Famous Last Words Week 10

I have not done a Famous Last Words post for quite some time now, but when I took Mythology and Folklore I did them all the time. This week was pretty stressful for me. I am finishing up some work outside of coursework. Last week I presented at the Plains Anthropological Conference and I was give Honorable Mention in the 1st annual poster competition. This was a big deal to me as I received some recognition for my time spent on the poster and the research I have been doing. 

My reading this week was the movie by Brooks on the Mahabharata. I was particularly interested in doing this reading or movie, because while I really did enjoy the PDE: Mahabharata I wanted to get a better grasp and understanding of the story. The movie made a huge difference in my understanding of the Mahabharata! I was disappointed in my reading strategy however. For the last couple of weeks I have been cutting it very close to the course work deadline. I have only missed the deadline for work twice, this was last week. I was pretty mad at myself, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The great thing about this class is that when it is over, you can finish early, get your A for the work you put in, and move on to worrying about other classes. 

My best writing for class this week was my writing for my storybook project. I am developing the story of the Ramayana from Karma’s point of view. I added a whole bunch of bells and whistles and I think I am going to end up being very happy with the work I produce. Overall, classes this semester are going well. My half semester course is over and outside of class there are a few things I am stressing about, but I just keep reminding myself that it will all be okay. 

I am applying to a couple graduate schools right now for PhD programs in Anthropology. I have met quite a few great professors from various conferences, and I am now ready to be on my way to graduate school. Six-Isa more years of school and then I might be in the classroom teaching your children... or maybe everything will be online by then and I won’t have to leave my house! Food for thought. 

Reconstructed Cahokia Mounds in SE, USA (Image Source) 

Review: Week 10

(Image Source)

I chose to review the course announcement from Nov. 1st, 2015: Found here. The event, called Day of the Dead Street Festival was an awesome event held at the Lloyd Noble Center. I attended with my family and we had a lot of fun. I was glad to see it here on the course announcements. It is always nice to see cultural events on the course announcements. 

I wish I had taken a picture of my little brothers face painting. He sported a Dia de Los Metros mask. I attempted to explain to him the significance behind the festival, but he was a little more interested in the activities and candy... go figure. 

Week 10 Review Feedback

I really enjoyed watch the Mahabharata video this week. I think the ability to include movies and videos into an online course is really what makes the course great! I wish more classes were able to do this. Also, the inclusion of different formatting to convey similar information to different students. Many students learn differently and I know that I learn a lot better with movies and other visual information. I chose this reading because I really liked the Mahabharata, but I was confused when I finished with the PDE Mahabharata reading. I am very happy with my choice. I would definitely recommend this to any other student. The final scene of the movie was pretty impactful for me. I really like how the ending engaged the reader. I spent a total of about 4 hours doing the reading and reading diaries and storytelling this week. It was an adequate amount of time spent on a project.

IMAGE FROM THE MAHABHARATA (SOURCE)

Tech Tip: Tumblr Themes

There are many themes you can chose when creating your tumblr page. They are very easy to use! For this tech tip you will set up a theme for your tumblr account.

STEP ONE: Click on edit appearance in the upper-right hand corner. It is located under your account information.

Click “Edit Appearance”

STEP TWO: Click Edit Theme.

STEP THREE: Now click browse themes and choose a theme that you like the best. (notice: Not all themes are free to use. Some you have to pay for). When you find a theme you like click “use” and then “Save”. and you are done and your blog will now have a new theme! congrats!

Tech Tip: Pinterest Sidebar

Okay guys. If you have a pinterest you should do this! I did not know that you could actually put pinterest boards all over your blog! So cool. You can see to the left of my page I now have a dedicated html box for my Pinterest board just for this class. Not whenever I update my Pins they will update here too! How cool. I use pinterest to keep track of cool things I see online. For me it is very much an organizational tool. I think everyone should give it a try.

Tech Tip Pinterest Board and Widget Embedding

For this tech tip I created a new Pinterest board. I have used Pinterest before and I really enjoy the process. It is very clean and makes organizing new Ideas  very easy. Here is a link to my Pinterest board I am using for this course.

Tech Tip Google Site Video

For this tech tip I decided to learn how to embed a youtube video onto my blog homepage. It is a little different and did not show up just like the instructions but I like the end product. I embedded Adele’s new Hello song form YouTube onto my homepage. I like this feature because you can see this video and others by her.

Screenshot of my blog with the YouTube videos embedded!