Week 9 Review

Mad Magazine (Class Announcements Blog)

I used to love reading MAD magazine, but I haven't read it in a couple years. Except for today, since I received a copy of the latest issue for free, coincidentally on the one of the creators' birthdays. Spy vs Spy was always my favorite part.

It was pretty interesting to find out that purposeful emoticons went back to the 1880s and have existed digitally since 1982. Kind of funny how formal they were with it, and how they used :-). Would have been interesting if they could have included the origin of some other emoticons like XD or (´･ω･`) though.

Wikipedia Trails: Medusa to Votive Offerings

I went on the class Twitter and the first thing I saw was a link to an article about Medusa, which I figured was interesting enough to be the start for my Wikipedia Trails this week.

Classical Greek Depiction of Medusa (Wikipedia)

Medusa: Medusa was a Gorgon who was made into a monster by Athena, turning those who looked at her into stone. She was eventually beheaded by Perseus, who was armed with equipment given to him from the gods.

Perseus with the head of Medusa (Wikipedia)

Perseus: I wanted to know what Perseus did after slaying Medusa, and it turns out he gives Medusa's head to Athena so she can place it on her aegis.

Lemnian Athena (Wikipedia)

Aegis: The aegis was a shield or an animal skin owned by Zeus but occasionally borrowed by Athena which would roar during battle and produce storms when shaken.

Ancient Greek Votive Offering (Wikipedia)

Votive offering: Medusa's head was apparently a votive offering to Athena, which is to display or donate an item to a sacred place for religious purposes.

Learning Challenge: Sitting Article

Chair in use (Wikipedia)

Though I knew that prolonged sitting was bad for you, I didn't know that it was as bad as the article says it is. The article has good advice to get up and walk around or stretch every 30 minutes or so, and I think I'll take that advice. Maybe not as often as 30 minutes though, since sometimes I get into 'focus mode' and end up doing stuff for a long time. I'm still young though, so I should be fine not stretching or moving too often.

Article: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/09/04/547580952/get-off-the-couch-baby-boomers-or-you-may-not-be-able-to-later

Growth Mindset: SMART article

Wooden Art Palette (123RF)

I think I came to the same realization as the article explains a few years ago. I like the acronym they presented though, SMART. S for Specific goals, M for measurability of those goals, A for achievability of those goals, R for relevant goals, and T for time-bound goals. A good goal incorporates all of these and leads to success. I think I first came across this in the realm of drawing, where without clearly defined goals you end up procrastinating or getting nowhere. For example. having a goal of "I want to be as good at drawing as this person" as your sole goal isn't going to do your any favors because you don't have a path to reach that goal or a time limit set. Deciding that you want to get better at hands and that you'd draw, say, 20 hands a day for a week is a more concrete goal that requires you to work as soon as you start. These kinds of goals get you much farther.

Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/18/smarter-living/how-to-stick-with-new-years-resolutions.html

Tech Tip: Reverse Image Search

Susanoo slaying Yamata-No-Orochi

Week 9 Story: Oasis

Oasis (Wikipedia)

Our story begins with four brothers on a trek back to their desert village. They had gone to trade goods with travelers rumored to be staying a neighboring village who came from faraway lands. But as the brothers discovered that this rumor was false, they immediately headed back in anger and disappointment.

The wind swept across the endless desert plains, whipping the sand up and obscuring the light of the sun. The oldest brother was in the lead and he motioned to the rest to stop for a break during this sandstorm. It was, after all, very dangerous to keep moving through the desert without direction. The brothers took this chance to take stock of their belongings.

They laid out their supplies in front of them. An ornate lever-action rifle with twelve rounds of ammunition, medical gauze, fire sticks, salted meat to last them four days, but only enough water to last them two. The youngest brother realized their folly: they forgotten to resupply at the neighboring village in their anger. As their situation was now dire, they were forced to press on through the storm.

30 hours passed before the storm cleared. The brothers started bickering over the direction of their travels, each arguing for a different direction to head in before the eldest made his decision final. Additionally, the brothers miscalculated their water intake, failing to take into account the extra hydration needed because of the salted meat. Their jugs were empty. Still, they march on, hoping for a miracle.

6 hours passed as day became dusk when they saw a patch of greenery in the distance. It was surely an oasis, they thought. As weary as they were, they sent the second youngest to fetch water from the pond, as he was the last to drink from the jugs. The rest waited. And waited. And waited.

The brothers grew impatient and figured that he was drinking the water himself the entire time, the oldest brother instructed the second oldest to scold him and go fetch the water. Again they waited until the oldest brother angrily decided to go there himself, leaving the youngest to wait. He hears a  crack in the distance, then another, and three more after that. The youngest brother chose not to wait any longer.

He found his brothers laid down in the water, but while approaching them a voice commanded him to stop. He heard the commands but did not understand them. But rather than coming to the aid of his brothers, he walked straight up to the oasis out of delirium, hoping to finally quench his thirst. He touched his lips to the water and drowned the very core of his soul.

Author's Note: So this is a story based on the lake story from the Mahabharata, where Yudhisthira and co. meet with yaksha. The yaksha kills everyone for drinking from his lake but Yudhisthira beats the yaksha in a riddle contest of sorts and so the ones that were killed got revived. This story is supposed to be in the 1800s, though there aren't many clues to that besides the lever action rifle. I originally planned for the story to stick to the original plot with the youngest brother saving the rest, but I decided having him fall victim to the oasis would be more interesting.

Bibliography: The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan

Reading Notes: Krishna Dharma Mahabharata Part A

Fireworks (Wikipedia)

What stood out most to me here was the Martial Exhibition chapter. It was a very detailed account of the events, starting with Arjuna focusing only on the wooden bird's head in the distance, his fearlessness when it came to acting for his master, and him receiving the brahmastra. I found it odd though that the stadium was constructed in such a fast manner. I might make my story more fantasy-like with magicians instead of the princes and a mage instead of Drona. Instead of having them shoot targets while riding chariots, I could have magicians hitting clay pigeons flying around, making them explode into fireworks. Arjuna's introduction was really stunning, he's presented as the best warrior to ever live, clad in golden armor and with a demeanor that supports it. I don't think I'll change much with Arjuna's demonstration of elemental mastery. I think I'll end the story a bit after Karna enters, introducing Karna as some other kind of magician, whether a necromancer or sorceror, something that distinguishes him from the others. I could actually make him a more dark-arts aligned magician, that could be interesting. In that case, the princes would be using holy energy and chants for their spells.

Bibliography: Mahabharata by Krishna Dharma