Mythology Orientation

For the extra reading this week I chose to watch the Crash Course Myth videos about creation and destruction. The first creation story mentioned was the traditional Biblical version. Focusing on how humans are the most powerful life followed by other animals. Conversely, in many other religions and legends human are on a more equal level as animals.   Some legends even say that human arose from within animals. It was also interesting to hear the view that divine intervention is required to put an end to the failure of humanity (and to prevent the apocalypse). It was also interesting to see how 1) general destruction and 2) punishment and judgement are central themes in almost all apocalyptic mythology. It was really cool to learn about the differences in apocalyptic stories between different religions, such as between Christianity and Islam. I am interested in potentially writing a story about the apocalypse in the future. Apocalypse War Source: Pixabay

Updated Version in my Portfolio  The Life of Noah There was once a man named Lamech. As he was continuing to grow older, he desired a life filled with family: a wife and a child. For many, many years this longing was left unfilled. Lamech begin to feel as if he would never be a father. Then, as if it was fate, Lamech met the woman of his dreams, and they became married. Lamech and his wife lived a happy and quiet life on a beautiful farm in the hills. Although his heart was happy, he still felt a longing to become a father. Lamech’s wife soon became pregnant. One day while working together on the farm, Lamech’s wife said, “It is time.” Lamech was overcome with joy. He was finally going welcome his baby boy into the world and become a father. But, what came next no one expected. The baby did not look or act like a normal baby. Instead, the baby had characteristics of both a man and angel. The baby had locks of hair that were white as snow that challenged a grown mans. His eye

For the second part of the Life of Buddha   reading, I chose to focus on the story where Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha . Overall, I really enjoyed reading this unit. From the beginning when Queen Maya had a dream, to the birth of Siddhartha, Siddhartha's life, and then Siddhartha becoming Buddha. It has been really interesting to follow this story and see how it progresses. I find the statement, "There is old age and death because there is birth." to be very interesting... and philosophical. It is a unique perspective on life and death. Also, it was interesting to see how the significance progresses from old age/death to birth, from birth to existence, from existence to ties, etc. It was interesting to see the thought process in this paragraph basically explaining the reason for life. I also found the sentence, "By leading a life of holiness, desire is stifled, and we cease to endure birth and suffering." to be quite interesting. I'll admit I am havin

This week I chose to read The Life of Buddha . I chose to read this unit because this is a topic I am very unfamiliar with, and I would like to learn more about it. For my reading notes this week I am going to focus on Maya's Dream . I chose to focus on this story in particular because I like how it is written, and it introduces Buddha to the world. Maya is the Queen and the King is Suddhodana. This story details a symbolic dream Queen Maya had about having a child. The Queen described this dream... this feeling as knowing she would never hate or become angry again. Once she awakes happily, she summons the King. A sentence that stood out to me was, "He [Buddha] has chosen your family to be his family because of its fame, good fortune and virtue..." I think this is an interesting comparison to Christianity in that Jesus became the lowest of the low; compared to how Buddha chose a life of wealth and fame (from what I understand from this unit). This story is writ

This week, I chose to explore the Tech Tip regarding the Canvas Dashboard. I think it is nice that you can customize the title and color/picture of the courses on your dashboard. I do wish there was a way you could rearrange the courses/cards into the order you would like them. I think it would also be neat if we could create folders that could include multiple courses like you can with apps on the iPhone. 

For the second part of the reading this week, I chose to continue reading Folklore of the Holy Land: Moslem, Christian and Jewish . In this blog, I would specifically like to focus on the story of David , which was written by J. E. Hanauer in 1907. In my last reading notes blog I discussed the Ancient Middle East version of Noah and the Ark. Similarly, I am familiar with the Christian version of the story of David. It was interesting to see how the two versions are related to each other but, at the same time, also very different. As I noted in my last blog, I feel as if the Ancient Middle East version provides more details than does the Christian version. Additionally, certain parts of this story made obvious the differences between the two different faiths--particularly the ending. I have read several biblical stories for this class and most have been excerpts from the King James Bible. This story (and also the one about Noah) are different in that they are written in more

For the extra-credit reading this week I chose to watch the CrashCourse videos about Flood Stories . It was interesting learn how popular flood myths are in many different cultures. Also, referencing the first set of CrashCourse mythology videos, it was interesting to see how historic events--like floods--can become a very popular source of mythology stories. I especially liked the story about the ark that was an acre in area and six decks tall! It was also interesting to see the similarities between different flood stories and the biblical story: Noah and the Ark. For example, sending out a dove and raven to see if there was any dry land. It was interesting that Mike pointed out, any civilization located near water has a flood myth. 

For part A of the reading this week I chose to read Holy Land: Noah  from the Ancient Middle East options. This is a story by J. E. Hanauer written in 1907. I chose to read the Ancient Middle East version of Noah because I have decided to write my storybook over the Life of Noah. I thought it would be interesting to see the comparisons between the version I am use to and the version told in this story.  I was surprised to see such similarity between the two versions of Noah. Many aspects of the story are very similar. I did notice quite a bit of added details in this version as compared to the traditional Christian version. Although there are many similarities, there are also many differences. Again, as I have mentioned, there is a lot of added detail about individuals, animals, etc. in this version. The difference that stood out most to me is the story about the donkey and the extent to which it is described.  It was interesting to read a version of the story that is so dif

Comment Wall Jarad's Portfolio  Noah's Ark Museum by Jessica Mairs  Source: Dezeen

For this weeks Story Lab, I chose to watch the TEDEd videos about language, grammar, and punctuation.  The first thing I noted was that it would so interesting if we were able to confirm the existence of universal, common ancestral language. I have always been interested in how we develop language acquisition skills and the nature and nurture components of language. I also enjoyed the video about semicolons. For a long time I did not fully understand when to use (or not to use) a semicolon. This video helped clarify that a semicolon can be used to connect two related clauses or used to shorten a sen tence by eliminating a conjunction. Defense of the Semicolon Source: Rebecca Wilson - Flickr  

For the second part of the reading this week, I chose to read Biblical Women , Martha and Mary . The story is an excerpt from the King James Bible  (1611) - Luke 10 and John 11. I have heard the story about Martha and Mary many times. I especially like the story from the Gospel of Luke and the message it shares. I also found the debate between "Mary of Bethany" or "Mary Magdalene" to be very interesting. I had not heard this debate prior to reading this story. I also never knew Martha traveled to France and performed miracles of her own. I am interested to look into this further. Although I do not have trouble reading the King James version of the Bible, it is not what I prefer. As such, I don't think I would want to write a story using this writing style. As with the other biblical stories I have read, there is a lot of second-person, direct quoting in this story. Jesus in the House of Martha and Mary Source: Photo by Matthijs Musson - Wikime

This week I chose to read the Gospel of Mark , John the Baptist and Jesus . This story is an excerpt of the Book of Mark chapters 1 and 2 of the King James Bible (1611). As with other stories I have read from the King James Bible, it is written in an older, more formal English style. It was not too hard to understand and I was able to easily follow along.  What stood out to me most was the use of detail. Everything is described from the clothes, food, etc. For example, "And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey." Also, like most Bible stories, it includes a lot of direct quotes from the main characters in the story.  I think one of the biggest take away from stories was seeing the importance of using more detailed and descriptive wording. I believe this adds and extra layer to a story making it seem more personable.   (St. John the Baptist by Titian) Source - Wikimedia Com

This week I chose to focus on "The Life of Noah." Last week, I chose "Noah and the Ark" as one of my potential storybook focuses. Laura gave me the idea to create a storybook about the "Life of Noah." One resource in particular is the Wikipedia page about Noah. It gives basic information on who Noah is, his family, major accomplishments, faults, and also lists exactly where he is mentioned in the Bible. This could definitely be a valuable resource. The first story I chose to read out of the Noah and the Ark Unit was The Ark (Genesis) . This story is from the King James Bible: Genesis 5-6. It is in this story that the Lord describes why and how to build the ark to Noah. This could potentially be the opening of my storybook. The second story I chose to read was The Flood (Genesis) . Like the first story, this is a passage from the King James Bible (1611). This is the passage in which the Lord describes the nature of the flood to Noah. It is also the pa

The first article I chose to read was The Difference Between Praise and Feedback  by Anya Kamenetz. What I found most interesting (and relatable) was the different between praise and feedback. I completely agree that it is much more meaningful to receive detailed, attentive feedback (such as pointing out a specific thing) than just saying "good job!". Using detailed and attentive details in your feedback exudes a sense of appreciation knowing that they [whoever is providing the feedback] actually took the time to observe and study what you were doing. Not only does this confer beneficial, constructive feedback, it also provides a sense of pride in your work.  The second article I chose to read was How to Give Feedback Without Sounding Like a Jerk  by Adam Grant. This has been one of the most useful articles I have read in a while. Part of my job with the Student Learning Center is to observe our tutors and offer feedback about what they need to improve upon. This may so

The Crash Course: Overview of Mythology videos are an interesting and fun way of learning more about mythology. The videos cover the topics of defining "What is a Myth", "Theories of Myth", and "The Hero's Journey and the Monomyth." In the first video I learned that all true myths revolve around the creation of the world and, therefore, all myths are somewhat religious in nature. I also learned that to be a myth you really need two things: significance and staying power. The second video focused on the different theories of myths. Something in this video that I found interesting was that in ancient times myths would be created to explain something that they didn't understand; this is called euhemerism. Some even viewed myths as demonic meant to distract and deter individuals from the true truth about religion, such as logos. It was also interesting to learn the connections between different disciplines, such as mythology, anthropology, and psyc

This week I chose to read “ The First Book of Adam and Eve .” An excerpt from The Forgotten Books of Eden by Rutherford H. Platt, Jr. The first thing that stood out to me was when Adam and Eve left the garden and saw the “broad earth spread before them”, they were so use to the beauty and breath of the garden they were stricken with fear and fell down. To me this helps paint a picture of just what the garden was like. Seeing how they reacted to not being in the garden helps illustrate what the garden was like. Something else that stood out to me is how often Adam and Eve fell down in fear. This happened multiple times in the first few chapters alone. Each time Adam and Eve were overcome with fear and fell down with their faces in the ground, God showed mercy on them. He helped them to overcome their fear by showing them mercy and reassuring Adam and Eve of His plan for them. This story is written similar to Bible text. There are versus and they are numbered. In this parti

I chose to read the Bible Women from the Biblical Unit. Specially, I chose to read about Sarah, who is the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac. Both Abraham and Isaac are major individuals throughout the Bible. Something interesting I found on the Wikipedia site was that the Hebrew name “Sarah” can be translated as “noblewoman.” This story is an excerpt from the King James Bible, which is written in more formal, old English style. This particular excerpt was not too hard to follow and understand. Some things that stand out to me are the fact that Abraham treats his guest so well. He ask Sarah to prepare a huge meal and gives them a calf, milk, and butter. Additionally, the fact that Sarah is able to conceive at such an old age. The passage never states her actual age. It did mention that Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. Also, the fact that Sarah laughed when the Lord said she would bear a child then denied it to her husband. The Lord basically called her out on

For this week's Tech Tip I decided to install the Canvas app on my iPhone. They installation was easy and simple. I normally log onto the actual Canvas website on my phone. The Canvas app will provide a much more convenient and user-friendly dashboard. I would definitely recommend downloading this app.

As of now, I am thinking I would like to focus on the Biblical Unit. My first possible topic is “ Infancy Gospels .” I am quite familiar with the gospels of Luke and Matthew, which is what drew me to this topic. After additional reading, I am interested in learning more about The First Infancy Gospel from Platt’s The Lost Books of the Bible. I think this would be an interesting topic to both research and write about throughout the semester, and there is plenty of content to cover. A potential source for this topic is The Lost Books of the Bible by Rutherford Platt, Jr. My second possible topic is " Bible Stories ." Like the page mentions, there are tons of dramatic stories in the Bible. This could be broken down into more specific topics such as Women of the Bible, Men of the Bible, Murders of the Bible, etc. This option would really allow me to customize exactly what I would like to research and write about. The Bible is massive and contains many different stories

The first article I chose to read was " Seven Ways to Crush Self-Doubt ". I found this article to be very interesting. I have heard most of the seven points the author mentions before. One that stuck out to me was "Be Vulnerable to a Trusted Community." I believe this something not many people do, yet it is so important. Being vulnerable to anyone, regardless if they are family, friends, or strangers, is difficult. I especially liked that the author said, "vulnerability is the avenue toward getting past it." The second article I chose to read was " How to Get Past Negativity Bias ". I have always found psychology to be fascinating and this just adds to why I believe it. I have heard about brain plasticity but I have never thought about self-directed neuroplasticity. I agree with Hanson in that he said, "We overreact to unpleasant stimulus." He goes on to talk about how we can do dozens of good things but one bad experiences override