Week 1: Famous Last Words

So the first week is over already. It went by pretty fast! Although the first week of classes can always be kind of stressful, I think I enrolled in some pretty good classes this semester, and it should be interesting. I am intrigued by the "famous last words" blog posts, I wonder what it will be like to look back at the end of the semester at all that I have written here.

I've definitely learned a lot this week, and one of the most useful things I learned about was the Google re-use filter. Essentially, when using Google image search you can select a "re-use" filter so that all the results included are free of copyright protections. This will be great for future projects this semester and for classes throughout the rest of my college career. I've also learned a lot about blogging in general: how to make one, how to create posts, leave comments, imbed images and more. Through the tech tip for the week, I also learned how to change the template for my blog.

I've done quite a few blog posts this week, but I think my best writing was done in my storytelling post. I wrote a story inspired by "The Fox Without a Tail" but added more detail and changed the ending. I spent some time on it, and overall I'm satisfied with how it turned out.

 (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

I read a fantastic storytelling post by Emily Groff "The Fat Man of Bombay" I really enjoyed this story; it was very well written and the details were superb. I liked how she took a relatively simple rhyme and turned it into a descriptive tale.

Overall, this week has been a good one. Although it's sad to see the summer go, I think I will enjoy my classes this semester, and I had quite a bit of fun for my birthday yesterday.

Week 1: Introduction

Hello class! My name is Cody Whatley. I'm a Junior at the University of Oklahoma studying chemical biosciences. My hope is to use this undergraduate degree to apply for medical school. Pursuing a career in medicine has meant that my college career so far has been filled with science classes; General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physical Chemistry, Biology, Physiology and more! Right now I'm Organic Chemistry Lab, Principles of Physiology, Physics II Lab, Intermediate Spanish, and of course Mythology and Folklore.

In my free time, I volunteer at a small free clinic in eastern Edmond off of I-35. Most of my time here is spent filing charts, handling faxes, and receiving test results, but when things are slow I get to shadow our volunteer physicians and help with patient care. I also like to read books and watch T.V. My favorite show would have to be either Hannibal or Game of Thrones. True Detective comes close but I'll have to see how next season goes!

I also work for the Oklahoma Blood Institute as the mobile supply clerk. This mostly entails working alone at night making sure all the trucks are supplied with the appropriate equipment to go out the following day and perform blood drives all over the state. I also have to maintain supply levels in our stock room to ensure we have enough of all the equipment to meet the weekly donation projections.  For a shameless plug here, if you haven't already donated blood in the last 56 days, donate! Also check out our Marrow Donor Program. Marrow donation can now be painlessly and without having to be sedated through peripheral blood stem cell collection, a process which is very similar to a blood donation. Taking marrow from the pelvic bone is no longer the only option, and you could save someones life!

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Week 1: Storybook Favorites

The first story book that caught my attention was Robin of Sherwood: Sherwood's Side of the Story I've always been a fan of various robin hood tales, and I thought it would be interesting to see this classic story told from a different perspective. I was certainly surprised to see in this version that it wasn't the people of Sherwood telling the story, but Sherwood itself! I think the authors inclusion as the forest as an ally of Robin Hood and his men was a fantastic new take on a classic story. I really enjoyed the added character of Major Oak.

Scrolling down the story book list, another story caught my eye: The Deep, the Dark, and the Unknown: H.P. Lovecraft From a long list of fairy tales, the title of this storybook certainly stuck out! This storybook contains various excerpts from H.P. Lovecraft short stories, albeit with alteration. I thought the diary entry format for the second story was very well executed. Having a first person stream-of-consciousness, in my opinion, makes the story a lot more frightening than having a narrator describe it. I also enjoyed the author retelling a super natural story from the view of a skeptic in "Interview with Dr. R Fenton"

The last storybook that I looked at was Tracking the Werewolf After reading through this storybook, this one was definitely my favorite. I appreciated that the author was able to combine a number of stories from numerous sources into a single coherent story. It tells the story of an old man looking back to the past to an event in which he encountered a werewolf. What starts off as a younger version of the narrator finding a manuscript explodes into a frightening tale. The ending leaves the possibility of the story to continued.

Week 1: Un-Textbook

Here are a few sections from the Un-Textbook that caught my eye.

Aesop for Children (Winter): I've always like these stories, so this is an obvious interest for me. The free audio book and kindle ebook are also a plus!

Tutinameh, or Tales of a Parrot: This sounds like an intriguing one. I'm interested to see what stories the parrot could tell to keep his owner from leaving and cheating on her husband.

The Monkey King Sun Wu Kung: "The Monkey King" is certainly a title that sticks out at me. It sounds like the protagonist is pretty wild so this would be of definite interest.

Ballads of Robin Hood: I don't know how anyone could not like robin hood. I'm more familiar with modern adaptations, so it would be interesting to see the classics.

Brothers Grimm (Crane): I've always heard these original fables were somewhat dark compared to the disney stories, but I've never read them myself.

Week 1 Storytelling: Mendax the Fox

Mendax struggled and strained to free himself from the jaws of the trap that he now found himself in.

Despite his effort, the jagged teeth of his captor remained unmoved; Mendax now knew he would not leave this trap whole.

"It could have been worse" he thought.

 

 (photo by James B Brown)

It was simply a tail after all, and many foxes had lived before without tails. If it had been his leg in that trap, he would be done for.

However, he also remembered the mocking and ridicule that those tail-less foxes faced from all the other foxes.

With great sorrow, he pulled one last time and freed himself from the clutches of the brutish device, leaving his tail behind in its iron grasp.

Rather than return and face the jeers and taunts from his fellow foxes, Mendax set out into the forest alone.

For several weeks he remained isolated in the forest, until one day an idea struck him.

Mendax soon returned to the other foxes and called a meeting, claiming it was of great importance.

Once all the foxes were gathered, he spoke:

"My fellow foxes, too long have we suffered for our tails. Countless numbers of our brothers have fallen simply because their tails had become lodged in fences and foliage, or because the heavy weight of their tail hindered their ability to run from the hunter's hounds"

"If you value your life, you will join me and be rid of your tail forever."

The other foxes began to ponder what Mendax had said. It was true; only last week Velox had been caught by the tail by a particularly relentless welsh hound.

One by one the foxes began to cut off their tails. As the days passed, it was the foxes who had retained their tails that were subjected to taunting and teasing.

 Mendax felt happy; his guile had turned his fate around on those who would have mocked him.

As winter approached, Mendax found himself once again surrounded by his fellow foxes. However this time, it was they who spoke:

"Liar!" someone shouted from the crowd. "We found your tail in a trap in the woods! You didn't cut it off, you lost it! You tricked us! Now every night we freeze without our tails to wrap around ourselves!"

Mendax looked out at the crowd and noticed that all the foxes now had fallen tree limbs fastened to the remaining stubs of their tails. These replacement tails could not keep the foxes of the forest warm without fur, however.

"Get him!" one of the foxes yelled.

The foxes quickly swarmed Mendax and began ripping out his fur, attaching the abducted pelt to their stick-tails with syrupy tree sap.

Mendax shouted and struggled, but it was too late. The foxes laughed at the now naked Mendax as they walked into the forest with their new tails.


Author's Note: This story is based on the fable "The Fox Without a Tail." by Æsop from The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Æsop for Children. Web Source. The fable tells of a fox who loses his tail and unsuccessfully tries to convince the other foxes to cut their tails off as well.

Week 1: My Favorite Place, Maui

Maui: Picking my favorite place was no difficult task. Although I have only been able to visit one time, I think I could spend the rest of my life in Maui and be perfectly happy. Every part of this island is beautiful, and the weather is perfect.

 (Iao Needle, Maui: Wikimedia Commons)

(Maui Coast: Wikimedia Commons)