Week 6 Story: The King, the Falcon, and the Cup - Revisited

*** An updated version of this story is available on my Portfolio Page***

In  a kingdom in the snowy mountains there lives a strong, good-hearted group of people named the Gyrfallen who have always had very wise and young Kings. The Gyrfallen have occupied this mountain valley as long as anyone can remember. Unlike most kingdoms this one does not choose the successor of the King based on lineage or wealth but instead the new King is chosen by the god Gyr, unbeknownst to the people. Gyr is believed to take the shape of  white falcon which encompasses all the qualities of those he favors: speed, cunning, wisdom, and beauty . The next King is determined by whom the white falcon seeks out and hunts for. This is a tale of  truth behind the god Gyr and how their Kings acquire such vast amounts of wisdom at such young ages. We enter the story at the moment King John finishes drinking the poisoned spring water, after he kills his white falcon...

"Finally...something to drink", I thought to myself. That damn bird had lost its mind, constantly knocking the cup from my hands! Couldn't he see I was dying of thirst, and that the cup took an awful long time to fill? Well... I suppose if I ever make it back it will be time to find a new bird to take as a hunting companion. Now where am I, I wonder?


"Sire, is that you?!", yelled the captain, who was relieved to find his King after searching for two days.
"Sir, you don't look well! Please, don't tell me you drank from the spring. Villagers nearby told us that it was poisoned by the blood of hydra that was slain upstream from here!"

Immediately upon hearing this the King doubled over, vomiting and crying all at once. He realized now that the white falcon had simply been trying to protect him from the fate he was now destined to pursue. 

"What a fool I am! How could I have thrown away my hunting companion so quickly? Had he not served me well for years, and hunted well and taught me the ways of the forest and kingdom? Though I am a King, in the end I now realize that I've become the lowest and most homely kind of man, the kind that doesn't trust the wisdom of his friend."

With that the disease overcame the body of the King, and his eyes rolled back. He awoke shortly in what he believed to be the next life, curious to see what lay ahead. It is here that he meets the spirit of the white falcon that he had thrown away in his rage.

"Wake up King John, it is time for you to fulfill your duty just as I have done and the King before me and the King before him. It is time for you to learn about the duty of the King in death and the history of our people and the world." said the white falcon.


"Gyr, is that you? I'm sorry old friend, for a brief moment I forsake all the wisdom and trust you had shared with me and, in a fit of rage, dashed you upon the rocks so I could drink the water. I know now that you only tried to protect me."

"Now, young King, is not the time for apologies..Nor am I Gyr. I am was once a King like you, in fact, I was known as King Eric and was the ruler prior to your reign. The god Gyr has blessed our people with the ability to be lead vicariously by previous Kings so that our knowledge may forever grow and that we may never make the same mistakes twice. So, when you die you must take the form of a white falcon and do as I did: search out the next King for our people, and teach him to be wise."

And so begins the quest of King John to find a suitable lad to become the next King and carry on the tradition of leading the Gyrfallen. As he took flight, he knew exactly where he would find the next ruler. He set course for the Lost Woods to find a young man who was named Link.

A Gyrfalcon. Found on pixabay.

Author's Note
This story gains inspiration from all of the Tales of Bidpai that I had read but is especially influenced by the story of The King, the Falcon, and the Drinking-Cup. In the original story the king does not drink any of the water from the spring because his guard warns him in time. He realizes that his friend, the falcon, had only been trying to save him the entire time and became very distraught. And that is where the original story ends. Here I have added on to it a little bit and attempted to add more of a spiritual element to the original story.


Bibliography
Fables of Bidpai unit on canvas
The King, the Falcon, and the Drinking-Cup
The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Dutton

Reading Notes: Tales of Bidpai Part B

All of the stories in part B focus on the relationship between humans and animals or the relationship between other animals. A lot of the time the story takes into account the relationships of natural enemies, such as a fox and a hen, and tests their friendship or patience as they go through hard times. With each story comes an important life lesson for the reader.

The Tortoise and the Geese

• a tortoise and two geese share a pond for many years
• a drought came through and dried up the pond so the geese decide to leave
• the tortoise begs the geese to take him with them and they oblige but there is a catch: the tortoise must keep his mouth clamped over a stick so they can carry him
• people saw the geese moving the tortoise through the air and began to laugh at him
• the tortoise could not stand being laughed at and opened his mouth to retort but ended up falling to his death
• the lesson here is that it is better to keep your mouth shut when facing jeers lest you open it and make yourself look or sound like a fool. It also tells us that opening our mouth to respond to hecklers may do more harm than good.
• the main character, due to a character flaw, orchestrates his own demise

The Lean Cat and the Fat Cat

• a hungry, lean cat finds a fat cat and inquires as to how he appears so well-fed
• the fat cat claims he steals his food from the table of the king
• the lean cat is used to eating broth made by his owner for dinner and wishes to have something more filling
• the cat survives well enough on the broth but his greed pushes him to search for the food of the king
• the fat cat offers to lead the lean cat to the king's dinner table where he might steal some food
• there were so many cats stealing food that the king made a decree saying any cat caught stealing food would be hung immediately
• the fat cat leads the lean cat to the king's table where the lean cat is caught and hung
• the lean cat let his greed overcome his good judgement
• it is better to have a consistent and humble meal than to take from others or steal for something more lavish
• this story also shows that eventually, people that do wrong will get caught and face dire consequences

The Partridge and the Crow

• the crow sees how the partridge walks and finds it very attractive
• the crow tries to imitate the walk and practices it so much that it forgets how it walked originally
• this story reminds the reader that while it's fine to appreciate the qualities someone else may possess, remember that sometimes they are unique to that individual and should remain so
• it is much more important to maintain who you are and to become what you should become

A Red-Legged Partrodge. Found on wikipedia.

Bibliography

The Bidpai Unit

The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Dutton

Reading Notes: Tales of Bidpai Part A

This week I read a collection of stories from the Tales of Bidpai. All of these stories would be considered short stories and typically contained some sort of message or lesson in each one. Often some kind of animal taught a lesson, or each character of the story was an animal representing some character trait.

The Rustic and the Nightingale

• This story takes place in a garden where the conflict occurs between a Rustic and a Nightingale
• The Rustic enjoys the beauty of the rose bush in the garden and takes special care to make sure it stays alive and healthy everyday
• The Nightingale bird plays in the rose tree and ruins a lot of the roses which angers the Rustic
• it is never mentioned why the Nightingale enjoys plucking at the rose petals so that may be a story to elaborate on. Perhaps she must eat some to reverse a spell or to maintain equilibrium of the garden
• The Rustic catches the Nightingale and plans to punish it, but has a change of heart and lets her go
• The Rustic is rewarded with a pot of gold, by the Nightingale, for him to put towards his treasured garden
• Be kind to those that bother you and your reward will be great

The King, the Falcon, and the Drinking-Cup

• There is a great King who is very fond of his Falcon
• He takes the falcon with him everywhere, especially to hunt
• The king gets separated from his hunting party and must search the forest for water for he has been lost for some time
• He tries to fill his cup from the stream but the Falcon keeps knocking the cup out of his hands and dumping the water each time he tries to fill it. The King becomes angry with the Falcon and kills it. 
• The King later finds out that the Falcon was saving him from drinking poison water every time he knocked away the cup
• the King becomes distraught and realizes his mistake
• This story was meant to make us realize that we should take steps to fully understand someone's actions before imparting punishment because we could be making a big mistake by making decisions while knowing only half of the story
• This is one of the few stories where the animal does not have a voice. Perhaps in a different version the animal could have a voice, or choose to let the Kind die so they can speak in the spirit world for it was commonly believed that animals were linked to a spiritual realm.
• The Falcon could impart wisdom on the King and then the King could become the new Falcon for the next King to try to share wisdom and guard the royalty.

The King's Falcon. Found on publicdomainpictures.

Bibliography

Fables of Bidpai Unit

The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Dutton

Reading Notes: Sindbad, Part A

Cyclops from the voyages of Sindbad. Found on wikipedia.

Hey everyone! This week I read the first part of the The Voyages of Sindbad. These were a collection of tales of the adventures of the sailor and merchant Sindbad. I had heard of this tale when I was younger but never had the chance to read it and experience it like a lot of other fairy tales/myths. For this post I will look at a few of the most interesting points in the plot and attempt to identify any common themes.

Common Themes
- in each of the four stories that I read, every king that Sindbad encounters automatically accepts him into his good graces and gives him anything he needs
- Sindbad always makes a fortune off of his misadventures before he returns to Baghdad
-Sinbad always gives a good portion of his money to the poor when he returns home
-Sindbad always recovers the goods he lost from the ship after the ship has left him or crashed
-Each story starts out relatively realistic then gets progressively more absurd
-Every time Sindbad returns from an adventure with excess wealth and goods, it is not long before he grows bored of it and goes back out for more

Plot
First Voyage
-Sindbad lands on what they thought was a large island when it is actually a huge whale. This may be a good plot twist to include in a future story. Have a character arrive somewhere they think is familiar then reveal some big illusion that was hiding the true nature of the area.

Second Voyage
-During the second voyage Sindbad paints a beautiful picture of his surroundings. He talks about how he finds himself in a field of diamonds. This stuck out as a reminder to me to try not to be lazy with my description of a setting in my stories because they can have a big impact on the reader's visualization and interest with the story.

Third Voyage
-This tale introduces a confrontation between the main character, Sindbad, and a cyclops who slowly eats all the members of his crew before they escape. Providing a nemesis for your main character can open up many different pathways your story can walk down. It may be a good idea to include a more active nemesis in future stories.


Bibliography
Myth-Folklore Unit: The Voyages of Sindbad
The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang

Comment Wall

Hello Everyone! I look forward to reading any tips or criticisms you may have to offer. Have a great semester!

Click Here to go to my Portfolio.

A favorite quote of mine by Dr. Seuss. Found on flickr.

Story Lab: Crash Course Mythology

For this week I opted to participate in the Story Lab activity. I chose the three videos from Crash Course Mythology to watch and report a reaction on. I'll get into more detail about each video below, but all-in-all each video was well made, interestingly presented, and left me wanting to watch the next one!

What is Myth?

• This is the first of three videos I watched for this activity. It gave a little background to the youtube series they were starting and set the tone for how the series would progress. The host discussed all of the different facets regarding what constitutes a myth and how they may be perceived by different theorists. Some theorists believe that the primitive people that inhabited the world used myths in place of science to explain certain natural phenomena like the changing of the seasons. This particular theory leads us to say that since we understand the science behind a lot of these things now, then we no longer need the myths. Now, for the purpose of this youtube series they will just be presenting different theories such as this one and not subscribing to any one in particular. The series is meant to be as educational and unbiased as possible so the viewer can receive as much knowledge as possible and then use that to shape their own opinions on the subject. Lastly, for this video the host starts off by saying something I hadn't really thought of before but could feel from the different myths I've read during this class or heard in my life. He says that mythology can be a complicated subject since they often encompass different themes of literature, history, anthropology, sociology, psychology, religion, and science and I just found that bit of information fascinating.

Theories of Myth

• This video breaks down the definition of mythology and aims to give the viewer some ideas about how to contemplate or understand different myths. In this video the host discusses some of the connotations that come with using the word "myth". For example, today we often use that term to describe a lie or something that is not true but the host wants us to try to put that definition aside when we encounter new myths. Additionally, the host discusses the entrance of anthropology and psychology to the world of mythology. One theory he presented was that all myths came from the same collective subconscious from which everyone in the world has access to. We all drink from the same font of subconscious to project our stories or myths, if you will. The reason this theory has some support is that mythologists have found that there are common archetypes in the myths from all different parts of the world. According to the psychologists in mythology this would lead us to believe that we think a little more similarly, or at least use the same subconscious thought pool, when creating our myths and stories.

The Hero's Journey and the Monomyth

• In this video the host delves into the world of heroes in mythology and defines to us the theory of the monomyth. The monomyth, also known as the hero's journey, is a timeline of events that Joseph Campbell identified as being the structure of almost every hero story. The idea is that all hero myths originate in the human psyche therefore, among all cultures, the hero myths follow identical patterns which is the inspiration behind the name "monomyth". This monomyth theory has three main parts with seventeen sub-parts. The most important aspects of a hero story are: separation, trials and victories of initiation, and the return. Basically to start off, the hero is separated from society or separates themselves to take on an adventure or hardship. Then, after the initial success of overcoming a large obstacle the hero faces one or several more trials that test their resolve. After they successfully complete the following challenges, it is time for the hero to return home whether that be Mount Olympus or their humble village.

Hercules holding up the sky. Found on publicdomainpictures.

Reading Notes: Jewish Fairy Tales (Part A)

This week I've begun to read some of the stories from the Jewish Fairy Tales section. This compilation of stories included a piece on Noah, which I read about last week, as well as some new tales I had not heard of. Since I read the story of Noah recently I didn't spend too much time breaking that story down and decided to look more into the other tales.

The Beggar King

• The arrogant king does not like what the word of God says and tears pages out of the Holy Book
• God aims to teach the king humility for shunning Him
• The king goes out to hunt a dear, which tricks him into following to a place where no one could see the king
• The deer turns to a man and switches places with the king, taking his cloak and copying his image
• Maybe consider utilizing that type of character in a story to teach a lesson or trick the main character into doing something good or evil
• Or that character could change reality or trap the main character in a loop til the lesson is learned

The Water Babe

• This is a rendition of the story of Moses from the Bible
• One of the advisers to pharaoh gives the princess a staff that she uses to make sure Moses passes the test and lives
• The adviser, Reuel, tells her that the staff was owned by Adam and he received it when he left the Garden of Eden
• since then the staff was handed down to Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and finally Joseph before he received it
• Some story material may involve doing a backstory on the current owner of the staff and talk about what the staff is made of
• the staff was planted in the ground and grew before Moses became old enough to read the inscription on it and obtain it for himself
• a side story could be written on the magical powers of the tree that the staff grew into while Moses was growing up

Bibliography

Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa

Topic Research: Dante's Inferno

After reading through different parts of Dante's Inferno I feel like I've developed a better understanding of the different possible roads I could take in making my own story. While I've got some ideas, I haven't quite ironed out the details. Hopefully after reading this I can get some helpful comments on what the next best step may be!

1. One of the first ideas that came to mind was to tell the story of Dante traversing through Hell's circles from the point of view of Lucifer. In the original story we don't see an interaction between Dante and Lucifer really. Most of Dante's experience of Hell is passive, but what if we changed it to an active experience? Perhaps Dante only thinks he's touring Hell when in reality he belongs there and Lucifer tries to actively keep him from escaping.

2. My next story line idea requires Dante to take an active role. The plot for this would be something along the lines of Dante searching for someone in particular to save from Hell while he encounters other people he knew in his lifetime along the way. Dante has to battle through different circles of Hell to save a friend after he wakes up one day in one of the circles of Hell. I'm not sure if this rendition would include the presence of Virgil, his guide in the original story, or if he would discover his way through his interactions with the people he meets.

3. This third idea is still a little shaky. In this rendition I have Dante traveling through Hell and gaining knowledge about each circle from Virgil who guides him. As they walk through Virgil tells of the legend of how a worthy soul would one day come to shepherd righteous souls, that happened to become lost in Hell, to a gateway that they could pass through that would bring them to Heaven. By the end of Dante's journey through Hell he would come to realize that Virgil was preparing him to take on this task, and he becomes the shepherd for the good souls as Virgil rises up to Heaven. I feel like this story may need some more appearances of divine power to hint at the righteousness within Dante's own soul. Or maybe throughout his tour he overcomes some inner evil and develops a more righteous soul that allows him to take this position in Hell but because of his sin he is not allowed into Heaven for a certain period of time.

A depiction of the different circles of Hell. An engraving by J. Wierix found on wikimedia.

Bibliography

Dante's Inferno from the  Dante Unit in the Un-Textbook

 

Thoughts on Feedback Strategies

In general, I think learning about and understanding that there are different forms of feedback strategies plays a crucial role in determining one's effectiveness as a critic or consultant. I believe it's important to understand that there are pros and cons to using negative feedback and positive feedback. Similarly to how some individuals respond better to different kinds of feedback, I'm learning that some individuals are better at providing a specific kind of feedback compared to other variations and a lot of that has to do with the personality and mindset of the individual as well as their level of experience in giving critique. With this in mind I think back to when people suggested me to go to several different outlets for an opinion on any work I did. Not everyone noticed the same details were they able to explain their concerns or praise in the same manner. But by listening to each different point of view, and then summarizing them on my own, I was able to build a a model of feedback in my mind that allowed me to make improvements to my work that encompassed the general themes that the critics had touched on.
Now, I feel pretty comfortable receiving criticism of all kinds at this point in my life. I think a lot of that conditioning has come from growing up with a background in competitive athletics. However, I feel like a lot of times I struggle with being able to provide quality feedback and that is why I picked the following articles to look over because they appeared as though they may help me out with that.

The best listening involves active participation. Found on pixabay.

Giving Creative Feedback - A Guide for Those Who Aren't Creative by Deborah Maue

• This article looked perfect to me since I feel like my creative side doesn't particularly excel. In this article Maue describes 8 steps one should take to provide effective criticism to someone writing a creative piece or drawing creative art. There were two steps that really stood out to me. One step said that it was important to put aside my initial reaction to whatever form of artistry I was looking at. You do this to try to remove any personal bias you have towards the artist or the style of work that you are critiquing that way your feedback will be more constructive. The other point that I liked discussed how it was important to evaluate the piece of art based on its purpose. What that means is that it is important to make sure that whatever objective the art is trying to accomplish, you as a critic should focus part of your feedback on whether or not that objective was completed.

What Great Listeners Actually Do by Jack Senger and Joseph Folkman

• I used to think that I was a great listener but after growing up some and having the opportunities to be in the presence of some who truly were great listeners, I've decided that I'm just great at hearing and a mediocre listener. This article had a lot of great insights but there were a couple things that stood out to me more than the rest. One bit of information mentioned that being a good listener involves more activity than most people believe. It discussed how people who were talking greatly appreciated receiving thought-provoking questions from their listeners. This showed that not only were they hearing what they said, but they comprehended the information and applied to some situation as well. Another piece of information that stuck out to me talked about the people in the study they conducted actually liked receiving suggestions from their audience. I used to think that people mostly preferred their audience to wait until the very end of their presentation to offer a suggestion or to be silent and soak up information. But when I think back to times I've presented I remember feeling more accomplished when someone spoke up and offered a solution to a problem because that made me feel like the information I provided was useful to someone and that I explained it in a way people could understand.

Week 3 Story: Gehenna's Vineyard

**Click here for the Updated Portfolio version!**

Close-up photo of the vines of Gehenna's most successful, sole, vineyard. Found on Max Pixel.

Hello everyone and thank you so much for getting here early! I know you all were dying to get in hah! Excuse my puns I don't get much of a chance to practice down here in my little slice of paradise but really, all of you did die to get here and for that I am eternally thankful! Ah yes, before we begin this pilot tour of the Gehenna Winery tucked away into my fiery version of the Garden of Eden I should probably introduce myself. I am known by many names -- Mephistopheles, Prince of Darkness, King of Hell...but you can call me Lucifer like my Dad, and I am pleased to say I will be leading you on our tour of the winery this blistering hot evening! I'm more of a walk and talk kind of guy so lets jump on in, follow me!

So I guess as we head towards the vine fields I should talk about the origin of this here establishment! Now the original inspiration came from my encounter with my first partner, Adam, at the beginning of time but my vision for this place never came to fruition until my meeting with my late partner Noah. Shortly after the destructive flood waters receded, courtesy of Dad, I was able to join in a partnership with Noah on Earth and we created the first vineyard from which he enjoyed the same fruit as Adam did in the garden! Despite being a hardy old geezer Noah couldn't quite handle his liquor if you know what I mean and may have potentially, possibly, gotten in trouble for his drunkenness but I can assure you that I was long gone by that time for I knew I had to begin a vineyard like that one right here at my own home to share with...well, not you obviously but you know, someone better. And that's how it all started my friend. That's how our very own Gehenna, or Hell if you prefer, got the inspiration for its first vineyard.

*Demon materializes next to Lucifer and a hushed conversation ensues*

*Ahem* Well folks my kingly duties call me elsewhere at the present moment but do not fear as the tour will continue! While I'm sad I wasn't able to finish it with you, I'll have Prince Asmodeus complete the tour in my absence. While he's not as witty, handsome, or comical as me I'm sure he will do the job nicely. I'm sure I'll be seeing you all....around.

*Lucifer grins, snaps his fingers, and disappears*

Author's Note

This story receives its inspiration from the stories from the Noah Unit from the biblical selection of story options. In an account of the story of Noah and the Ark the author mentions that God sent the flood waters through a place called Gehenna, also known as Hell, in order to scald sinners as well as drown them. At the end of the flood, shortly after Noah and his family exit the ark, the author mentions that Noah plans a vineyard with a disguised Satan and drinks of the wine and becomes drunken. This story takes Lucifer's point of view regarding the business of creating a vineyard. It is meant to be somewhat of a comedy as this story makes light of a serious situation in which Noah found himself after unwittingly partnering up with Satan.

Bibliography

The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg

Noah and the Ark - The Curse of Drunkenness from the Noah Unit based on Louis Ginzberg's novel

Reading Notes: Noah and the Ark (Part B)

Here is the continuation of Part B of the story of Noah and the Ark. This latter half of the reading goes into more detail regarding the timeline of the flood and reaction of Noah and the sinners. It also provides information as to how Noah was able to understand how to build the ark and which animals to allow on board.

Plot

• There is a book that exists, "the Holy Book" or the Torah, which contains all celestial and earthly knowledge
• Adam received the book initially but an angel gave it to Noah so he could understand how to build the ark
• Adam and Eve cut up and eat the son of Samael to stop him from crying but it doesn't work
• Adam receives the Torah from God to defend himself against Samael and remove the curse that they received from eating his son
• Only the animals that lay down at the entrance of the boat were allowed to enter
• The animals that stood standing defended the ark against sinners when the flood began to rise
• The flood waters first passed through Gehenna (Hell) and became extremely hot so that they would burn the sinners as well as drown them
• At the time of the flood Noah did not have enough faith to perform miracles, he was simply better than the rest of man around him
• Noah doesn't enter the ark til flood waters reached his knees
• A giant, Og, and a unicorn, Reem, followed along behind the boat during the storm but are not mentioned after the initial boarding of the ark
• The flood lasted a year but the rain lasted for 40 days and nights which referred to how long it took for a baby to be born from someone from the sinful generation.
• Cain died during the flood, which finally avenged the death of Abel
• The raven was an unclean animal that was allowed on the boat and did not fulfill Noah's wishes when he sent him in search of land. He did not return to the ark
• A week later Noah sent a dove which returned to him with part of an Olive branch
• Noah becomes enticed by Satan to start a vineyard
• We learn that the fall of man occurred from Adam eating of the forbidden fruit, which was a grape, and became drunk

Depiction of the Forbidden Fruit with the snake (Satan). Found on flickr.

Bibliography

Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909) found in the Noah Unit

Reading Notes: Noah and the Ark (Part A)

For this week I decided to walk the Biblical path and take a look into the story of Noah and the Ark. This story appears to be written from the Jewish point of view but I have grown familiar of it from the Catholic point of view as I attended Catholic schools growing up. I decided to take note of some interesting pieces of information that I found that may have differed from other depictions of the story of Noah. 

Azazel, one of the leaders of the fallen angels, refuses to bow to the Adam, the first man God created. Found on wikipedia.

Plot

• While reading in order, the time jumps back and forth between the present and the past occasionally
• Begins with an introduction to Noah and his parents but goes straight into how Noah was to prepare for the flood and then details the events of the flood
• After the events of the flood are discussed, the author then goes on to explain what prompted the flood and why God felt it was necessary
• A lot of time was spent explaining lineage, which I felt was unnecessary for the most part
• The author talks of the story of the Tower of Babel and explains how God had to spread out the people of the earth and change their languages after the flood
• There was more detail regarding the fall of the angels and their role in bringing about the flood in this rendition of the story of Noah and the Ark
• Quite a bit of time after discussing the events of the flood, the author informs us that the depravity of mankind stems from the corruption from the fallen angels that were living among them
• The angels couldn't resist the beauty of human women and fell for them, bringing into the existence beings they called giants or nephilim
• The giants appeared to have killed many people, and the blood of their victims cried out to God for justice and therefore God considered bringing about the flood

Scenery/Symbolism

• The type of wood needed to build the ark was specified as Gopher wood
• The exact dimensions of the ark were specified as well as the exact height of the flood waters
• The exact number of days that the flood was to persist was specified (40 days and 40 nights)
• The dove that Noah sends out in search of land brings back an Olive leaf
• Once Noah was born, everything had somewhat returned to the way things were when God created Adam
• meaning that man once again had dominion over God's creation because of Noah

Bibliography

Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909) found in the Noah Unit

Feedback Thoughts

Feed back, in my opinion, is critical to the learning process. It is important to know what things you do very well and what things you can improve on. Having both positive and negative feedback help you evolve and adapt as in individual both in your work life and personal life. Positive feed back is great because it makes you feel more confident in your abilities and lets you know that you're on the right track. Negative feedback and constructive criticism are equally as important as positive feedback if not more so. Receiving constructive criticism gives you the opportunity to re-evaluate yourself and work on changing something to become a better version of yourself within a specific environment. Having grown up in the world of competitive sports until college, I've grown accustomed to constructive criticism and learned to use it to my advantage as best I could however that does not mean it is easy to hear. Sometimes the criticisms were hard to deal with but it's important to keep reminding yourself that if you use the feedback constructively then you will reap more benefits.
Here I have found a couple articles that I felt were very helpful for me to consider regarding feedback:

Rewire Your Harshly Self-Critical Brain by Joel Almeida
Often when you're striving towards a goal and you happen upon a setback or a failure we dwell on that shortcoming for longer than we should. This article talks about resetting the way you perceive failures during your journey to complete a task. Instead of thinking about that time you screwed up, the article says you should instead focus on congratulating yourself for getting back up to continue on your original path to success. The author calls this process reality-based self-congratulation or REBS. Its goal is to help increase your respect for yourself and diminish the intensity of your inner critic. If you practice this method enough, you will begin to spend more time focusing on the  next important thing that exists in the present rather than on a mistake you made in the past.

Silence The Critical Voice In Your Head by Sabina Nawaz
As you may have guessed from the title, this article deals with deafening the criticisms that exist in your head. While I'm sure most of us have heard that we need to spend more time focusing on the positives and that the self is the hardest critic, this article said a couple things that I was able to really connect with. One thing that the article mentioned was that we should look for the positive. Immediately I thought: yeah, obviously, but what the article meant is that focusing on increasing our strengths is just as important as focusing on minimizing our faults. A second piece of information that I found particularly enlightening discussed the way in which we receive feedback. It said that often times when receiving feedback we don't start taking notes until we begin to hear the negatives but it is important to remember that taking notes on what went right is just as important. After reading that, I knew it was something I have been guilty of numerous times.

I hope you all have found some things in your research that were just as beneficial to you as these couple of articles were to me! I plan on implementing these strategies in the future with the hope of decreasing stress and increasing self-respect and productivity.

A visual representation of your inner confidence. Found on flickr.

Topic Brainstorm for StoryBook

Before looking at any of the suggestions for topic choices I thought I should take some time to think to myself if I had any stories in mind that I was already leaning towards. After a brief moment I felt like I would enjoy doing something with Dante's Inferno, some sort of Peter Pan story, or even a story involving the tale of Robin Hood. With these in mind, I jumped into the list of suggested topics to see what other ideas I might come across.

1. Dante's Inferno

Well, I have never read the Divine Comedy myself but I have heard bits and pieces of it from different pieces of literature and from a philosophy class I have taken. I find Dante's description of the different levels of hell fascinating and appreciate the imagery he uses in describing them. I also like the way that he presents hell via a guide named Virgil who takes you down through each unique level. I'm not sure in what manner I would change the story to make it my own. Perhaps it would be interesting to take the point of view of the devil trying to keep Dante's soul in hell.

Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood Meets Little John For The First Time. This is a photo of a famous sculpture in Sherwood Forest near Nottinghamshire in Great Britain.

2. Robin Hood

Ever since I saw the Disney cartoon version of Robin Hood as a kid I've loved this story. I like the idea of a character that lives outside the law, because it is unjust, and takes from those who are greedy and gives to those in need. The idea of a good criminal always has interested me. If I was to use this for my StoryBook I might consider changing the setting of the original story. The original story seems to take place in medieval England, but in my revision I would have it take place in the Wild West during the Land Run era. I think using that setting would allow enough similarities for most people to recognize the influence from the original story.

3. Peter Pan

While I thoroughly enjoyed the Disney cartoon of Peter Pan, I think I would have to say that Hook was my all-time favorite Pan depiction. The original story of Peter Pan was written by a Scottish novelist named J.M. Barrie and despite being a huge fan of the story I can't say that I've ever read the original. What made me remember this story was the example linked above which takes you to a StoryBook made by a previous student. His adaptation was so enjoyable I'm strongly considering pursuing my own for this project. That being said I'm not sure what approach I would take towards a revision. Maybe I will rely more heavily on the Hook adaptation and write about something to do with Rufio, the Lost Boy who is in charge while Peter Pan was gone.

4. Beowulf

Since I had chosen three topic that I already had some sort of knowledge about prior to reading the list of suggestions, I thought I should pick a story that I hadn't had much experience with before. Beowulf is the tale of a strong English warrior who slays monsters. While the previous heroes/explorers I chose tend to rely on agility or cunning Beowulf relies on a little more on strength than speed to overcome obstacles and defeat the evil in the story. I have heard of Beowulf but never looked much into it and decided this would be the perfect opportunity to learn more about this character. I'm not sure how I would write my own revision of the Beowulf story. Maybe there should be a plot twist involving Beowulf being a monster himself and that is how he is able to defeat these other monsters and obtain superhuman strength.