Week 9: Famous Last Words

Well, spring break has passed and here I am at the last lap of my college career. I cannot believe graduation is coming up so close. I don't think it has hit me quite yet that I will be done with school in just two short months. I hope everyone had a great spring break! I did not go anywhere as I stayed right here in Norman and worked and of course watched the NCAA Basketball Tournament. I am a huge basketball fan, so, March is one of the best months of the year for me. I spent all day Thursday-Sunday watching basketball and even went to OKC to watch OU play in person yesterday for one last time. As far as my classes go, some of them are really starting to pick up with tests, projects, etc. Oddly, graduation is right around the corner, yet I feel like I really haven't gotten down deep into some of my classes yet but I definitely will starting this week. As far as this class goes, I plan on keeping the same schedule I had last semester. I love the fact you can pick your schedule although we still have deadlines. I also love that we get all these extra credit opportunities, which is rare among teachers these days. I think it is important to have extra credit opportunities, especially in online classes where it is easy to mis-read something and forget a deadline or whatever it may be. We are definitely lucky! I hope people will share some of their spring break experiences on their blogs, as I love seeing where people go and love seeing pictures of cool places across the world. I look forward to finishing out this semester strong and look forward to reading a bunch of great stuff on everyones blogs!

Northern Iowa half-court buzzer beater - March Madness 2016

Future Reading

Here are some of my planned readings for the second half of the semester:

Tejas Legends- This story tells the story of Eastern Texans, Cadoan which means friend and is where Texas got its name. 

When The Storm God Rides - Tejas Legends

English Fairy Tales- I read many fair tales over the first semester and really enjoyed them. I tend to enjoy the fairy tales and the way they are written so I am looking forward to reading more throughout the second half of the semester. 

Dante's Inferno- Although we were not supposed to pick a story on the title alone, the title definitely caught my eye on this one. I have heard of Dante's Inferno before but do not know the whole story so I am looking forward to finding out about Dante's Inferno in detail (as this story is well known for being dense and detailed). 

Blog Ideas

Below are the three blogs that I visited and really liked. All three are very different but similar in ways. One theme I liked about all of the blogs is that they were all pretty simple, which is what I have tried to do to my blog. I think simplicity gives the reader the chance to focus strictly on your posts, whereas too many pictures, weird colors, colorful backgrounds, etc. can end up looking like too much. Everyone has their preference but I enjoy the simplicity of these blogs and mine. One thing I will look forward to doing in the second half of the semester is adding more pictures, particularly of me. I love the blogs that have pictures of the actual person, so you can have a visual of whose blog you are reading. I will also look to add some videos of various interests of mine.



http://alexandrasmyths.blogspot.com/search/label/Comment%20Wall

http://codyjohnson58.blogspot.com/search/label/Comment%20Wall

http://macmythology.blogspot.com/search/label/Comment%20Wall

Time Management

As spring break approaches and we are almost halfway through the first semester, I look back at the first semester and would change some stuff but not much. Overall, I stuck to my schedule for the most part. There were some weeks where I got a little behind or missed a reading, but overall I think I did a good job of sticking to my planned schedule. I plant to keep the same schedule in the second half of the semester. One thing that will be very crucial is sticking to the schedule and getting work done EARLY versus just on time or late. This will be important as my other classes will start heating up and getting more busy! Good luck to everyone and hope you guys have a great spring break!

Do It Now! - 29 Best Motivational Quotes

Beowulf Storybook

Hello all,

I hope you enjoy my storybook, "The Daily Beowulf", which is a four-part interview with Beowulf himself! Beowulf will tell us all about his battles and challenges.

The Daily Beowulf

Storytelling Week 7: Two Frogs Swap Lives

Author's Note:
For this weeks reading, I read the Japanese Fairy Tales, out of the Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. The first tale, The Two Frogs, was about two frogs who lived in separate places and didn't know one another. One day, somehow both frogs thought it would be fun to travel to each others towns, not knowing that both of them were thinking the same thing and not even knowing that another frog livd in that town. One frog lived in Osaka and the other lived in Kioto. On their journey, they ran into each other midway and were surprised to see that their reason for travel was the same; they wanted to see what each other's cities were like. They thought "if only we were bigger, we could see both towns from here." One frog got another frogs back so that they could see both cities from where they are and it turned out that both towns were identical and they both thought to each other "if I would've known they were the exact same, I wouldn't have traveled thus far" so they talked for a while longer and then parted ways to go back home. My story will take off from the very end of the original story, accept both frogs decide to switch towns for a day and go to one another's town to experience what they were like.

Two Frogs Swap Lives

"If I would've known that Kioto and Osaka were the same, I wouldn't have traveled this far" said Osaka frog. "They may look the same from here but I can promise you that both towns are very much different and have different things to offer" said Kioto Frog. "I'll tell you what, why don't you keep on going 'atta way to my town of Kioto and I will keep going to Osaka. We'll each spend a day in each others towns, exploring different areas and experiencing different things we don't get to experience in our own town. I've always thought it would be fun to swap lives with another frog for a day. We can meet up right back here tomorrow at this time" said Kioto frog. The Osaka frog at first hesitated but eventually gave in and headed toward Kioto while Kioto frog toward Osaka. Both frogs arrived in each other's towns shortly after parting ways and both were stunned at the differences of each of the towns. Osaka was much smaller than Kioto and had less people and Kioto frog loved the smaller population. Kioto was much bigger with more people and Osaka frog was known for being social so he fit right in with the community. Both frogs explored each others towns for a day, meeting new people, going different places and learning new things. After a day, it was time to meet back up with one another at the top of the hill at which they first met one another. After getting up to the top of the hill, both frogs realized that they did not want to go back to their hometown. They had experienced something different and both frogs loved the feeling of different that they decided to swap towns for good. "Osaka is so small for me. I do not like small. I like big communities with lots of people and lots of adventures" said the Osaka frog. "I would much rather live in Kioto with all those people. "Really?" said Kioto frog, "I find it stressful living in Kioto, as I have lived there for so long, the town is growing day by day and I do not like busy towns. I want to live in Osaka, where everything is quiet and peaceful." Both frogs thought from a distance that Kioto and Osaka were basically the same town until they traveled there and experienced new things, new opportunities and new people. They loved each other's towns so much, they ended up swapping for a week initially and then neither of the frogs wanted to go back to their initial town so they swapped for good. Both frogs found new life in each other's towns and lived happily ever after. This just goes to show you: never judge somebody or something from a distance, experience what someone is going through or experience something you've never experienced before jumping to any conclusions. 

Two Frogs: A Japanese Folktale 

Bibliography:  Japanese Fairy Tales: The Two Frogs by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H.J. Ford (1901)

Week 7 Reading Diary: Japanese Fairy Tales

The Violet Fairy Book

Japanese Fairy Tales Unit, The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Two Frogs: Photo by Jon Sullivan

"What a pity we are not bigger...for then we could see both towns from here and tell if it is worth our while going on" The first tale, "Two Frogs" describes the journey of two frogs who lived in separate places but wanted to visit each other's town on the SAME day. The frogs did not know each other and they happened to run into one another while both of them were traveling. 

"The sun is mightier than I; oh, if I were only the sun!"

"Your wish is heard, the sun you shall be"

The Stonecutter wishes to be the sun and gets his wish granted

"And because it was more difficult for beautiful women to pass unheeded than for others, she bade her fetch for a wooden helmet out of the next room and put it on her head and pull it low down over her brows so that nearly the whole of her face should lie in its shadow" 

This tale is about a man and a wife who had a happy life but they grew apart and the only thing that kept them together was their daughter, who was beautiful. However, the husband eventually passed away and the wife and daughter wept for weeks and weeks. 

"The Envious Neighbor" is a tale about a man, woman and a dog who had no children but treated the dog like their child. The dog led the man to a pot of gold underneath the ground. On another day, the dog led the man to a parcel of old bones and the man ended up killing the dog. This tale was one that was full of turns of events that I was not expecting. And a sad one at that. 

"The sparrow hopped about as usual, twittering happily, and thinking no evil, and all the while the woman's brow became blacker and blacker and at length her fury broke out" 

This tale was told with great imagery, detail and creativity, which are things that I look to include in my writing.

"The wanderers by this time were very hot and tired, and the grass looked very soft and inviting, and the trees cast cool deep shadows..." Another tale with great imagery in their writing.