Chow wanted someone who could restore her sight.  The hunter said he could through herbs, etc.  After helping, the hunter told the Chow, "I am not the one who murdered your daughter.  The man I had freed from the pit promised to return the kindness, but instead falsely accused me."  Upon hearing this, the Chow had the ungrateful man put to death and he released the hunter and gave him half the provence.

The Magic Well
The chow of a provence was dying.  He was lying in his bed one day when I man asked to see him.  He told the chow that he had been visited by a spirit who showed him the way to what looked like a well.  The spirit told the man that this water, and only this water could heal the chow.  The man and the chow along with some of the chow's men journeyed to the well.  This water truly was healing.  The chow drank of the water and poured it on his head and hands and was healed.  To this day, it is said, that the well and the water are used to heal the people.

Bibliography:
To Aid a Beast.  Web Source: To Aid a Beast
The Magic Well.  Web Source: The Magic Well

Reading Diary A:

Spirit-Guarded Cave
This was a great story.  It spoke of a people who were terrorized by their enemies.  They decided to pack up all of their belongings and leave; their cattle, food, and anything with any value.  The journey was long and all the rice and cattle had been consumed before reaching the end of their journey.  They decided to use their jewels and valuables to purchase food.  When they did, the people around them began to covet their fortunes.  Therefore, the people decided to stash their belongings and jewels and riches in a cave in the mountains.  This cave was guarded by the spirits of the people.  Many have tried to enter the cave to retrieve the riches within, but all have failed thanks to the constant guarding by the spirits.

Why the Lip of the Elephant Droops 
Twelve maidens were discarded by their parents in the jungle.  They sought refuge with a beautiful woman.  The woman had a garden, but she told the maidens not to enter.  One day while the woman was away, the maidens inspected the garden and found many human bones.  She was a cannibal.  The maidens ran away seeking help from animals along the way.  They came upon an elephant and asked it to hide them from the cannibal.  The girls jumped in so fast, that the hem of her garment hung outside the elephant's mouth.  Once the cannibal found the elephant with the hem hanging from it's mouth, she cursed the elephant to always have a drooping lip.

Elephant Species - WWF

The Lovers Leap
This was the story that I think is alive in every single culture around the world - that of star-crossed lovers.  Two people were in love and wanted to be joined, but the girl's father would not hear of it.  They saw each other infrequently, but this did not diminish their love for one another.  One day, the father of the girl thought she had forgotten all about her lover and decided to hold a feast.  During the feast, the girl wandered outside and suddenly saw her lover.  He asked her to run away with him and become his wife.  She agreed and mounted his horse with him, but just then a servant came outside, witnessed this, and raised the alarm.  The young lovers were chased by her father and the men.  They reached the crest of a cliff, the horse was weary, and they decided to try to jump the distance.  However, the horse was too tired and the jump to far and they fell to their deaths, crushed upon the rocks.

Bibliography:
Reading Unit: Folklore of Laos.  Web Source: Folklore of Laos
The Spirit-Guarded Cave.  Web Source: Spirit-Guarded Cave
Why the Lip of the Elephant Droops.  Web Source: Droop of the Elephant Lip
Elephant Species - WWF.  Web Source: WWF - Elephant
The Lovers Leap.  Web Source: The Lovers Leap

Week 7 - Essay - My First Memories of Reading

My first memories of reading stretch back all the way to the age of 5 or 6.  Growing up (and even now as an adult) my mother and I did not have the best relationship.  She was very distant and cold, which are traits she learned from her father.  But when she would come in to tuck me into bed at night, it was like she was a totally different person.  She would tell me to go and pick out a book to read and then to hop into bed.  I knew this meant she'd be coming into my room to read me a story and then tuck me in.  We also always played the "bed plumps" game, which got me giggling every single time.  I still think it's funny 30 years later.

One of my favorite books was Are You My Mother? written by P.D. Eastman.  The little scrawny bird was just so adorable and all of the animals he encountered along the way to find his mother were so endearing.  I've always had a soft spot for animals.  Another one of my favorites was Disney's The Magic Grinder.  These stories were my favorites and were selected for reading many nights of the year.  Then, my mom would tuck me in and I would smell the blankets and stroke the soft fabric of my bedding.  Then she'd throw the blankets over my head and play "bed plumps!"  I'd curl up under the blankets and she'd pretend I was a lump of laundry and sheets under there that needed flattening.  It tickled so much and always made both of us giggle.

Those are fantastic memories I still cherish from my childhood.

Are You My Mother? - P.D. Eastman

The Magic Grinder - Disney

Bibliography:

The Magic Grinder.  Web Source: Magic Grinder

Are You My Mother?  Web Source: Are You My Mother?

Week 6 - Storytelling: Three Blind Congo Mice

Once upon a time, there were three blind mice; Trance (the dreamer), Pilot (the guide), and Necromancer (raiser of the dead).  These mice depended on their friend, Pal, to retrieve food for them.  One day, Pal was out in the forest gathering food for Trance, Pilot, and Necromancer when he was startled by a hawk.  The hawk winged down and pierced Pal's chest with it's beak and killed him.  As the hawk was flying off with its' prize, he dropped Pal into the long dry grass and could not find him again.  And so, there lay Pal and his lifeless body.

Back at the home of the three blind mice, Trance sat straight up from bed and cried out to his brothers, "Pilot, Necromancer!  Come at once.  Pal is dead!"

Pilot and Necromancer ran to Trance's side and said, "Trance, are you sure?"

"Yes, of course I'm sure! I saw his body lying in the field!", said Trance.

"Well, then," replied Pilot, "we must go and find his body at once! Come brothers, you know I know the way."

So Trance, Pilot, and Necromancer set off to find their friend's body.  They found him, lying exactly where Pilot said he would be.

Pilot turned to Necromancer and said, "Alright Necry....do your stuff!!  You MUST bring back Pal!! We are lost without him!  We will starve!!"

Necromancer replied, "well thanks a lot, Pilot, Trance, nothing like a little pressure to motivate the raiser of the dead, huh?"  Necromancer sighed and began to speak the words to raise their lost friend. "Cheese-Bread-Berries-Wheat-Barley-Corn-and-Oats-All Kinds of Pies.....Bring back our friend, Pal, or the three blind brothers will die!!!"

Pal spasmed a bit, his whiskers twitched to and fro, and suddenly his eyes shot open!!!  He sat up and looked around to find who had brought him back to life, as if he didn't know!  He turned to the brothers and said, "Oh thank heavens for you, Trance.  If you had not seen me die in your dream, you would not have known I was gone.  And you, Pilot, if you did not have your guiding spirit, you might not have known where to find me.  Finally, Necromancer, if you did not have the gift to raise mice from the dead, I would have lost my life permanently!  I thank you all, for if one of you had been missing from this tail, it would have had a very different ending!"

(P.S. - I did mean to misspell tale.... thought it was kind of punny)

Three Blind Mice - Deviant Art

Author's Note:
I used the story How the Wives Restored Their Husband to Life from the Congo reading unit.  In this story, it was three women who had special gifts; The Dreamer, The Guide, and The Raiser of the Dead.  The women in this story had voracious appetites and were never satiated.  The husband went out to find more food and was killed by an ox.  The Dreamer dreamed of his death and told the other two wives.  The Guide guided the wives out to where to find his body.  Finally, you guessed it, The Raiser of the Dead revived the husband.  The three women argued over whose bed/hut the husband would visit first and decided the way to settle the argument would be to serve him food and whichever pot of food he ate from first, it would be that wife who he visited first.  He told the wives, while you dreamed I was dead and you guided the others to my body, it was The Raiser of the Dead who gave me back my life.  I will eat from her pot.  I decided to change it up a bit because I felt, as I showed in Pal's final words of the story, that it was not the act of one person (or mouse), but the effort of the group that brought about a happy resolution to the plot!

Bibliography:
Image Source: 3 Blind Mice
Story Unit: Congo.  Web Source: Congo Unit
Story: How the Wives Restored Their Husband to Life.  Web Source: Congo Wives

Famous Last Words - Week 6 - My Writing This Week

I was working on my storybook earlier this weeks (it's going to be a collection of Cherokee stories) and I rewrote a story that I've heard from a few different Cherokee sources.  However, this story did not come from the Sacred Text Website and therefore was not a part of Cherokee histories.  So, even though I can't use this story in my storybook, I'm still looking at it as a good writing exercise.  As I've said several times throughout our blogging, I'm not the best storyteller.  My imagination in this area is limited.  Every time I write something, it's definitely an exercise, beads of sweat even pop up all over my forehead!! lol

It's hard for me to come up with interesting ways to retell a story in my own words.  I tend to retell them in the 1st person, which can get a little redundant and boring.  I'm going to try to find that link that Professor Gibbs has posted for us to give us writing ideas and play around with new ways in which to write.  Seriously how do writers continually come up with amazing literature?

I took this class because I've always liked mythology and folklore and it also filled an upper division requirement, but that wasn't really the driving factor.  I also ADORE reading.  My mother was an avid reader and now so am I, of course I don't really get to read for pleasure anymore, only for classes lol.  I had no idea what to expect, but I'm pleasantly surprised.  I like the fact that I not only get exposure to several culture's mythology and folklore, but I also have to go outside of my comfort zone and try something I've never tried before.  Getting my education at OU is definitely providing me with a wide range of subject matter, which will no doubt make me a well-rounded individual as well as a fantastic criminologist!!!

Mary Wollstonecraft - by John Opie

Bibliography:
Mary Wollstonecraft - by John Opie.  Web Source: Mary Wollstonecraft

Week 6 - Essay - Reading Glasses Cartoon

I find this cartoon to be very, very cute.  First of all, lets just put it out there that children will do just about ANYTHING to get out of long drawn out processes of things they do not want to do.  This list includes, but is not limited to, chores, long car rides, and anything involving schoolwork.  And although little girls are guilty of employing ingenious methods to get of doing work, I believe that little boys have created a cornerstone on the market.  They work together in groups, each little boy adding his proposed method of getting around the dirty work.  Together, these boys manage to come up with resourceful means for fooling mom and dad as well as schoolteachers.  However, there are just some things that there is just no getting around and learning how to read in grade school is one of those things.  Some children pick it up faster than others and some children enjoy reading more than others.

Now, imagine, if you will, two little boys wandering through the store with their mothers.  We all know kids find shopping painfully boring and they can find entertainment in the weirdest things.  My daughter and a friend of hers once played under an empty clothes rack at Wal-Mart for 35 minutes!! What was so entertaining???  Must have died within me when I got older.  So back to our two little boys, they come upon this display of hundreds of glasses.  I’m sure the first thing that occurs is that they begin trying them on, upside-down even, and making fun of each other and how silly they look in them.  Then, they happen to look up at the top of the display, which reads “Reading Glasses.”  The boys have an epiphany…We could have used these "magical spectacles" instead of going to that dumb class and learning to read!!!!!!! Ahhh, out of the mouths of babes.  That’s why I love children.  They are so complicated and complex and yet sometimes they just keep things simple and straightforward.  Their little minds are forming concoctions all the time, some good and some bad. 

Cartoon by Dave Coverly

Bibliography:
Image Web Source: EyeGlasses Cartoon

Week 6 - Unit: Tales from the Congo

Reading Diary B:
The Gazelle and the Leopard:
Did not make any sense to me, it went back and forth and I read it several times.  Couldn't make heads or tails of if the leopard was careless or the gazelle.

The Fetish Sunga:
This was a story about a greedy man who managed to catch many fish, but refused to share with his relatives.  The fetish Sunga heard of this and asked one of her servants to bring the man.  Once he was there, she laid out a large feast and wine.  But he was afraid to eat and said that the smell alone had satisfied him.  The fetish Sunga pressed him further and he finally drank all the wine.  Then she made him speechless.  From that day on he had to request everything by sign.

Reading Diary A:

How the Wives Restored Their Husband to Life:
This was a very interesting story.  He told of a man, Nenpetro, who had 3 wives.  Each of his wives had a special gift.  The the wives and their gifts included: Songa'Nzila - The Guide, Ndoza'Ntu - The Dreamer, and Fulla Fulla - The Raiser of the Dead.  These wives were ceaselessly hungry and Nenpetro went out to hunt for them.  On his final hunt, he was killed by an Ox.  Ndoza'Ntu dreamt he was dead, Songa'Nzila guided them to his body, and Fulla Fulla brought him back to life.  Once Fulla Fulla had brought him back from the dead, they all prepared meals for him.  They wondered whose home Nenpetro would visit first.  They made him choose by which meal he at from first.  Nenpetro said that while Ndoza'Ntu had dreamed where he was and Songa'Nzila had guided them to him, it was Fulla Fulla who gave him life.  Therefore, he ate from her pot.

The Jealous Wife:
This story was really good too, but very sad.  A man had two wives, one younger and one older, and each of his wives had a child.  The husband had gone into the bush to trade and he bid his wives to take good care of the children while he was gone.  The older wife was jealous of the younger wife's son because he was smarter and more clever, so she plotted to murder the child in it's sleep.  She crept to the place where the child usually slept and stabbed him.  The other child ran and took refuge at a neighbor's.  The next morning the wife went to "admire her handiwork" and discovered that she had murdered her own child.  She picked up her dead child and ran into the bush.  The husband and neighbors went out to search for her and finally found her singing to and rocking the child. They took her prisoner and poisoned her and scattered her ashes to the winds.

The Wicked Husband:
Ok, I'm noticing a theme here.  I'm liking the gory stories.  I'm weird, right?

In this story, a husband and wife are fighting about pine nuts.  The husband says she uses too much and the wife explains she has given it to relatives whom she cannot refuse.  The husband acts like an ass and drags her into the forest to help him with the pine nuts.  Then, once in the forest, he places her on a table he had made and cut off her arms and legs.  Then he left her there.  The prince eventually heard of this and brought the woman to him, where she died upon arrival.  The prince accused the husband of the crime and sentenced him to die.  So, he placed the husband underneath his dead wife and placed them both on the fire!

--what a way to go!!!  He so deserved it though...grumpy-butt!

Women of the Congo, 1885

Bibliography:
How the Wives Restored Their Husband to Life.  Web Source: Wives Restore Husband
Reading Unit: Tales from the Congo.  Web Source: Stories from the Congo
Image: Women of the Congo, 1885.  Web Source: Women of the Congo
The Wicked Husband.  Web Source: Wicked Husband
The Gazelle and the Leopard.  Web Source: Gazelle & Leopard
The Fetish Sunga.  Web Source: Fetish Sunga

Week 5 - Storytelling: Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

Once upon a time, there was a lonely sheep, Jula.  She wished she had other sheep around, but alas, they were all gone.  Suddenly, one day Jula saw a group of sheep come over the top of the hill.  Jula decided to approach them and introduce herself.

"Hello.  My name is Jula.  Are you lost or are you going somewhere specific?"

"Hello, Jula.  I am John.  This is my wife Carrie and our two children, Brian and Samantha.  We are traveling from our pasture home, as there is no more grass and there are no more of our sheep kin."

"Well," replied Jula, "There is plenty of grass here and I too am all alone and would welcome the company should you decide to stay."

Brian and Carrie discussed this for a moment and decided they too would welcome the new relationship and decided to stay, at least for a while, to see if the family could be happy here.

One night, Samantha woke from a deep sleep to an odd sound.  She got to her feet and decided to investigate the sound.  She looked around and saw her father, mother, and brother all sleeping soundly, but she didn't see Jula anywhere.  As she walked through the pasture, just a few yards from where her family still slumbered, she saw the skin of a sheep!!!!  She was horrified!!!!  A wolf must've gotten to Jula!!!  Samantha ran over to her sleeping family and woke her mother.  She led her mother to the sheep skin.

"Oh my goodness!!" exclaimed Carrie.  "This is horrible!  We must wake the family and leave quickly before we meet the same fate as Jula!"

The woke John and Brian and explained what was going on.  Brian was scared and was more than ready to leave, but John was a different story.  He told his wife, "we do not know for sure what, if anything, has happened to Jula.  We should wait until morning and make our decision then.  The  children are tired and we do not know where to go from here!"

Carrie told her husband, "we did not know where we were going when we found this pasture.  We are not tied to this land and will certainly find more sheep and greater pastures, but we must leave NOW!! We must keep our children safe.  And if you do not wish to leave, we will be forced to leave without you!"

Carrie, Brian, and Samantha left immediately, but they kept a watchful eye out for wolves as they made their way through the pasture and on to a new, but yet unknown, home.

The following morning, John awoke and walked over to the empty sheep skin.  He realized he should have left with his family.  He missed them immensely and was lonely without them.  Just as he turned to take his leave, he heard a strange, yet somehow familiar, voice.

"Where are you going, Brian?  And what has happened to your family?  Where are they?"

Brian turned and saw a large wolf glaring at him with hungry eyes.  "Jula?  Are you Jula?  What is going on here?"

"Well, Brian, I am the one who 'pretended' to be the sheep, Jula.  My real name is Snowfire and I'm sure you can see that I am a Great White Wolf.  There used to be an immense heard of sheep on these lands, but I slowly devoured them one by one.  I was becoming very hungry and was about to move on when you and your family came to me.  Unfortunately, your wife and children realized something was amiss and fled.  It is unfortunate for you that you did not heed their warning and leave with them.  I am going to kill you, John.  And when I am finished with you, I shall catch up to your family and devour them as well.''

John didn't know what to say or do.  He knew he could not outrun the wolf, but he thought his family might have a big enough of a head start that Snowfire would be unable to catch them.  He certainly hoped, for their sakes, that this was true.  John sighed and said to Snowfire, "Well, if you're going to consume my flesh, there is no sense in prolonging the inevitable.  But you will NEVER catch my family.  They are swift and strong and extremely clever.  The next time you lay your eyes on a wolf, you had better ask yourself....'is this truly a wolf, or are they sheep in wolf's clothing come to exact their revenge?'"

This made Snowfire uneasy.  She found it hard to believe that sheep could be as cunning as a wolf, but she certainly wasn't going to back away from her food source.  She shook the doubt from her mind and replied to John, "You are wasting my time and your threats will not deter me from my goal," said Snowfire.  "Now, you might want to close your eyes - this will not be pleasant!"

Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

Sheep In Wolf's Clothing

Author's Note:

I chose to retell the tale of The Wolf Aunt.  In this story, a man and his family have a hard time surviving.  One day while he is in town selling goods, a woman approaches him and claims to be his long lost sister.  After a short visit, she insists he bring his family to live with her.  She tells her alleged brother that she has plenty of money to support them all.  He brings his family to her home.  As a way to say thank you to the newfound aunt, the mother and daughter bake a treat to take to her.  When the daughter peeks through the aunt's window, she sees her turn into a wolf and devour a man.  She tells her mother what she saw and the mother insists that the family leaves.  Of course, the father refuses.  But the mother, trying to protect her children, waits until nightfall and sneaks her children out and they return to their home.  The next morning, the man confronts his "sister" and tells her what his family said about her being a wolf.  The following morning, she comes to her "brother's" room as a wolf and asks him, "how should I devour you? Feet first or head first?" 

The moral of the story, essentially is trust those you know well and be suspicious, at least for a bit, of newfound relatives.  They may have ulterior motives.

Bibliography:

Image: Wolf In Sheep's Clothing.  Web Source: Wolf-Sheep

Unit: Persian Tales.  Web Source: Persian Unit

The Wolf-Aunt.  Web Source: Wolf Aunt
Image: Sheep In Wolf's Clothing.  Web Source: Sheep-Wolf

Famous Last Words - Week 5 - Surviving Stats!

Well, this week did not start off as well as I had planned.  My daughter was sick over the weekend, so I did not get as far ahead with this class, or catch up in my other classes, as I would have liked to.  So, needless to say, when this week started I was running to catch up and not making any headway.  BUT….. I sat down the other night and got a good deal done in our Mythology-Folklore class for week 5, so I am very much caught up now (and I did it quite quickly too).  This makes it easier for me to breathe because IF I get behind again I can think to myself, “Michele, it didn’t take that long to get caught up and then ahead of the game in Mythology-Folklore, so CHILL OUT!”  Plus, knowing that it won’t take sooooo long to get ahead of things in here gives me a bit of breathing room in my other classes. 

My Sociology of Violence class is extremely interesting, but I’m a senior and it’s an upper division class so there is an enormous amount of reading that needs to be done in there.  So, this weekend I will spend catching up on reading, making notecards, and getting my notes from lecture and reading typed up to make it easier to find things when I need them for studying purposes. 

(Is anyone detecting a Type-A Control Freak Personality?) 

My Social Statistics class is giving me some worry.  I’m excellent at math and (I’m a geek, I know) I enjoy solving problems.  However, (big BIG however here) we’re getting into the Central Limit Theorem which has multiple formulas and ways of expressing those formulas that I’m worried I won’t be able to keep them all straight and remember that  is the mean of some variable and that is the mean of the population.  Sooooo, we shall see if I survive the semester!  Because if I don’t, it doesn’t look good for Grad school, because we’ve got to take another stats class, but this time it’s ADVANCED Social Statistics …. YAY!!!!!

Studying College Student

Bibliography:

Studying College Student image.  Web Source: College Student

Collage Tech Tip

I used PicMonkey to create a collage image for my storybook and it turned out this was a tech tip too.  So here's my image.  My storybook is Cherokee Campfire.

The Wolves, Campfire, Stories

Bibliography:

Wolves image.  Web Source: The Wolves 

Campfire image.  Web Source: Campfire 

Stories image.  Web Source: Stories

Week 5 - Unit: Persian Tales

Reading Diary A:
I loved the story of The Goat and the Wolf.  I like how the wolf is conniving and very good and weaseling to get the upper hand in the situation without having done any real work himself.  But I like even better the fact that he gets his "come-up-ins" in the end and is outsmarted by the mama goat!!

Okay, The Wolf-Aunt was a FANTASTIC story!! A man and his family have a difficult time eking out a living.  One day he happens upon a woman who "claims" to be his sister.  He, of course, believes her.  She asks them to move in with her and she will take care of them.  However, when they get there, they eat so well they come back from their emaciated states and discover, inadvertently, that the "aunt" is really a werewolf who is only fattening them up to eat them.  When the wife tells her husband this, he does not believe her (silly husbands).  The wife and children flee in the wee morning hours one day, but the husband stays.  He confronts his sister about this and the next morning she comes to eat him, asking him "shall I eat you from the head down or the feet up?"  (shiver)  Great Story!!!!

Reading Diary B:
The Hemp Smoker's Dream is craaaazy!! I had a hard time keeping the character's straight as they were Chinese-type names.  Additionally, since it was being translated, I think a bit was lost in translation.  But if I get the gist of the story correct, a man who enjoyed smoking hemp (ha ha) got really baked and fell asleep under the barber's hands.  He had a dream of ordering the King of China to give "hemp-boy" the King's daughter for marriage.  He finally wakes up when he smacks the barber and realizes it was all a dream.  SERIOUSLY, NUTSO! but good.  I chuckled quite a bit.

In The Story of the Wolf-Bride a man had enough money to obtain a son.  So he did.  But he was told that his son would be torn apart by wolves.  So the father dug out an underground chamber.  The boy was educated and when it was time he was procured a wife, his cousin (of course).  The celebration of the wedding lasted 7 days and 7 nights.  When the man and woman were left in the underground chamber alone, the new bride turned into a wolf and tore him to pieces.  Then the bride turned back into a woman and sat there until morning.  When the women came the next morning and saw the boy's body, they asked the girl what had happened.  She said she did not know.  All she knew was that she turned into a wolf, tore the boy to pieces, and then turned back into a girl.  The moral of the story was, whatever fate has in store for us, it cannot be avoided.

Wolf - Photo by Arturo de Frias Marques

Is it obvious from my notes above that I love wolves?  Well, I didn't used to.  My daughter adores wolves she has so much wolf paraphernalia in her room she could open an exhibit at the Smithsonian.  It is through her that I have learned to appreciate and love wolves.


Bibliography:
The Wolf and the Goat.  Web Source: Wolf v Goat
The Wolf Aunt.  Web Source: Wolf Aunt
Reading Unit: Persian Tales.  Web Source: Persian Tales
Wolf Image.  Web Source: Wolf Image
The Hemp Smoker's Dream.  Web Source: Hemp Dream
The Story of the Wolf-Bride.  Web Source: Wolf-Bride

Week 5 - Essay - Ease of Reading

Well, based on my reading experience at the Ease of Reading post, most of the readings were relatively simple to read. The jokes that gave me the most trouble were #6 and #9. These both were written in entirely capital letters and no spaces. Number 6 had no punctuation whatsoever and #9 had periods only. You would think that adding the periods would provide an easier reading experience; however, I found this was quite the opposite. In #6, the lack of periods seemed to give my brain "free reign," if you will. I'm sure our brains have learned from our elementary school days that a period indicates the end of a sentence and our brains don't even have to think about it anymore, it is just a given. So, the lack of any periods let me read the passage as one long sentence, providing a fluid read. However, in #9, the indication of a "stop" cut into my brain's creativity to fill in what was missing making it much more difficult to read.

Based on my experience with this exercise, I found that apostrophes were the most helpful. For example, in #9, I had periods to guide me where to stop, but I did not have apostrophes, so my mind kept wanting to put an “s,” or something like it, at the beginning of a new word instead of where it really belonged, with the prior word. That was what I found most difficult about #9 to read and exactly why #9 was the most difficult for me.  

There is something I wonder about, though, as I finish this assignment.  I would be willing to guess that not everyone has the same problems with the reading sample as a I did.  While I do 100% expect everyone to have a problem reading at least 1, I suspect that some will have trouble reading 5 or 6 or maybe 10 or 11 of them.  While our brains work in chemically the same way, we have been shown through artists, sports, engineers, chemists, literary geniuses, etc., that no 2 brains really compute things the same way.  We all have our own little things we understand on an extraordinary level and other things that we just, to be frank, suck at!! I believe that this exercise will demonstrate that reading is no different.  

Papyrus of Ani - showing cursive hieroglyphs

Bibliography:

Egyptian Hieroglyphs.  Web Source: Hieroglyphs

Technology of Writing: Ease of Reading.  Web Source: Ease of Reading 

Week 4 - Essay: My Thoughts on Arabian Nights

So, as is obvious from my title, I read the unit on Arabian Nights.  I will admit that I had no idea of what to expect, but I really enjoyed it.  I've heard of Scheherazade before and I actually danced the ballet Scheherazade when I was dancing.  However, I had never read the story before.  I really enjoyed the fact that this was a complicated storyline.  It was not complicated in a way that would make it difficult to follow, not by any means, but it was complicated in the fact that everything was not just black and white and there were multiple layers to the story.  Scheherazade is a girl who is determined to stop the Sultan's killing of every new bride he takes, which he takes a new girl every night.  In her plot to do so, she begins to tell a story.  But within this story, there is another story.  And....within the second and third story there is another....The Sultan is so intrigued and wants to hear the end, that he stays her execution.  If I remember correctly from the ballet, Scheherazade tells 1000 tales and lives 1001 days to tell those stories.  However, in her telling of the tales, the Sultan had fallen in love with her and spared her life.  You know, in this current time and place in history we always think we have the best of everything; the best books, technology, etc.  However, I feel that this story really proves that great authors were working long before our time.  To be creative and complex enough to create this type of story with so many different facets to follow, but all anchored to the main character of Scheherazade, I mean, come on... THAT'S AMAZING!!! Again, anyone who happens to read this essay and has not yet chosen their week 3 or 4 reading unit, I would highly recommend this one! The reading went by so fast and it was interesting and entertaining to read; not boring at all.

Svetlana Zakharova - Scheherazade

Bibliography:
Svetlana Zakharova in Scheherazade.  Web Source: Dancer Scheherazade
Un-Textbook unit, Arabian Nights.  Web Source: Arabian Nights

Week 4 Storytelling: The Sociopaths Next Door

Salina was a horrible woman.  She was a liar and a manipulator and she was quite skilled at both of them.  She despised everyone except for her son, Fasa, whom she groomed to be just like her.  Although she despised everyone, she had to pretend to like people in order to get them close and to use them.  Her husband, Chuck, was stuck between a rock and a hard place.  He was married to a horrible, lying woman, but she was his wife.  One day, a neighbor, Jessica, dared to disagree with Salina regarding the deviant actions of her son.  Fasa had been on the property attempting to destroy private property and Jessica merely wished for Fasa to stay away from the property.  Salina was so enraged that anyone would call her, or her son, out on their behavior and lies that she turned Jessica into the liar and manipulator by spreading lies throughout the small town.  It got to the point that no one in the small town would talk to Jessica, as Salina had skillfully and industriously changed the events of the story to benefit her own malicious intentions.  One day; however, someone else in the town caught Salina in a lie and began to question all the other "facts" that had been given to her.  This occurred again with another local, until the entire town began to realize that it was not Jessica who was malicious and evil, but Salina.  Finally, Salina got what was coming to her.  She lost her place on the town council and the entire town ostracized Salina as the "True Liar."

Author's Note:
I was retelling the story of The Story of the First Old Man and of the Hind from the Arabian Nights' story of Scheherazade.  In The Story of the First Old Man and of the Hind, a man was manipulated by his wife.  The husband adored a slave boy so much that he raised him as his own.  The wife was extremely jealous of the slave boy and his mother, so much so that she turned them both into cows.  The husband ordered a cow to be brought for slaughter for the meal & unbeknownst to him, he would be killing his son or his son's mother.  This is how incredibly treacherous the wife was.  Luckily, someone informed the husband of his wife's treachery and the son was spared.  But, as punishment his wife was turned into a hind (a deer).  I switched this story around by having the treacherous Salina metaphorically turn Jessica into a liar, when in fact it was Salina who was the liar.  I thought a metaphor instead of real witchcraft might work for this story.

Above - Fallow Deer Buck
Below - Calf & Cow

Bibliography:
The Story of the First Old Man and of the Hind.  Web Source: The Hind
Image: The Calf and the Cow.  Web Source: Calf&Cow
Image: Fallow Deer Buck.  Web Source: Deer (Hind)

Famous Last Words - Week 4

This week has really gotten away from me.  The long weekend through me off my game for the week.  I had so many quizzes and assignments due this week along with a plethora of thick reading assignments, that I've fallen behind.  I HATE to be behind.  I've also lost a bit of my "work ahead" loveliness in here because of those other things.  Additionally, my first exam in Cherokee is tomorrow morning and I am feeling so NOT prepared!!!

I'm frantically trying to get things done before the end of Friday and I have so many appointments that I have to keep, I don't have a single moment of free time.  Hmmm....maybe I just won't sleep tonight!!!????  No, NO NNOO!!!!  I have allergy testing tomorrow.... and an exam.. must be rested!!

Does this post sound like frantic rambling, ah, good, mission accomplished!  I have accurately conveyed my feelings of stress ...... weeeeee

(deep calming breath)

Ok, so I will complete my tasks for today and just take it one assignment at a time.  Once this day is finally over, I will study for my Cherokee exam and prey to the Great Spirit (Cherokee) that I can accomplish this with A's!!!

This weekend I really need to stay on top of things and get a lot of work in classes done ahead of time so that these don't sneak up on me like this again!!  I will also make an effort in the future (very near future) not to spread myself too thin with all of these appointments and social things!!!

Secretly; however, I am looking forward to the one social event I have planned for this evening, it will give me time to hang with ladies my own age, having fun, eating, talking, and free my mind and calm myself down to a focus where I can function!

Stressed Student

Bibliography: 

Stressed student.  Web Source:  Stressed Out Student

Comment Wall

Leave yo' comments below .......

Week 4 - Arabian Nights

Reading Diary B:

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (1-6):

This is the only story in the second half of the reading, so it's the only one to make notes on.  I've always wanted to read Arabian Nights, and this is probably as close as I'll get.

Of course everyone knows the Disney version of Aladdin, but this one told by Scheherazade is quite different.  The vizir (as Jafar was) is not the one looking for the lamp, but a magician from Africa.  (the cave still exists)  Aladdin still sees the princess and falls in love with her at first sight, but first she marries someone else.  And even though the magician was thwarted the first time, he comes back for the lamp, taking it from Aladdin's home from his wife (the princess) while he is hunting.  Guess what?  He summons the genie...you weren't seeing that coming, were you?  It's complicated and definitely bears another read before attempting this one for "storytelling."

Aladdin

Reading Diary A:

Just as a note, as I have not gotten any further at the time of my typing this than the story of The Two Black Dogs, I like the fact that Scheherazade is telling this story with multiple layers to save her life and the story is layered with stories trying to save the life of a merchant...Nice little twist!

Scheherazade:
I LOVED this introduction story.  It gives a fantastic background on Scheherazade herself and the time in which she lives.  She vows to stop the Sultan's ritual of marrying a woman one night & having her strangled the next morning; due to a broken heart and being scorned by his first wife whom he loved more than anything.  Scheherazade is a very intelligent, brave, and beautiful girl....we should all strive to be so AWESOME!

Scheherazade

The Hind:
This was a fantastic story as well.  I like how this story is a layer to the first.  And I know that the next story is also another layer.  This story was getting close to making me cry.  To learn that the wife was so manipulative and to turn her husband's son and his mother into cattle, only later to be slaughtered.  UGH!  I was glad she received the same treatment and was turned into the deer, although she did seem to get off a little lightly.

The Hind



Bibliography:
Myth Folklore Unit: Arabian Nights.  Web Source: Arabian Nights