Wikipedia Trail: Civil War to Fireworks

For this Wikipedia trail, I started off with Captain America: Civil War from the class announcement page. I love Marvel movies, and I haven't gotten a chance to see this one. I wish I had been able to go to the free showings at the union this past weekend! This then took me to the Olympiastadion in Berlin. This is where many Olympic events were held when Berlin hosted the summer Olympics in 1936. I really enjoyed getting to watch the Olympics this summer, so I thought that was a cool that Captain America led me to them. I then got to the Queen's Official Birthday. This is the day that governments celebrate as the official day for the Queen's, or King's, birthday. In the UK, the Queen's birthday is celebrated on the second Saturday in June. The Queen's Official Birthday then took me to fireworks. Fireworks are so beautiful, and I'm a little bit of a pyromaniac, so they are really fun to me. I love any excuse to shoot some fireworks into the sky!

(Movie poster for Civil War;

Web Source)

(Fireworks over the Sydney Opera House on New Years Eve;

Web Source)

Week 1 Review: GHOUGHPHTHEIGHTTEEAU

I love cats so I really like all of the cat memes that you include in the daily announcements. However, I think that the following graphic that you put in Saturday's announcement was the funniest thing I've seen! It shows just how odd the English language is! As of right now, I don't have any events coming up, however if that changes, I will be sure to email you with the information!

(Our friend, GHOUGHPHTHEIGHTTEEAU;

Saturday's announcements) 

Tech Tip: Blogger Design

I decided to change the design of my blog for a few reasons. One of the reasons was that the original design of the blog was the default design, so I wanted something a little more personable. Since I love reading, when I saw the book template I knew that one was for me! Another reason I changed my design was because the original design was orange, and obviously we cannot have that on OUr campus!!

Growth Mindset

Although I have never heard of Carol Dweck before, I really like what she says about learning! It is very different than what most people view as far as learning and having only a certain capacity. I think that it is much more positive and constructive than just letting a person believe that they have reached their highest mental capacity. The growth mindset is very interesting and I think it would be a valuable thing to learn more about!

 I would like to think that I have more of a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset. I try to put this mindset into action as much as possible in school by reading and bettering my school work. My parents always told me and my siblings that they were proud of us, so long as we tried our best, even if it wasn't an "A" and I think that definitely helped each of us have a growth mindset rather than a fixed. I am involved in music and it is easily seen that you must have a growth mindset when it comes to anything involving the arts. No one will ever be one of the greats when they first begin anything having to do with the arts, you must work towards it and accept the challenges that come along with being a musician.

One of the biggest things with learning that I have learned while at OU is that college is different from high school. My high school wasn't an easy one and I took multiple AP courses over my four years while attending, but the study skills in college is much different than that of high school. It's much more independent learning and reading while for the most part you could get away without reading in high school.

I think that the growth mindset will be very valuable for this year because I am taking some difficult classes that take personable accountability. I am in a graduate course this year, so it will be much more of a challenge than my undergrad classes, however I am very excited for this class because it seems as though it will be fun and interesting! I want to be able to challenge myself and learn this semester, and I definitely think that the growth mindset will help me accomplish this!

(I drive my own learning;

Growth Mindset Memes Blog)

Starting the Semester

My favorite organizational tool that I use is my planner! It is honestly the biggest lifesaver! At the beginning of every semester, I go in and write any important dates that I can find for that semester, whether they are for classes, such as due dates or tests, school functions, such as football games or Big Event, or anything for the activities that I am in. This way, I can look at every month and see when everything important is happening and nothing creeps up on me. Everyday I write down what needs to be accomplished by the end of the night and I check things off as I go so I know I don't miss anything.

Another thing I do at the beginning of every semester is I set up my desk in my room so it's functional and I can start using it whenever I need to. I like having things a certain way, so I always set it up accordingly. It definitely takes the stress off of me so it's one less thing to worry about when school comes around!

(Photo of Planners;

Web Source)

Reading Options: Ramayana

I have decided to read R.K. Narayan version of the Ramayana for Week 2 and Week 3 of class. The reasons why I have chosen this version of the Ramayana is because I enjoy having a physical copy, whether on paper or on a Kindle, so I can easily annotate what I am reading. I also like that I do not have to rely on my computer and the internet in order to get the readings accomplished.

I have always enjoyed reading mythology and Greek epics such as The Odyssey and The Iliad. They were always very interesting to me, especially since they dated back so long ago. I also always enjoyed Aesop's Fables as a child because they were usually very easy to read, and easy to understand. I wanted to take a class about India because two of my Aunt's love India and I wanted to learn more about the culture. One day, I would love to visit India because there is so much history there! I really enjoy reading and I'm excited to be able to read epics from India!

Although I don't know the details behind the following sculpture, I know that I have seen it before because it looks so familiar!

(12th century stone sculptor of God Vishnu;

Web Source)

My Storybook Favorites

The first storybook that I read that I really enjoyed was The Elephants of Indian Epics! I wasn't familiar with the topic that the writer discussed, however the title did a great job explaining what the storybook was about since the focus was on elephants found in Indian Epics. The introduction was very good because it gave you a brief overview of what would be discussed. I really liked how the writer presented the story by writing it through bedtime stories. The design of the storybook was good, however I wish that the navigation toolbar looked a little cleaner. I really liked that the first thing you saw when you went to the storybook was a picture of an elephant with the title! It really put the focus on the elephant rather than the little boys.

(Painting of elephant by Bonnie Morgan;

Elephants of India)

The second storybook I really enjoyed was The Magic Map. This is another story that I wasn't familiar with the topics that the write wrote about. I think that the title was perfect for the story because it was all about traveling with the help of the "magic map". I really liked that the writer wrote the storybook as if it were her journal while going on her archeology adventure because it made it very easy to follow! I didn't like how the writer formatted the pictures in the storybook, so I won't be using that format in my storybook.

(Picture of compass from tocalante.com;

The Magic Map)

The third storybook I liked was Indian Horror Story. Although I didn't recognize the Indian Epic topic of the storybook, I did recognize what the writer based it off of because they based it off of "American Horror Story" which I absolutely love! It made it a very easy storybook to read. The introduction did a really good job of reeling the reader in because it gave insight to what happened but you keep wanting to read to figure up what will happen to the couple. I really liked the design of the storybook because it was very dark and eerie just like the story.

(Photo of a haunted house;

Indian Horror Story)

Introduction to a Weirdo, Tech Tip: Embedded YouTube

Hello! My name is Kimber Rutherford and I am a senior Electrical Engineering student. My favorite thing about my major is that I get to learn how to create things that have a practical use in the world. Once I graduate this upcoming Spring, I hope to find a job either in the Oklahoma City area or the Houston area, which is close to where I live and I eventually would like to get my Masters in Electrical Engineering. Once I am retired, I want to be able to look back at my career and see that I helped society progress, whether in the technology, energy, or medical field. Last semester, my favorite class that I took was Signals and Systems. This class was awesome because it involved a lot of math, plus the professor was incredible! He was always cracking jokes with us and made us truly believe that we can do all of the work required for Electrical Engineering. He is one of the few professors that I’ve had who cared about us and genuinely wanted to see his us succeed. The biggest accomplishment that I had last semester was that I was able to pass all of my classes all while holding leadership positions in multiple organizations.

Over the summer break, I went to Pagosa Springs, CO with my family. It was so beautiful and it we got the chance to do so many amazing things! We went rafting, horseback riding, rode on ATV’s, and so much more! I am currently in the Pride of Oklahoma, the marching band here at the university. I play percussion and I play the keyboards down in the front, so I don’t have to worry about marching around the field. I am a member of Sigma Alpha Iota, which is a music sorority on campus, and I am also involved in WECE, which stands for Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering. In my free time, I like reading, watching Netflix, knitting, and hanging out my friends. I’m currently reading Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card and I’m watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix. I don’t really have a particular favorite style of music, but I’ve been listening to a lot of Ben Folds recently. Last semester I got to see him live in Oklahoma City and it was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to.

I have four pets back at home: two Shiz Tzu’s, named Shamu and Bella, and two brand new kittens, neither has a name yet, who I have yet to meet since my parents got them once I moved back to Norman for the school year. Here in Norman, one of my roommates has a one-and-a-half-year-old Catahoula, named Murphy, and my other roommate has a three-month old Orange Tabby kitten, named Mowgli. The crazy thing about the kitten here in Norman is that it is a girl Orange Tabby which is very rare since they are almost always boys.

If I had one extra day of fun where I didn’t have to worry about doing anything, I would spend it with my friends and family. I am happiest when I am simply surrounded by people I care about and get to make lifelong memories with them!

(Personal Photo of my dogs, Shamu and Bella;

Photo taken in September 2014)

(Personal Photo of my kittens;

Photo taken in August 2016)

(Personal Photo of Murphy;

Photo taken in August 2016)

(Personal Photo of Mowgli;

Photo taken in August 2016)

Story: The Owl Who Knew Everything

As I was quietly sitting alone in my tree just past noon, I saw Monkey emerge through the brush. I noticed that he held something in his hand, nothing I’ve ever seen in all my years on this planet. It was beautiful: hand-crafted from wood, decorated with care. With each precious detail, you can see the countless hours that Man had put into it. When he flipped the mysterious item over, it almost blinded me. It seemed as if I was only an inch from the Sun, staring straight into it.

Of course Monkey was being his usual obnoxious self. For some odd reason, he always had to be the first for everything - the first to tell the others what he saw, the first to tell someone what they did was wrong, the first to show everyone what he had discovered - and he certainly could not be pushed aside. I always assumed that it was because he wanted the others to like him…how dumb.

So with Monkey doing the only thing Monkey knows how to do, he went around to all the animals and showed them what he found near where Man lives. They were all fascinated by his discovery, that is until they each flipped the thing over. Each animal, no matter how beastly they may be, cried. Bear questioned how he could be so unattractive; Wolf cried how he wishes he could look like Moose.

As I was up in my tree I had two thoughts. The first thought was how did they not know they were all such ugly creatures? I am disgusted by their faces; why else would I be in my tree alone all day? The second thought was this: how did they figure out what their faces looked like? Is this item that Monkey has magical? What does it show you?

Once all the animals looked into the magical, beautiful thing Monkey brought back from Man’s land, Monkey asked me if I would like to look. For just a moment I considered it. Would I be happy with what this item showed me? Would I cry like the others, wishing my face looked more like Eagle? Then I replied with breeze and said to the Monkey and all those that could hear, “Don’t you see how big of fools you all are? You are letting Man decided whether you are beautiful or not!”

We all decided to bury the evil thing that Monkey brought to us so deep in the dirt so that no animal would ever find it and believe Man’s deceptive plan.

Author's Note

For this retelling, I decided to base it off of The Monkey and the Looking-Glass from Indian Fables by Ramaswami Raju. One day, a monkey comes into a forest with a looking glass and he goes around to each animal showing them their reflection. Each animal cried and questioned why they looked the way they did. The monkey took the looking-glass to the owl and the owl responded by saying he did not want to look because in this case, knowledge is pain. The animals then decided to destroy the looking glass and exclaimed ignorance is bliss. I decided to retell this story from the owl’s perspective and I also changed the motto from “ignorance is bliss” to “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.

Bibliography

“The Monkey and the Looking-Glass” by Ramaswami Raju. Web Source

Image Information

Photograph of an owl. Source: Web Source

My Favorite Place: Lake Tahoe

One of my favorite places in the whole world is Lake Tahoe! I don't have a preference when it comes to the Nevada or California side because the whole area is so beautiful. My family has taken multiple family vacations up to Lake Tahoe, well before I was born and throughout many years in my life. Occasionally, my family will rent a big cabin and my mom's side of the family will come and stay with us. Lake Tahoe also holds a special place in my heart because this is where I learned how to ski when I was just three years old! I always enjoy going back to Lake Tahoe and I can't wait to go back again!

(Photo of Lake Tahoe, NV,
Photo by Christian Arballo )