Famous Last Words: Final Post

Hey everybody! Like my title states, this should be my final post of the semester! I am super excited to be able to say that this assignment will put me at an A for the course. In the end, it is good to know that I am getting at least one A this semester! We all know that I am going to need it!

For this week's readings, my readings varied. To fill some of the points I needed to get to 410 points, I read the Jewish Fairy Tales Unit and the Alice in Wonderland Unit. Both were extremely fun reads! Both units incorporated fantasy and shed light (at least for me) on legends and stories that are considered to be already well known. I decided on reading the Jewish Fairy Tale Unit because I have always been a fan of fairy tales, and I have never heard of any Jewish Fairy Tales. I chose the Alice in Wonderland unit because the story appears so often in pop culture and because I have actually ever read the story!

As for my other classes, I have to reiterate the fact that I am glad that I am about done with this class! Projects and tests have begun piling up in my math and computer science classes, so it will be a huge relief having one class completely out of the way. One of the things that I have not realized until now was just how useful this class was. The weekly readings/writings kept my mind sharp and fresh, and really kept my writing skills in shape! Assignments in my computer science classes that require us to write up designs and explain our work flows naturally after being able to spend hours a week to come up with original writings.

Outside of school, it was a good Thanksgiving! I was able to go home and eat my fair share of food. After the couple of days of gluttony back in Oklahoma City, I traveled back to Norman to catch Baker Mayfield's last home game as an OU student! It was also my very first game, something that I was super excited about!

That about sums up this week. Like I said, I really enjoyed this class and reading all of your writings. I wish you guys the best of luck for the rest of the semester and your other finals!

(Me crawling to the end of this semester:

CuddleBugs)

Story Notes: Alice in Wonderland, Part A

For Week 14's reading, I decided to jump into the Alice in Wonderland Unit. Admittedly, I have never actually read the original story, so I went into this reading with fresh eyes.

I really enjoyed this story! In many other stories, I have always seen references to Alice's story. After reading Part A, I can start to see why it is mentioned so often in pop culture! Aspects like fantasy and wonder is ever-present in the story. If I do decide to write a story using this theme, I may just write a version of Alice with my own spin!

Bibliography: Alice in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll. Link.

(Alice getting Tea!:

UN-Textbook)

Extra Credit Reading: Week 13

For my extra credit reading this week, I chose to read the Jewish Fairy Tales Unit and really enjoyed it! The thing that I really loved about this unit was that it shed so much light on some of the things that we know today, like why wine causes us to lose our inhibitors when overly consumed or why cats and dogs are so short with each other.

The main thing that I would take out of these readings is the ability to shed some type of light to a known fact. Like why is the grass green? Maybe because it is due to a a Giant spilling paint thousands of years ago. I would like to something really outlandish for this!

Bibliography: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends. Gertrude Landa. Link.

(The never-ending fight between Cats and Dogs:

UN-Textbook)

Tech Tip: Blog Profile

I took a look around at Blogger's options to configure our profiles, and I think I am happy with my changes. I decided to keep my name from being posted. Personally, I do not care too much about people like my classmates seeing my posts, but I am genuinely scared if any number of my friends who I see on a regular basis see my posts...

Typing Game Tech Tip

For this week's Tech Tip, I decided to have some fun and play some of the typing games. I especially liked "Ninja Cat and Zombie Dinosaurs". It is actually the linked game on the assignment post, but here is the link for you guys.

I learned how to type in middle school the old-fashioned way, with blankets covering our hands so that we may memorize the home keys. As a computer science major, I try to stay sharp with my typing abilities, and playing these games really do help!

Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables (English), Part B

For Part B of this week's reading, I am continuing with some more English Aesopian Fables. Like I have said in my previous posts, I am a huge fan of Aesop's Fables, so to continue with more of these readings will always be fun.

This half of the reading was an extremely enjoyable read. I am ashamed to admit that I just now recently realized that most (if not all) of the stories are written as miniature poems. For my storytelling this week, I might try to write a poem as well. The only problem, I believe, will be trying to reach the minimum word count.

Bibliography: Aesop's Fables, Smart, Boothby, Davies. Link.

(The Crow and the Pitcher:

UN-Textbook)

Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables (English), Part A

For this week, I was very surprised and excited to see that the English/Celtic Unit also had a sub-unit that covered some more of Aesop's Fables. There were a few, new stories in this story, but my favorites were some of the reoccurring stories from the first time I was introduced to Aesop's Fables (I think it was in the first couple of weeks). The main thing that I got from these readings were the differences you can see in language. For Lang's writings, it is written in a more modern form of english that is much easier to read. Regardless, these readings were very entertaining. At this point, I am still trying to figure out exactly what I want to have my next writing about!

Bibliography: Aesop's Fables, Smart, Boothby, Davies. Link.

(The Lion and the Mouse:

UN-Textbook)

Tech Tip: Weather Widget

For this week's Tech Tip, I wanted to do something fun and make my blog look a bit more fancy. That was why I chose to add the weather widget. It was super easy and gives my blog a personal look! I really suggest hat you guys try it out!

Week 12 Storytelling: General Arthur

There once was a young man whose spirit was unmatched. His name was Arthur Pendra. Despite always being a troublesome student, some people still believed in his potential. Arthur was always a gifted athlete, so much so that a college recruiter was impressed with his athleticism.  Merlin, the recruiter, ended up offering Arthur a scholarship to play football for the nearby university: The Knights. Arthur was, above all else, flattered. He was never one to be praised, so the fact that a man from a respected school would even suggest that Arthur could be successful with anything was a welcomed surprise.

Upon accepting the scholarship, Arthur said goodbye to his adopted father and his brothers to embark on his journey as a college student. Upon arriving, Arthur's rise as a starter was meteoritic. Within his first few games with the Knights, he was able to present his talents and land himself the job as starting quarterback. As a starter, he lead his team to several championships. His ability to play the game and his natural-gift as a leader for his team eventually allowed him to gain fame throughout the country. Upon graduating, Arthur was drafted number one overall to play professionally for the Kings. As a King, Arthur continued to play successfully. Eventually, Arthur even manages to win several different awards. One award was the Award of Excalibur, given to a player whose offensive capabilities were unmatched throughout the league. Eventually, all of his hard work paid-off. Upon his final year, Arthur lead the Knights to the national championship to play for the Holy Grail, the national championship trophy that the Knights had been striving for since the team's creation. It was here where the Knights faced-off against their sworn rivals, the Dragons. After a long game that went well into the night, the Knights finally won the game, but only after Arthur bravely rushed for a touchdown that ended with him snapping his throwing arm. This marked the end of the great Arthur, the greatest quarterback the country has ever seen.

Bibliography: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table. Andrew Lang. Link.

Author's Note:

For this week's storytelling, I wanted to retell the legend of King Arthur, but to put in a special twist. Instead of the it being set in ancient times, I wanted to move the setting to the modern era, and instead of being a king, I wanted to make Arthur a quarterback instead. The main thing that I took out of reading the King Arthur unit was the ability for the story to develop King Arthur as a character by looking at his whole life, from being to a lowly citizen to one of the greatest kings Britain has ever seen. For my story, I wanted to try to replicate this development by following my Arthur from being a high school athlete to one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. In my story, you can see several nods to the original legend, like the Offensive Player of the Year award being dubbed Excalibur, and how his final game ended with a career ending injury, like in the original story where he dies in his last story.

(Hall of Famer, Arthur:

Click Hole)

Reading Notes: King Arthur, Part B

For Part B of my reading, I decided to continue with the King Arthur Unit. I had so much fun reading and learning about King Arthur's legend.

In Part B, we deviate from King Arthur's development as a king and focus on his knights on their quests for the Holy Grail. I really enjoyed this half of the reading, but I have to admit that it does not really help with my previous idea in writing a story that focuses on one character and follow him throughout his lifetime. I think I have decided to go ahead and use this idea and move forward with my storytelling option.

Bibliography: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table. Andrew Lang. Link.

(The Death of King Arthur:

Timeless Myths)

Reading Notes: King Arthur, Part A

For this week's reading, I decided to read the King Arthur Unit. I have always been a fan of King Arthur and his stories. I like how, after centuries of storytelling, this story is still relevant. Things like Kingsman and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword are all recent movies that have sought to keep this story within the minds of this generation.

The greatest aspect that I took from these readings is the development of Arthur. We get to meet Arthur as a young common-man, watch him fall in love and marry, and see him develop as a noble king. Since many of our stories that we write are, at most, one-thousand words long, it will be hard to incorporate the same level of character development in our stories. However, it isn't exactly impossible. At this moment, I can see myself writing about a young man, maybe a drop-out, who joins the military and watch him evolve into a high-ranking officer. I am going to wait until after I have read the rest of the unit before deciding, however.

Bibliography: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table. Andrew Lang. Link.

(King Arthur, upon discovering Excalibur:

The Telegraph)

Famous Last Words, Week 11

Hi everybody!

It has been a decent week! The readings for the class have been very enjoyable. I chose to read the Southwest/California unit and had a blast. Fortunately, I was able to complete both readings early in the week so that I would not scramble last minute like I have done on occasion. Because of that, I think my Reading Notes have been better than usual.

For my actual storytelling, I have to admit that I am a bit disappointed in it. I was on campus until 3 A.M. Thursday night, so I had to scramble Friday morning to have my story submitted. Although following all of the necessary conditions, I felt that it could have been a lot better if I had more time. If I do decide to submit it into my portfolio, I believe I will edit it drastically!

Bedlam was today, and I'm really happy and excited to share that we won! It was a nail biting game, lasting about four hours because of the fact that it turned out to be a shoot-out! I wanted to finish up this extra credit assignment earlier, but the game was too good to ignore!

For next week, I hope to have all of my assignments done on time and of the caliber that I am pleased with. I am seriously hoping that I will not fall behind this week. At this point, it looks like I should be done with the course a week before Dead Week, and I would like to keep it that way! If all goes to plan, I can hopefully even finish before that! It is not that I do not like this class, it's just that I wanted to have this class out of the way when all of my math courses finally hit me!

Good luck to the rest of you guys!

(Optimism! :

MY Business)

Week 11 Storytelling: The Origin of the Earthquake

Long ago, before even the mountains were formed, there were willows and oaks that towered over the lands. Back then, these trees bore fruits of all kinds. No one knew this more than the Bear. The Bear was a selfish, gluttonous creature, eating anything that it could get its paws on and was not afraid to steal from others. He was so malcontent with the food that he had access to that he one day decided to climb all the nearby willows and oaks to eat their fruit. Tree after tree, the Bear propelled its growing body up every tree in the land, eating all of the fruits that it could reach. It was to the point now that almost every tree in the land was now fruitless. All for but one. There was a great, tall oak that towered above the rest. It was so tall that there are tales of other animals being able to see the monstrous tree from lands away.

The tree was considered sacred to all who lived in this land, but the Bear did not care. His hunger made him disregard this fact. Despite the outcry from other animals of the land, the bear dragged his now gargantuan body up the tree, eating what he came across. The tree was so tall and filled with fruit that it took the bear days to even begin seeing the top of the tree. Near the top, the Bear could see that he had eaten all but one piece of fruit on the tree: a lone apple perched at the very top. Determined to eat his fill, the Bear ignored the fact that it was exhausted and too fat to carry on. However, at the very moment the Bear tried to pluck the apple from its spot, it lost its grip and fell to the earth.

Upon landing on the ground, he Bear's massive body created an earthquake so large that any subsequent earthquakes that are felt today are merely aftershocks to the original. This is also the reason why Oak trees and Willow trees no longer bear fruit. As penance, all bears starve themselves during the winter to make up for the Bear's original greed and gluttony.

Author's Note: Piggy-backing off the theme that a lot of the Native American stories have, I wanted to create a story that gave us the origin to something or things. In this case, my story tells us how earthquakes came to be, why Oak and Willow trees do not have fruit, and why bears do not eat in the winter. Obviously, all of these can be explained scientifically: Earthquakes are due to tectonic shifts, not oversize bears falling from the sky. Oaks and Willows genetically cannot carry fruits that we are accustomed to, and bears don't eat during the winters for hibernation. I just thought that this would be a fun way to tell something we already know!

(The greedy bear:

Wikipedia)

Bibliography: Bibliography: Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest. Katherine Berry Judson. Link.

Reading Notes: California and Old Southwest, Part B

For Part B of my readings this week, I continued with the California and Old Southwest unit. Like Part A of the unit, Part B focuses on nature and explains the origins of some notable occurrences in nature. Things like El Capitan (which I just learned was a rock formation and is the reason why Apple's OS El Capitan gives users the default wallpaper of the rock formation), mescal, lightning and thunder are told as why and how they were created. From the readings, I have to say that the origin of lighting/thunder and why mescal are so big is my favorite stories. At first, you don't really know where the story is going to take you, but in the end the story tells you that the children's adventures signify the notion that "lightning does not strike twice". 

For my writings, like I said for Part A, I wish to write my own origin story for something very common. As of right now, I think I might write about the origins of earthquakes and how they are caused by bears falling down! 

Bibliography: Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest. Katherine Berry Judson. Link.

(El Capitan:

Wikipedia)

Reading Notes: California and Old Southwest, Part A

For this week's reading, I have decided to read the "California and Old Southwest" unit. Last semester, I was lucky enough to take a Native American Studies course here at OU, so I was exposed to a few of these stories in that course. I really liked the theme that all of the stories had, which was the subject of creationism. In last week's reading, it was the Inuit, if I recall correctly, whose legends stated that the raven was the one who created most of life. In this week's reading, it was the Navajo's, a prominent Native American tribe at the time, stories we are focusing on. Based on the readings, it looks like they believed nature and it's animals were existent beforehand, and that they were the ones who contributed to create life. Animals like the fox, the coyote, and the spider all created life and explain things about life today, like light, fire and other things from nature.

The aspect that I would like to take out of these readings and to incorporate into my writings is idea of taking something that we already know and changing the back story of it. In this weeks readings, for example, fire was stolen by the fox to distributed to the humans suffering from the cold.  In Greek mythology, we know that fire was stolen by Prometheus was the one who did that. In my writing, I don't see why I can't take a known, beloved story and just simply changing one aspect. This shows that everywhere in the world, the stories are all the same, the characters are just different.

Bibliography: Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest. Katherine Berry Judson. Link.

(The Fox and Prometheus are one in the same:

Year Here)

Week 10 Storytelling: Dog Almighty

Bruce was walking home from work one day. Bruce is far from a fan of his job, believing that he is overworked and underpaid. Bruce was cursing himself, his job, and overall, his life. He was miserable. That was until a small, hyperactive Corgi ran in front of him and began jumping with joy around him.

"Hey little buddy," said Bruce. Bruce knelt down to check for a collar or a tag on the Corgi. "Who's your owner?"

The dog simply wagged his tail and started running into a nearby alley. Bruce began to walk away, that is until the Corgi barked at him as if to signal Bruce to follow him. For a reason unbeknownst to him, Bruce decided to follow the Corgi into the alley.

"Okay, girl, what are we doing here?" asked Bruce, in the same tone as a parent who is playfully speaking to a baby who cannot yet talk. Almost instantaneously, the giant smile that the Corgi had on its face disappeared.

"First of all," started the Corgi in a smooth, deep voice, "I am a male." Bruce looked at the adorable Corgi in horror.

"W-w-what the hell?" stammered Bruce as he was backing away from the alley.

"Don't be afraid Bruce." said the Corgi. He began circling Bruce to keep him from leaving, corralling him back towards the alley. "I'd prefer if we spoke in private. By your own reaction, you can see that others will most likely be scared as well."

"You're a talking dog?!?" exclaimed Bruce. "How is this possible?!?"

"Why is the sky blue?" responded the Corgi. On a normal day, Bruce may have answered that question with scientific facts, but after meeting a talking Corgi with the voice of a Jazz singer, everything Bruce knew about science was thrown out the window.

"What's going on?" asked Bruce, now a little more calmly, or as calmly as a man can be for someone who just met a talking dog.

"I saw that you've been a bit down as of late. What's wrong?" asked the Corgi. Thinking that he was hallucinating, Bruce thought that it couldn't hurt to divulge his true feelings to the Corgi.

"I don't know. I hate my job and I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere in life," admitted Bruce.

"You shouldn't become so mopey than! If you don't like an aspect of your life, change it!" responded the Corgi. One could even argue that it came out like a command.

"And why should I take orders from a five pound dog?" questioned Bruce, now aggravated. The Corgi rolled his eyes and walked towards a nearby dumpster. "Because life is too beautiful to hate it." Upon saying that, the Corgi began licking an empty can next to the dumpster. Bruce just stared in horror and disgust, a shrewd look forming in his face.

"Don't look at me like that!" snapped the Corgi. After he was done licking the can all over, the can seemed to magically transform into a baby bluebird. The bluebird hopped next to Bruce, pecking at crumbs next to him before it flew away into the blue sky. He then went to a nearby, abandoned shoe and licked at it until it morphed into rabbit. The rabbit looked at both Bruce and the Corgi before scurrying out of the alley.

"You can't tell me that wasn't beautiful," said the Corgi matter-of-factly. "Life is hard, but it is also short. You can't just sit around at a job that you hate for the rest of your life. Go out! Go to art school!"

Bruce remained quiet, partly because he was a bit freaked-out that the Corgi knew he wanted to try his hand at art school. The Corgi merely stared at Bruce, waiting for his response. After a few minutes of contemplation, Bruce opened his mouth to speak to the Corgi, but before he could, he awoke to find himself lying in his bed at his apartment. Despite having been a dream, Bruce couldn't help but feel affected by it. The next morning, Bruce placed his two-weeks notice at his job and began filling out an application for a local art class in a nearby college.

Weeks later, now happily in art school and currently a prospect for a graphic design job, Bruce wanted to mark the start of his new life with the introduction of a new four-legged friend in his life. Bruce went to the local dog pound to find a dog to adopt and call a friend. To his surprise, at the very back of the building, there was a Corgi wagging its tail in anticipation for a new owner. Bruce couldn't help but smile.

"Hey little buddy," said Bruce, as if greeting an old friend.

The End

(A Corgi! Just like the one in my story:

Wikipedia)

Bibliography: Myths and Legends of Alaska. Katherine Berry Judson. Link.

Author's Note: For this week's story, I decided to take an idea from the Native Americans of Alaska and merge it with the beloved story of Bruce Almighty. In the stories that are linked above, the Inuits have a legend where the raven is the creator of most life. In many of the stories, we see what the raven creates and why they are created. The idea that I really loved from the story was that the raven acted as a God-figure, an animal that seems just so random. I wanted to keep this idea in my story, but instead of a raven, which I always associate with death (and mediocre football), I could make my animal be a Corgi. I thought it'd be funny to have the creator of all life be a Corgi, and even funnier by making his voice similar to that of Morgan Freeman's. Speaking of Morgan Freeman, I chose this voice since he is who I associated most with Bruce Almighty. I am guessing that you guys can start to see why I decided to name my main character Bruce. Overall, I wanted to write a nice little story that shows a man who is disappointed with his life eventually make changes so that he can be happier. I hope you guys like it!

Tech Tip: Canvas Profile

Hey guys, for this week's Tech Tip, I decided to alter my Canvas profile to make it a bit for personable. Looking at a few of my classmates' and friends' profiles, some of theme have yet to update theirs yet, and I didn't want to leave mine so empty! So for my profile, I decided to add a pic of Oklahoma City's beautiful Skydance Bridge, since I am an OKC native and a big fan of the landmark. I also added a short introduction to myself in my Biography section so that others can see what I am like!

Reading Notes: Alaskan Legends, Part B

For my Reading Part B this week, I wanted to shift away from the Native American Marriage Tales to read some Alaskan Legends, most notably, the first half. It is not because I did not enjoy the Native American Marriage Tales, but that these Alaskan Legends just seemed really fun and interesting reads.

The first half of this unit focuses on the Raven, who is shown to be the creator of Earth's numerous life forms. I think it is a really interesting take on creationism, especially since growing up in a Western society, the belief that God is the one creator is the dominating belief. I think it is especially interesting that these stories made the Raven the creator, just because it seems so random and the fact that many other cultures associate the Raven with death as oppose to life.

While reading this unit, I felt that I could transfer these themes into one of my writings by writing something that is close to Bruce Almighty. In Bruce Almighty, we are surprised when we see Morgan Freeman playing as God. I feel that I can do something like that, but make the creator some other unsuspecting animal, like a Corgi.

(A raven, just like in the stories:

Wikipedia)

Bibliography: Myths and Legends of Alaska. Katherine Berry Judson. Link.

Reading Notes: Native American Marriage Tales, Part A

Reading these stories, the one that popped out to me was the story of The Piqued Buffalo-Wife. I don't know if you guys are familiar with Studio Ghibli films, but that was the vibe I got from the story. The story follows a man who tries to get his son back who had transformed into a calf. In order to get him back from the Buffalo Chief, he was tasked with spotting him from a group of other calves. In one Studio Ghibli film, Spirited Away, the protagonist is faced with the same test. I am thinking that I can rewrite this story, but have it end just like Spirited Away. I have always been a fan of the Studio Ghibli films, so I think it would be really fun to revisit them by incorporating that style and their stories into my own writing. It also gives me the excuse to just binge on all the movies!

(Spirited Away:

Daily Dot)

Bibliography: Tales of the North American Indians. Stith Thompson. Link.

Tech Tips: Browser Bookmarks

Surprisingly, my reliance on bookmarks did not develop until my first year of college. Before then, I mostly relied on my browser's history to keep track of all the sites and readings that I wanted to revisit later on. However, since entering college and being forced to remember dozens of logins and passwords, it is really good to have a site just one click away. I think bookmarks are even a great way to keep track of courses. At the beginning of every semester, I like to clear my bookmark bar on Chrome and refill with all my new, more relevant links. As a college student, I also like to use browsers on my phone that I also use on my computer. There have been numerous occasions where I've discovered some article on my phone and saved it so that I may review it later on using my computer. It's been a true lifesaver these bookmark functions!

Famous Last Words: Running on Fumes

Hey guys, it's been a minute since my last "Famous Last Words" post. It is because my schedule has been so hectic! Between three tests and two projects all happening in a span of two weeks, I will admit that I have been forced to put this class on the back burner. I really hate this because I really do enjoy this class and all the readings. For this week's readings, I have read a number of Tibetan folktales and have really enjoyed them, since they employ the trickster archetype so much. to make up for my missed reading this week, I also chose to review a few other of Aesop's fables, this time the ones written by Milo Winter. His stories were just as fun as the other fables, and I was quite surprised by just how many stories there were!

I am happy with my writing for this week, due to the sole fact that I was actually able to complete it! I have high hopes for it, and I am considering posting it to my portfolio. I've posted several times that I am trying to emulate other writers' ability to incorporate a lesson into their stories, but I am currently having a hard time doing it. Everybody's feedback has been super helpful, so I am counting on you guys to help better this story!

As for next week, I am just trying to survive at this point! I'm not averaging much sleep and am doing as much extra credit right now so that I may have some padding for the eventual brick wall of tests and projects that will no doubt show up during our final push to the end. As you can tell from my title, I am exhausted and really am trying to muster the strength for the final push, as I am sure that others are trying to do as well.

Wish me luck!

(I'm practically going to have to hook this up to an IV to get me through this semester:

True Jersey)

Reading Notes: Aesop (Winter), Part A, Extra Credit

For my extra credit reading, I decided to revisit a favorite unit of mine. I really enjoyed Aesop's fables, so it was really fun to read more fables from a different writer.

Like other of Aesop's fables, Winter's stories revolve around personified animals whose experiences are meant to teach the reader a life lesson. Some of my favorites included The Two Goats and The Tortoise and the Ducks. Both stories revolve around how vanity and pride lead to the downfall of the protagonists. In the case of The Two Goats, the titular goats were so stubborn in trying to outrank each other, both fell to their demise instead of simply stepping aside for one another. In The Tortoise and the Ducks, a tortoise is finally able to travel freely through the help of two kind ducks. Everything goes smoothly until the the tortoise opens his mouth to gloat, since his bite was the only thing that kept him midair, as he was biting onto a stick that the ducks were carrying.

For my future writings, I would like to try to incorporate a lesson into them. I have noticed reading other people's readings that they have done just that, so I would like to try it as well!

Bibliography: The Aesop for Children. Milo Winter. Link.

(The tortoise, before his death:

UN-Textbook)

Tech Tip: Canvas Notifications

For this week's Tech Tip, I decided to learn more about Canvas Notifications. Most people either love or hate Canvas, but the fact that it is able to alert us to notifications has me putting it miles ahead of Desire 2 Learn when it comes to usefulness. At the moment, I have it set simply to alert me via email and the mobile app. I think it is really great that I don't have to pull out my whole laptop just to check if there are any new notifications. With this, I can simply use my phone to check my mail or the mobile app to see if there is anything new to look at.

Week 9 Storytelling: Frogman, The Green Knight

It is another night in The Jungle. The Jungle is one of the most dangerous cities in the world. It is infested by murderous, greedy and overall malicious criminals. At night, one can expect to run into any one of them. It isn't safe to be out here at night. For one unknowing citizen, this fact is about to become very clear.

The young man, while walking home from a late shift at work, is suddenly surrounded by a group of men wearing the colors of the Tiger Gang, one of The Jungle's most notorious gangs. They push him into a nearby alley.

"Alright kid, hand over your wallet and we won't hurt you," says the largest of the group. It is safe to assume that he is the leader of these neanderthals, since the rest merely stand their ready to pounce on his command.

"H-h-here," whimpers the young man as he hands his wallet over. After getting ahold of the man's wallet, the rest of the goons proceed to push the man around. Eventually, one of the gang members pushes him to the ground and the rest begin kicking him. In his head, the man prays for help in any form. His prayers are answered when a gruff voice comes from above on a nearby building.

"Alright cowards, leave the boy alone," echoes a deep, menacing voice. Upon hearing this voice, every one of the gang members freezees in horror. This voice was known among the criminal underworld to be that of The Frogman. The Frogman was known to be a vigilante who patrolled The Jungle every night, stopping every crime that he encountered. One would expect this Frogman to be a physically large, intimidating monster; but in reality, the man behind Frogman was a balding, middle-aged man who probably can't even lift a box of pillows to save his life. However, the criminals of The Jungle did not know this. He always hovered above on nearby building to keep the criminals from seeing the fact that the only thing that kept his potbelly from spilling over his belt was a lime-green, skintight unitard.

"A-a-alright! Please don't hurt us!" whimpers the leader as he hands the man his wallet back and helps him to his feet.

"If you don't turn yourself in right now, I can't make that promise," growls Frogman. Inside, Frogman was trying to keep himself from fainting out of fear. Realistically, the man that is The Frogman knew that he would never win a fight. He made up for this by using intimidation and other scare tactics to keep criminals afraid.The gang members then proceed to run away, screaming in horror. The young man tries to thank his savior, but looks up to see that Frogman had already disappeared into the night. Realistically, Frogman was struggling to slowly climb down the fire escape on the opposite side of the building.

Author's Note:
For my story, I decided to use the Tibetan folktale of The Tiger and the Frog. In the story, a scared frog tries to keep himself from being eaten by an obviously larger, fiercer tiger. To do this, the frog pretends to be physically superior and pretends to eat tigers for fun. The tiger is actually fooled by this, so much so, the tiger runs away. Reading this, I couldn't help but see the basis for Batman. We all know the story of Batman, the vigilante who trains to be one of the world's greatest crimefighters. I wanted to make my character, The Frogman, to be a vigilante hero as Batman is, but the difference is that the Frogman is in no shape to be a crimefighter, whether it be physically or mentally. He instead acts like the frog in the Tibetan story, using intimidation to scare off the attackers (who happen to be members of the Tiger gang).

Bibliography: Tibetan Folk Tales. A.L. Shelton. Link.

(The Frogman keeps a watchful eye:

Gizmodo)

Reading Notes: Stories from Tibet, Part A

For this week's reading, I chose to read the stories from the Tibetan unit. I am glad that I made this decision, since so many of the Tibetan stories revolve tricksters: a favorite theme of mine. Some of the stories that really jumped out to me was the story of The Tiger and the Frog. The Frog, despite his obvious size disadvantage and fear of the Tiger, was still able to fool the Tiger through deceit and fear. As I write this, I can imagine my story for this week be one that has the Frog be like Batman and the Tiger, and other large woodland creatures be criminals of Gotham City.

Another story that I really liked was that of The Story of the Donkey and the Rock. I was truly shocked by the ending, since we find out that the King fulfills the role of the trickster by embarrassing everybody who attended the trial for a donkey and a rock. I can imagine myself retelling this story, but by having the king be an advertiser for a big fight.

Either way, I feel that I have a good basis for my upcoming story!

Bibliography: Albert Shelton, Tibetan Folk Tales, Link.

(Imagine this coming at you at night, evildoers.

Marv Un App)

Week 8 Progress

Half-way through the semester, I have to say that I am pretty happy with my rate of progression when it comes to this class' coursework. Every week, I try to sit down and crank out as many of the assignments I can in one sitting, whether it be to finish all the readings in one day, or my comments and project feedback all in one day. I also try to do at least two extra credit assignments every week. Doing that, it allows me some breathing room or some leniency if I forget to do one of the assignments. Some of my favorite assignments include Readings and Tech Tips since they both teach me things that I will utilize outside of the class.

Looking forward, I hope to further utilize more of the extra credit opportunities so that I may finish with an A as soon as possible. My goal is to actually finish by Week 13, but if I cannot reach that, I will still be happy to continue this class until the end! Future pitfalls that I hope to avoid include forgetting to do assignments and not doing any extra credit for that week.

(Bon Jovi said it best:

The Positive Change Co.)

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

First off, I'd like to thank everybody in the class for their extremely helpful feedback. I'd like to think that I've been able to incorporate your new suggestions every week in my writings. I hope that you all take the same help from comments as I did yours. I try to actually let you all know what aspects in your writing you are excelling at, and what things you can incorporate so that you may better your writing.

Looking forward, I hope to keep giving you all detailed comments. I hope that my comments aren't just random words that you just sift through, but something that you can refer back to when you're in a pickle while writing. As for your comments to me, all I have to say is keep them coming and don't hold back!

(Cat with self-esteem:

Cheezeburger)

Week 8 Reading and Writing

Looking back, I like to think that my writing is getting gradually better. Earlier in the semester, I honestly wrote just to meet the post's minimum word count, but as the semester progressed I found myself just letting the writing flow and not worry to much about the word count.
For my favorite reading so far, I have to say that I am extremely partial to Sinbad's voyages due to their adventurous nature. My reading notes have been helping me a lot since I am more or less able to come up with the story's plot in my reading notes, then go and fill in the blanks when I am actually writing the story.

For my favorite image, it was hard to choose but I am going to have to go with my Hackerman image I posted in Week 1. I had just done watching the movie Kung Fury, and loved it, so using a picture from that movie was just natural!

As for the rest of the semester, I continue to look forward to next week's readings. I really enjoy all the readings and writings, with the only thing that I would change in the future is try to knock them out earlier in the week so I am not always so crunched on time.

(Probably my favorite image of all time:

Know Your Meme)

Reading Notes: Stories from Congo, Part B

Like Part A of the reading, Part B's reading centers around very dark, twisted stories. However, the main differing between the two lies in the fact that Part B's readings use the theme of Tricksters within many of it stories, a theme that we have seen in many of our other readings. This goes to show just how common the Trickster character is throughout the world. 

As I said, Part B utilizes the trickster character to propel the story and teach lessons, but the readings can be interpreted as almost macabre due to the violent ways the stories play out. Since I was able to form some sort of background for this week's story already, I doubt I will incorporate both the subject of a trickster AND have my story so dark.

Bibliography: Notes on the Folklore of Fjort, R.E. Dennet. Link

(Above is the African Leopard, present throughout many Congolese folklore:

Wikipedia)

Wikipedia Trail: From Cassava to Kidney Failure

I am writing this post right after finishing the Stories from Congo. In a few of the stories, the cassava plant is mentioned, peaking my interest considering the fact that I grew up eating it. Despite cassava cakes sprinkled with coconut being easily accessible in many specialty Asian markets, many of us do not know that it can be poisonous in its natural form, due to the presence of cyanide. Fun fact: cyanide, in extreme cases, can be used to help lower blood pressure in humans! Jumping off using blood pressure, high blood pressure can cause many health problems including that of kidney failure!

To sum up this trail, eating poisonous cassava plants may or may not reduce the risk of kidney failure. That is assuming you survive the poison first.

(The Cassava Plant:

Off the Grid)

Reading Notes: Stories from Congo, Part A

This week's reading was especially macabre, but interesting! Many of the Congolese readings that we were provided bypass the norm we are accustomed to. Where relations between lovers and family members are considered to be of the utmost importance, the Stories from Congo show that those closest to you can also be the cruelest. Some stories that revolve around the "Vanishing Wife" show that sometimes bonds shared through blood can be not as strong as those shared by lovers. Other stories show that lovers can be overly jealous. We saw examples of this of one wife trying to kill the other's child, only to have killed her own child by mistake.

The one redeeming story within this half of the section is the last story, where despite two brothers not seeing eye-to-eye, the elder brother ends up saving his younger brother's wife. This leads to their reconciliation.

For this week's story, I feel that I could use two brothers as a protagonist who are united when something horrible happens. To stay with this week's theme, I plan to make the main antagonist one of their jealous wives.

Bibliography: Notes on the Folklore of Fjort, R.E. Dennet. Link

(Estranged brothers:

ABC)

Famous Last Words: An Update

Time is sure flying by fast! We are technically done with Week 6, and many of us are already preparing for a second midterm.

For my readings, this week I chose Sinbad's Seven Voyages. Despite being an animated movie that was popular when I was a child, I knew nothing about this story. However, after reading just the first two stories, I was hooked and finished the whole week's reading within one day. For those of you who are fans of The Odyssey, I am sure you will enjoy this story.

Due to my love for Sinbad's story, this week's storytelling assignment just flowed naturally for me. I had Tom Hanks fill the role of Sinbad and had his "voyages" just be some of his most famous movies such as Saving Private Ryan and Sully. Needless to say, I am happy with this selection and I am sure that I will include this story in my portfolio.

For my other classes, it has been a whirlwind. I have already had two tests for my two upper-level math courses, so I am drained. On top of that, I have had to churn out a new coding project each week, which has everybody in my class on edge! Fortunately, I have the mentality of, "If everybody else is as well, it isn't so bad that I am drowning." This is one of those semesters that you tell yourself that you just have to muster enough strength to get through it.

Outside of school, I have just been trying to find time to relax and play some video games, but I do not know when things will ever slow down! With football in full swing and basketball starting up soon, I am hoping to be able to catch some of my favorite games on television, if time permits.

For next week, I hope to stay on top of my other classes. So far, there will be no tests next week, so I should have a lot of prep time for all of my classes. Wish me luck!

Week 6 Storytelling: A Trip with Hank

It all started when I was drafted. I was originally an English teacher, but when duty called, I was drafted to lead some of the bravest men I have ever met. With these men,  we stormed Normandy in one of the most famous amphibious raids to have ever taken place. Even after this hellish session, I was sent on one of the worst fetching missions ever, traveling almost all of Europe to find a young man to bring him home to his family. I lost almost all of my men during this expedition, but I was able to survive and go home to live prosperously.

Not long after this war, I was drafted to another. This time Vietnam. Here I met my best friends Bubba and Lieutenant Dan. I remember specifically being ambushed one day, our unit being cut down in mere minutes. Summoning all of my strength and courage, I raced the injured away from the danger to an evacuation point. It was here where I lost Bubba, who died in my arms that day. Despite this, I was able to leave the military a decorated hero and make a fortune alongside Dan.

Despite my riches, I decided to buy myself a boat and be its captain. On my very first voyage, we were hijacked by a band of Somalian pirates. Using us as hostages, the pirates demanded money. Fortunately, I was able to persuade the head of the pirates to take me as the only hostage. Assured that I would die when leaving with the pirates, I was fortunately saved by the military. After this, I retired my captain's hat and continued to live off my fortune.

It wasn't long before I began to grow restless again. This time, I became a pilot. In the military, I was trained to fly helicopters and various bombers. I put this to good use by being one of the best pilots at my local airline. However, disaster struck on my 100th flight ever, when a goose flew directly into our plane's turbine. Where lesser men would have given up and began praying, I managed to guide the plane to nearby waters and land safely there, saving all those on board. Because of this, I was awarded with fame and riches that was even unheard of to me.

Despite having the most tumultuous time traveling, I decided to have one last trip, this time on a boat to relax. However, during our voyage, we were struck by storm. I awoke on a deserted island, scared and exhausted. It was there I lived for months, surviving on nothing but coconuts and the companionship of a volleyball that washed ashore. Needless to say, I had a dance with insanity during this time. Fortunately, after months of hardship, I was founded by a TV crew searching for lost treasures in abandoned islands. It was because of this TV show that my fame and fortune were reinvigorated.

Now, as an old, decrepit man, I tell you this story so that you may one day tell it as various blockbusters. My name is Tom Hanks, and this is my story.

Author's Note: I wanted to write a story in the style of Sinbad's Seven Voyages. In Sinbad's story, a seemingly ordinary man recalls all of his voyages that were all life and death situations. Whether it was facing a man-eating cyclops or a killer old man using him as a slave, Sinbad has been through such a gauntlet. Upon my first reading, the first thing that popped into my mind was the meme of Tom Hanks, that states something along the lines of "you never want to travel with guy", since many of his hit movies have him involved with various incidents that seem to play out in the end due to sheer luck.

Bibliography: The Voyages of Sinbad, The Arabian Nights: Andrew Lang. Link

(Tom's whole life in one picture:

Imgur)

Tech Tip: Announcement Email

I have to say that I am actually a huge fan of the class announcements on Canvas. That is actually the first thing I check when I start to do any assignments for this class. I think it is so convenient to have somebody tell you what it is you should be working on and the status of everything, especially for a class like this that does not have a physical classroom. I am really glad that I have the option to opt in the email service and be alerted to new announcements, however, I feel that I will stick with just check Canvas, since I will already need to be there for the Declarations.

Reading Notes: Sinbad, Part B

Now that I am finished with all of Sinbad's seven voyages, I feel that I have a better knowledge of its themes and ideas. Admittedly, Sinbad reminds me of that meme of Tom Hanks where he is the last person you want to travel with (Cast Away, Captain Phillips, and Sully to name a few). With this thought, I feel that I can write a story as Tom Hanks. With Sinbad's stories being a first person recount of his voyages, I feel that I can write my stories as Tom Hanks recounting all of his movie parts as if they were real!

Many of Sinbad's adventures were life threatening and included much luck and coincidence, something I feel that can be duplicated in my stories. I am thinking that it could be very similar to that of Forrest Gump, but it would just include him being ship-wrecked, crashing landing a plane, and being held hostage by pirates. For those of you who do not know the story of Sinbad, many of what I just said actually occurred in the story! With this said, I feel that I have a pretty good basis for my story!


Bibliography: The Voyages of Sinbad, The Arabian Nights: Andrew Lang. Link

(Never travel with this man:

Pinterest)

Typing Test Tech Tip

I have to admit, I have always been a fan of typing tests. In middle school, we were forced to learn how to type in a traditional way: using the home keys, covering our hands with blankets to keep from cheating, and using the cursed Mavis-Beacon software. I really enjoyed KeyHero and have used TypeRacer in high school.

As for my speed and accuracy, I will always wish I was a little faster and a little more accurate. However, I am comfortable with where I am at. It is really comforting to be a Computer Science major and seeing that, if I don't understand what I am working with, I at least know how to type at a decent speed.

Google Timer Tech Tip

Wow! This was a really great Tech Tip. Ever since getting my laptop, I have been trying to manage my time working on different assignments by trying to find a way to alert me just how long I have been working on an assignment. Since I always have various browser tabs open, this is something I will definitely utilize.

If you are like me, it always feels like you are drowning in different assignments. My tip to help manage all this would be to tell yourself what you have to do and give yourself a personal time limit. Even if an assignment is due at midnight, try to finish it by 8:00 or 10:00. Not only will it help you control time, but it may even force you to prepare higher quality work!

Reading Notes: Sinbad, Part A

I have to admit, I really enjoyed this week's reading: Sinbad's Seven Voyages. It felt like a great fusion of Hercule's 12 Labors and Homer's Odyssey. The main things that really stood out to me and that I feel that I could implement into my own stories would the fact that the stories were told in a first-person perspective and almost all of the stories turned out the way they did due to luck. I believe a first-person perspective will almost always be a better device to develop your protagonist, so using it for one of my stories will allow readers to better relate and learn to love the character. As for the fact that luck played so heavily in the stories, I feel that I can use the theme where my character is INCREDIBLY lucky and create the most outlandish situations for which he/she has experience. For my story, I feel that I can recreate Sinbad's tales, but have him experience things that are funnier and not as traumatizing. I think I will wait until I have finished reading about the rest of his voyages before creating my stories.

Bibliography: The Voyages of Sinbad, The Arabian Nights: Andrew Lang. Link

(One of the man-eating giants Sinbad faced in his voyages:

UN-Textbook)

Week 5 Storytelling: The Trickster's Karma

There once was a hunter, Kalinag, who lived adjacent to his fellow villagers. Kalinag, though skilled, was extremely egotistical. The reason why he did not have his hut alongside the others was because of this ego. He always thought that he was better than the rest of the men of his village due to the fact that he was able to bring back so much meat and skins from each of his hunting trips. However, his aptitude for trapping and hunting was not correlated to that of his skill with the bow, rather it had something to do with his ability to bait and trick animals into his traps.

Whereas other hunters of the village simply hunted for food and supplies, Kalinag saw hunting more as a competition to prove who is best. After bragging to the rest of the village about his haul, instead of donating his unneeded meat/skins, Kalinag simply discarded them in the nearby river. With his ability to catch so many animals, and the fact that he would dump their remains into where they drink and bathe, the animals of the jungle grew to fear Kalinag. So much so, the mighty Lion decided to meet with Kalinag to discuss a truce. The Lion understood that humans hunted for food and supplies, much like he and his kin hunt for food. However, the Lion could not stand idly by as the innocent denizens of the jungle were slaughtered for sport. Upon entering the village, the Lion was greeted by Kalinag and offered a meal at his home. The Lion agreed to the meal, and after satisfying his hunger, a sudden wave of exhaustion rushed over him. Instantly, the Lion was on the ground, asleep from whatever Kalinag had used to pacify him. Kalinag seized this opportunity and moved the Lion into a cage he kept behind his hut, and so began Kalinag's downfall.

Finding out that it was so easy to lure the jungle animals into his home with the promise of a meal, Kalinag posted a notice near the river so that all animals may see that they were invited. At first skeptical, only a few accepted his offer at first. Lured in by the smell of sweet berries and ripened fruit, animals flocked to his home, only to be put to sleep by Kalinag's drug. One by one, Kalinag dumped his catches into cage that he treated as a trophy now. For weeks, this practice continued on. Kalinag loved the fact that he was able to catch so many animals. He decided that once he was satisfied with the amount of animals caught, he would skin them all and show the villages how big of a collection he was able to bring back. However, he was never satisfied. As weeks passed, the cage became more and more cramped by the unsuspecting animals, until eventually the cage was filled end to end. Any sensible person could see that the cage was too full; that if Kalinag wanted to carry out his plan, he would have to do it then. However, due to his pride, Kalinag continued. One day, due to the constant movement of those that were trapped, the cage finally bursted apart, animals swarming out and filling Kalinag's home. This happened at night, so Kalinag was asleep on his bed, but being awake still would not have saved him from the dozens of animal that jumped onto his bed.

The next morning, many villages spoke of screaming that they thought they heard coming from Kalinag's hut. However, due to his uncouth manners, nobody bothered to check on him. It wasn't until villages started to notice dozens of tracks leading out of his hut did they investigate. Upon entering the hut, the villagers were greeted by a room covered in blood. Days later, Kalinag's body was discovered alongside the river bank. It was then that the all the villagers decided to pass a law to restrict hunting for food and supplies only.

Author's Note: I decided to create a story using the Santal readings and their heavy theme of tricksters. However, I wanted to put my own spin on it. Whereas most of the Santal readings had the tricksters use their tricks to get out of problems, I wanted my trickster to meet his downfall due to his tricks. Other things I saw was that the stories like to personify animals, so I wanted to do that as well. It's good to see that these stories are a far cry from the trickster stories that we read in the beginning of the year.

(A hunter, much how I envisioned Kalinag:

Pinterest)

Bibliography: Folklore of the Santal Parganas, Cecil Henry Bompas; link.

Reading Notes: Santal, Part A

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of reading about tricksters. Tricksters live up to their name and use their ability to fool others for gain. Sometimes they come out as victors, but in this Unit, many fell because of this trait. I've written in many of my previous posts that I am not a big fan of "unhappy" endings, but I actually enjoyed this week's stories because of the fact that those tricksters met a deserved ending. The story that jumps out specifically is the story of "The Jackal and the Crow". It can be argued on which of the titular characters was the trickster, but regardless, neither survived by the end of the story. Another tale told the story of a dishonest mother tigress, whose dishonesty eventually leads to her child leaving her. One last aspect that I really liked from these stories was the fact that a few of these stories did not follow along the cliche of tricksters being wild animals and humans being victims. In a few of the stories, we see the human characters pulling a few tricks out of their pockets to get out of bad situations.

Using these notes, I feel like I can create a story myself that has a human hunter using trickery as a way to lure his prey to their demise. Right now, I am trying to figure out a way to show his downfall, an aspect that I've noticed in many of these stories. Right now, I think I can have the story end with the hunter being so overconfident with his catches, that his cage is overfilled and breaks, causing all of his capture animals to turn and attack and kill him.

(Hunter whose pride befalls him:

PicQuery)

Bibliography: Folklore of the Santal Parganas, Cecil Henry Bompas; link.

Google Define Tech Tip

The word that I decided to take a screenshot of is "copacetic", since I especially enjoy using it. As for Google Define, I often use it! So much so, the dictionary app on my phone has more or less become obsolete. I always find myself just typing the word in Google.

Comment Wall

Link to my portfolio. 

Week 4 Story: Adam's Bad Day

Updated Version here: link

Adam was up early today, packing. Yesterday, he received an eviction notice from his apartment complex due to something his now ex-girlfriend did. Adam was sad. The apartment was perfect! It was fully furnished with modern furniture and had everything a man could want, so much so that he nicknamed it "Eden". But now it was no longer his apartment. Adam had neatly packed all of his belongings into his small hatchback that was bound for his new domain, a small studio apartment that probably didn't have a working AC unit. This sorry excuse for an apartment was all he could find in such short notice, after his then-girlfriend got him kicked out for breaking every rule that the previous apartment complex had set.

After returning his key to the front office, Adam walked out into the blistering heat hoping to stay optimistic. Though he had lost his dream apartment, it was not the end of the world. He had faith that everything will be good again. However, the moment he stepped out, his face was greeted by a rather large deposit of bird dropping. Disgusted since he was a germaphobe, Adam told himself to be calm as he tried to clean his face with as many sanitizing wipes he could get out of his car's glove compartment. Adam felt that this incident was some type of ominous warning for the coming day, but he decided to press on with some optimism.

Driving down the freeway, Adam kept tell himself that everything will work out in the end. It was at that moment when black smoke began spewing out of his engine bay and his car made sounds similar to that of washing machine filled with bricks! He then began to feel that his car could no longer accelerate, so he pulled it over along the road to dodge the rest of the cars behind him. For the next hour, Adam tried all that he could to turn his engine over, but to no avail. Adam was sure that all of the groceries that he had packed for his new apartment was spoiled by now in the summer heat. Adam decided to give up and walk to the nearest gas station to call for a tow, since he suddenly realized that he forgot to charge his cellphone the night before. Again, Adam tried to remain optimistic.

After a half hour walk, Adam arrived at the closest gas station and called for his car to be towed. The operator, however, did not have good news to share with Adam, saying that the nearest driver would not be available until 2 hours later. Adam accepted this half-heartedly and decided to have a pseudo lunch at the gas station to wait. After about an hour, Adam began his trek back to his car, but upon his  arrival to his car, Adam discovered two citations placed on his windshield. Apparently the local police department did not appreciate that his car was left abandoned here for so long. At that point, Adam had lost all his optimism and broke down on the side of the highway, defeated. Finally, the tow truck driver arrived and picked up Adam and his car. After delivering his car to a local mechanic, the driver dropped the now-gloomy Adam to his apartment. Despite his bad day, Adam still tipped the driver healthily out of gratitude.

Walking into the apartment complex's main office, you could see the disparity on Adam's face. Even so, he remained courteous to the front secretary. Adam told her who he was and that he was moving in. Upon learning who he was, the secretary's face grew pale. Apparently, the night before, a fire next door to what was suppose to be his new apartment engulfed the whole building, destroying every apartment. Again, Adam was sad, but not surprised considering how the rest of his day had been. The secretary asked Adam to wait as they tried to find another apartment for him. After about two hours of just wallowing in his self-pity, Adam was greeted by the apartment complex's manager, apologizing for the situation. Adam remain calm and told him that he was not angry, just a bit sad. The manager responded to this with what he described was fantastic news. Since the insurance money would cover everything for the fire and make it even better, the manager was able to upgrade Adam to a nicer, larger apartment, free of charge. Adam reacted ecstatically! Though he was still feeling glum, this news did make him feel better. Upon his arrival to his new apartment that was even better than the one he was evicted from, Adam received more good news when the mechanic called him and told him he was able to fix his car and was on his way to the apartment to return it.

In the end, despite having probably one of the worst days of his life, everything worked out in the end. Adam was away from his crazy girlfriend, his car was in its best shape in a long time, and he now had an apartment that he is more proud of than his previous one. Adam went to bed that night thinking how all that suffering that day was nothing compared to how the day ended.

Author's Note: In my last post, I suggested a modern, less grim take on the banishment of Adam and Eve from Eden. In the story, you can see many references to the Biblical tale. I wanted to keep the theme of "everything works out in the end" in my story, but without the overly cruel punishments.

Bibliography: Book of Adam and Eve, link

(Adam being evicted from Eden:

Mystics)

Reading Notes: Adam and Eve, Part B

This week's reading revolves heavily upon Adam and Eve. Where Part A of this week's reading focused mainly on the creation of Adam and Eve, Part B shows all the hardships that both Adam and Eve had to endure after being casted out of the Garden of Eden. I enjoyed Part B since it shows how powerful God is within the Bible. This can be seen by his ability to cast such terrible luck upon the banished Adam and Eve. For my storytelling this week, I can spin this around and make the work less macabre. Instead of simply being tortured so that they may seek redemption, my story can revolve around a man plagued by misfortune in a lighthearted way. As I have said in previous posts, I am not a fan of such dark writing. I prefer light hearted tones, and I feel like this story can be twisted that way. Instead of being biblically punished, my version of Adam or Even would have to endure gum on their shoes, a hangnail, or maybe discovering the fact that they had nose full of boogers their whole day!

(This might as well have been Adam in the readings Part B!

ImgFlip)

Bibliography: Book of Adam and Eve, link.

Reading Notes: Adam and Eve, Part A

The idea that God is an omnipotent character is a common theme that is present in many stories outside of the Bible. That is why it is no surprise that he is just as grand and powerful in his depiction within the Bible, especially compared to Adam and Eve. The thing that I enjoyed, however, is the fact that in many of the stories Adam is shown to be just as wise as God himself. It especially surprised me in The Ideal Man, where Adam was able to answers some of God's question so confidently and logically. The theme that I am pointing out is where the undermined character, who everybody does not expect to be intelligent, surprises the readers with his/her intelligence and thinking ability. I feel that the use of this theme since it allows writers to create a more relatable character who isn't perfect, all the while creating foils/antagonists against the characters as non-believers or bullies.

To expand on this idea, I feel that my storytelling for this week could be a party of the ideal man, where God can be Alex Trebek and Adam can be a contestant in Jeopardy!. The difference is that I plan on making Alex Trebek so vehement in his want for the contestant to lose. Think: Slumdog Millionaire in Biblical times!

(Adam and Eve, with Adam being so ideal:

Stephen Miller Books)