Brett's Blog

Sasquatch: Image I have decided to focus my storybook project on the topic of American folkloric monsters, and there is arguably no monster more famous or recognizable across the country than Bigfoot himself. The "primal, hairy ape-man" monster archetype is nothing new, and is prevalent in countries all over the world ( Yeti , Yowie , Barmanou , Hibagon , Chuchuna , etc.) and the creature even has many different names across North America, such as  Sasquatch , Skunk Ape , Skookum , Momo , Grassman , the Fouke Monster , the Dewey Lake Monster and the Mogollon Monster , just to name a few. Much like the creature's many different titles, its proposed behavior also differs wildly depending on the regional spin-off that is being described. Some are benevolent or benign, while others are outright hostile. The versatility of this monster will allow for greater freedom when writing about it in my storybook project. The Mothman of West Virginia, statue by Bob

Perseus and Andromeda, by Frederic Leighton Dan had been the Dungeon Master for his friends' Dungeons and Dragons group for a while now, and he always looked forward to their sessions on Wednesday nights. Everyone had a good time, and they had created stories that would last a lifetime, one of which was the unfortunate story of Percy. Percy was an acquaintance who was also an avid D&D player. When his group disbanded for unknown reasons, Percy asked Dan if he could join his group. Dan allowed it, welcoming Percy to the group. Percy was insistent that he should be able to keep the same character that he had played in his former campaign. Dan, not knowing what he was agreeing to, let him keep his character. When Wednesday came and everyone sat down to play, Dan began to realize his mistake.  "Alright everyone," Dan began. "When we last left off, you all had made your way to the fields of the giant monster known as Atlas. A mountain looms in the dista

Perseus with the Head of Medusa, by  Benvenuto Cellini Pyramus and Thisbe Wow, Shakespeare basically just stole this entire story for the plot of Romeo & Juliet . So far in the Metamorphoses, the stories seem to be separated distinctly into "lesson" stories and "how" stories, with some overlap (such as Phaethon). This tale definitely falls into the "how" category, though it admittedly seems to be a very dramatic explanation as to why berries are dark (but you could make the same claim towards many classical "how" stories). Not really sure how I could retell this one, as it seems to have already been done (see Romeo & Juliet ). Mars and Venus I've read this story before and it always makes me so sad for Vulcan. Not only is he a very ugly god because of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother Juno (because throwing your baby off of a cliff is apparently top tier parenting by Greek god standards), but he also basicall

The Fall of Phaethon, Johann Michael Franz: Image Deucalion & Pyrrha I find the prevalence of "big flood" myths across different cultures to be very interesting. Whether these stories are mere imitations of one another or actual evidence for an event like this actually happening remains to be seen, though it is fun to see the slight differences among the different tales. Recreating the human race by throwing rocks is definitely an interesting development that I'd never heard before. Io This story is a prime example of how Greek/Roman gods simply view mortals as playthings. Io and Argus have done absolutely nothing wrong and they are raped and murdered respectively regardless. In classical culture, the gods were used as explanations for natural occurrences, and perhaps this is simply a showing of how nature doesn't make sense sometimes. Or, maybe stories like these of Zeus/Jupiter's many affairs (and there are a LOT of them) act as Greek reality

Image The two articles that I read ("Why It's So Hard to Hear Negative Feedback" by  Tim Herrera and "How To Get Past Negativity Bias In Order To Hardwire Positive Experiences" by  Katrina Schwartz ) seem a bit contradictory at face value, but in reality they talk about the same principles. Herrera writes about seeking out negative feedback instead of running from it in order to help yourself grow, while Schwartz writes of prioritizing the positives over the negatives due to the fact that our brains overreact to negative stimuli. One could argue that it might seem impossible to actively seek out negative feedback while also trying to prioritize positive experiences at the same time, but the practices that both authors write about heavily involve changing one's mindset to where receiving feedback is always a positive experience. Giving and receiving feedback should always be considered a positive thing, as it is always an opportunity for improv

Old Stormalong, The Sailor Folk Hero of Massachusetts: Image Topic 1: American Avengers As I had spoken about in my Reading Overview post, I'm very interested in learning more about westernized American folklore and myths. That same post will also clue you in to the fact that I love stories of heroes. Stories like this are as old as time and are present in every culture known to man, and I think it would be interesting to understand the stories and myths of my own country. Here's Audacity: American Legendary Heroes by Frank Shay would be my main point of research and information on the topic. This book includes stories of heroes from all different regions and cultures of the United States, making it a very well-rounded jump-off point for a project. With the rise of superhero culture in our country, I think it would be interesting to go down a more comic-book flavored route for this project, with "issues" for each character that present different art styles

Pygmalion, by Edward Burnes Jones: Image Pygmalion was the finest sculptor in the entire city of Paphos. The works he created astounded the city's other denizens, and he was paid very well for his art. Yet, despite all this, Pygmalion was not satisfied. The sculptor considered himself a romantic, yet he was unable to find love with any of the women of Paphos.  "I don't understand," Pygmalion would think to himself. "I'm such a nice guy! I buy all the girls wonderful gifts and tell them how beautiful they are. I watch them as they go about their day, so I can surprise them when they're feeling down. I even tell them about the wonderful life they could have as my wife, watching me work on my sculptures. But they still want nothing to do with me!" The sculptor lamented at his awful luck with love for a long while, until finally he came to a realization. "The problem isn't with me, it's with those dumb women!" Pygmalion c

Who needs Tinder with decor like this?  Image My favorite story of the anthology is the story of Pygmalion the sculptor, only because I find the story so ridiculous and pointless. The story is relatively short and succinct, but the fate of the sculptor of Paphos at the end of the story baffles me. Pygmalion's ego combined with his weird, lusty obsession with an inanimate object is for some reason just rewarded by the gods with no downsides, which is exceedingly rare in Greek/Roman mythology.  The Greek/Roman gods are not nice, and usually, if they aren't already battling with one another, they're terribly bored if they aren't meddling in mortal affairs. Usually Greek/Roman stories use some form of punishment/conflict with the gods as a way of conveying a lesson through the story (Arachne and Daedalus' hubris, Narcissus' obsession, and Midas' greed are all perfect examples of this). However, apparently this doesn't really apply to Pygmali

Choose from CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units for Weeks 3 and 4. Week 3: Dante's Inferno Week 4: Ovid I Choose from MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units for Weeks 5 and 6. Week 5: Sindbad Week 6: Ramayana Choose from ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units for Weeks 7 and 9. [Week 8 is review week.] Week 7: Chinese Fairy Tales Week 9: Japanese Myth Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11. Week 10: Native American Heroes Week 11: Cherokee Myths Choose from BRITISH and/or CELTIC units for Weeks 12 and 13. Week 12: Celtic Fairy Tales I Week 13: Celtic Fairy Tales II Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15. Week 14: Beowulf Week 15: Italian Tales Beowulf, one of many heroes whose stories I will learn of this semester Image Like many readers, it is clearly shown in my reading interests that I'm drawn to tales of heroes. I'm excited about a quite a few of these stories, as there are many that I have always wanted to read about but have never had the chance to

Finding time to get ahead: Image I've always considered time management to be one of my greatest "soft skills." I've never had a problem when it comes to getting work done before a deadline, and I usually try my best to work ahead however I can. I think this proficiency is what really draws me to online classes, as I really like the "work at your own pace" style that many of these classes use. However, I know that that simply isn't the case for a lot of people, and that sometimes time management can seem impossible. As Amanda Oliver writes in her post on the topic, one of the biggest parts of developing good time management skills is avoiding procrastination. I have never really been much of a procrastinator, and I don't entirely understand the mindset in the first place. I have always had the mindset of getting my work done as soon as possible so that I don't have to worry about it later. No matter how boring or stressful the work ma

Me after this class turns me into a blog master: Image I like that this class really branches out with a lot of the different technologies that it uses. While I already have experience in many of the tools mentioned, some of it is only surface-level, and it will be good to dive deeper into websites and tools that develop skills that can be used in a wide variety of professions and hobbies. It will be fun to experiment with using all of these different tools at once to make something unique. Shoring up on my knowledge of these programs will also be very helpful as I transition into the workplace.

Looking over the assignments, it looks like this class will be a lot of fun! I really like the free-flowing aspects of a lot of the assignments, as I feel that they will encourage a lot more creativity in our work. I like to mix up storytelling styles throughout the classes that I've had that are similar to this one if I can, and I'm glad that this class will give me that chance. I'm especially interested in the microfictions. I like the idea of trying to convey a story in as few words as possible. As a designer, copywriting is a pretty essential part of the design process, so writing stories like this could definitely help with my ability to create short, impactful copy that can help me in my career field. All in all, it looks like it'll be a good time! I approve this syllabus : Image

I don't let the past bring me down . (from the Growth Mindset memes blog ) While I have never heard of Carol Dweck or her research on the growth mindset, I've found that I really identify with a lot of the things she talks about. I've always been more of a "focus on the journey, not the destination" type of person, and I apply this principle to most areas of my life. I love the feeling of improvement, and while the payoffs of that improvement are exciting to see, it's the learning and growing itself that I find the most fun. The biggest challenge that I've found at OU is that a lot of classes, especially early on, follow a more traditional style that doesn't really support this mindset. The emphasis is on the grade itself and not necessarily the material that you learn. While I can usually make good enough grades in these classes, it makes them forgettable and unenjoyable to me, and ultimately, I feel that that's just a waste of time a

Hey! My name is Brett Drake and I'm a senior Public Relations major with a Classical Culture minor. I'm from the small town of Wagoner, Oklahoma (if you've heard of it, chances are you're also from northeast OK!) and while I've enjoyed my time here at OU, I can't wait to graduate in May. I want to become a graphic designer in the OKC area after graduation and help local businesses build their brands. My favorite class last semester was Digital Design (surprise, surprise) as it allowed me to really hone my skills as a designer across all different types of media. Me at the Coliseum : Photo by a friend Last summer, as I talked about in my favorite place post , I was able to study abroad in Italy for the month of June, allowing me to finally travel outside of the country for the first time in my life. While traveling abroad had its ups and downs (I arrived in Rome running on a good 3 hours of sleep and had lost my luggage), overall it was an amazing experie

As a Classics minor, most of my experience with mythology and folklore is with Greek and Roman myths. Because of this, I wanted to look for storybooks that come from many different places outside of the Mediterranean. Here are my three favorite non-Greek or Roman storybooks. Storybook 1: The Greatest Trickster Falkland Island Fox by John Keulemans ( Wikimedia ) I really enjoyed what the author did with the three stories presented here, merging together common trickster legends from three different cultures. Stories of mischievous tricksters are very common in all cultures, so it was interesting to see the three characters, Reynard, Brer Rabbit, and the Tanuki interact in a way that has never been done before, attempting to "out-trick" one another. While the website itself didn't provide much of an introduction, and the Brer Rabbit story lacked images to break up the text, the content was very enjoyable. Though I'm not entirely sure why the Tanuki didn't

This past summer, I had the immense privilege of being able to study abroad in Italy for a month. During my time there, I saw many different cities and landmarks, though the highlight of my trip wasn't Rome with its rich history or Venice with its picturesque views, but instead the smaller, relatively unknown (and in my opinion, highly underrated) city of Bologna. City of Bologna, Italy Many travelers will tell you that the food of Italy is to die for, and they're correct. I don't think I had a single bad meal throughout the entire time I was there. However, even among the food-rich culture of Italy, Bologna stands above as a foodie's paradise. After all, this is the city responsible for tortellini  pasta, cured meats like prosciutto, mortadella, and salumi , sweet Lambrusco  wine, and of course, the savory and hearty tagliatelle al ragù Bolognese . So, as someone with a great interest in cuisine, I traveled there on my weekend off and took a food tour throug

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