Mythical Class

This week I opted to do the story lab. I think my final addition to the story/portfolio will be the third section of my Asus and Ligh story . For the lab I read through the second chapter of EmpoWord. The resource was a great learning experience and seemed to be put together by a group of minds that are fluent in both writing and education. The chapter reads like it is designed to be in a textbook, but one that has a personal tone and is aimed at young authors. It defined some well-known terms like epiphany and dialogue, but also went into detail about things like the difference between narrative scope and narrative sequence. Out of all of the resources that I have found out about through this course, this online "textbook" is one that I know I will revisit. I thought that the exercises at the end of the sections could be useful, but were a bit inauthentic for me. Though, I suppose with how unsettling it is to be in a place where you are experiencing writers block, pieces of...

Not your normal Bitcoin Mining As I entered the second part of this week's Brothers Grimm stories, I was still lucky enough to be reading some unfamiliar stories. Right off the bat, I wondered if The Little Lamb and The Litte Fish is responsible for the origin on "Eenie Meenie Miney Moe." Obviousy, some of the text was a little bit different in the Brothers Grimm story. But it would surprise me if the premise and a segment of the words were so similar and it was not the foundation. Moving forward there was some fantastic imagery going on in Simeli Mountain. I felt like I was among the gold and silver within the depths of the mountatin. The story had a pretty shocking ending and I felt like it was not super related to the rest of the story. Maybe a more sensible ending would be for the brother to remain trapped after the mountain closed on him for uttering the wrong name. Either way, reading this second part was yet again a delightful trip down a familiar lane, albeit ...

This was a pretty helpful tech tip this week, and seemed to be pretty appropriate. As we are entering the end of the semester, it is important to see exactly where I stand in terms of progress in the course. I was able to use the total grade in the top right to see where I stood, as well as the progress chart to compare with the paced class. It seems I should be fine to finish by the end of this week, but if not I will not have any problem at the beginning of dead week. The assignment groups were a little confusing on the gradebook, but I think it had to do with the way the extra credit assignments were laid out in the modules. Overall, checking out the gradebook from a canvas perspective like this is still useful. I always end up doing my own calculations, as I think the ones at the bottom of the screen usually don't include pending assignments, but being able to view all of the assignments on one page makes this step easier.

Dante and Virgil  For this week I had scheduled to do the Brothers' Grimm stories because of how much I enjoyed them as a kid. But when I sat down to begin reading A for it, I saw that Dante's Inferno was also an option and I could not resist (no pun intended!). So for this week I will be concurrently doing the Dante reading. I had always been curious about the Comedy, and the first half of this unit's reading did not disappoint. I had checked out sections of the text in the past, so I was familiar enough to recognize that this is a very different translation than I was used to. For instance, I have been made to recognize the plaque above the entryway to Hell as ending with "Abandon all hope, all ye who enter here." I think that the difference is not incredibly important as far as an informal reading like through this unit, but if I was doing a close reading I imagine I would want to get as close to the original Italian as I could. Running into Socrates and Pl...

The All Important Ring  This week I am reading the Ashliman unit of some classic Brothers Grimm stories. Some of part A's pieces were very familiar, but others I had never heard of. I remember growing up that I had a huge manuscript of Grimm stories (it seemed large at the time, and I think I would feel the same way today). But nowhere in that book did I read Cat and Mouse in Partnership or The Seven Ravens. They both definitely had some familiar literature themes, like the manipulative dialogue that leaves protagonists in some sort of pickle. In the Seven Ravens it took the seventh dwarf's help to resolve the conflict. In so many of these stories of folklore, there seems to be a reoccurring timeline. Even when stories can be entirely unfamiliar to a reader, there can always be elements that seem familiar and allow readers to relate to the text. Story source: Dan Ashliman's Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales. Link . Image source: Link . 

[continued from last week ] Teacher and Pupil After this interaction, Ligh and Asus became inseparable. Asus was thrilled to share her tricks to a mentee, something that was surprising to Ligh and those who were familiar with the arrangement. Whenever Asus was not performing, she was speaking with a  deliberate voice in hushed conversations with Ligh. As the worldwide tour continued, the two could be seen together at all hours of the day, crouching at the stone-working table and speaking in hushed voices. By the end of the journey, Ligh had become a master at performing all but one of Asus' tricks. The one that remained in need of work and continued studies was Asus' famous ability to turn gold into lead. The other abilities, from works of true alchemy to basic skills surrounding sleight of hand, had all become second nature to the young apprentice. Unfortunately for Ligh, Asus' mastery of this one final skill would leave room for only one true Master of Golden Lead. ...

Headed off to Canterbury So I am continuing the Canterbury Tales for this second part of my reading this week. These few stories had the same sort of olde english feel but more with tone than diction. The actual words were a lot more intelligible than part A, and certainly than the King Arthur texts from last week. The return of animal characters was a useful inspiration when it came to my portfolio project this weekend. While some of them were a bit concerning, like Little Hugh, there are things that can be learned by all pieces of writing. Image Link   Story Source: Eva March Tappan's  The Chaucer Story Book.  Link .

Jester Jester  This week I am diving into the class Canterbury Tales. As I dove into reading the first part, I was reminiscent of the King Arthur unit last week. The stories began to have a similar language when I saw it- King Arthur! So, entering the unit with such a connected- but still outside- story like The Unkown Bride made for a smooth introduction to Canterbury. I enjoy how these stories seem to follow what I associate most with a traditional folklore timeline. The endings draw the stories to a close in what I interpret as the flip side of "once upon a time." The Promise of Dorigan was probably my favorite story in this first part of Canterbury Tales. The protagonist would fit in well with the portfolio project I have been working on with the performers-turned-alchemists. Dorigan seems to go on almost an adventure story-type itinerary, seeing wondrous sights and interacting with other performers. Story Source: Eva March Tappan's The Chaucer Story Book. ...

Oh No!  Well! I tried to add the weather to my blogger site. I wanted to add both Norman and Jerusalem. With so many of my reading notes centered around biblical texts, I figured that would be a good addition. Plus, I could be consistently seeing an opposing climate, which just could be refreshing. But, the widget builder seems to be down. AccuWeather reads that "The free weather widget from AccuWeather is no longer available." What a bummer! So, I will see if I can do it for my portfolio via google sites. Image Source: Link . 

Corinth Today  This week I read First Corinthians for my continuing project of looking at books of the Bible through a literary lense. Corinthians is a pretty interesting to read because, like other works attributed to Paul, it was written as a letter. Understanding the chapter like this puts a whole new perspective on the text. At the time, Corinth was a port city. This means that it was full of sailers and other less-than-savery populations. Corinthians was sort of a party city at the time, and reading Paul's letter to the people there in this context was pretty eye-opening. I noticed a lot more instances of what seemed like instructions, Paul answering questions about the morality of a gentile life spent following Christianity. Seeing the piece through this lense almost makes it stand out as an argument for me, rather than a classically-interpreted sermon.  Source: 1 Corinthians, Harper Collins Study Bible Image Source: Link . 

Alchemists Set Sail There was a great magician named Asus who, throughout her long and adventurous life, had developed a set of abilities that only she possessed. Her peers would come from all corners of the globe to shadow her as she performed wonders with metals and other worldly materials. Turning lead into gold was a thing of the past, and as the alchemists grew bored in their unmiraculous wealth they set out to master transformations that were less common. Asus was the only wonder-worker who had learned how to take a lump of gold and form it into a boulder of lead. This act may seem counter-intuitive, but the real value for shapeshifters in this day and age lies with a performance's novelty. Asus had departed on a six-continent tour, and planned on debuting her skills for people around the globe. Ligh was a novice metal worker who had grown tired of hammering away at metals, turning piles of ore into merchandise to be sold. She longed to perform and stupefy audiences. Ins...

Continuing my reading this week, I have now been exploring the second part of King Arthur. Really it is section A, because I went in reverse order, but same thing really. The use of olde english language seemed a lot lessened during this section. Besides names of character roles, such as squires in Questing Beast or the names featured in Round Table, most of the text reads without the multiple takes that section B required. The death of Merlin in this section caught me by surprise. To have Vivien bury him alive after he taught her so many things seems out of the theme of King Arthur, so perhaps these texts more closely follow the original stories. What I remember reading as a child did not, understandably, have these somethat-adult themes. Still, the language used even without the elevated semantics highlighted in part B, is so effective at transporting the reader to the scene.  Merlin and Vivian Story from King Arthur: Tales of the ROund Table by Andrew Lang and illustrated by ...

I have been waiting for this unit so that I could read these stories ever since we began the semester. King Arthur is surrounded by such great stories and provides material for endless creative writing. The reading section this week has shown me a lot of new insights, despite me having read such a large quantity of King Arthur narratives. For instance, I am not sure how it has always gone over my head that Galahad is interpreted as a son of Sir Lancelot! Overall, reading these stories has been a serious trip down memory lane. I remember the classis use of old(e) English language in these stories, filled with thou, ye, and nigh. Sometimes it takes rereading a line a few times and using context to tell with some of the language used. But still, the usage immedietely places the reader back in the time of medieval castles. How appropriate that this week coincides with the season premiere of Game of Thrones!   GoT or King Arthur?  Image Link .  Story:  King Arthur: T...