Week 15 Storylab: TVTropes

For this week's storylab, I decided to visit TVTropes! This is a website dedicated to ideas, themes, and even memes in popular culture. I never knew such a site existed, so exploring it and seeing what it is about was a treat.

The primary thing I dug into during my time on the site was Avengers: Infinity War! It is chock-full of interesting content, undertones of the movie that many do not catch, and even funny interesting facts. The funniest tidbit I came across was Groot's death when he disappeared into nothingness when Thanos snapped his finger and its meaning. This would indicate that Groot had some sort of soul as if he were a humanoid lifeform! This was just one of the many things I didn't entirely catch onto when watching the film. Small things like this that slip through the cracks of my viewing make me want to explore TVTropes even more.

I am glad I decided to do my Storylab on TVTropes. It's a very engaging and thought-provoking website. It being dedicated to all types of media is a very cool concept and I am glad that I discovered it.

Is it fair to call Iron Man the father of Marvel? Or at least of The Avengers? Source

Reading Notes: Rumpelstiltskin

There once was a poor miller who had a beautiful daughter
The miller found himself in a conversation with the king
The miller told the king that his daughter could spin straw into gold
The king believed the miller and summoned the miller's daughter to his castle

The miller's daughter was put in a room full of straw and the necessary tools
The king stipulated that she should turn all of the room's straw into gold before morning, or else she would be put to death
Once inside the room, the girl was sad and began to cry, because she didn't know how to spin straw into gold like her father said she could

Come evening time, a little man came in to see what was wrong
The man heard about the girl's problem and offered to spin the straw into gold for something in return
The girl offered a necklace she was wearing
The little man agreed and went to work

The following morning, the king was happy
The king assigned the girl an even bigger room of straw to complete before morning
The girl made another deal with the little man but instead had to give the man the ring off her finger
The man completed the task

The following morning, the king was pleased with what the miller's daughter was able to produce.
The king put the girl in an even bigger room but offered to marry her if she could complete the same task, but with more straw

The girl made another deal with the little man but instead had to promise the man that she would give him her first-born once she is queen
The king saw what she was able to produce the following morning
The king decided to marry the miller's daughter

The king and new queen had been married for a year when the queen begot a child
The little man came for his payment
The queen was not agreeable to fulfilling her side of the deal
The little man took pity on her and said that she could have three days to try and figure out his name, and if she could, then she could keep her child

The queen spent the next few days trying to figure out the little man's name
She sent out messengers, inquired within the city, and almost anything possible to figure out the little man's name

Fortunate for the queen, on the third day, a messenger came with a report of hearing a man singing to himself in the woods
The song that the messenger heard contained the little man's name

The little man came a third and final time to see if the queen had come to know his name
The queen provided the name from the song her messenger had heard: "Rumpelstiltskin"
Rumpelstiltskin shouted with anger and stomped his right foot so hard into the ground that he fell in up to his waist

The little man then grabbed his left foot with both of his hands and ripped himself up the middle in two

The miller's daughter and the little man. Source

Bibliography: D. L. Ashliman, The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales, Source

Learning Challenge: The Pomodoro Technique

I have used this technique in the past before. I can admit that there is some benefit to using it, but I've realized that it's not for everyone. A major determinant of its helpfulness would be the type of task at hand. I've noticed it helping with more simple assignments and tasks that can be easily broken up into pieces. Something more long-winded like an essay or complex math problems would definitely not be the best situation to employ this technique in. 

In order to use the Pomodoro technique with better results, I'd have to use it regularly enough to become familiar with its steps and get in the groove of using it. I could see myself getting used to its breaks and losing focus on the tail-end of the 25-minute interval. So, it'd definitely take some discipline for me to use it with good results. 

I didn't know Pomodoro was a red sauce used in spaghetti! It's apparently low-calorie too. Source

Growth Mindset Challenge: Learn from Other Students (Laura)

This first picture I chose was because it helps put things in perspective greatly. I see myself as a perfectionist at times, so striving purely for progress is always a weird concept. I'm the type of person to do papers all in one go and take forever doing them. This inspirational picture kind of helps me see that progress is just fine as well and still a step in the right direction. 

The second picture I chose was because it helps me grasp the things ahead of me. I always get so caught up waiting for the perfect time or moment to do certain things, and I've come to realize that having the best possible timing is very rare. This inspirational picture helps me take those leaps of faith and remain assured that it'll all be okay, no matter the circumstances. 

Tech Tip: Cheezburger

Making this meme was much much quicker than I expected. I am glad I explored this tech tip option, as I might use it again in the future just for fun! :) Also, no watermark! Woohoo!

Cheezburger website: Link

Extra Reading: Mythical Horses

Going into this CrashCourse video, I had never read into or learned much about horses, whether mythical or normal everyday ones. This CrashCourse was rather relatable in that it mentioned familiar names/things such as Achilles, Pegasus, Michaelangelo, and even unicorns!

Towards the end of the video, however, the host, Mike Rugnetta, pushes the topic of horses and how they were written about even further. He contends that the modern day version of mythical horses and the many epics that contain them would be something like the Fast and the Furious franchise! This first made me laugh. After I thought about it for a second, it actually began to make a lot of sense. 

Do we humans praise the things that do so much for us? Is that what our modern fascination with cars is? Why do we go out of our way to pour so much time and effort in these modes of transportation that should be there to primarily perform its function? Envision medieval music videos with artists that show off their mightiest and most beautiful STEED. Imagine how goofy and relatable that would be. Comparisons like this really make me think about overall human nature and the ways we never change.

Imagine this scene with medieval horses... haha. Source

Bibliography: CrashCourse, Mythical Horses: Crash Course World Mythology #37, Source

Reading Notes: Death's Messengers

Long ago there was a giant walking along a path when a stranger jumped towards him and said "Stop! Not one step further!"

The giant said, "You, a creature that I could crush between my fingers, you want to block my way? Who are you that you dare to speak so boldly?"

The stranger introduced himself as "Death". Then, he said, "No one resists me, and you too must obey my orders."

The giant refused.

The giant and Death began to wrestle. It proved to be a long and violent battle. 

The giant finally got the upper hand and defeated Death, leaving him collapsed by a stone. 

Death was so weak he couldn't get up.

Death began to think about the implications his absence would have on Earth.

Out of nowhere, a young man walked down the same path.

The young man saw and gave help to Death; Death regained his strength.

Death asked if the man knew he was, and the man said no.

Then, Death said he couldn't make any sort of exemptions for the young man but still promised to send his messengers before the young man's death, rather than the usual abrupt extraction.

The young man was happy and saw this as a good thing; having a sign before his death would be helpful. 

Eventually, the time had come for the man's departure from the world of the living.

Death tapped his shoulder and told the man to follow him.

The man protested saying that he had not received any signs.

Death listed off the litany of signs/messengers he had given/sent: fevers, dizziness, gout, ear-ringing, toothaches, darkened eyes, nightmares, sleep paralysis, etc.

The man finally understood and surrendered to his fate.

The Angel of Death. Source

Bibliography: D. L. Ashliman, The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales, Source

Reading Notes: THE DRAWING OF THE SWORD

There was a time when England was without a king-- King Uther Pendragon had died.

One day, a large stone was noticed in a churchyard. In it, a naked sword was lodged. About it was written, "Whoso pulleth out this sword is by right of birth King of England." 

People were intrigued and determined to pull the sword from the stone. Even mighty knights tried. The sword did not budge.

The lords of the kingdom decided to put on a tournament to see who could attempt to win the sword.

Among the participants who signed up were Sir Ector, his son Sir Kay, and his foster-son Arthur. The day before the tournament, Sir Kay had taken his belt off and forgotten about it. 

Come the day of the tournament, he didn't have his own sword. En route to the tournament, he begged Arthur to go back home and fetch it for him. 

When Arthur reached home, no one was there to let him in, as everyone had left for the tournament.

Arthur rode away angrily. He sent out to get the sword in the churchyard and give it to Sir Kay.

Arthur grabbed ahold of the sword once he reached the churchyard and pulled it out with ease.

Arthur gave the sword to his foster-brother, Sir Kay. 

Sir Kay presented the sword to his father, Sir Ector, and said that he was the rightful king. Sir Ector was in shock and eventually found out the truth.

Sir Ector worked with Arthur to determine if Arthur had truly gotten the sword of his own accord. Arthur's ability to wield the sword was tested, which served to confirm his royal ancestry. 

Sir Ector begged King Arthur to make Sir Kay the seneschal (governor) of all his lands. Arthur agreed. 

Eventually, all came to know of Arthur's ability to wield the sword. Rich and poor knelt before him. 

Arthur was knighted, given his crown, and sworn in. 

Excalibur. Source

Bibliography: Andrew Lang, King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table, Source

Wikipedia Trail from David to Leo

Starting Article: David
I came across this article when I was looking for images labeled for reuse on Google! I was looking for a picture of a warrior, but David and the picture below came up for some reason. I was curious to see if he was depicted as wielding a sword but was sad to see that he wasn't.

2nd Article: David's Mighty Warriors
Next, I read about David's mighty warriors. Apparently, he had some pretty badass warriors fighting for his cause, as detailed in the Bible. The leader warrior was known for killing 800 men in a single encounter. I can't even imagine...

3rd Article: Lion
Then, I read about lions, as one of David's warriors had slew one. Reading the wiki page, I learned that lionesses actually weight a good bit more--in the ballpark of 100-150 lbs.

4th Article: Leo (astrology)
Finally, I came to my very own zodiac sign. I'm a Leo, so of course, I had to make the connection from lions to the astrological sign, Leo. Here, I learned that the symbol of the lion in Leo is based off a Nemean lion, a lion with an impenetrable hide!

I love the crown David is shown wearing in this statue. Source

Learning Challenge: Reading Out Loud

For this learning challenge, I read out loud! Reading in this way is definitely different. I'm sure most of us are not used to it. It sort of adds a whole other step to reading in that your brain has to process what was said, find its meaning, and spit it out through your mouth. All this extra cognitive work causes my reading speed to slow down, as I'm sure it would for almost anyone else as well. Despite this, I suppose an advantage to reading out loud would be the ability to hear yourself and engage more parts of your mind, which may ultimately help with understanding and retaining the material. An obvious disadvantage, as I said earlier, is the speed decrease. I don't think reading casual pieces of text out loud would benefit you much; you'd have to use it on a case-by-case basis. However, I can see the value in it if you're critiquing work or trying to catch grammatical errors, as we do in this class. Nine times out of ten, I'll still be sticking to the quicker way of reading. :P

I really really wish I had read more books as a kid. This library looks like a place of great fun and exploration. Source

Growth Mindset Challenge: More Cats

Source

I chose this first growth mindset cat because I don't fully approve of its intended message. I think growth is naturally made/done gradually and with smaller increments. I think that conveying the idea that growth can occur in leaps and bounds can have a negative effect on people's perception of growth. Much like human or financial growth, huge gains over a short period of time could be a sign on an underlying condition, maladaptive process, confound, etc. I definitely think huge spurts of growth and change can occur quickly, but I think those cases are pretty few and far between. Just wanted to express that overly nitpicky opinion of mine, seeing as this is a decent opportunity to!

Source

I chose this second growth mindset cat because of the effect it has on the viewer's perception of achieving goals. I have never stopped to think what a cat's ultimate goal might be in doing what we see in the picture above. Is the goal to see the brown of the roll underneath the white toilet paper? Is the goal to make as big a mess as possible? See, achieving your goals is not as recognizable to third-parties as you might think.

Typing Game Tech Tip

For this tech tip, I played the Ninja Cat typing game! It's a cool fun typing game suggested in the tech tip list!

I officially learned to type way back in computer class in elementary school. I grew up with family members who had a thing for computers, so I also learned to type in my own way at home. I played tons of computer games with my brothers, so the computer was not a foreign place for me. To this day, I type with my left hand in the normal home row position, but with my right hand, I only use my index finger! Despite this seemingly inefficient way of typing, my typing speed is not bad at all! The last time I checked my WPM (words per minute) score, on Ratatype, it was around 75 WPM. I would attest that higher than average typing speed to all the games I played and all the time I spent on a computer growing up.

I currently work in a position where I type a ton in doctors' offices, so I'm staying on top of my typing speed and am always trying to improve it! The aforementioned typing game was a much cooler one than the other ones I've seen. I'd recommend it to typers of any capability.

Extra Reading: Serpents and Dragons

I did this week's extra reading on serpents and dragons! I have definitely heard and read about these awesome creatures all throughout popular media. Shows, movies, books, etc. are all great examples of these mythical animals in today's culture.

In this CrashCourse, it talked about the two animals, their origin of sorts, and how they are portrayed across cultures. I had no idea that certain myths had them beginning as snakes, then evolving later into a bull-headed, winged, dragon with eagles' feet. And then, of course, that was later tied to that same myth's account for humankind's creation. So, yeah, I guess the two were connected in this way. I am giving a poor description; the actual video explains this much more gracefully.

One interesting tidbit that caught my attention was that dragons were/are fastidious! Especially with how they are depicted in The Hobbit films, lying on mounds of gold and treasure, I wouldn't think dragons to be neat and tidy. I suppose this is just another difference of portrayal across cultures. But nonetheless, it went further and mentioned that the way to irritate dragons and cause them to fly around haphazardly was to put tiger bones near them! I was surprised to learn that such a large, intimidating animal would be perturbed by mere tiger bones. 

I wonder if dragons are present in Indian myths. I haven't seen much of them! Source

Bibliography:

CrashCourse, Serpents and Dragons: Crash Course World Mythology #38, Source

Week 12: Story Lab: TEDx Talk

The TEDx talk I listened to was by our very own Dr. Jennifer Barnes! She's a professor in the psychology department here at OU. I can't say that I've had her as a professor, but I know a handful of friends who have.

Right off the bat, Dr. Barnes hits us with the fact that she lives a double life. She's a professor of psychology by day and a fiction writer by night! So, because of her two areas of interest, she decided to meld the two and give a presentation on both!

Dr. Barnes based her talk on why we care so much about fiction, the characters therein, and what all we ultimately receive from it. She goes on to argue that these fictional relationships that we have with these manmade characters have psychosocial benefits similar to those received from human to human interactions and relationships! This was one of the more astounding bits of her talk that stuck with me. I didn't think such a comparison could be made, as fictional characters are seemingly two-dimensional and bound by the pages of a book, whereas humans are living and breathing. Thinking about it more abstractly now, I realize that so many people connect with and appreciate the emotions and struggles dealt with by these fictional characters. And oftentimes, those can be struggles and emotions not felt by others around them.

Overall, Dr. Barnes did a great job in her TEDx talk. I would recommend it to anyone who has any sort of inclination towards psychology. She presents in a very upbeat, optimistic way without letting the audience get bogged down by statistics and intimidating wording. She definitely represented our university well.

Dr. Barnes calculates that humans have spent 235,000....... YEARS watching and reading Harry Potter! The true number is most likely much higher; she used a very conservative approach in getting that estimate. Image by Dmitry Abramov from Pixabay 

Bibliography:
Imaginary friends and real-world consequences: parasocial relationships, Jennifer Barnes, Source

Wikipedia Trail from Gilgamesh to Fast Offerings

Starting Article: Epic of Gilgamesh
I started with this Wikipedia page because Gilgamesh was the topic of the recent video I watched as an extra reading option! I read that Gilgamesh was the king of Uruk; when listening to someone say Uruk, it's hard to be sure what the spelling is like. I only say this because it reminded me of Tolkien's uruks.

2nd Article: Garden of Eden
The wiki page I went to next was the one on the Garden of Eden. I was attracted to this because I had no clue there would be such a connection there. Apparently, Gilgamesh's epic has parallels with certain parts of the Bible. 

3rd Article: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
I next came to this wiki page, as Mormons have their own interpretation of similar events. They actually believe the garden to be in Jackson County, Missouri. I know, I was surprised to read that too.

4th Article: Fast Offering
This was my first time hearing of this phrase. Mormons will donate money to their church, called a fast offering, which is then distributed amongst those in need within the church. Initially, I thought this would have something to do with fasting, but it has nothing to do with it!

China has no official Latter-Day Saint presence! For such a populous country, I'm honestly surprised. Source

Extra Reading: Epic of Gilgamesh

For this week's extra reading I chose to watch the CrashCourse video on the Epic of Gilgamesh! I had heard of the name before but had no idea what his life story/epic would be about, the morals therein, and the reasons why it became a popular myth.

A new concept that I learned about with this video was the monomyth, or hero's journey. Being introduced to the parts of a typical hero's journey was a cool treat; none of the components of it were surprising or foreign to me. Learning that those components were collected together and called a single thing was great to hear. This definitely eases the burden of recalling all the parts of a hero's journey and gives us a cleaner way to allude to them all. For this alone, I'm already glad I watched this video.

However, monomyths were not the only thing covered in this video. The main purpose of the video was to summarize and present the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh. The main takeaway from this video, for me anyway, was ways that one can learn from mistakes and grow past perceived limitations. Therein lies what made Gilgamesh a hero, regardless of his inability to acquire immortality. As humans, we can choose how we perceive the things that are thrown at us. I'm a firm believer that what you make of the things that happen to you is much more important than the actual things that happen to you. This falls in line with the idea that you should grab life by the horns and make it your own. Like Gilgamesh, no matter what we lose or what obstacles we have to face, we must continue to press on and not sacrifice our own happiness. That's all we can really do. 

Apparently, there are parallels in Gilgamesh's epic and The Bible! I'm curious to see how similar some parts may be. Source

Bibliography:
CrashCourse, The Epic of Gilgamesh: Crash Course World Mythology #26, Source

Learning Challenge: Time

Overall, I'd have to admit that I'm approaching this course in a non-concrete way. I've recognized one of the factors that make me lazy and not want to get to work is the specific assignments that I don't like having to do. Because of this, I see myself putting things off and completely disregarding the pre-determined schedule that I set for the course. I always tell myself, "Oh, I'll have time later to make-up whatever I need to do. Or, wait, I could also do extra credit to make it up!" But, in using those excuses, I give myself so little time to do what I need to do. One step I wish to make is actively substituting extra credit assignments for whatever core assignment I don't feel like doing that week, and just altogether ignoring that less than favorable assignment. And, I don't say that to give the idea that I hate certain assignments or feel like I'm forced to do things I don't want to do. I just don't always feel like writing in-depth feedback for peers, while trying not to be overly-critical but still helpful, or writing stories just for the sake of writing stories. I love writing with intention, as inspiration fuels it. It's ultimately up to me bear down and get ish down, or change how I approach the course. Letting things get to me and thrash my time management is no bueno, so I have to do something about it. Hopefully, these changes will help me manage my time better for the remainder of the semester!

I wonder how much better we would be at time management if we knew exactly how many more hours, minutes, and seconds we had left on Earth. Source

Growth Mindset Challenge: Cats

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I chose this first growth mindset cat because there are always challenges in life wherever you go. In school, work, or at home, one of the key things humans have to learn how to do is adapt and overcome. This picture shows that no matter how big the challenge may seem (the bicycle wheel), there are steps and smaller milestones (the spokes) along the way that ultimately help you achieve and track your goal.

Source

I chose this one solely because it's goofier. It's often hard to accept failure and not let it get you down. This picture kind of helps us put failure into perspective and show how we can/should accept the truth of a situation no matter how different we may want it to be.

Tech Tip: Blogger Favicon

Setting up a favicon for this class was cool! I actually used a website to just draw my own using shaded cells. As you can see above, I used "LJ" because those are my initials, and those two colors because they are my favorite combo. Before exploring this website, I had a limited idea of what favicons are and where they're used. I just sorta thought they were an avatar or mini-icon to be used somewhere: on forums, websites, apps, etc.

Having set it up now on my blog, I love the small touch of personality I was able to give my blog. I hope to continue learning about nifty lil tricks like this in the future.

Reading Notes: Turtle and Thunder

There once was a turtle that was continually getting hit by something or some animal. Unsure of what it was, he decided to find a friend who would help defend him. 

He set out into the woods in search of someone that could help him. 

He yelled out, "Who will help me?"

Deer replied, but broke his horns on a tree when trying to prove his skill.

Turtle called out again. Bear replied but was very clumsy when asked to show his power in fighting a tree.

Turtle asked once more, "Who will help me?"

A collection of smaller voices said "We will!" Turtle went closer to the tree stump where it was coming from and saw that it was a gathering of turtles.

Turtle said, "You're the very people I am looking for."

Turtle brought them back to his home.

However, Turtle being unable to house all his little friends, he had to leave them outside. One day a big rock came rolling along in their area and killed Turtle's friends. 

Turtle ran outside to see who/what it was and heard from his neighbor that it was the Thunder Bird. 

Ever since that day, Turtle has stayed underwater when a thunderstorm was present.

I wonder how big our big turtle friend from this story was. Source

Bibliography: Katharine Berry Judson, Myths and Legends of British North America, Source