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)