Reading Notes: Homer's Odyssey (Part B)

Something about Homer's Odyssey that stuck out to me in this reading was the emphasis on heritage and family connections. This was especially strong in Odysseus's conversations with the ghosts in Hades. Homer conveyed a strong sense of family honor in these characters, and the willingness of most to respect that honor. In terms of writing style, this was reflected in the repetition of long familial titles throughout the story.

Odysseus encounters the Sirens, painted by Herbert James Draper (Wikimedia Commons)

Another stylistic choice that was evident in this section of the reading (as well as in Part A) was the way emotions were made visceral in their description. Homer doesn't write about sadness or grief without mentioning heavy weeping and a thick sense of gloom. Even emotionally charged language is described as "winged" which gives speech a palpable quality.

Bibliography. Odyssey by Homer, translated by Tony Kline. Web Link.

Reading Notes: Homer's Odyssey (Part A)

So far, the plot of Homer's Odyssey is a that of a grand hero's journey, though it must be said that the hero of this story isn't very relatable. I thought while reading this excerpt that Odysseus came off as mean-spirited and ego-maniacal. In truth, I actually empathized with the cyclops. How should he have felt that a small militia invaded his home, stole his food, a preached a religion he wanted no part of? I'm not sure that I understand Odysseus's motivations as a heroic figure. It seems more often that he puts his men into dangerous positions against their will and good judgement in the name of adventure.

Odysseus and Circe's encounter, painted by the "Persephone Painter". (Wikimedia Commons)

The writing style of Homer's Odyssey was very heavy with personification of natural events. The most memorable example is the Dawn, which is personified sometimes as tender and other times as glorious. This might reflect a culture that ascribes events to the direct influence of gods, each with their own personality.

Bibliography. Odyssey by Homer, translated by Tony Kline. Web Link.

Feedback Thoughts

This Week we read a bit about why feedback is important and how to overcome the stress that can be associated with negative feedback or comparison.

The first article I read was "The Psychology of Comparison and How to Stop" by Ellen Jackson. She doesn't really dive into the psychology of social comparison which was kind of disappointing, but the point of the article was a solid one. She writes that while it's natural to compare ourselves with others, it's not something that always helps us to achieve. I like the philosophy of seeking out intrinsic motivation and finding ways to propel oneself forward with firm and focused goals.

I was going to read an article on Forbes next, but I don't like being forced to disable Adblock.

Instead I read "Why Rejection Hurts So Much and What to Do About It" by Guy Winch. I think I agree with his argument that rejection (even the threat thereof) is one of the most common sources of emotional pain we face. There were a few tips he wrote about that are meant to help curb the pain of rejection, some of which I feel like I already employ. Especially resonant with me is the need to limit self-criticism.

I'm not adverse to feedback so long as I feel like I'm being respected in the process. There's been plenty of times in my life that someone has come to me with constructive criticism about anything from a school project to my personality, and it helps me grow!

A group of businesspeople talking... Maybe giving constructive feedback to each other! (pxhere)

Project Topic Brainstorm

Below are some topic ideas I'm considering for the class project!

“Heroes of Myth and Legend”

The first project idea that stuck out to me was “Heroes of Myth and Legend”. I’d love to write a story of a rags-to-riches hero’s journey. I like some of the twists that the linked storybooks threw in to their heroic stories, so I’ll probably have to think of my own.

"Legendary Creatures"

It would be pretty easy to weave stories about legendary creatures into a hero’s story, so I don’t think I’d have to choose between the topics of “Legendary Creatures” and the above topic. Maybe our noble hero could defeat progressively more terrifying monsters of legend (like Heracles!).

One legendary creature: a griffin as depicted by Wenceslaus Hollar (Wikimedia Commons)

“Stories from the Heptameron”

“Stories from the Heptameron” caught my eye because I had no idea what a Heptameron was. I think the idea of “renaissance urban legends” might be fun to try to adapt to different time periods including the present day. Even if I don’t go with this one for a project, it might be fun to read this unit one week.

“The Kalevala”

“The Kalevala” would be neat to draw inspiration from in my own stories. While of course I haven’t read it yet, it might be a cool idea to adopt the epic poem structure for my own storybook. I could see where that might be a little difficult though as I’m no poet!

Week 2 Story: David's Nutty Winter

There once lived a kind, wise squirrel named David in a dense northern forrest. Being that winter was fast approaching, he and the others of his kind were busily storing nuts away in their reserves. The nut selection was pretty sparse this year, and the ever-thoughtful David knew that there would be many squirrels unable to sufficiently stock their dens.

David decided, “I’ve lived a good life, maybe it’s best that I share my bounty of nuts with those in need.” He visited the neighboring dens one by one, taking his whole stash along.

He stopped at the first den and sang “Hello friends! I have nuts to spare, take something nutty if you care!”

The other squirrels thought this was a bit degrading, but they were facing down the barrel of starvation so they accepted his offer and took some nuts with gratitude.

A nearby grazing deer saw David’s act of generosity and approached him, congratulating his selfless act. “I’ll remember this, David!” she said before returning to her grazing spot.

David continued to a second den and sang “Buddies! Pals! Take my Nuts! I have plenty so here’s your cut!”

The family of squirrels gladly took some tree nuts and acorns, as a cardinal looked on with admiration. The cardinal flew down from her perch and said “David, your kindness is unmatched. I won’t even need to fly south because you’ve warmed my avian heart.”

David nodded and continued to the next den, where he sang “Nuts are great, nuts are tasty, please take mine and please be hasty!” As he was handing nuts to the den’s inhabitants, a hare passed by and said “David, you’re a credit to squirrel-kind”. David smiled at the hare before moving along.

After several more such encounters, David came to a harrowing realization that he had forgotten to earmark any nuts for his own consumption. “Aw, nuts,” he said, realizing that he would likely starve this winter. David was far too prideful of a squirrel to ask for his gifts back. He headed back to his den, happy that he could help his neighbors but troubled by his own situation.

Days later, a very hungry David rested outside his den. The same deer which witnessed his earlier act of kindness passed by, taking immediate concern at David’s emaciated figure. “David, you look awful!” the deer cried. Remembering that David would have done the same for her, she offered, “I can bring you some of the tastiest grasses from the far neck of the woods”.

David wasn’t the grass-eating type but his stomach rumbled and he accepted the offer. The deer trotted off in search of the promised sustenance.

Before the deer returned, the cardinal flew by and noticed David looking worse for wear. She swooped down and offered to fetch david some bird seed she had been saving in her nest for a special occasion. After all, it was the least she could do for such a generous squirrel. David humbly accepted, happy to have such good friends, and the cardinal flew away to retrieve the seed.

Soon enough, David was visited by the hare. David rolled his eyes before the hare had a chance to speak and chided, “Buddha, we’ve been over this, I’m not going to eat your flesh, that’s super weird and it makes everyone uncomfortable.” The hare, rejected and dejected, hopped away.

With the help of his less-weird friends, David was able to make it through the winter, having instilled a culture of mutual generosity in the woodland community.

Author's Note: This story was based on the Buddhist fable of "The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die". The titular hare of this fable preaches that in order to be virtuous, the other woodland animals should give their food to the needy and fast. The hare in that story, and incarnation of Buddha, offers to sacrifice himself so that a hungry traveler may eat. The same hare makes his way into my story, but not as the main character. In a twist, the story of David the squirrel teaches that generosity is often reciprocated, and giving to others in their time of need can yield karmic returns when the tables turn.

Bibliography. "The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die" from Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock. (Web Source)
Photo: Squirrel eating a nut. (Source: Max Pixel)

Reading Notes: "Origin Stories: The Moon"

This week I read two stories about the origin of the moon.

The Moon captures attention, provoking the question: where did it come from? (Photo: Max Pixel)

First, I read the Laos story “The Man in the Moon” as written by Katherine Neville Fleeson.
What struck me most about this story was how similar the message is to other fables. I feel like I’ve read more than a couple stories of people with the power to change their situation and are never happy with the outcome. It was interesting that in this story, that message was tied up in the creation of the moon.

The second story was an Indian Jataka tale “The Hare that Was not Afraid to Die” as written by Marie L. Shedlock.

The structure of this story is what stood out to me most. It followed a cadence, with the otter, jackal, monkey, and hare having their parts of the story told in repeating sequence. It’s a little like goldilocks in that structural respect (papa bear, baby bear, mama bear, ad infinitum).

The characters were very minimal, which might be a feature of oral tradition. It wasn’t explained why the hare valued himself equally for the meat he could provide as for the knowledge he shared. It might be that the story is better understood as part of a wider buddhist tradition.

Reading Options

I can get behind self-selecting stories to read every week! I hope that I'll be able to find a few I can get inspired by. Below, I've linked some units that caught my eye.

I feel like the story of The Monkey King is one that's popped up in pop culture over the years  ("Wukong" is in a few video games!). It'd be neat to explore his roots in the more traditional sense. I think I'll be reading this unit!

The Robin Hood unit surprised me when I went to check it out because it's organized into ballads instead of long-form stories. Reading a bunch of shorter ballads might be right up the alley of my often-short attention span.

Twenty-Two Goblins caught my eye because of the sheer number of goblins described by the title. Just like the Robin Hood unit, it looks like this one is divided up into short stories, and I'm actually pretty curious to read about Sanskrit depictions of this particular fantasy creature.

Should I expect this kind of goblin? (Wikimedia Commons)

Time Strategies

The first article I read for this assignment was The Psychology of Checklists. It's true that finding ways to break down big tasks into smaller yet rewarding goals helps me stay motivated. An easy example is today's workload for this class! Declaring completion of each of the three weekend assignments individually refreshes my motivation to complete the next objective. It's hard to think that I'd be as motivated if there was one big declaration at the end of the week.

Smaller subtasks are like individual bricks in the bigger wall! (photo: tOrange)

The next article had a similar theme: 3 Steps to Recapture Time also suggested defining manageable goals at the beginning of a work session. I think that I'd be cautious before following some of the other advice though, pruning "dead weight" requires defining the dead weight in your life which is easier said than done. Giving up something (or someone) that might actually be helping you de-stress could do more harm than good. It takes a lot of introspection before making big changes like that.

I definitely love to-do lists as a way to organize my needs and goals. The satisfaction of crossing items off the list is a nice bonus!

Technology!

Blogging is one heavily used technology in this class. (photo: pixabay)

It makes sense that an online course would make use of a lot of digital technology. I've never blogged before, so I hope I can pick up some general skills in that respect. It may be useful later, though I don't know what I would want to blog about!

I do have a lot of experience with some other technologies we're using for this class. I use a graphic editing software called paint.net pretty heavily for odds and ends. The banner for this blog was made using paint.net! I also use google docs when I'm writing papers, and it's taken over for Word in my toolkit. 

We'll see what else I learn how to use for this class!

Thoughts about Class Assignments

My favorite part about the way assignments are structured in this class is the afforded flexibility. It almost seems like there are as many opportunities for extra/alternative credit as there are points in the class! I feel like that's going to help me find assignments I enjoy and use those to shape and personalize the class.

Happy kids... maybe because they have a personalized education plan! (Photo: Max Pixel)

As much as I'm excited for the course material, I'm also attracted by the idea of getting a head start in order to either finish early or give myself a safety net to work with. One of these days I'll probably have to sit down and crank out a lot of work to make that happen.

Thoughts about the Growth Mindset

Our professor had us check out a few videos related to "growth mindset" learning. I thought that the concept was pretty well explained, and I agree that challenging situations are what help us to develop and grow as people. I think that the ideas of the growth mindset are applicable to plenty of life facets, even outside academics. It makes me think about the day-to-day responsibilities that I might be inclined to shirk instead of take on headfirst.

Nobody's born a mountain climber! (photo courtesy pixabay)

My one sticking point is the way that Dr. Dweck talks about childhood as a passive process. In one video, she talks about the way "we should make children feel" in response to challenging (or not so challenging) situations. While I understand where she's coming from, she consistently uses language that makes it sound like she's conditioning rats in a cage. Semantics, but something I noted!

Introduction to a Resident Adviser

My name is Dakota Vaughan, and I'm a senior here at the University of Oklahoma. I haven't always lived in Oklahoma, and I lived most of my life growing up in Wisconsin. I grew up in a small-ish town named Fond du Lac, which is famed for its historic lighthouse. I still go home to visit family when I can!

A photograph of the Fond du Lac lighthouse, taken by Jim Bauer. (flickr)

I'm a biology major, mostly out of interest in health and healthcare. I'm graduating this year and will be headed to medical school in the fall. It's exciting to start looking towards the next chapter in my education. Before you ask: nope, I'm not set on a particular specialty just yet. I've got a "keep my doors open" philosophy about the whole thing, and I get the feeling that I'd be happy in a number of fields.

As the title to this post suggests, I work as a resident adviser (RA) in Cate Center, specifically in David L. Boren Hall. I love the job because I get to talk to other students and make friendships as part of my workday. It's always neat to see someone on campus who used to be a resident on my floor; I'm always happy to learn what they've been up to since. The residents on my floor this year are very active as a community which is a gift and a curse: sometimes reigning them in means being the bad guy (but hey, that's seldom!).

As far as hobbies go, I play video games when I find the time, and like to go running when I work up the motivation (so far this new year's resolution is falling flat). Every weekend, my pals and I play Dungeons and Dragons, which I swear isn't nearly as nerdy as it gets a rep for being. I get the feeling actually that there are a lot of similarities between DnD and this class! Both are exercises in storytelling, just in different ways.

Some Storybook Favorites from Past Classes

Listed below are some of my favorite storybooks written by students in past classes!

Death's Final Story

I thought that this story gave an interesting perspective: that of Death itself. Death is personified and he talks the reader through some of his more memorable jobs. Through Death's eyes, the author walks us through stories of mortality from throughout global history. It's fun to give character to concepts like death, and it's a neat creative opportunity to make such a character your own. Death is a little sarcastic at times here and the bit of humor that shines through is a good foil to an inherently morbid subject.

Hell On Earth

The author of Hell on Earth had a unique take on Hell: it's all around us. Addiction, abuse, and homicide are taken up as topics of these dark stories. I chose this storybook as a favorite because its central message makes a moral statement on today's world. I'd love to see a sequel with cases of heaven on earth, maybe just to have a counterbalance to these heavy stories. Joking aside, I thought it was brave of the author to take on topics that hit so close to home. The second person perspective is almost haunting as the reader is made to feel complicit in the wrongdoings described.

Mythical Creatures: The Question is the Thing

This one's fun! I'm always down for a good old-fashioned adventure story. The author of this storybook takes the reader on a mythical tour through the adventures of Henry and Olivia. After meeting a sphinx, the two have more questions than they receive answers at first. This story reminds me of the books that I read as a kid, so there's a little bit of a nostalgia factor here. I almost think that I might go in this direction with my own storybook!

Below is a picture from Mythical Creatures, selected here because I thought the consistent imagery of mountains and forests set a great scale for the adventurous theme.

Forested mountains with an eerie fog. (courtesy pxhere)

Flagstaff, Arizona: A Favorite Place

I'm not from Flagstaff; I'm not even from Arizona. In fact, I've only visited Flagstaff once and only because it was on the way to California, where a few friends and I were going for spring break. We stopped to eat downtown, and I fell in love with the atmosphere of the city. It was quiet and lively at once. There are plenty of neat shops that tow the line between "touristy" and authentic. Most buildings aren't tall enough to obscure the view of the nearby mountains, which is a nice natural touch.

I forget the name of the restaurant at which we stopped, but I will not forget their excellent mac'n'cheese.

A picture taken of downtown Flagstaff.

Authored by Searchnet Media and retrieved from Wikimedia Commons

Test Post!

Hey world, this is a test post for a class blog. I'm actually not sure who can see this, so ignore it!