Reading A: Alice in Wonderland

Down the Rabbit Hole
-Alice loves pictures and conversations in books
-White rabbit ran by
-fell down the well
+could write a story and tell it as a man is falling down a well
-asked herself silly questions
+write about how he got there, what he would do if he lived
-tried the small golden key
+could write amelia bedelia style and take things literally
-drink me
-eat me
-talking nonsense

Advice from A Caterpillar
-"Who are YOU"
-strange poem about young and old
+write about a shrinking man
-pigeon thought she was serpent

Pig and Pepper
-livery or fish
+could get a strange package, wonder about it, benign
-pepper in the air
-strange poem
-baby pig
-met cheshire cat
-'we're all mad here'
-grin without a cat

Source

From Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland

Story: The Invisible Giant

So, before you understand my story, you need to understand some things about me.
Firstly, I am a giant.
No, really, I'm massive. When I'm standing tall, I'm at least 7 feet taller than the Empire State Building. 
Which I've never actually seen, by the way.
Secondly, I am invisible.
No, really, no one can see me. I've tried to get the attention of people my whole life, to let them know that I'm here to make their lives just a little more tolerable, but to no avail. No one has ever been able to see me.
That isn't to say that they haven't ever sensed me, though.

My whole life, I have wondered where I came from. Did I have a family, like these people that I have been desperately trying to get the attention of for so many years? Did I have a purpose?
I could let all this 'unknowing' make me sour and depressed, but I can't do that. I just can't. 
Not when there are things to be done. 

Have you ever wondered how you usually come this close to hitting squirrels, but always manage to stop in time?
That was me.
Have you ever wondered how sometime you have the perfect amount of change to buy that vending machine Coke for lunch?
That was also me.
Have you ever wondered how you can drop that iPhone onto concrete over and over again, and it only breaks one time out of ten?
That's not that $50 phone case that you ordered on Amazon. That's me.

Now the times that you do hit that poor squirrel, or the times that you don't have that extra 30 cents for that Coke, or when you crack your iPhone after you drop it on carpet, those times I'm helping someone else. I'm j trying to make things a little more fair around here.

I intervene in lives everyday, but I'm never noticed at all. I can tell you that without me, there is a lot more chaos in the world. Getting 'heads' on a coin flip actually doesn't have a probability of 1/2, by the way.

Sometimes, I like to swim the Pacific Ocean and intervene between the sharks and the minnows. Sometimes, for fun, I like to shave icebergs into snow cones. I like to go to Vegas on vacation, and make sure that some people roll their die just right. I like to make people and animals happy, really. Or, at least, make their lives less inconvenienced.

I'm not 'karma' or 'luck' or 'divine intervention' or anything like that. I'm just a regular dude. Kinda. Except for the 'giant' and 'invisible' thing. Whatever.

Anyway, I'm not telling you this for any praise from you. I just want you to know that, while I can't keep every minor inconvenience out of your life, I'm looking out for all of you. 

Source

Author's Note:
In the original story, Alice is an 'invisible' giant to the Red King, and she freaks him out when she lifts him up and puts him on a table.

Bibliography:
From Lewis Carroll's Alice in  Wonderland.

Reading B: Through the Looking Glass

My Own Invention
-Lion and Unicorn
-arguing over prisoner (red/white knight)
-battled
-knight's box to hold clothes and sandwiches
-box upside down
-bee hive
+story from a bee hive
-keep horse from being bit by a shark
-hair fastened on
-kept falling off
-get horse on wheels
-tells of invention ideas
-pudding courses
-golden crown on her head

Queen Alice
-encounters queen
-red and white
-speaking nonsense to her
-asking her addition/subtraction etc
-riddles with no answers
-sang a lullaby
-Alice stuck between them
-met a frog
-leg of Mutton
-poetry about fishes

Shaking and Waking
-caught/bought/cook/dish/sup/cover
un dish cover the fish or dishcover the riddle
-return thanks
-crazy scene/ crashing plates
-woke up and was talking to kitten

Source

From Lewis Carroll's Alice in  Wonderland.

Reading A: Through the Looking Glass

Looking Glass House
-Alice telling stories to cats
+could tell stories to Cedie
-looking glass house
-sent into world
-looked at fire
-Red King and Queen
-invisible to the king
+write a story about an invisible giant that intervenes
-JABBERWOCKY backwards

Tweedledum and Tweedledee
-asked them for advice how to get out of forrest
-goofy characters
-shook both their hands at same time to not offend them
--
-Alice sympathetic to oysters
-tried to not wake up the red king
-question whether she was real or not
-white thing under tree= rattle
-fought over it

The Walrus and the Carpenter
-story interjected in Tdum and Tdee chapter
-long poem
-oysters
-ate all the oysters

Humpty Dumpty
-egg got larger and larger
-nursey rhyme
-he's in a book
-asked her age
-unbirthday
-broke down nonsensical poem
-left Humpty

Source

From Lewis Carroll's Alice in  Wonderland.

Story Planning:

Source

Source notes:
Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind
-fisherman, north wind, south wind
-Indian summer
-diver ignored warnings
+involve poems
-cooked fish, plentiful
-began to thaw North Wind
-wrestled, warmed up North Wind
-cheerfulness and courage overcome

I thought it would be cool to incorporate poems into my next story, as this story had done. I really like Native American culture, and I wanted to do something with their culture and their stories. In this story, Iagoo was an all-knowing storyteller, and I wanted to draw from this.

Research:
I found this on Iagoo- it's basically an adaptation of the original story. In this story, his name is Agoo. Here's a good description I found of him:

"AGOO, the story-teller of the Indians, is a little, old man with a face as black as the shell of the butternut and a body like a twisted stick. His eyes are twice as large as other men's, so that when a bird flies past him he sees twice as many feathers on it, and all the little colors underneath are bright to him. His ears are twice as large as other men's, so that what seems to them but a tiny sound is to him like the roll of thunder. His legs are supple and his arms are strong, so that he can run faster and further, and can lift and carry twice as much as others."

This story is from the Ojibwe. They have one of the largest Native American populations, and they live in Canada and the United States. They have a very rich culture, especially in their music, art, and literature.

Styles: 
I could do strictly poems for this story
+ creative, challenge me
- hard to fit certain aspects into this story, might be hard to reach word limit

Write this from Iagoo's perspective, how he learned these things
+ Could be very adventurous
- Ive done this before

Character Sketches:
Iagoo- wants to tell of his travels and his journies, great story teller
Children- want to soak up everything he teaches, entertainment

Final Paragraph:
And that my children, is how it all went.
Now I must go to bed, for I am surely spent.
I hope that I have answered all of your questions,
I am ready for tomorrow, for our next story session.
Yes, I have traveled far, and seen a lot,
I will tell my stories, so it won't be for naught.

Writing Goals:
I want to expand on my ideas even more. I would also like to further develop my characters, and make them more relatable to the readers.

Reading B: American Indian Fairy Tales

The Boy who Snared the Sun
-during winter, Iagoo's teepee still warm
-Dormouse
-people were vegitarians
-stole fire
-Mastodon largest animal
-mischief from little brother
-killed birds, made coat
-sun ruined coat, devised plan to get back at sun
-noosed the sun
-Dormouse set the sun free, died in process

The Mastodon

source

How the Summer Came
-North Wind
-Fisher brought summer down from sky
-son shown same hunting promise
-sun is roof and floor
-grandfather is squirrel
-father (manito) attempt to bring down summer
-took turns jumping into sky
-he is now constellation

The Fairy Bride
-Indian daughter that lived on Lake Superior
-pranks
-Sang a song
-Happy Land
-wants to follow heart
-had to marry man she didnt love
-fairy Evergreen vanished

Bibliography:
From "American Indian Fairy Tales" by Henry Schoolcraft.

Reading A: American Indian Fairy Tales

Iagoo, the Story Teller
+could include an all-knowing character, tells stories
-children big fan of him and his stories

The North Wind

Source

Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind
-fisherman, north wind, south wind
-Indian summer
-diver ignored warnings
+involve poems
-cooked fish, plentiful
-began to thaw North Wind
-wrestled, warmed up North Wind
-cheerfulness and courage overcome

The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds
-iagoo is very patient with children
-story passed down
-animals and men friendly terms
-animals run free
-Jack Rabbit
-river
-climbed up mossy rock, fell asleep
-rock rose while they slept
-looked for children
-coyote finds them
-cant figure out how to get to them
-measuring worm
-patience and perseverance, rescued them
+write about a measly character that overcomes

The Child of the Evening Star
-brought presents to father
-final daughter
-hard to please
-heart, not face
-evil spell cast on Osseo
-descended from evening star
-broken spell
-but girl now cursed
-still in love w her
-beauty restored
-everyone turned to birds
-magician
-flew away


Bibliography:
From "American Indian Fairy Tales" by Henry Schoolcraft.

Story: 1000 Ways to (Not) Die

Way to Not Die Number 118: 
Say that you're on a relaxing flight to San Francisco one early Friday morning, drifting off to sleep and dreaming about the amount of cocktails that you will be consuming on the beach when you arrive, when suddenly, you're rudely awakened by the $12 Vodka Tonic spilling on your lap. You immediately look around trying to place blame, when you realize that the plane is actually going down, and you're experiencing aggressive turbulence. What do you do? Do you accept your fate and attempt to drink all the mini-bottles in the gradual decline? Or do you figure out how not to die?

Here's what you do: reach up into the overhead bin and pull out all the tacky tourist shirts you can, and tie them together to make a parachute. Then, pull out all the masks from above your neighbors and attach them to your parachute to hold onto. Then, kick out your window and drift nicely to safety. This way, you can still make it to your vacation, and you don't have to worry about getting a cab to pick you up from the airport!


Way to Not Die Number 428:
Pretend that it's a late Sunday night, and you're up studying for your Calculus midterm in your dorm with your roommate fast asleep, snoring away, when suddenly, the fire alarms start blaring. You fling open your dorm room door and see that the fire is coming from both sides of the hallway, so you can't escape that way. You're on the 23rd floor, too, so jumping is not a viable option here. So, what do you do? Do you accept your fate and come clean to your roommate about eating their food all semester? Or do you figure out how not to die?

Here's what you do: Start pulling out all your roommate's water bottles from your mini fridge and start pouring them on the fire by your door until you can clear a path to the community bathroom. Then, start shoving all your month-old dirty laundry down the pipes until you flood the bathroom. Grab the empty Sonic cups in your room and scoop up the water and throw it on the rest of the fire. Then, you still have time to study and ace your midterm!


Way to Not Die Number 538:
So you've been looking forward to this trip to Six Flags for months now, and you've finally gotten there and spent $120 on the ticket and parking and a plain hot dog. You're finally getting to ride the 'Superman' after a three hour wait in line in the 110 degree weather. In all this excitement, in the middle of the ride, you didn't even notice that you weren't buckled in, and you've already taken off, shooting a mile into the air. The way up is a fine ride, but it won't be so graceful for you on the way down. Do you accept your fate and close your eyes and pretend that it's all part of the ride? Or do you figure out how not to die?

Here's what you do: Steal the inflatable beach ball from your sister next to you that she 'won' for $20 at one of the arcade games, and strap it around your waist with your shoelace. Then, when the timing and projection is right, kick off the seat and aim for the koi pond next to the ride. If you land correctly, then you can probably sue and own half the amusement park and return anytime that you want to!

Here's the 'Superman', with the pond in the bottom right.

(source)

I hope that you've learned many valuable ways to Not Die in this episode of "1000 Ways to Not Die"! Check back next week when we learn how to survive after being stranded on the Moon when the other astronauts and NASA forgets about you.



Author's Note:
This story was inspired from 'Jealous Uncle' from the Kodiak. In this story, the 'Unnatural Uncle' attempts to kill his nephew several ways, but to no avail. It was also inspired by the TV show '1000 Ways to Die' (which is ridiculous, by the way).

Bibliography:
From Jealous Uncle from the Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson

Reading B: Heroes

Lodge Boy and Thrown Away
CROW
-pregnant couple
-boy twins, threw one to spring and tipi curtain
-Red Woman killed wife
-went to wake mother
-disobeyed father
-killed many bad things
+reverse psychology story

Crow People (1840)

The Son in Law Tests

TIMAGAMI OJIBWA

-animal trickster

-burn mocassins

-tricked the trickster

-origin of the pike

Jealous Father

CREE

-Aioswe with two wives

-became jealous of son

-Walrus helped boy

-killed Walrus 

-mom and son became birds and flew away

Dirty Boy

OKANAGON

-two beautiful daughters

-Son and Star wanted the daughters

-given task for the two girls

-claimed daughters for grandsons

-another contest to resettle

-trapper

-trail of star dust

From: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson

Reading A: Hero Tales

The Jealous Uncle
KODIAK
-uncle kills nephews, hide next baby
-told him that the baby was a girl
-found out he was a boy
-boy escaped
-still determined to kill him
-eagle saved boy
+could write about several ways to kill someone and somehow they always remain safe/ 1000 ways to (not) die
-determined to kill boy, boy determined to live
-traveled to a village
-dropped uncle into the sea
-moved family to village

Bluejay and His Companions

QUINAULT
-Bluejay, Beaver
-gave poor parts of seal to Grouse
-made wooden seal
-stuck out at sea, some died
-Bluejay vs Squirrel climbing
-diving match
-heat match
-sleep match
+could write a story about camp with different matches
-gave grouse the biggest seal

Dug From Ground
HUPA
-used to dig roots but not those with two stalks
-baby tumbled around
-Bluejay
-very handsome
-mortal man cant eat what he ate
-lived happily ever after

Attack on the Giant Elk and Great Eagle
JICARILLA APACHE
-animals preyed on people
-gopher, lizard, eagle, elk
-fought eachother
-each gets own feathers

Yupik mother and child

From: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson

Tech Tip: Poster

Hi, all!

This week, I made a demotivational poster for fun! I chose this because I am fascinated with the universe- and it's ability to make me feel so small.
On the bright side, I always do get a healthy dose of perspective when I consider our insignificance!

Made with automotivator

Reflections- week 8

Reading: I could definitely improve on the quality of the posts that I am writing regarding my reading. Although I usually can concoct a few stories in my mind from the reading, it could be even better if I spent more time on the reading and connected more things to my writing. I am really looking forward to the Native American reading in the next few weeks!

Plains Indians

Image from Wikipedia

Writing: I really enjoyed re-reading many of my stories from this semester. I am really excited to expand my story book and divulge into many more stories about my dog! I feel like I am really getting inspired in this class- inspired to think creatively and improve myself as a writer and a reader.

Growth Mindset- week 8

Hi, all!

Some of my strengths in this class (and in my life) is that I feel like I am creative. I get excited when I get an opportunity to express myself and show people a side of myself that I am quite fond of!

I believe one of my biggest weaknesses is my impatience. I thrive off of instant gratification and get frustrated when I have to wait for results.

I think I can improve on this weakness (and many more) in this class. I can become more patient with myself and my progress as I spend an entire semester creating a portfolio and website to show off my creativity. I'm so excited to see the final product!

Here is a chart that helps me ask myself if I am doing enough to grow and do my best in every aspect of my life:

Chart from class