Reading Notes: Alaska Legends, Part A

(Blue Jay by Wiki Commons)

Hey there!

So, to be completely honest my mind is going a million different directions, so trying to focus on this reading was extremely difficult.

Overall, this reading was about the Raven who created the world as we know it. It was very similar to the first part of the bible (genesis) in style and content. It is written in third person and moves quickly from one subject to the next. In the reading the Raven is the creator.  The Raven creates people, birds, tides, and everything in between.

My favorite part was The Naming of the Birds. I thought it was awesome. My favorite bird is probably either a blue-jay or a humming bird, so it was cool to read about a culture's idea of them and their purpose. If I do a story this week of this reading, I may want to just focus on the hummingbird or blue-jay. In case I do, here are the links I may find useful:

• The Jays
• Characteristics of Blue Jay story
• "Bluejay is the trickster hero of the Chinook, Chehalis, and other Northwest Coast tribes. Bluejay is generally a benevolent being who is helpful to humankind, but he is also extremely foolish and careless, and stories about him are often humorous or even slapstick in nature"
• Blue Jay: how the Sun was stolen story 
• Native American Myths of the Blue Jay

• Humming Bird
• "In legends, Hummingbird is often portrayed as a healer or as a spirit being who helps people in need, and sometimes plays the important mythological role of fire-bringer. Seeing a hummingbird is a sign of good luck in many Native American tribes, especially Northwest Coast tribes. 
• Legend of the Humming Bird

I have visited Alaska pretty recently so I appreciated this reading a lot. I am hoping to be able to focus a little better on part B and take it in more.

Bibliography:
Alaska Legends Part A edited by Katharine Berry Judson. Website: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook

Tech Tip: Blogger Template

Hey there! Okay if you have not tried the tech tips you really need to. It is so much fun! I played around with my design and found a design I really love. I love blue and off white so those colors played a big role in my design. I also found a cute template! Anyways, you should definitely play around with your blog if you haven't!

Review

(What to Focus On by Paul Brown) 

This picture was really relevant to me right now. This weekend has been one of the roughest for my friends and I. It is definitely something very personal for us and there are so many things we cannot control about it. With social media there are so many things people assume you can control. Their opinions really get in your head. At the end of the day, their opinions do not matter and you cannot control it all. What my friends and I can do is focus on the things that we can control and the things that do matter. It just seemed fitting for this weekend.

Speaking of a rough weekend this video really cheered me up. So if you are having a rough week please watch the kitten vs two scary things linked here! I really needed a good laugh and this definitely did it.

Extra Credit Reading Notes: How The Deer Got His Horns

Hello!

So I read How the Deer Got his Horns for some extra reading. After skimming the UN-Textbook I found this story to be my favorite!

First off it is so dang cute. I love stories about animals. I may even retell this story at some point! Regardless, the two main characters are a bunny and a deer.

Both the bunny and the deer are great at jumping and running very fast, so they decide to race. The prize is horns. The bunny ends up cheating by clearing a path. Due to this, the deer ends up winning by default.

Can you imagine if the bunny won? Think about what a bunny would look like with HORNS. That is crazy.

If I was tech savvy I would include a picture of a bunny with horns, but I am not. So please look at this picture of a bunny and imagine horns on it.

(Bunny with Invisible Horns: by Creative Commons)

What made this story so great in my opinion was its simplicity. It was not overcomplicated or cluttered with language or wordy sentences. It was easy to read and short. The message was clear: cheaters never win. Plus it was something any age could enjoy.

If I retold this story it may be fun to learn how to make a picture of a bunny with horns. I would have to really go through some tech tips though. Maybe watch a video on how to do it. I could change the story up to where the bunny would win. This story has endless possibilities! I hope I can retell this story. I guess we will find out next week!

Bibliography:
Myths of the Cherokee: How The Deer Got His Horns by James Mooney. Retrieved from Un-Textbook. 

Week 9 Story: A Letter from Fox-Fire

Author's note: This story takes place immediately before the Chinese fairy tale Fox-Fire. In the original story, there is a young farmer who takes an Elixir of Life from a fox. The boy is able to become very rich and bring happiness to many people. The fox ends up taking the elixir back in the end. The story left out how the fox found the elixir in the first place and why the fox was out in the open with it. To fill in those details I created a story that explains it. The story is written from the fox's point of view in mainly past tense. 

A Letter from Fox-Fire

(Fire-Fox by Creative Commons)

A long time ago I found the Elixir of Life.

I was only a small pup when an early winter storm stuck my family's forest. The temperature dropped rapidly, and my litter and I grew very sick. My mothered feared we would die, and she had no idea what to do. 

There was legend of an elixir high up in a tree guarded by wolves. This elixir could control life itself. If my family had the elixir, I knew we could stay warm and healthy during the winter. 

Out of my litter, my mom believed that I was the most cunning of my litter mates. As foxes, we are notorious for being tricksters, but some of us are more gifted than others. 

My mom sent me away to find the elixir and bring it back to my family. 

I had started my journey at dawn. The wind whipped against my fur and I remember growing cold very fast. I had continued my journey deeper and deeper into the woods. Further and further I got away from my family. 

By noon I had heard the howls of wolves. I let their ferocious sounds guide me closer and closer. 

Just before I had reached the pack of wolves, I ran into a man and a baby. They had hunting rifles and were watching the wolves very closely. The man had heard me instantly. He turned around and pointed his riffle at me. 

I begged for my life. Even so, the man showed no sympathy. I had no idea what to do. I decided to make a deal with the man. I saw how cold the baby was and how poorly dressed they both were. So, I told the man that if he shot all of the wolves I would provide comfort to both him and the baby for life. 

The man lowered the riffle and asked me how. 

I told him I could not say, but there is something very powerful in the tree that only a fox could get. 

The man turned around and shot all of the wolves. I ran to the tree and jumped from limb to limb. In the thickest portion of the tree was a hidden glimmer of gold. I reached in and found a golden sphere. It was the Elixir of Life. I swallowed it whole, so the man and baby would not see and take it from me. 

I emerged from the tree and warmed the baby and man. I made fruit trees grow from the ground instantly. The man and baby then ate. I created a warm stream running beside us. The man and baby drank. The man was very pleased but asked how I would take care of them for life. 

I told the man that when the baby was in need, I would emerge to his eye. I would be invisible until then. Neither the man or the baby must ever shoot another fox, or I would never emerge. The man agreed and away I went. 

I found my litter and provided warmth to us all. I created food and shelter. My family was happy with me, but they had no idea that my tricks had failed me at that time. I had promised my power to a man. Until that time came though, I did everything I could for my family. 

Days ago, the time came. The baby has grown and is now a fatherless boy. I feel the need to find him. 

That is where I am now. I am on my journey to find the boy. Who knows what will happen.

Bibliography:

Chinese Fairy Tales Part B by Donald Mackenzie. Website: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook

Reading Notes: China Fox-Fire, Part B

Notes: China: Fox-Fire Part B

(Fox: by Wikicommons)

Characters:

• Fox: The fox is the keeper of the elixir of life.
• Farmer: The farmer is the one who steals the elixir of life from the fox. 

Elixir of Life:

• What it does:
• makes you invisible
• you are able to interact with the spirit world
• ability to see ghost and devils
• call back the souls of those who are sick or dead
• could plead for the forgiveness of sins

• What I could add
• gives you immortality
• gives you super strength
• gives you knowledge
• allow you to go anywhere and do anything instantaneous
• ability to talk with animals 

Questions I Have and Possible Answers:

• Why did the fox not sneak up sooner and take the elixir?
• He was testing the boy
• He truly feared his strength 
• How did the fox not age without the elixir?
• since he was the keeper he does not age
• he created another one that was less powerful
• Could the fox not create a new elixir?
• maybe there is only one that the fox was trusted with 
• If the elixir could make the consumer invisible, why was the fox not invisible?
• the fox did not want to be invisible because he wanted to test the boy
• Why was the fox playing with the elixir?
• help it grow more powerful
• How did the fox originally get the elixir?
• a gift from parents that has been passed down
• a gift from the spirits
• What is the mans life now like without the elixir?
• he ages quickly and is poor

Overall, I was captivated by the story. If I were to retell the story I would just add to it. If I wanted to set up the story, I would focus on how the fox came across the elixir. Maybe it could be some battle or something grand such as that. 

Bibliography: 

Chinese Fairy Tales Part B by Donald Mackenzie. Website: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook

Reading Notes: China, Part A

Notes: China Part A

(The Dog and Cat: Hendrik Hondius)

Here are a few of my favorite stores from all of the readings:

The Cave of Beast:

• Why was it important that the daughters did not tell each other?
• Did the father know the mom gave them the eggs?
• Did the mom not go try to find her daughters?
• Why duck eggs? 
• Did the wolf and fox die?
• Why are the wolf and fox friends?

Why the Dog and Cat are Enemies:

• Interesting story, but slightly confusing
• What happened to the rat?
• Who had the ring?
• Why did the cat not tell them about the dog, how would it?

The Silk Worm Goddess

• Woman was in depth to horse. Father kills horse. Horse hide wraps up woman and she becomes a silk worm. 
• Silk worms are cultivated in Spring and the stallion is the zodiac of the Spring. 
• How was the horse able to live?
• Why did the father not let the horse marry his daughter?
• Why did the father leave his daughter?

Overall, I was not as captivated by the stories as I thought I would be. Many of them did not make any sense to me what so ever. Especially on the why. Why certain things occurred versus not confused me quite a bit. If I were to retell these stories I would definitely focus on the questions I have listed above. I may even write a story the occurs before one of the readings. This may aid in the explanation. 

My favorite story was why the Dog and Cat are enemies, but it still left me confused. If I were to retell the story I would just add to it. If I wanted to set up the story, I would focus on where the ring went. Maybe even explaining the first time the daily got the ring. 

Bibliography: 

Chinese Fairy Tales Part A by Donald Mackenzie. Website: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook

Week 8 Progress

I am happy with my progress so far. I hope to complete more extra credit the next couple of weeks! I am most proud of my ability to let my perfectionism go. I love my weekly routine if I have time for it. I am really enjoying the feedback assignments! They are helping me develop my blog to a greater extent. 

Looking forward I really want to utilize extra credit and learn as much as I can from it for my blog and storybook. 

For my image, I am getting a puppy next semester so I am ready to push through this semester and hop into the next one!

(Golden-doodle Puppy by Creative Commons)

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

Feedback in:

I think the feedback I am getting is super beneficial, especially on my storybook. The most useful feedback I have received has been about direct formatting errors. When people point out spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, or jumbled sentences I can fix it right then a there. I also love when people ask questions or use the WWW. That helps me develop the story and also helps my imagination. 

Feedback out:

I feel as if I am getting better at feedback. My favorite strategy is the WWW. It is a great set up and makes it so easy to leave a detailed comment. While commenting I am also getting other great ideas. Creatively wise I get so many great ideas for my blog post! Then by looking at flow, grammar, and layout of other storybooks, I can improve my own storybook. 

Blog comments:

I do feel as if I am getting to know people. The introduction post help a lot. I am not super happy with my introduction post because I feel like I kinda missed the mark on what I should have included. It does include some of the most important things about me though!

Looking forward:

After this week I will have more time to dive into feedback techniques which will help a lot. I would like to make my comment wall more accessible on my page! I may add a quick fact list to my introduction just so others can have more to relate to or talk about.

Image:

I selected this image because I found it very inspirational. Feedback only means that you have potential to grow. It is a challenge to improve and get better. I think it is a great and healthy mindset to have!

(Go Higher Cat from Feedback Cats)

Week 8 Reading and Writing

I am so glad that we get a chance to review all of our past blogs and stories. Since the beginning of the course I have definitely become more comfortable with not only writing stories, but also taking notes. This week is my last week of one of my other pretty demanding courses. So hopefully next week and the weeks following I can dive in a little deeper to the assignments and extra credit. I really want to do the tech tips. I think my blog and story book would benefit from that a lot. Overall, I am happy with my blog and website, but I still want to improve them. As of now, I just don't know how. One thing I want to change is the font and the font color on my website. I have spent so much time trying to figure it out and I simply cannot. 

My favorite reading so far has definitely been Cupid and Psyche. It was interesting, easy to read, and one single story. I also love the children short stories. The picture I picked was from a fable. In all honesty I picked it because the dogs are adorable. The reading notes over all the readings have definitely helped me as well. Especially when I plan my story in the notes. It gives me time to brainstorm and prepare. From here I cannot wait to keep on trucking and improving. I am honestly so excited to have the time to do more extra credit. 

(The Dogs and The Hides: by Milo Winter)

Week 7 Story: New Mom in Need of Advice!

Author's Note: This story is inspired from the Nigerian folk story the Lightning and the Thunder. In the story a mother sheep (Thunder) and her son, a ram (Lightning). In the story the ram causes a lot of havoc on a town. He killed people and destroys a lot of things. The king moves the sheep and the ram to the edge of town. When this doesn't help, the kind puts them both in the sky to protect the town. Lightning is still just as dangerous in the sky and Thunder always follows and yells at him to stop.  My story is a letter from the mom (Thunder), to her own mom asking for advice. This letter is written before Thunder and Lightning are put into the sky.


Mom,

It has felt like such a long time since I have had the chance to write you. I think the last time was Lightning's first birthday. I miss you lots and I know Lightning does as well. He has been so erratic and hot headed lately. Every time I sit to write you he storms in and throws a tantrum....and you simply can't ignore his tantrums. I write to you to ask advice. Let me start from the beginning.

Lightning was a fairly noisy baby, but he never hurt anyone. When I was on top of feeding him and putting him to bed he was a baby sent from the heavens. He was happy and would smile. He never fussed or cried. When he started teething nothing.....and I mean NOTHING...would calm him down. When he would get fired up, he shocked anyone around him. He even caught the crib on fire. I figured over time he would learn to control his tantrums. Mom...I was so wrong. Now he can talk back, storm off, and really do some damage. The kid is only two and the whole town is scared. The major offered me a house on the edge of town for Lightning and I to stay. He offered it in hopes that the extra couple miles would keep Lightning at bay. Lightning ended up getting so upset about the move he burned the major's house to a crisp. I included a picture of him destroying a tree earlier today.

(Lighting Hitting a Tree: caught by Creative Commons)

Everyone is telling me to get him under control, but even if I yell all night he won't stop. I think the major is going to send us away soon. Lightning and I can always go back to the sky and stay with his dad, Cloud. Cloud and I wanted him to have a normal childhood though. Plus, even if we are up in the sky...he is still just as dangerous. I wish I knew what to do. Please give me any advice you can.

Love you mom

-Thunder

Nigerian Folk Stories  by Elphinstone Dayrell . Website: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook

Reading Notes: Nigerian Folk Stories, Part B

Notes: Nigerian Folk Stories B

(Lightning by Creative Commons)

Focus on The Lightning and the Thunder

Characters:

Lightning: Thunder's child. In this story, the lightning is a ram. He has a very bad temper and when he is angry he destroys things, burns things, and even kills people. I would challenge finding a way to make this character do good or develop into good.

Thunder: Lightning's mom. In this story, thunder is represented by a mother sheep. She tries her hardest to protect others by telling her child no. She would use a very loud voice.

King: The king attempted to keep peace in the town by putting them far on the edge of town. When that failed, he put them in the sky.

Changes I would like to make/ideas:

Adding Rain

• There are three main characters: Lightning, Thunder, and Rain. 
• Rain is very emotional and gets scared of Lightning?

OR

Story set when Lightning was just a baby. Possibly change the animals.

• Would be told from the King's perspective
• Why things were burning down?
• Interviewing several people in hopes to find an answer?
• Questioning characters like snow, rain, and cloud.
• Finally figure out it was Lightning and warning Thunder about him
• Lighting and Thunder could be birds instead of a sheep and a ram

Point of View:

• A letter from Thunder to her mom (cloud?) for advice 
• Point of view of the King
• Why Lightnings gets so upset (in the mind of Lightning)
• Detective interview

General notes:

Start of story was a once upon a time type. It was "IN the olden days,..."

Middle is slightly repetitive, but gives a brief run down of why thunder and lightning are in the sky.

The ending of the story is an explanation of why thunder and lightning are the way they are today. 


Bibliography: 

Nigerian Folk Stories Part B by Elphinstone Dayrell . Website: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook

Reading Notes: Nigerian Folk Stories, Part A

Notes: Nigerian Folk Stories A

(The Sun, Moon, and Water by Creative Commons)

Focus on the Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky

Characters:

Sun: I would want to keep the Sun as a character. The Sun in this story is friendly, married to the Moon, and friends with Water. 

Moon: I think the Moon is great in this story, but I wish there was more about the Moon other than being the Sun's wife. Maybe if I rewrite this story I can give the Moon a bigger role in the story. That could be as the narrator or just as a bigger player in the story.

Water: Water in this story is best friends with the Sun and wants to be able to go to the Sun's house. Water and its family is too large and drives the Sun and the Moon away into the sky. 

Changes I would like to make:

• The Water loved the Moon and when it had the chance it tried to drive out the Sun from Earth and flooded it. 
• The Sun and Moon go away as it fills the Earth. 
• The Sun and Moon watch over the Earth now to make sure that Water does not flood it again out of spite. 
• That is why the Sun and Moon watch the Earth at different times during the day. 
• Could be why tides go with the Moon, because the Water misses the Moon?

OR

• The Water is the Moon's brother and out of spite of her marriage it flooded the Earth. 
• The Moon and Sun must escape to the sky
• Now the Moon and Sun watch over the Water. The Sun because he lacks trust, and the Moon because she misses her brother. 
• This could explain tides.

Point of View:

I like the point of view in third person, but it may be fun to play around with it. I could write it from the point of view of the Moon. 

Bibliography: 

Nigerian Folk Stories Part A by Elphinstone Dayrell . Website: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook