Wendigo

I ran across a movie titled Wendigo and they portray the Wendigo as a man who can shape shift into a deer as its power. I haven't seen it but it seems like it makes the Wendigo come across as something different than we've been reading.

Wes Studi

Wes Studi is a Native American actor that has quite a few notable roles in pretty big films and he's just another example of a Native American who has become apart of the music industry.

Udall Scholarship

This is a scholarship that Morris and Stewart Udall have created to give Native Americans so thy can preserve their heritage. http://www.udall.gov/

Katabasis

Are these all the requirements of katabasis? Female Littoral, Crossing water, hero, orphan?

Mormon Sighting

I saw some Mormons the other day on the way home from Senior Chapel. They were two men, on bikes wearing the traditional missionary clothing: white shirt, black tie and pants + their name tag.

http://www.openoffice.org/

http://www.openoffice.org/

A wonderful website if you don't want to invest in Microsoft word. Especially if your a cheap bastard like myself.

Mr. Wendigo

Apparently, the wendigo made an appearance in a Supernatural episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6eUW7Vny9w&feature=related

That's a serious case of heartburn.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

this is a picture of brady udall

The Men Who Stare At Goats -

I watched "The Men Who Stare At Goats" a few weeks ago, and i remember there being a few dominant Native American symbols that related to the class. One of them being being the Eagle Feather and The Sun Dance Ritual that we saw in the video in class. Can anyone remind me of what they were/meant?

Exam review

we aren't having an exam review session on monday or tuesday are we?

Exam Identifications

Would it be possible for someone to explain the fact of "popular sovereignty" and "manifest destiny" to me. I looked up some definitions online and i found nothing but confusing words piled together. THANKS

Wendigo

Since we are doing a project in class about the Wendigo, I thought it might be helpful to have a refresher on the background material of the Wendigo. The link below has information on the lore, culture, and actually historical events that are associated with Wendigo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendigo

Excommunication

After talking to the Mormon missionaries about excommunication I was curious about excommunications in general and did some research. I found an article by PBS that explains many of the reasons and processes of excommunication in Mormonism and in other religions.

http://www.pbs.org/mormons/faqs/controversies.html

The Life of a Mormon Missionary

Ever wondered what the life of a Mormon missionary is like? If you were not satisfied with the brief view into the lives of Mormon missionaries that we were given when the two sisters came to class then read the link below for more detailed information on their lives and rules.

http://www.lds4u.com/Missionaries/nutshell.htm

The Book of Mormon and the King James Bible

I noticed that Mormons typically only use the King James version of the Bible and found that this is because the King James version is believed to be the most accurate and least translated according to the Mormons. As the article from the link explains, there are many similarities between the Book or Mormon and the King James Bible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Mormon_and_the_King_James_Bible

Assassinations

Here is a list of all the Presidential Candidates who have been assassinated or someone has attempted to assassinate them. Ms. Deckard briefly talked about this in class but she did not specify any names so I thought it would interest some of you.

Date President/Candidate Attempt's Result Assailant, Motive

Jan. 30, 1835 Andrew Jackson failed Richard Lawrence,
declared insane
Apr. 14, 1865 Abraham Lincoln killed John Wilkes Booth,
Confederate loyalist
July 2, 1881 James Garfield killed Charles Guiteau,
disgruntled office-seeker
Sept. 6, 1901 William McKinley killed Leon Czolgosz,
anarchist
Oct. 14, 1912 Theodore Roosevelt
(former president, then-current candidate) wounded John Schrank,
declared insane
Feb. 15, 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt
(president-elect at the time) missed Guiseppe Zangara,
anarchist
Nov. 1, 1950 Harry S Truman failed Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola,
Puerto Rican independence
Nov. 22, 1963 John F. Kennedy killed Lee Harvey Oswald,
motive unknown
June 4, 1968 Robert F. Kennedy
(candidate) killed Sirhan Sirhan,
opposed Kennedy's views toward Israel-Arab conflict
May 15, 1972 George C. Wallace
(candidate) wounded Arthur Bremer,
motive unknown
Sept. 5, 1975 Gerald Ford failed Lynette Alice Fromme,
member of "Manson family"
Sept. 22, 1975 Gerald Ford failed Sara Jane Moore,
revolutionary
Mar. 30, 1981 Ronald Reagan wounded John W. Hinckley, Jr.,
declared insane

How many U.S. presidents have been assasinated?

Four presidents have been killed in office: Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy.

Blogging???

I was wondering if this is the last official week that we have to blog?

Interview with Brady Udall

This is an interesting piece about what Udall's thought process is when writing Edgar Mint!

http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm?author_number=792

Facts about the 1970s

I think it is important when reading a book to understand a bit about the setting. Here are some facts about the 1970s.

Population: 204,879,000
Unemployed in 1970: 4,088,000
National Debt: $382 billion
Average salary: $7,564
Food prices: milk, 33 cents a qt.; bread, 24 cents a loaf; round steak, $1.30 a pound
Life Expectancy: Male, 67.1; Female, 74.8

It's kind of crazy to see how much things have changed, right? I wonder what it will be like twenty years from now...

Music in the 1970s

So I was trying to figure out what to blog about and I remembered the little scene where Edgar is in the car with Barry and he overdoses Barry which made me think of drugs which in turn made me think of music. So here is a little taste of what Barry may and most likely was listening too.

The early 1970s saw the rise of popular soft rock/pop rock music, with recording artists such as Fleetwood Mac, The Carpenters, Ray Stevens,Elton John, James Taylor, John Denver, The Eagles, America, Chicago,The Doobie Brothers, Paul McCartney and Wings, Bread and Steely Dan as well as the further rise of such popular, influential rhythm and blues (R&B) artists as multi-instrumentalist Stevie Wonder and the popular quintet The Jackson 5. A major event in music in the early 70s, were the deaths of popular rock stars Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison all at the age of 27. Funk, an offshoot of blues, was also very popular. The mid-1970s also saw the rise of disco music, which dominated during the last half of the decade with bands like the Bee Gees, ABBA, Boney M, Donna Summer, KC and the Sunshine Band, etc. In response to this, rock music became increasingly hard-edged with artists such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelinand Black Sabbath. Minimalism also emerged, lead by composers such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich and Michael Nyman. This was a break from the intellectual serial music of the tradition of Schoenberg which lasted from the early 1900s to 1960s.

As we have learned previously in class discussions - music has a great affect on culture. Just like with Arnold Friend, the music in the 70s helped propel drug usage.

Catcher in the Rye

interesting article on wikipedia about the life of Mark Chapman, the man who killed John Lennon and how he said the Catcher in the Rye motivated him to do this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_David_Chapman

Banned and challenged books

I was wondering which were books were the most controverial books written and came across a list of books that have been banned, challenged, or censored in some way.

http://www.banned-books.com/bblista-i.html

does anyone know what were going to be doing in class all week since we are done with Edgar Mint? Are our last grades of the year going to be the journals due tomorrow??

The Ex-Mormon Forums

http://www.exmormonforums.com/

"Get help in having your name removed from the records of the LDS Church. Post your questions or your updates on your journey out of Mormonism. Get help with stubborn Bishops or Stake Presidents. Interact with those who have already had their names removed."

http://www.mormonapologetics.org/

"When we look at what the Egyptologists and ancient Egyptians taught about Sobek, we are in for a real surprise. It just so happens that Sobek literally is “the idolatrous god of Pharaoh!” Lets consider the Egyptian evidence."

Nuff' said.

Sister Bunker and Sister Javier

Something I thought was strange is how both of the Mormon girls referred to each other as sister: Sister Bunker, Sister Javier. I would feel really weird doing that, like I wasn't me anymore. After I thought about it from their point of view it kind of made more sense to me. Okay, so in Jesus' eyes we're all brothers and sisters sorta thing, so that's why they do it, out of respect and kindness towards the other person.. makes sense.

Mormons

I just wanted to say how I enjoyed the Mormon's... or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints coming to visit us. I found how they viewed things very interesting, considering everything they do is so different from us. I understand that they need to be completely focused therefore don't have the opportunity to talk to their families a lot. That is something I wouldn't be able to deal with. To be away from my family for a year and rarely ever talk to them, I wouldn't like it considering I'm very close with my family. Also, how they can only listen to let's the say the Christian radio station and no other songs, no television. I don't know if I could live like that for a year or a year in a half. I admire their perseverance, I must say.

So I thought it was really interesting that the Mormon missionaries had to spend their own money on their missions. I would think the church would pay for it. On wikipedia, it says that unless they suddenly decide to be a missionary, they save up money their whole childhood just to go on the missions that cost $400 a month! I thought that was interesting.

We had a different bonus than the Mark Jacobsen one. Ours was Sylvia Ortiz. I originally put a poet but that's the wrong answer. Does anyone know who she is?

test

on the test one of the quotes "I don't know if I should eat shit or go blind." does anyone know the significance of this quote?

Bonus on the test

Our bonus question was "Who was Mark Jacobsen?" Does anyone know who that is, beause I do not.

The Water Method Man

This is the other book cover that Ms. Deckard handed out yesterday. I have not read the book but it is the same author as A Prayer for Owen Meany so I assume that it is good. Once again, we do not have any summer reading books this summer, so if you have some free time, read it!

I attached the review from the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/06/15/lifetimes/irving-watermethod.html

A Prayer for Owen Meany

Yesterday Ms. Deckard handed out two little pieces of paper with the covers of two book on them. A Prayer for Owen Meany is one of those books. She chose this book because the character of Edgar Mint, and the character of Owen Meany are very similar. So, if you liked The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, you will probably like A Prayer for Owen Meany. I actually read it sophomore year, and I really enjoyed it. It is a very easy read and it is a very good book.

P.S. Since we do not have summer reading this summer, I suggest you read this book for your pleasure. There will not be a test on it!

http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/06/15/lifetimes/10212.html

Do the two journals due tomorrow have to be from "Richland" or can we choose one from "Stoney Run" if we want to? I assume we can since all the questions don't really deal with a specific part of the book and are pretty general.

BANNED BOOKS

So while writing one of my journals I was looking at banned books, and came across this awesome website. Check it out, it will be much help in understanding the banning process as well as which books are banned and why (something I did not know to much about) so...CHECK IT OUT!



http://www.infoplease.com/spot/banned-kids-books.html

Journals

Did Ms. Deckard told us that we have to turn the journals in at turnitin.com?

Just Wondering

I don't know if we already talked about this in class but I was just wondering about how was polygamy part of the Mormon religion? What's the point of putting polygamy as part of the church doctrine?

Yesterday

I missed class yesterday because i had a doctors appointment... did anyone take notes they can send me please? and was there a quiz? if so... what was it on.
-thanks

Last Name?

What are Clay and Lana's last name? I want to put it in one of my journals but I can not find there last name. Does anyone know?

i know this was a really long time ago but im just going through the book again to study for the test... in the chapter "letting loose the beasts" about brains birthday party is there any significance to the pinata not breaking?

Challenged Books

In class we discussed how Edgar Mint contains material that should consider it a "challenged book." So I decided to research what makes a book challenged. I went to the official American Library Association website:
Over the past eight years, American libraries were faced with 3,736 challenges.

* 1,225 challenges due to “sexually explicit” material;
* 1,008 challenges due to “offensive language”;
* 720 challenges due to material deemed “unsuited to age group”;
* 458 challenges due to “violence”
* 269 challenges due to “homosexuality”; and
* 103 materials were challenged because they were “anti-family,”
* 233 were challenged because of their “religious viewpoints.”
Approximately 31% were in classrooms.

Angola Rodeo

I was wondering about the history of the Angola Rodeo so I searched it and this is what I came up with.
http://angolamuseum.org/?q=RodeoHistory

Derrick Todd Lee

Here is a link to the serial killer, Derrick Todd Lee, of Baton Rouge, LA. He killed a total of 7 girls, and they all had brown hair. He is now in the Angola prison.

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/baton_rouge/11.html

Mormon Beliefs

I was wondering what the exact beliefs of Mormons were and I stumbled across a website that helped me understand the Mormon religion more http://www.mormonbeliefs.org/

E.M. Study Guide

Can everyone send me their notes on the school email? I'm trying to put together a study guide and I will send it to everyone by Wednesday!

Top 10 unusual Mormon beliefs

http://www.articledirectory.name/Art/112844/111/10-of-the-Most-Crazy-and-Bizarre-Mormon-Beliefs-Mormon-Church-LDS-Beliefs.html

Famous Mormons

Here is a link to a site which shows all Celebrities who happen to be Mormon. It's pretty interesting what some of the names on there are.

http://www.famousmormons.net/

MOVIE

Info about the Edgar Mint movie:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/427479/The-Miracle-Life-of-Edgar-Mint/overview

article from ny times magazine

Hey yall, ms sauer showed me this article and I thought i would share it with you guys as it deals with how pointless senior year is and i know we are all pretty ready to graduate right now! haha....but yeah it makes a quick refrence to mormons too....

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/magazine/28FOB-wwln-t.html?scp=1&sq=The%20way%20we%20live%20now:%20Class%20Dismissed&st=cse

Brigham Young

Just to give everyone a better idea of what he looked like - here is a picture of the statue mentioned by Edgar of Brigham Young.

Nicholas Sparks

Hello everyone! So I just finished the book and I just want to make a few comments to keep everyone on the edge of their seats. First of all, I did not expect the ending at all. Second, I caught myself a couple of times almost in tears. This novel reminds me of a Nicholas Sparks novel (girls you know what I'm talking about). The ending was so bitter sweet and it leaves you with that sense of wow this was a really sad story and so typical of life. It is taking all my strength not to reveal the ending but alas I will only advise you to read on my fellow classmates!

mormon visitos

Hey, I wasn't in town on Friday so I missed the Mormons...I was so bummed out. Did anything interesting happen? Did anyone ask anything out of line that caught the girls off guard?

Leggo My Eggo

Edgar munches on some delectable Eggo waffles. Eggo waffles came out in 1953. The original name was actually Froffles. Edgar also dines on some Wheaties, those date back to 1923.

Forums?!

Yes, apparently The Church of LDS has it's very own forums.

http://www.lds.net/forums/

"A very good person told a friend of mine that she'd get married in the Spirit World. After she thought about it, the idea came home to her that it was a reasonably good idea if it was the Will of God for her." - A prime of example of would you will probably read.

http://www.rickross.com/reference/mormon/mormon34.html

Here is an artical explaining the relationship between Mormons and Native Americans.

6th period... deep fried coke

here is an image of deep fried coke... yum...

http://www.psycomp.com/images/fried_coke.jpg

Mormon Leadership

for those who aren't aware of the inner working of the Mormon church, the heads of the church form "the presidency". the current president of the church is Thomas S. Monson. If anyone is interested, check out this site

In in our class the other day we were talking about how to determine what year the book is set in. I noticed that in the section "The Kum-N-Go" it says that a Coke is 15 cents. This obviously is very cheap and proves that it is set sometime in the 70s.

The History of Dum Dum Pops

Everybody loves candy. Maybe not in excess, maybe not certain types of brands, but there's always something that just soothes that sweet tooth. For Cecil, that candy is the Dum Dum Pop.

When reading the novel, I couldn't help but wonder if the Dum Dum Pops had any significance. They are small and disposable, but enjoyable. After much thought and continuously reading and rereading the passages, I came to the startling conclusion that the Dum Dum Pops do in fact have no significance other than being a rather cheap and accessible candy. It isn't surprising that they appear at Willie Sherman. They are widely available and cheap. But for something so ubiquitous, from whence did these miniature syrup sticks come?

Three score and seventeen years ago John Philips brought forth on this continent a new lollipop, conceived in Bellevue, Ohio, and dedicated to the proposition that all candy should be delicious.

Sorry about that, anyway, 29 years later in 1954 the Dum Dum Pop was bought by the Sprangler Candy Company and production was moved to Bryan, Ohio. Because of this, Bryan is now considered the "Dum Dum Capitol of the World". I wish they had thought that title through a little bit more, though, but I guess if they didn't consider the easily misunderstood meaning, then they deserve the title.

One thing Dum Dum Pops are pretty popular for is their myriad of flavors. Many candies just come with boring old flavors like "strawberry" or "lemon", but no. Dum Dum Pops were like, "Hey, you know what? Let's make a root beer flavored lollipop." I'm sure that many people were like, "Dude, no, that's ridiculous," but you know what? They were wrong. Anyway, you can see a list of all flavors, continued and discontinued, here. Also note the gnarly nomenclature of some of the flavors. There's also a flavor called chocolate caramel, which I am interested to try.

Furthermore, the lollipop's siteweb has a poll for flavors, which reminds me of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. To my knowledge, there has yet to be a Stephen Colbert Dum Dum, but I suppose that has to do with the name of the product and bad publicity and all that. You can vote for flavors here. Also, you can play some of their flash games. Or watch their video which appears to contain a man in a costume shaped like a base drum wearing a hat. I love it.

Enjoy! <3 Shiloh.

Quotes

Here are two quotes I found about the Mountain Meadows Massacre!

"If any miserable scoundrels come here, cut their throats." Brigham Young

"The Mountain Meadows Massacre stands without a parallel amongst the crimes that stain the pages of American history. It was a crime committed without cause or justification of any kind to relieve it of its fearful character... When nearly exhausted from fatigue and thirst, [the men of the caravan] were approached by white men, with a flag of truce, and induced to surrender their arms, under the most solemn promises of protection. They were then murdered in cold blood." William Bishop, Attorney to John D. Lee

Compromise of 1850

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compromise_of_1850

Link to wikipedia website about Compromise of 1850 or the 3/5 Compromise

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_bloody_board_game

This is an artical I found about a board game called "King Phillip's War" and it's about the clash between Native American and colonists in the 17th century.

interesting facts on mormons...enjoy!

http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-times/article.php?articleid=1588

In the book Edgar keep talking about a place called the ward. Does anyone know what that is?

MS. DECKARD!

Is there any way I can tell how many times I've blogged per week? I'm pretty sure I blogged two times this week, but not positive so I wanted to see if there was any way to check.

Lana and Clay

I was watching Criminal Minds a few days ago and there was a case where a man had kidnapped a little girl and it was possible she was dead. A detective told his unit some statistics that I thought were very interesting so I researched it a little further.

He said the death of a child is voted to be the hardest thing a couple could go through. However only 16% of marriages who experience death of a child go through with divorce. "Less than half of those divorced reported the death of their child as a factor in the decision to divorce." Depending on how Lana and Clay continue to act toward each other, odds are for them that they wont get divorced.

"Experts say that parents typically never "get over" the loss of a child, but rather learn to adjust and to integrate the loss into their lives. Still, the death of a child remains one of the most stressful life events imaginable. One-fourth to one-third of parents who lose a child report that their marriage suffers strains that sometimes prove irreparable." This is a good quote i found, by Jane Brody, that further explained Clay and Lana's relationship after the tragic death of their son.

XTRA CREDITTT

Does anyone know how much the extra credit is worth? I know its this weekend... but what time does it start and how far away is it from Metairie? How long do you think it is?

ANSWER FROM MS. D - THE TRIP IS 2 1/2 HOURS. HERE'S THE LINK TO THE DRIVING DIRECTIONS: DIRECTIONS

Ques.

Okay, so the day that Sunny finds Edgar by the windmill doing his thing... does she actually know what he's doing or no. I think she does but just checking to be sure. She says how she won't tell on him and she sees him going out here a lot lately. In return he states he won't tell on her either.. for what exactly?

byu

I found a lot of information on Brigham Young from the BYU website. I attached a paragraph about he founding of the university that I thought was particularly interesting.

The university traces its roots to Utah's rich pioneer heritage. The original school, Brigham Young Academy, was established Oct. 16, 1875, on a little over one acre of land in what is now downtown Provo. At that time, Brigham Young, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, charged that all secular learning at the institution should be fused with teachings from the scriptures. Speaking to Academy Principal Karl G. Maeser, President Young said: "Brother Maeser, I want you to remember that you ought not to teach even the alphabet or the multiplication tables without the Spirit of God." BYU has remained true to that original charge.

For more information check out the BYU history site. http://yfacts.byu.edu/viewcategory.aspx?id=81

Miracle Life of E.M.--> MADE INTO A MOVIE,,,

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/427479/The-Miracle-Life-of-Edgar-Mint/overview

Angola Rodeo

This weekend is the Angola Rodeo! Here is the website.
http://www.angolarodeo.com/

James Bond: Quantum of Solace

While I was watching Quantum of Solace last night, I found another Native American reference that pertained to what we were doing in the beginning of the semester. The type of Helicopter that tried to shoot down Bond's plane is called the "UH-1 Iroquois." It is a helicopter that has been since the early 60s. Here is another reference to add to the list!


If your interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UH-1_Iroquois

This is an excerpt from an article I found called, "Joseph Smith descendant has a story to tell". It talks about how rough it was to grow up Mormon and the restrictions they had:

"I am writing to tell you what it has been like to be raised a descendant of Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith.

We were not allowed to talk to Mormons (or anyone) about our lineage. We were raised to believe that Mormons would either try to kill us or recruit us (and as children, we didn't know which would be worse). We were encouraged to run from anyone with a Book of Mormon. We were sent to Baptist and Methodist churches and told to stay away from any other religion.

We were taught that the "Mormons in Utah" wanted to kill our great-great grandfather (though I didn't know it then, I now think they were speaking of Joseph Jr. and Emma's son, Alexander) and we were in danger around "them" (the "Utah Mormons").

The ironic part is that when my mother became very ill (when I was about 10 years old) it was a Mormon family (LDS) that took care of my two sisters, my brother and me for weeks. When we were welcomed in the LDS Church, we were surprised (and relieved). "

The whole article can be found at http://mormontimes.com/studies_doctrine/research_discoveries/?id=14281&hStack=1

Famous Mormons

Some famous people that either were mormons or are currently mormons are:

Amy Adams
Aaron Eckhart
John Heder
Katherine Heigl
David Archuleta
The Killers
Gladys Knight
Marie and Donny Osmond

And more at http://famousmormons.net/

Mormons

Since we are beginning to study more about Mormons as they become a more significant part of the story, I thought I would post a link to a site about Mormon beliefs.

http://www.mormonbeliefs.org/

America: The History of Us

Before i saw the movie, The Clash of the Titans, there was a preview for a documentary on the History Channel called "America: The History of us." I'm very interested in the way they're going to depict the Native Americans. If it is good, we should watch that segment in class. Everyone should check it out!

It premiers Sunday, April 25th, at 8pm on the history channel. Check out the link: http://www.history.com/shows/america-the-story-of-us

Inspiration

http://www.ldsfilm.com/announced/MiracleLife.html

As a seventh-grader in rural St. John's, Ariz., Brady Udall once played a football game against a ramshackle rival school on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.

The reservation school had the hopeless air of a prison. Its football field was littered with broken glass, and a cactus grew in one end zone. After St. John's beat the ragtag Apache players by some lopsided score, Udall and his teammates climbed back onto their shiny new bus to head home.

Udall was gazing out of the bus when Apache students began hurling bottles, folding chairs and chunks of concrete from a nearby three-story dorm building, denting the bus and shattering its windows. In the seconds before the barrage, Udall locked eyes with an Apache boy staring back at him through the bars of one of the dorm's windows. The youth had broken teeth, scabbed hands and a expression of weary disdain.

"For some reason, the look on that boy's face has never left me," says Udall, now 31. "I knew one day when I wrote a novel it would be the first thing I'd write about. I'll never know anything about that boy, but as the god of my own little universe, I decided to give him a story and a name."

Richland

http://utah.hometownlocator.com/ut/salt-lake/richland.cfm

This is the only Richland in Utah.

The Lonely Polygamist

Brady Udall has a new book coming out called the Lonely Polygamist. It comes out May 3, 2010 and it is about a man named Golden Richards who has 4 wives and 28 children. The story is about his polygamist life while he is enduring a midlife crisis.

Brady Udall

Just some facts on Brady Udall:

1. Grew up in St. John's, Arizona.
2. Went to Brigham Young University and then the University of Iowa.
3. His uncle was a U.S. Congressman
4. He now teaches at Boise State University

Prosecutor: Nine teens charged in bullying that led to girl's suicide - CNN.com

Prosecutor: Nine teens charged in bullying that led to girl's suicide - CNN.com

Raymond

Does anyone know who is Raymond in the book? I know he works at the school but I don't know what he does for the school.

Extra Credit Opportunity - April 17 - Angola Rodeo

The Angola Rodeo is April 17 & 18. If you'd like to go, we can organize a non-school sanctioned, renegade field trip. You organize the car pool and collect ticket money, I'll be the point man for ticket orders and print up maps. We can meet there, or just "run into each other" and enjoy the crazy day. I am not chaperoning this trip, but I can be there to watch out for you if you parents are nervous. A better idea - bring them with!

Chris Cabral has volunteered to organize this. Tickets are $12.50 and that includes the handling fee. Please e-mail him (ccabral@stmsaints.com) and tell him if you want to go, and bring him $12.50 CASH. You need to do this ASAP!

Crow Symbolism

After doing a little research, symbolism of the crow goes so many different ways. In all different countries of the world, they had a different depiction of the crow.

Check it out!
http://paganismwicca.suite101.com/article.cfm/crow_mysterious_pagan_symbol

There is a blurb about the Native American view of them, which is quoted below. This should help understand the poem.

"Crow has been likened to the trickster of Native American power animals. There was a man who hated crows because he thought they prevented him from trapping rabbits. He decided to try to frighten them by putting mirrors on the ground facing skyward so the birds would see their reflections and be scared away. Crow, a curious bird ,and was fascinated by the mirrors and decided to explore them. One by one, they desecrated the mirrors’ surfaces, then flew into a tree and cackled at what they had done."

Maria

At the end of the chapter where Edgar's mom dies, he cries to Maria. I remember her from previous chapters, however i don't remember who she is! Can someone enlighten me?

NAMA

I wasn't aware that Native Americans had their own music awards, and I found this a very informative website on the matter. http://www.nativeamericanmusicawards.com/

Phineas Gage

This is a story about brain damage I was reminded of recently, and it could help spread some light on some odd things with Edgar. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Phineas-Gage-Neurosciences-Most-Famous-Patient.html

Edgar

Edgar is beginning to change. He's starting to act violently in certain situations such as when he beats up Walter Reed and kicks Rotten Teeth in the groins.

Cavalry Stables

In the chapter Cavalry Stables, I think it is a time when all of the students come together for once. At the end they explain that they continue the dance and howling around the fire like the "savages" they were. All of the boys have never had a moment where they all agreed on something, but here they seem to finally understand each other. It took one person's death to bring about 80 boys together. I think it may have some significance.

Stewart Udall

In class when we first started reading The Mircacle Life of Edgar Mint, Ms. Deckard mentioned that the author, Brady Udall, was from a family full of politicians. I just saw on the news that one of his relatives, Stewart Udall, who served as secretary of the interior with John F. Kennedy, died about a week ago. He served six years in Congress as a democrat from Arizona before heading to the Interior Department for eight years under President Kennedy and Johnson. I just figured I would post this on the blog since he was pretty closely related to the author of the book we are reading.

Havasupai Tribe

Information regarding the tribe that Cecil belongs to.

http://www.havasupaitribe.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havasupai

I implore you to look at some of the waterfall pics, they are absolutely gorgeous.

P.S. Count this towards last week.

Ficky-fick

"Ficky-fick," Cecil said.
"Ficky-fick," I said.
"Oh mama," Cecil said.

So, apparently ficky-fick is a real word, at least according to the urban dictionary.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ficky-fick

Barry

So i still don't understand this whole thing with Barry Pinkley .... what is his deal? He now finds Edgar at his school and takes him away from there like he planned to do at the hospital. I mean i understand he says he's going to bring him to his mother and all and that he has found her. Why does he care so much about Edgar?.. what is it about him that makes him so attached to Edgar?.. in helping him.. caring for him... saving his life.. checking up on him all the time.. finding his mother.. i just don't understand Barry very well. And also it's kind of creepy when they pull up to the house and he tells Edgar not to worry about the dogs and that they only bite the police... like the police are bad or something?!

Symbolic Consumption

So far in the novel, we've encountered different types of consumption, each with their own symbolic meaning. We saw Art eat the dirt from his family's graves, Nelson eat the marble, Cecil eat the heart, and most recently Edgar eat the dirt from his mother's grave. I'm sure that Edgar was imitating what Art had done with the dirt from his family's graves, but I though that the differences between the two are very interesting. We mentioned in class that Art's consumption was more of a repentant act, somewhat atoning for his family's death, which was his fault. He wanted his family to be a part of him, so he eats the dirt.

Edgar's consumption really intrigues me because, while he was probably imitating Art, the relation between Art's relationship and Edgar's relationship is very different, and I think that this is reflected with the consumption. Edgar hardly knew his mother, and whenever he saw her she was drunk. He often fantasized about her living in a sunny California or some other Utopian reality. However, when he tried to eat the dirt from his mother's grave, he couldn't. She was hardly ever present in his life, and it's interesting that Edgar can not make her a part of him (through the dirt). I thought that that symbolism was interesting, and I hope we touch up on in more in class.

Seth's Buffalo Nickel

I thought what Seth posted on the blog about the Buffalo Nickel was interesting so I decided to look up a picture of it. If you click on the picture it will show you the back of it with the buffalo.

Buffalo Nickel

I've just found something that i haven't come across in a while. The US mint distributed a nickel with a buffalo on the front and the picture of an Indian Chief on the back. I was wondering why they would do that if they were so concerned about ridding the US of their "Indian" cultures. Why would they circulate a tribute around the nation if they were so set on assimilating these "barbaric" people?

edgar mint

how does barry know where edgar is when barry shows up at he school?

umm i don't know about y'all but i think its really weird that Cecil eats the heart of a frog.....yeah

FANCY DANCING

some fancydancing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_PYiaqxJU0

new blog

for those that havent seen the email yet, apparently blogster is being updated with new features, for instance you can now use paragraphs. this should help with really long blog posts.

Marbles

here is a website explaining different variations of marble games.
http://www.games-for-all-reasons.com/marble_games.html
and for a game with such simple materials, there are quite a few ways to play.

Yanomamo Tribe

In addition to what Ms. Deckard taught us in class, and the pictures she showed us, this is a website that tells a little bit about all of the aspects of the Yanomamo Indian Tribe of Brazil.

http://www.crystalinks.com/yanomami.html

Fort Apache

There are a lot of different things that come up when you google Fort Apache. The first result was an old western movie. John Wayne and Shirley Temple are the stars of the movie, and it seems like a generic, corny Cowboy and Indian movie. I've attached the trailer.

I also found a vintage board game called Fort Apache. I couldn't find the rules or objective to the game but it seems like it has a Risk-like feel to it.

The last thing I found was Fort Apache used as a metaphor for a shelter from a hostile place.

"Peace Off"

As i was stumbling, i came across this website called "Fredo and Pidjin." It is about to pidgins that are out to destroy the world. I was really bored, so i kept hitting random and came across this. I thought it was funny and thought of this class! It shows the stereotype and makes fun of how all of the Native Americans have war tomahawks and smoke peace pipes.

http://www.pidjin.net/2005/12/11/peace-off/

Book Covers

I was looking for something else when I came across all these alternate book covers for The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint. I think book covers are pretty important because most of the time it's the first impression of the book that makes a reader decide to read the book or not, and also the cover can convey so many different ideas about the book before the prospective reader looks at the back synopsis or inside cover.

Brady Udall (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia page for Brady Udall:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brady_Udall
Information in article:
- Born in St. John's, AZ
- Graduated Brigham University
- Teaches writing at Boise State University now
- The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint was Udall's debut novel

The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint Movie Trailer

This is a trailer for the movie, "The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint":

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/427479/The-Miracle-Life-of-Edgar-Mint/overview

Quotes

Do we have to use a certain amount of quotes in our Journal entries?

Also, I am not sure how many classes I will be able to attend this week, so if anyone has any notes they take this week that they would not mind sending me I would really appreciate it!

class on friday

i missed class Friday because i was sick..what did we do?

Brady Udall

This is actually an interesting article talking about Brady Udall as a child and how he came to write The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint.

http://www.ldsfilm.com/announced/MiracleLife.html

confusion

so for each journal entry do we just use one topic from each section on that paper?

homework

is there a particular length this journal needs to be?

Interesting Documentary about Sherman's March

This documentary (or as Ms. Deckard pronounces it, documen-tary) is three years old, but really good. It was made for the History Channel, so you can assume that it entertains (and dedicates twenty minutes to Nostradamus and the Freemasons). If anyone is interested in my previous post, I strongly recommend you check out this documentary.

William Sherman and the Civil War

William Tecumseh Sherman was born February 8th, 1820 in Ohio. His middle name actually comes from a Shawnee chief, although some reports claim that Tecumseh was his birth-name, and he wasn't called William until he was ten or so.

Sherman is famous for his role in the Civil War, but his military career had begun twenty years prior. In 1840, he even fought against the Seminole Tribe in Florida. However, during these twenty years, he was more of a businessman and superintendent than a soldier. However, once the Civil War had started in 1861, he reluctantly joined the army once more.

He was first commissioned as a colonel, and his first battle in the Civil War was the Battle of Bull Run, which was a disastrous loss to the Union Army. During this time of the war, Sherman suffered from a nervous breakdown due to his own doubts regarding his leadership. He felt outnumbered by the rebels, and was had a pessimistic attitude towards the war. Sherman recovered by December, and by March, Sherman was serving under Ulysses S. Grant, who was proving himself an extremely capable leader.

Sherman's first battle under Grant was the Battle of Shiloh. As you may know, the battle was so vicious that they named it after me. The battle was a Confederate surprise attack, and the first day showed overwhelming Confederate victory. However, the damage that the Confederates had done raised the Union Army's Limit Break to the max, so the next day, Sherman used Omnislash and the Union ended the battle victorious. Because of this, Sherman leveled up and gained the rank of major general (cue Final Fantasy VII Victory Fanfare)

After that, Sherman and Grant's careers ascended. I'll skip all of that and go to Georgia, where Sherman proved himself to be either a madman or a genius. Sherman proceeded to invade Georgia, with simple reasoning; Atlanta was practically the economic heart of the Confederacy. It had many railroads that allowed transportation of all kinds of needs, including military. Destroying Atlanta would severely cripple the Confederacy. And that's exactly what Sherman did. On September 2, 1864, he ordered his troops to burn all government and military buildings. He didn't want to stop there. After Lincoln was re-elected (the Democrats were pushing for a peaceful resolution to the war, and was willing to acknowledge the Confederacy as a separate, sovereign entity. Interesting to think how that would have turned out.), he gave Sherman the order to proceed to Savannah. During Sherman's March, he ordered his troops to operate under scorched earth policies, meaning they burnt land and crops, killed livestock, and destroyed basically anything that the enemy could use. While this tactic is devastating to the enemy, it could also be devastating to the offensive army should a defending one push them back.

However, Sherman's confidence didn't betray him. On December 21st, 1864, Savannah was captured. After this victory, Sherman fought in one more campaign and the war was over.

Now you know why Sherman is one of the most notable generals of the Civil War. However, I couldn't find anything much information about his relations towards Native Americans, so I assume the reason why the upcoming chapter we're reading is named after him is because he's a notable general and the school is a military school.

Brady Udall

Here is a link of an interview with Brady Udall about the book "The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint"



http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm?author_number=792

Ismore

Does the book say why Ismore is in the hospital?

The Apache Chief Super Hero

"Apache Chief's main power is the ability to become larger; he can only do this by saying the words "Inyuk-chuk" which in his language means "Big Man". It is said that his powers have no limit. The Native American hero obtained his powers one day walking with the chief of his tribe. Both the chief and the young brave were confronted by a bear. While the young brave became fearful, the chief remained calm, suspecting that this was just the occasion for the brave's dormant powers to be revealed."

http://www.comicvine.com/apache-chief/29-43948/

Another instance of hilarious stereotyping.

Apache Tribe

An interesting, although the design is a bit bland, website. Contains a convenient time line, links, etc. It's worth a look at.

http://www.greatdreams.com/apache/apache-tribe.htm

Syracuse is going to kick Gonzaga's butt

What do you think about that? Hm, Robert?

homeworkk...

what page do we have to read to for monday?

Project

I thought this project was interesting and rather easy. I liked how much freedom Ms. Deckard gave us to do what we wanted. Doing this project, I learned about the area of Arizona, which will hopefully help me visualize Edgar Mint's setting much better. Overall, this was a fun project that I think we all enjoyed!

Senior Summer Reading!

The purpose of us reading the book The Miracle Lide of Edgar Mint, is for us to leave high school, and have the desire to read books on our own. This book is an enjoyable book and if you like it, here are two other books that Beady Udall has written that you might enjoy!

The Lonely Polygamist: A Novel
Letting Loose the Hounds: Stories

Brady Udall

Brady Udall grew up in a large Mormon family in Arizona. He graduated from Brigham Young University and later attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop. He once was a faculty member of Franklin & Marshall College starting in 1998, then Southern Illinois University, and now he teaches writing at Boise State University. His debut novel The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint was published in 2001. The Lonely Polygamist was published in May 2010.

Apache Rose Peacock

I was listening to Apache Rose Peacock by The Red Hot Chili Peppers and it is an incredible song! It is about a woman that Anthony Keidis met on a trip to New Orleans. It reminded of the Apache Unit were doing in class!

Kiedis' family didn't think they had Indian blood, but they did some research, and they are related to the Mohawk Indians. Anthony used to dream going to a reservation one day and meet the girl of his dreams. He has two incredible Indian tattoos, one a picture of a Haida Thunderbird. This artwork comes from the tribes of the Pacific Northwest and is a stylization of an eagle across his back :

http://crfranke.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/ant4.jpg

http://www.eviltattoo.com/celeb/anthonykiedis2.jpg


and on both arms he has two tattoos of Indian Chiefs. One is of Chief Joseph and the other is of Sitting Bull:

http://www.eviltattoo.com/celeb/kiedis2.html

http://www.eviltattoo.com/celeb/kiedis.html



VERY explicit lyrics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsja7RVI-ZE

Journal

Quick question... does anyone remember when the journals are due.?! i know we have to do them... but i dont remember when we need to do them by! helppp

???

Yo, does anybody know what page we are supposed to read to tonight? It's not on the HW site and I thought I remember her saying it was going to be. So if you remember or whatever just lemme know! thanks.... amanda

Itenerary

Another good website is www.arizonaguide.com, it even has a "build your own itinerary" section!

P.S. If anyone plans on going to the Grand Canyon, from personal experience, I do not recommend riding a mule to the bottom and back! It was cool, but painful!

project!

hey guys, i found this website that has really cool things to see and do in Phoenix.
I have found it to be very helpful

http://phoenix.about.com/od/govtcity/u/neighborhoods.htm

9 Real-Life Levels of Hell

http://www.holytaco.com/9-real-life-levels-hell

So I stumbled across this and I thought it was very funny. It relates back to Dante, kinda. It actually has no educational value whatsoever, but I thought other people might enjoy reading it :)

San Carlos Indian Reservation

The reservation is famous for being the home of Native American chief Geronimo (the guy on one of the posters in Ms. D's room). The reservation is still operating and controls a large casino. The whole history of the reservation is pretty interesting, so I suggest reading a little about it.

Native American Newspaper

If you want to read up on current events concerning Native Americans then look no further.
http://nativetimes.com/

Song

I found this to be a very captivating song sung by the cherokees.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VqoxOcEqpk

Kill the Indian, Save the Man

This is a video of a digital story about a woman's uncle who attended one of the boarding schools and choked on soap and died when they stuck it in his mouth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6PU7eNrJnE&feature=related

This is a link to a picture of kids in a boarding school: http://images.publicradio.org/content/2006/03/13/20060313_boardingstudents_2.jpg . You can tell that they cut their hair, make them dress the same way, and do the same things as they describe in the articles/video.

Day Light Savings

TODAY WE SPRANG FORWARD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time

I was watching Chelsea Lately on E! the other night, and she talked about Indians and made a comment about Indians and casinos. I would have never gotten the connection if it wasn't for that project!

Does anyone know where I could find the articles?

homework assignment

Do we have to use both of the JSTOR articles in our paper?

homework assignment

Do we have to use both of the JSTOR articles in our paper?

Dave Chappelle-Native Americans

This is a video of comedian Dave Chappelle retelling his story about his "experience" with Native Americans. Its really funny but kinda inappropriate.

href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Teq8-3Xitxc">

Indian Boarding School

Here is an article about this woman's experience at an Indian Boarding School.


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004161238_boardingschool03m.html

here is a picture of a native ameriacan student before and after...very cool picture

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3005/2487594201_22ed59f2cc.jpg

native american colleges

as well as having native american colleges and universities. here is a website to look at them.

http://www2.memphis.edu/presweb/affirmact/nacu.pdf

Tribal leaders meet in Washington

I found this article about The National Congress of American Indians, which met in Washington, D.C. to meet with legislators and policymakers. Leaders from America's 526 nationally recognized Native American tribes discussed strategies for getting Congress and the Obama administration on a host of political, economic and social issues, including questions of sovereignty for American Indian nations and tribes.

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/lifestyle/Native-Americans-Enjoy-Autonomy-But-Land-Use-Sovereignty-Questions-Persist--87268067.html

Music Around the World

This a video of musicians from around the world playing "Stand by me." I thought it was very interesting especially because there many musicians from the French Quarter. I feel like it pertains this class because there is an Indian tribe playing this drum made out of stretched animal skin. Very very cool!

CHECK IT OUT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

party like its 1879!

so on the same topic of close-minded ridiculousness, outdated ideals, and assimilation to "approved" ways; i found this recent article on the somewhat evasive maneuvers of one 'Itawamba county school district'. 'Kill the prom, save the __________'
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lesbian_prom_date

Epilogue

I was very confused on what happened in the Epilogue. In the end, who is Luther Samaunt? When he was "hanging" did he end up dying or did he live? What is the point of this?

Confused

Okay I am confused on who beat up Gregory. Was it the school children or people from the agency? Or neither, I feel like I just completely missed that when we read today.

Go Go Gophers- Indian Treasure

Stereotyping is a funny thing, apparently it takes the shape of gophers in Native American garments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH7TXnFJNeE

Dante Inferno An Animated Epic

Oh god...Well folks, the animated version of Dante's Inferno is finally out. You can probably rent it at your local Blockbuster or find it online. Either way, it is just as ridiculous as you'd expect.

Here is a very interesting and insightful quote in my opinion by N. Scott Momaday:

"Writing engenders in us certain attitudes toward language. It encourages us to take words for granted. Writing has enabled us to store vast quantities of words indefinitely. This is advantageous on the one hand but dangerous on the other. The result is that we have developed a kind of false security where language is concerned, and our sensitivity to language has deteriorated. And we have become in proportion insensitive to silence." - N. Scott Momaday

Bureaucratese

Ms. Deckard mentioned Bureaucratese for a second in class today. Here are literal translations of the word from Dictionary.com.

1. "A style of language, used esp. by bureaucrats, that is full of circumlocutions, euphemisms, buzzwords, abstractions, etc."

2. "A style of language characterized by jargon and euphemism that is used especially by bureaucrats: 'Soviet bureaucratese, especially the tongue-twisting acronyms and alien-sounding portmanteau words of the state security apparatus.'"

Mother Goodeye

I am wondering about Mother Goodeye and why she is at the boarding school? I know she is the mother of Emdotha and that he is the janitor at the school but why is she actually there?

Simple Jack

This is a sort of satirical response to a line that Emdotah says before he recites the prayers by the boys. He says, "We are a dream in the heads of children.." after this, I immediately thought of this clip from the movie, Tropic Thunder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPZvYIBQJuA

its only 20 seconds so take a look!

YO!

Hey guys, I had to miss class this Monday and Tuesday, so if anyone has any helpful notes they took in class or anything important that we discussed could you please e-mail me.. thank you! (;

Always have another question

I'm not exactly sure where and why Emdotah comes into the picture. I know he is a Kiowa man, but I'm not sure what his main purpose is. And what's the deal with he and mother goodeye giving thanks at the end of Act 1 (39-40). I know before that they were talking about the children and their safety, but then they go on to talk about the darkness? i guess where the children will end up?

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Pierre-Aguste Renoir is the artist of the painting Ms. Deckard showed us in class. This is biography of the artist and some of his other famous paintings can be found on the website.

Here is a nice biography for Scott Momaday

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mom0bio-1

Scott Momaday Quote

I find this Scott Momaday quote very interesting and thought intriguing!

"I sometimes think the contemporary white American is more culturally deprived than the Indian."

i came across this and thought i would share it with yall...its an apology from the gov of canada to native americans about the indian boarding schools
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyxJ-zpYDkE

i really like momadays style of writing and looked up some more info on his backround etc...i found this interview really intresting...
http://mail/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mom0int-1

just a little ?

So we were talking about how Gregory is the more sensitive one in Act. 1 scene 1.. then why is it that wheritt always says how much he loves the children and stuff like that. I don't get how he's not really caring about the kids since he says the different positive things about them as well??

homework..

on the homework site is says we have to finish act 1 and read all of act 2... is this correct? because that is around 40 pages..

Trespassing on Native American grounds

This article is about how a group of Native Americans are joining together to stop the Utah Transit Authority. The Native Americans claim the UTA is trespassing on sacred burial grounds. The Native Americans feel disrespected and ignored because of this. Here is the link to the article.


http://www.abc4.com/content/news/slc/story/Is-the-UTA-trespassing-on-Native-American-grounds/bTOPjv52MEmHROJ2mgrTXw.cspx

scene 2

How old is John? Because it is somewhat obvious that John Pai and Carrie have something going on between them. She seems to be attracted to him physically and mentally. I know Carrie is John's teacher but they seem close in age.

Assimilation through education

This is a good example of how a society can use childhood favorites to send messages to little kids. Today i was stumbling (on StumbleUpon), and found this which reminded me of class.

"Published in 1948, this mostly forgotten children's book from Disney contains an extremely racist African caricature that comes to live with Mickey Mouse who is amused and angered by the lad's "silly and primitive ways."

It shows a black character showing up through a crate of banana's labeled "West African Bananas." I assume this was used to express a very common stereotype to express children the danger of African Americans, during the time of severe racism in the United States.

http://www.slightlywarped.com/crapfactory/curiosities/2010/racist_mickey_mous_book.htm

Act 1, Scene 2

Does anyone know what the "seminary" is that John Pai gets accepted into in this chapter? I know it's in New York however it seems to be a great honor!

blog views

I don't know if everyone has been keeping up with the cluster map but it shows the places all over the world where people are viewing our blog. It's actually kind of cool. It's not what I'd expect, but there are actually a lot of people viewing our posts.

Details about the Great Plains

The great plains are in the central United States and take up all of Oklahoma and other states. There are usually no trees (tiny shrubs maybe) and lots of grass. They receive very little rainfall. Bison are plentiful as are reptiles and insects.

When I looked up the temps from Jan. 8 in Oklahoma, the high was 13 degrees F and the low was 7 degrees F!

Weather

After looking up the weather for the home work assignment i came across some neat-o facts about temperature rise and fall in the great plains region. In 15 minutes the temperature dropped 47 degrees Fahrenheit and in 2 minutes the temperature rose 49 degrees Fahrenheit, both of these events occurred in South Dakota!

Some facts about Author N. Scott Momaday:

1. He was a Kaiwa too, just like the people in the book.
2. He was born in Oklahoma
3. He is Cherokee as well.
4. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1969

The Great Plains

Here is a picture of The Great Plains. We talked about where they were in class but this picture singles out exactly where they are located. If you see, they only go through the Northwest of Oklahoma, so we can assume that Anadarko, Oklahoma is in that area, unless you have looked it up on a map. I never knew how large The Great Plains were until I saw this.

Weather in Anadarko, Oklahoma

I looked up the record lows in Anadarko, Oklahoma on www.weather.com and it said that the record low on January 8th is -13 degrees F. Imagine how cold that is if you are a child trying to run away in that kind of weather. It mentions in Act One, Scene One that it is very cold, but some people might not have thought -13 degrees F cold. Just thought I would share if anyone could not find it.

Frightened Enough To Get White Hair?

Today in class we talked about how one boy was so frightened that his hair turned white instantly. I wanted to see if this is real and look it up, apparently it is. However it does not happen as fast as we think but yes it can happen. i found a website where one person ask this question. Apparently it has happened many times in history, especially prisoners before there execution but no it can not happen overnight. Because of your physiological state your hormones can effect the amount of melanin deposit in each strand of hair.

http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryfaqs/f/whiteovernight.htm

Trade Cloth

Trade cloth - what is it? In Act 1, scene ii, John Pai says he'll be a "man of the cloth, trade cloth." You might not know what this is, so follow this link and check it out. Surf around and find pictures too.

The Indolent Boys

definition of indolent: Disinclined to exert oneself; habitually lazy

*SPOILER ALERT*
according to a summary I found, the play we are going to read recounts the 1891 tragedy of runaways from the Kiowa Boarding School who froze to death while trying to return to their families. The play explores the consequences, for Indian students and their white teachers, of the federal program to "kill the Indian and save the Man."

Jelly Donut: Collective Responsibility for Individual Mistakes

Earlier in class, we were talking about whether or not coworkers/affiliates should be responsible for an individual's mistake. The conversation reminded me of this scene from Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket:

*WARNING: CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE* Sergeants aren't known for their proper language.


While Seth was talking about the importance of a unified team in football, I think the military is an even better example, considering the latter concerns national security. This video is a perfect example of soldiers being punished for an individual's doing. Not only does it give soldiers a sense of belonging to something greater than them, but it ostracizes those who do make mistakes. I just thought this would be a good way to get people thinking about how complicated things can be when you compare situations and in a (hopefully) humorous way.

Native Americans in the Olympics

I was watching the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics and there was a presentation about Natives of Canada. I'm not sure of the details, but they were honor a group of Indian Chiefs. They were wearing really intricate headdresses, but I didn't understand what they were being honored for exactly. If anyone else happened to see this please comment!

Notes We Took In Class

I was wondering if you wanted us to email you the notes we took in class on the video. On Friday no one said anything so I was wondering if you actually wanted them but I just didn't hear. Please let me know!

Native American Video Characters

It is really funny how most of them are portrayed. Some are feather wearing bad asses like Chief Thunder from Killer Instinct, others are humble mechanics like Tommy from Prey.

http://www.giantbomb.com/native-american/92-1632/