Reading Notes: Arabian Nights, Part B

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp 5

I keep getting thrown off each time I read that the story is taking place in China or Africa. Aladdin was one of my favorite films when I was young and I am used to the Disney version where the story takes place in a fictional Agrabah. The first thing I would do would be to change the setting but I would leave the characters as they are. Once I read the sixth part I really found no reason for the story to have kept going after this story. I could add a little suspense to the ending by having the magician exchange cups with the princess and calling for a toast. Then Aladdin could come in to save the day by dressing as a slave and interrupting the toast calling for the magician to come to the front of the palace at once. Once he returns from a false alarm, the princess has switched around the cups and the magician drinks the poisoned wine.

(The Magical Lamp: MaxPixel)

Bibliography:

Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang: link to Reading B

Reading Notes: Arabian Nights, Part A

The Story of the Fisherman

The ending of this story didn't satisfy me and I believe I could add more to the story. Instead of the fisherman ignoring the repayment of the genius after trapping him, he could accept something on his terms to let him back out. He could settle an agreement with the genius by being granted three wishes in exchange for the genius freedom. I could go on to talk about the different demands that the fisherman wants from his wishes and go on with the story by talking about each wish. However, the fisherman does not know that every time the genius grants one of his wishes, he loses someone very close to him.

(The Fisherman in Shock Observing the Genius: Mythology Stories)

Bibliography:

Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang: link to Reading A

Tech Tip: Blogger Design Templates

For this tech tip, I found an online image to use as a background for my portfolio. I had no idea that I could change the image in the background to something of my personal preference. I decided to choose a wheat field image with a nice sunshine gleaming in the picture.

Week 5 Storytelling: The Black Stallion

There once was a village of farmers, who dedicated every day of their lives to provide food for their families and the King. The labor they would encounter daily was exhausting and rigorous. Once they harvested their crop, they would carry the produce on their backs all the way to the village, which was about two miles away. They would be out on the fields before the sun came up, and would not go back to the village until sunset.

One day while the farmers were gathering the bundles from their corn harvest, a wounded horse approached them desperate for help. The village quickly fetched the village doctor to see if he could do something about the horse’s infected wound. The doctor made some herbal medicine for the horse and by the next day the horse was no longer feeling any pain from the wound.

During his couple of days of recovery, the horse would watch how the farmers would struggle to get to and from home on their weary two feet. The horse thought to himself, “These farmers have made my pain go away, and now maybe I can repay them by helping them carry some weight since I am stronger with my two extra feet.” After a few days of helping the farmers and being well fed, the horse found himself enjoying the company of the men so he thought “I shall bring my herd to establish a new home here with the farmers as they can feed us and care for any health issues we have.”

The next day the horse came back with all his herd to the village after telling them of the great hospitality he had received from the farmers. The farmers had no idea that the horse they had cured was the leader of a herd, and were in disbelief seeing all of the horses willing to help them. They were astounded that their hard worked days were now going to be a lot easier to handle with all the help.

Along with the heard there was one horse who stood out over all the others. This horse was a black stallion who stood firm, bigger, and was a beautiful black color that would shine from a mile away. This was the leader’s son and was the heir to his father. The farmers were in awe by his beauty and insisted that this horse had to be shown to the King.

The King received news about the black stallion horse and he wasted no time traveling to the village. Once arriving at the village, he saw the stallion playing with the children and giving them rides wherever they pleased. The King was speechless as he had never seen such a species who was so big and strong but so kind and loving.

He quickly talked to the farmers to negotiate for the stallion and they told him that if the stallion was willing, he could keep him as a gift in exchange for letting them harvest their crops for themselves to make a living instead of getting by day to day. He agreed and took the black stallion back to the kingdom where together they would take part in multiple wars in years to come.

(The Black Stallion: Pixabay)

Authors Note: 

This story is very similar to "The King's White Elephant" by Ellen C. Babbitt. In that story there is an injured elephant who goes to some carpenters for help because he had a splinter in his foot that they took out. The elephant was very happy and thankful for the carpenters generosity and helped them pull out trees, and roll out logs for as long as he could. One day he notices he is no longer strong nor young so he brings his son the white elephant to work with him. After he would work during the days the young white elephant would go to the river to play with the children. One evening while the white elephant and children were playing by the river, the King happens to go down the river and sees the elephant. He then talks to the villagers and negotiates a price to take the white elephant back home where he would care for him for the rest of his life. My story is similar just with different characters. The white elephant is a black stallion in my story and the carpenters are farmers. 

Bibliography:

"The King's White Elephant" from the Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Jataka Tales, Part B

The Otters and the Wolf

The Wolf was wise in this story by giving both of the Otters the part they both asked for, while taking the middle part with the most meat for himself. The Otters could not say that they didn't get what they wanted but realized too late that the Wolf had out-smarted them. This is a tale I could remake with the otters being hyenas and having the wolf be a lion. The lion is a bigger species than the hyenas so I decided to choose them that way since the hyenas wouldn't bother to start a quarrel with a lion. Plus, ever since I watched The Lion King, I've always thought about hyenas as not being the smartest of animals. I could also make up a revenge plot by the hyenas as well.

(The Otters Catching a Fish: Wikipedia)

Bibliography:

Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt: link to Reading B

Reading Notes: Jataka Tales, Part A

The King's White Elephant

This is a story where I would like to use a horse character, such as a black stallion, instead of the White Elephant. There are many uses for a horse that helps mankind just as the elephant figured out how he could help out the workers. I need to think a little bit about the setting so I put the horse in a workable condition where he would work best. I imagine something like at a farm where a nice looking strong horse is trapped or hurt and the farmers see him just in time to save him. The horse then promises to help them for their generosity and introduces his young son, a black stallion. After working for the farmers, just as his father did, a King happens to stroll through the small village of farmers and notices the black stallion. Then he negotiates a price for the stallion.

(The King on His White Elephant: DJ Paradise)

Bibliography:
Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt: link to Reading A

Comment Wall

Link to Portfolio.

Week 4 Story: The Old Miser and His Gold

Special Note: The current version (longer) is in my Portfolio. Link to Portfolio.

Once upon a time, there was an old Miser who would hide his precious gold next to a tree behind his house. The gold was placed in a jar and dug into the ground with a mat covering the fresh dirt that the Miser would dig up weekly. The Miser would dig up the gold and gloat over his earnings every Saturday. He had a mirror nailed to the tree where he would pretend that the person in the mirror was a different person, and would converse with himself.

One Saturday morning, while he was arguing with his mirror image over who’s gold was brighter, he spotted a young man spying on him through the mirror. Quickly thinking, he pretended as if he didn’t see him and kept on gloating over his gold. He dug up his gold, put the mat over the ground, and walked back inside his home cheerfully. He glanced over to where the boy was but he was already gone.

He knew the boy wouldn’t dare steal his gold during the day and would come back during the night. He acted quickly by setting up a trap where a rope would pull anything that stepped near the mat where the gold lie under. He disguised the trap by putting leaves on top of the rope as well as putting multiple ropes that looked like vines, hanging from the tree so he wouldn’t suspect anything. The old Miser went to sleep comfortably, knowing that nothing could escape from his well-designed trap.

By about midnight, the Miser was woken to a loud screaming noise. He knew exactly where it came from as he caught the boy trying to steal his gold. So confident he was of his trap, that he even made himself a cup of coffee before going out to see the boy hanging up-side down from the tree. The Miser had to be a little wiser about his hideouts moving forward.

(The Young Man Spying on the Miser: Flickr)

Authors Note:

This story is very similar to that of The Miser and His Gold but with a better ending for the Miser. In the original story, the Miser gloats over his gold on a weekly basis as well but does not notice a man spying on him. The next week when he goes to gloat over his earnings, he finds nothing in the whole. The robber had run off with his gold and left nothing. I felt bad for the Miser so I made my story where he noticed the robber and caught him in the act. 

Bibliography:

 "The Miser and His Gold" from The Fables of Aesop by Josheph Jacobs.Web Source.

Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables, Part B

Jacobs 63. The Miser and His Gold -

This is a good story where I could use the Miser's experience from losing his gold, as an example. I could add on to the story by having the Miser plan for trying to trap the person who stole his gold. He learned from his mistake by boasting about his gold and exposing his hideout, so now he would do the same but knowing someone else would be watching. He digs up a deep trench except for one little aisle where he can walk to his gold hideout spot and disguises the trench. He does this by putting cardboard over the trench then dirt, leaves, and grass over it as if there was no trench. Once it is ready, he goes to his gold and digs it out to gloat over it for a whole week. Finally, the next morning the thief is in the trench begging for forgiveness.

(The Thief Looking Over the Miser and His Gold: Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography: 

Aesop's Fables by Joseph Jacobs, link to Reading B

Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables, Part A

Jacobs 4. The Lion's Share 

This is a story that could be told in many ways. Instead of portraying the lion as the evil beast, he could be a nice lion rewarding each of his hunting comrades. I could also use people instead of animals and using a bank setting where they rob the bank. The mastermind of the robbery stays with all the money, while the gunmen, locksmith, and driver get nothing. The mastermind has to have some type of an advantage over his partners so that they don't try to fight or make anything out of it, such as video tape evidence that he obtained from the bank.

(The Fox Taking His Share in Front of Lion: Pinterest)

Bibliography: 

Aesop's Fables by Joseph Jacobs: link to Reading A

Feedback Strategies

I'll be honest I don't feel to confident in my ability to give feedback, simply because I myself am not a very good writer. I believe if we use the feedforward strategy, it helps gain some more confidence in people. Although, the way to really get to someone is usually critiquing their work not so much "praise". There are certain ways to do both together and in a nice way.

 The first article I read was Try FeedForward Instead of Feedback by Marshall Goldsmith. I felt like everything about this article was very helpful and was similar to my thoughts. He states, "It can be more productive to help people learn to be “right,” than prove they were “wrong.”" and I could not agree more. We all think differently and I believe we help each other by trying to understand one person's viewpoint, instead of going completely against theirs. It could actually even help the person giving the feedforward by gaining certain different thoughts and a different perception that they may had not already known.

The second article I read was The Difference Between Praise and Feedback by MindShift. This article was spot on. It all starts as we are babies growing up and it has everything to do with how the parent raises his or her child. If a parent only says, "good job!" or "try a little harder" to their child, then they will only try to do that certain thing again. But if one says something in detail such as, "that crossover and dribbling skill look even better in the game than in practice!" then the kid will want to keep practicing because they see that they are improving. In the article Carol Dweck is quoted saying, “Praising strategy and focus and improvement gives them actionable information and a reason to try hard.” I believe and agree with this one hundred percent.

(FeedForward is Better: Ace-d)

Topic Research: Grizzly Bears

BNA: Grizzly Bear and Coyote by Katharine Berry Judson -

This story is about how Grizzly Bear and Coyote agreed to make the length of the days and nights to both of their benefit. They also agreed to making winter 12 full moons after Coyote tricked Grizzly Bear. I could do a lot of different things here such as change the characters and the settings, but I believe it would be better to lengthen the story to where they agree upon the whole year.

SW/CA: Old Man Above and the Grizzlies by Katharine Berry Judson -

The Grizzlies used to walk on two legs and talk just as humans do back in this time. This story explains of how they began to use their hands as feet whenever they were punished by the Old Man Above. The Grizzlies did a good deed in saving the child's life, but allowed one of their sons to marry the little girl. It was Old Man's fault for not thoroughly giving the instructions. I like the way these stories are about how certain animals, such as the grizzly bear, got to be how they are today. I could use certain characteristics from the grizzly bear to say how they got certain things.

The Grizzly Bear's Medicine by George Bird Grinnel -

This was a very long story but it was my favorite one that I found. The story was about a poor little boy that was the son of a past chief whom was stripped of command after doing nothing and people ridiculed and humiliated him and his family. The poor boy was innocent in all of this and was ready to give his life up. He goes into the big cedar trees where the chief ordered no one to go because there was something killing the villagers there. The poor boy, being so depressed, decided to go so he could be killed from whatever it was that was in those woods. He goes into a cave and talks to the she-bear and her cubs, and finally meets the bad grizzly who has been killing the villagers. To make it short the boy is accepted into the Bear's family and given the power of the medicine bear, as long as he does certain things the grizzly asks of him. He does everything and gains all the power of the bear and the people from his village respect him and offer him to be chief. This story was pretty awesome and I feel I could write more up on it since I found it so interesting!

(Medicine Bear Furious Seeing Poor Boy in Cave: Sacred-Texts)

Week 3 Story: The Start of the Mexican Revolution

Once upon a time, during the year of 1884, Manuel Gonzalez Flores gathered his counsel for a brief meeting. The reason for this meeting, was to discuss Sara’s (his daughter) coming of age. He knew that the time had come for her to fall in love and marry soon. He acknowledged that since she was the most beautiful girl in the region and daughter to the President of Mexico, men from all over the country would come try to win her heart. So, once he informed his council of his thoughts he told them they had to take an oath and he said, “My dear comrades, the time has come for my girl to choose her husband and I ask of you to respect her decision. If any man tries to steal my lovely daughter from her husband, you shall all do whatever it must take to bring her back to him.”

After a few months passed and numerous men proclaimed their love for Sara, she chose Porfirio Diaz as her husband. Her father passed shortly and Porfirio took command of office. They were enjoying life and happily married until in 1910, when Sara met Francisco Madero at a ball. The two laughed and drank the night away while her husband was busy discussing busy business affairs with high-rank officials.

Surely enough, Madero had convinced her to go back home with him using his elegance and charm. Madero was of the north where the people were beginning to revolt against President Diaz and his government over land disputes and the current system they lived under. They rode for 5 days until they arrived at their new hacienda.

Diaz was outraged over what had taken place. He could not believe that his Sara betrayed him like that and the fact that is was with a Northman made it even more unbearable. He immediately called for a council the next morning and reminded him of the oath they had taken, if such an even would to occur. Among the men in the council was Venustiano Carranza, a man who had previously served for Madera and knew him very well. The Mexican Revolution was about to begin, over the love and betrayal of a woman.

(Francisco Madero with his wife Sara Perez: Latin American Studies)

Authors Note: 

This story retracts much from the story of the Iliad by Homer. Both involve a beautiful woman being the cause of a dispute, in this case Sara. The plot is set in Mexico before the Mexican Revolution and I used different characters such as Porfirio Diaz, Francisco Madero, and Venustiano Carranza.a In Homer's Iliad, Helen is the woman who marries Menelaus the brother of Agamemnon. They are happily married until Paris from Troy takes her away and causes the brothers to gather their allies and men to fetch her. This is the beginning of the war to come between the Greeks and Trojans. 

Bibliography. "How the War with Troy Began" from The Iliad by Homer. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Homer's Iliad, Part B

Iliad: The Rousing of Achilles (cont.)

This story along with The Slaying of Hector were my favorite ones from Reading B, but I feel I could write a few more creative things with this story. I could set the theme just as I explained in my notes for Reading A. I could portray Patroclus as the brother of Achilles (whom I shall change characters as well) and have him go into battle without giving any consent to Achilles. Having always been known as the "little brother" to Achilles his pride and hunger to make a name for himself takes over. He sees the perfect moment to flee his homeland and brother to go protect the Greeks. Plans do not go as planned for the little brother as he is killed in battle, and once Achilles receives the news he is in outrage and immediately flees to Troy. I'd have to think of different characters for my story telling and base them to be from Mexico.

(The Greeks and Trojans Fighting for Patroclus's Body: UN-Texbook)

Bibliography:
A.J. Church's The Iliad, link to part B

Reading Notes: Homer's Iliad, Part A

Iliad: How the War with Troy Began

This was the first story of the unit and I suddenly could see myself writing my own story based on the beginning of the Iliad. I could maybe set a different theme like in Mexico whenever the Charros from back then were machos and would always have disputes over women. I could portray Helen as the daughter of a rich hacienda man. Paris and Menelaus could be rival countrymen or even from the Civil War. There are lots of different story plots I could write about from this so I'll try this one out!

(The Gods Intervening During Battle: Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography:
A.J. Church's The Iliad, link to part A

Tech Tip: Blogger Template

I had a hard time trying to find the "Template" option on the sidebar but realized that it was the "Theme" option instead. I then tried out multiple different background themes and for now chose a one under the Simple Blog themes. It was pretty neat viewing the different choices and I'm sure I may be changing the theme throughout the semester.

Tech Tip: Browser Bookmarks

I've been somewhat familiar with bookmarks ever since high school and have bookmarked several pages before. The one strategy that I didn't know about was the folder icon where I can put several different website pages that I've bookmarked, say for this class, in a folder to keep them organized. This saves me a lot of time and confusion by allowing me to know exactly where the bookmark is.

Feedback Thoughts

Feedback is something that I consider an obstacle to overcome. Obviously if it's positive feedback then everything stays golden. On the other hand, if it's negative feedback it can really get to you and affect your current work or thoughts. I've received feedback mainly on tests or classroom assignments, as well as a finished job. There was a time when I was younger and beginning to work, that I would get very discouraged by even the slightest comment contradicting my work. I then took it upon myself to use that feedback as motivation to seek greater results and it's been helpful. I've realized that as the years go by, the feedback I get is more and more positive and I hope it carries on into the future.

The first article I chose to read was 5 Tips For Taking Feedback Like a Champ by Megan Bruneau. The first 2 tips that she gives are the ones I relate to the most. I used to try and change the subject or try to think about something else whenever I would feel uncomfortable about a certain situation, but then realized that by doing that I wouldn't benefit from anything. I couldn't agree more when she says "feeling uncomfortable is a normal and necessary part of life". It's something that we have to challenge and overcome and then as we find a solution to a certain situation, the next time won't be as challenging.

The next article I read was Eight Things Students Should Do When They Make a Mistake. This article caught my attention more than the others because the word "mistake" was in the title. If there is anyone who has committed mistakes over and over again in the past, it is I. I agree with all the tips that the author gives in this article and especially the last one. "Proceed with kindness" is an important one to me because when he started to ask about how we tend to criticize or give advise to a friend's problem, I began thinking of how I usually give advise to a friend and it's usually in a nice tone. If we could all give advice to our own selves without completely being harsh or shaming ourselves, than we could actually find an enlightened or reasonable solution to our own problems.

(Too Busy to Improve: Flickr)

Topic Brainstorm

The Horse Wishing To Be Revenged On The Stag by Elizur Wright -

I chose the European category because I am somewhat familiar with Greek or Roman stories and I ran upon The Fables of La Fontaine. Once I seen the different subjects in this category, I realized this may be one that I will find interest in. I believe I could come up with similar ideas as this story because I live on the farm. I would like to learn a little bit more about poetry as well but if I could do it in story format I think it would help. This story explained how the horse was once a free animal and needed help from man so he asked for the favor. Once the favor was over the man realized how much use he could get from the horse so he never let him go.

The Buffalo and the Grizzly Bear by Katharine Berry Judson -

I have been noticing that I am into the stories with animals or wildlife. This story was under the Native American unit. I clicked on this unit because I have taken an online class over Native American music and it was a course that I enjoyed learning about. Some of their stories are pretty fascinating and the fact that they were known to be the first on these lands also leads me to some of their stories. This story was about an aggressive Grizzly Bear who seemed to be looking for trouble by picking on Buffalo. He misjudged Buffalo by his looks noticing that he stooped and thought he was maybe weak. The Buffalo ends up tossing him around after getting bullied by Grizzly Bear a few times and getting aggravated. This story seems to be comparable to the ones we were taught in school about never judging a book by its cover and bullying.

Legend of the Corn by Katharine Berry Judson -

At first the title of this story reminded me of the movie with I believe has the same name. I was eager to click on the link and read it to see if this is where the story originated but it was a story of how the Omaha discovered corn. It was about a hunter that saw a buffalo in the distance between two rivers and he was waiting to get a good shot of the buffalo once it neared. After 3 days and nights the buffalo would not get closer, or even move, as he would only be turned a different direction when the hunter would wake up and see him. The next day the buffalo was gone so the hunter was wondering why the buffalo had not moved and he came upon a plant and tracks around it but no trail as to where the buffalo might have left. He went for his chiefs and villagers to tell them of the strange story and they came to a conclusion that Wahkoda had given this plant for the villagers to eat. They watched the plant carefully but would not dare touch it until a brave young man who said that he had nothing to worry about since he had done bad things, touched the corn and ate it. Nothing happened to him and the tribe began planting and feeding the corn.

The Elves by D.L. Ashliman -

This was a story that actually brought a smile to my face. It is once that I enjoyed reading and have never been familiar with before. It was about a poor shoemaker who had nothing but a piece of leather to make one pair of shoes. He cut out the pieces and fell asleep and once he woke up the shoes were already made. He ended up selling this shoes for above normal price and bought leather for two pair of shoes. He cut them out and the next morning they were made as well, and this continued on. Then he and his wife decided to stay awake to find out who was making the shoes and they saw two elves, with no clothes on, come into the house and started making the shoes. To show them gratitude the wife decided to make them outfits and the shoemaker made them a pair of shoes to surprise them with. They came back the next night but with no shoes to make, just the clothes and shoes made to them by the shoemaker and his wife. They delightedly put them on and never came back but the shoemaker was successful from that day forward. This story reminds me of what my parents have been instilling in us since we were little. Always give back to those who are in need and never forget how you got to where you are.

(The Shoemaker and Wife spying on the Elves: Pinterest)