Famous Last Words: The End

Grainy screenshot, from your's truly

With this post I will have made 93 posts on this Myth and Folklore blog, and accrued enough points for an "A" in the class. I made 84 posts to finish in Epics of India, so my posts/points efficiency ratio dropped from Spring to Fall. The warmer weather of the end of Summer must distract me, or maybe it is senioritis. Now that I have finished both this class and Epics of India, I think that I am all out of creative writing energy. I drew so many blanks when it came time to find some new ideas to write about for my storytelling. It's a really frustrating experience, believe you me. Still, I am proud of the seven storytelling posts that i came up with. 

I have made 20 reading posts, which I really find to be the most enjoyable part of the class. However, I didn't find that I liked the readings as much as Epics of India, which is not what I expected. I figured some familiarity with the subject material and extra cultural relevance would make it more interesting, but perhaps I just have a thing for the exotic parts of life. I think Homer's Iliad was my favorite of all the readings I did. I really enjoyed the characters on both sides, along with their interactions with the Gods of Olympus. Second would be The Voyages of Sindbad. They were comically unbelievable, which made them fun to read, but it also made them the focus of my favorite storytelling series, The Voyages of Sindbad the Unlucky Sailor, this semester. Third favorite would be an extra credit reading, a collection of Hans Christian Anderson stories. The original story of the Little Mermaid was a lot darker than the Disney version, shockingly so. 

Thanks for reading along with me this semester, good luck with your own work!

Famous Last Words: Review Week

This week is a week intended for reflection in this class. Unfortunately, I do not really have time for that, as much as I would like to take a week to reflect on all that I have accomplished this semester. Already this week I have had three tests in my core classes (Geology and Geophysics, Reservoir Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, and Reservoir Engineering II), I actually passed out from exhaustion last night. Within the next week and a half I have due: Another test, a lab report, two projects, and various other homework assignments. On top of trying to keep up with the assignments in this class. It's certainly going to be a stressful October, wish me luck.

Test, from Clipart Panda

The only reading I did this week was half of the Brothers Grimm, translated by Margaret Hunt. it covered Hansel and Gretel, Thumbling, and Allerleirauh. Hansel and Gretel was my standout favorite, I found the other two to be pretty weird. The major change from the original to versions I am familiar with is the parents abandoning poor little Hansel and Gretel in the woods to starve to death. I can't help but wonder if Hansel and Gretel's mother was somehow connected to the evil of the witch. They both died conspicuously close to each other, perhaps the witches evil permeated beyond the forest. Plus, leaving Hansel and Gretel to starve to death in the forest because you can't afford to feed them is one step short of eating them yourself. I was surprised about the presence of actual character development. Hansel and Gretel's father was clearly under a lot of emotional duress, stuck between his children and his wife. Gretel also really came into her own, and stopped following Hansel's lead by killing that evil witch, quite cleverly and brutally I might add.

Famous Last Words: Beginning Another Cycle

This week is the beginning of my next major round of tests and quizzes. I have a number of lab reports and projects due also, so the stress factor is really increasing right now. But, just like last time it will all be over in about two and a half weeks. Then I get to take a relative break again before finals. I will also (hopefully) be done with this class by then, so that should be a load off of my shoulder.

As far as this class is concerned, I read the Monkey King from the Chinese Fairy Book this week. I have never read any Chinese stories or fairy tales before, so this was a new experience for me. I don't know that I found it all that culturally relevant or interesting. I found this odd especially given how interesting I found the stories in Epics of India, which is fairly close to China geographically. Despite how much I loved Hanuman in the Ramayana, I just found this Monkey sort of predictable and boring. I also connected the Monkey King back to Indian Epics in another way, I ended up at Yoga while I was doing my Wikipedia Trail.

Hanuman, from Wikipedia

For my writing, I wrote a part II for my Puss in Boots story line. The cat certainly takes a greater number of actions to help his owner in this part of my story. This is in keeping with act II of the original story, where the cat cements his owner's reputation as a noble person to the woman he is courting and her father. The cat is my version does his best to ensure his owner stays hired at his new job. I hope you all enjoy it.

Finally, if you haven't watched West World yet, I highly suggest it. Thanks for reading.

Famous Last Words: Exponential

Image showing I made a total of 84 posts during Epics of India. 

I chose "Exponential" as my title this week because I feel that I am moving through this class at an exponential rate. I finished the sister class to Myth & Folklore, Epics of India, around week 9-10 during this most recent spring semester. However, I did not finish all the extra credit for Epics of India each week as I have done for this course. Therefore, I am hoping for a week 8 or week 9 finish, because if I recall correctly week 8 has some different assignments to shake things up a little. 

As far as the actual details of my assignments in this class are concerned, I read Brer Rabbit this week. Being honest, it may be my least favorite reading from this class and Epics of India combined. It wasn't so much the content as the way it was written. The attempt to write in a very "laissez les bons temps rouler" style of deep Louisiana Cajun made the reading hard to decipher and understand. I also saw Deepwater Horizon on Friday night, and some of the Cajun accents in that movie were atrocious (looking at you John Malkovich). There have been too many reminders of some of my least favorite extended family members this week. Therefore, I decided to write my story this week based on my extra credit reading, Andrew Lang's European Fairy Tales. I did a modern retelling of Puss in Boots helping his owner find a job, which my or may not be subconsciusly related to the fact that I need someone to do the same for me right now. However, I did connect Brer Rabbit to the IRS in my Wikipedia Trail this week. I didn't like the reading, but this is one of the Wikipedia trails I have enjoyed most so far. 

Famous Last Words: The Halfway Point

This week I officially passed the halfway point for this class. This semester is definitely going by quite quickly.

Scheherazade, from Wikipedia

This week I read 1001 Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H.J. Ford. The multiple layers of meta storytelling really started to get to me by the end of the story. I think it made it more confusing than anything else. I understand that the story of Scheherazade was supposed to make things more tense and interesting for the reader. But, I think that Scheherazade should have ended at no more than two layers from reality. That would have struck a nice balance between using a unique storytelling technique and maintaining readability. As far as the second half of the reading was concerned, I found the original version of Aladdin to not be quite as interesting as the Disney version that I am familiar with. The use of multiple genies and magic objects really threw me for a loop and made things more confusing.

I also continued my telling of Sindbad the Unlucky Sailor, of which part 1 was my first portfolio story last week. I think that part 2 is going to be the ending of all adventures for my Sindbad. In my version, Sindbad does not get along with the elephants as well as he did in the original. I saw no reason the Sindbad's luck should change now. I have enjoyed writing both parts but I think it's time to move on to something new.

As far as my other classes are concerned, I am on a sort of break this week. I had a number of lab reports, tests, and other assignments due last week. Now, nothing is staring me directly in the face which I am grateful for. I am hoping to take some time to relax and get ready for the next round of assignments.

Famous Last Words: One Month In

It's my fourth Famous Last Words post, which means we are all about a month into the semester. Time goes by faster and faster everyday.

This week I read The Voyages of Sindbad by Andrew Lang. This first thing I learned was that it was Sindbad, not Sinbad like the comedian. I thought the stories were somewhat odd. Sindbad didn't strike me as a role model. He made a lot of mistakes, mostly by continuing to leave his house. He also did some very dark things, like murdering people for their food. As I mentioned in my reading post, I'm not convinced he didn't eat their bodies also. Sindbad is always saved by a stroke of luck and peoples inability to recognize him. The only good things he does are donating to the local poor and the mosques in his community. I think that these positive religious aspects are ultimately the point. Sindbad is also featured in my storytelling this week, where I took a more realistic view at the trajectory of his life. This story was also the first story I added to my portfolio, so let me know what you all think of it.

Sinbad, possible cannibal. From the APA

As far as my other classes are concerned, I have my first test on Monday in Geophysics. It's an online test, which is definitely new for me. I also have a lab report due on Tuesday in Reservoir Fluids Lab, and a project due a week from tomorrow in Reservoir Engineering II. It has been a very long week, especially with the extra stress of having to go to the engineering career fair yesterday. I don't think a single person enjoyed themselves in that sweaty and stressful hellhole. 

Thanks for reading and writing along with me this week, keep checking back for more soon. 

Famous Last Words: Keep on Keeping On

My reading this week was a little bit larger in scale than Aesop's Fables last week - it was Homer's Iliad. I enjoyed reading it college, where I was not only reading the spark notes so that I could pass my high school English quiz. It was an exciting story, I was cheering for characters on both sides. The final show down between Hector and Achilles was even the inspiration for my writing this week. Since I was torn deciding who should win, and knew that I would be unhappy either way, I rewrote the story so that hector triumphed over Achilles. It is also now occurring to me that the fact that I was cheering on both sides may have been one of the points of the story. War is hell, and the winners are the ones who write the history books. I really enjoy when I'm reflecting back on a reading an something extra like that hits me, it's the sign of a great story.

Homer, literary genius. From Wikipedia

As far as my other classes are concerned, the weekly grind of labs, assignments, and quizzes is in full swing. It makes for a stressful life, but I'm almost done with college. Something tells me I might miss it when it's gone. I haven't had any tests yet, but it's certainly time to start getting ready for them. If I procrastinate any longer, I'll practically (or literally) be cramming the night before my first test.

The career fair is also this week, so if any of you guys want to see me I'll be the guy in the navy suit frantically passing out resumes to anybody who will take them. If you look official enough and hold a clipboard, you might even get one yourself. Wish me luck, and thanks for reading this week.

Famous Last Words: Getting into Gear

My reading this week reminded me of the reading I did for Epics of India in many ways - Aesop's fables featured a variety of animal characters, also with unique personalities and motivations attempting to gain the upper hand on each other. Also, like Epics of India, most of the animals did really terrible things to other animals, though they usually got their comeuppance. However, I felt like the personalities given to the animals in Aesop's Fables were more complex and multifaceted, as compared to archetypal personalities like foxes being tricksters. At the same time, i felt that all the animals had the same motivation, which was complete self interest. I also read some of Hans Christian Andersen's stories, which really just put me in a bad mood with how depressing they were. Hans Christian Andersen was also where I started my Wikipedia Trail this week. Be sure to read that and my reading notes if any of this sounds interesting to you.

The Tortoise and his Therapist, from Cartoon Stock

This week was the first "real" week of my classes, and I'm sure that same was true for many other University of Oklahoma students. I don't have many assignments due this semester, Myth and Folklore not withstanding, but I do have more projects than I am used to doing in a usual semester. It's sure to make this fall feel artificially long. As the concepts from more and more of my classes connect to each other, I am finally beginning to believe that my teachers weren't lying when they said that they were preparing us for the real world, and not just giving us busy work so that they had something to grade and earn their pay. But, now that I'm settled in and back in the groove, I really am looking forward to the many challenges I will face this semester.

Famous Last Words: Week 1

This is only the first week of the class, but I think I'm off to a good start. There was no new writing for me this week, I just republished my writing from Epics of India, which I took last semester. There was also no new reading, but I did select some possible future reading. I'm going to start with Aesop's Fables during the first week. After that I'm considering Beowulf, Dante's Inferno, and Noah and the Ark. All of these are pretty classic readings, only some of which I am mildly familiar with, so I'm looking forward to all of them. I especially enjoyed doing the new extra credit assignment, Wikipedia trails. I started at Aesop's Fables, and ended at Piracy in Somalia. It should be familiar to anyone who has played 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

My other classes have also picked up speed this week. More than a few projects have been assigned with the first due in about a month, keeping up with those along with my regular tests and assignments is sure to be difficult. But, like anything else, you can only eat an elephant one bite at a time.  I'm glad to see some other Petroleum Engineers in this class again: Tyler, who was also in Epics of India with me last semester, and Ahmed, who is new to me. I want to wish both of them luck in the upcoming semester, because we are all sure to need it.

Out of class, it is recruitment season for Petroleum Engineers, which means everyone is feeling the pressure as we ramp up for the career fair. It's always difficult to find a job, but I'm worried it's going to be even harder with the oil price the way it is. My weekend is sure to involve a flurry of applications.

Barrels of Crude Oil, from The Independent