Caitlyn's Corner

I have always been very interested in Norse culture.  I tend to study the languages derived from them when given the option to choose a language for my linguistic assignments.  I don't know why, but they have always been fascinating to me.  Recently, I bought the Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman audio book on Audible.  I have always wanted to take a deeper look at these myths and Gaiman does such an amazing job telling these stories. While listening, I became very interested in getting more information about the gods, so I started a little Wiki trail. I checked out the Norse Mythology article first, to get a little overview.  From here, I became very interested in Freyja .  She is always described as the most beautiful woman and I was curious if she was similar to Aphrodite from Greek mythology.  After reading her description, I learned she shares a lot in common with Aphrodite.  They are the goddesses of very similar things.  While reading ...

For my learning challenge this week, I read all of Through the Looking Glass out loud.  I usually hate the sound of my own voice, but after a while, I found that I really enjoyed it.  I got more into the story, because I was focusing so hard on putting color in the narration.  I did special voices for each character, felt like an idiot doing it, but it made the story so enjoyable.  This was a great book to try this challenge on, too.  I think I will do this more in the future. In a Bind

In my life, it is a daily struggle to keep up with fitness.  I really love reading, watching movies, and sketching.  All of these require very little movement.  During this semester, I have been working hard to get better at my personal fitness.  I took a pilates class twice a week and started from there.  I increased my time at the rock climbing gym, as well.  I went from going once a month to once a week, to almost once a day.  I can tell I am already feeling so much better. It has been a big battle, but I set my mind to growing in my personal health and I feel like I am achieving that.  My next challenge is to attempt to get into running. Rock Climbing

From Wednesday, April 18th This graphic from this week's announcement feed really spoke to me.  I have gone through this course of emotions in most of my classes this semester.  Currently, I am very stuck on confusion is one of my classes and it is killing me. I watched this video on the survivor tree and really loved it.  My freshman year, I went to Oklahoma City University and my Honors Comp class did a lot of research and volunteer work at the memorial.  I learned a lot about this amazing tree and everything it stands for.  You should check out the memorial if you get a chance.  It is really moving.

This week, I started listening to Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology and it is amazing!  This book has been so hard to take breaks from.  I usually listen to audio books when I am driving or walking to classes. but this one has me sitting in the car for an extra few minutes after getting to my destination. Neil Gaiman narrates the story and he truly has a gift at bringing these characters to life! I love his descriptions of all of the gods and their characteristics.  He also adds in a lot of his humor and this just brings the story to life.  I recommend this book to anyone and everyone.  I have always really enjoyed reading about Norse mythology, but this book has me obsessed.  It truly reads more as a fun novel than it does a book of old myths.  I have never sat down and really studied all of the Norse myths before, so I guess it is possible that they are just that amazing.  I really think it has more to do with how wonderful of an author Gaiman i...

For me last reading, I decided to check out Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. I bought the audio book for this and I absolutely love it.  Neil Gaiman narrates the stories and he has an awesome voice for it!  This book is a bit long, so I will be reading this for my last several reading posts.  Part 1, I read through Chapters 1 through 6.  This included the introduction and I am so glad I read it! I usually skip intros, but this one was adorable.  Gaiman wrote this book so his son would fall in love with Norse Mythology just like he did as a kid. My favorite story from this part was The Treasure of the Gods (Chapter 6).  This story tells of how the gods got their favorite and most memorable treasures.  It tells us how Odin got his spear that has special powers, like how any oath made on this spear cannot be broken.  It also tells us how Thor got his hammer.  This is one of the most famous objects owned by the gods.  There is even another ...

Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There   has been one of my favorite reads this semester.  Lewis Carroll's imagination is a wondrous place filled with colorful worlds and odd characters.  The two Alice books are so creative and I highly recommend them to everyone. My favorite section of the second book was definitely The Jabberwocky . I have read this poem before and thought it was really clever.  I first read it in high school, but never really paid much attention to it.  Then, when I met my boyfriend, I ended up reading it again.  My boyfriend uses "Slithy Toves" for his user name on a few things and I finally asked him what it was from.  He immediately pulled out a copy of Through the Looking Glass , opened it to The Jabberwocky  and said, "This is one of my favorite poems.  It's filled with nonsense words that have no meaning, but the reader instantly has this image in their head of the creature."  He was total...

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There  by Lewis Carroll (1871) is the reading unit that I decided to check out this week.  I thought this would be a good one to start with, since I read the first book last week.  I have never really read much of Carroll's works before these two weeks, except a handful of his poems like the Jabberwocky.  I have really enjoyed being able to read these two books and I have mad respect for Carroll after reading them.  He has amazing skills at bringing to life these crazy worlds with such colorful imagination. My favorite bit from the second book was The Walrus and The Carpenter .  This is a little story that Tweedledee tells Alice.  I remember in the Disney animated movie of Alice in Wonderland, they included this story.  I didn't ever realize how dark the story really is until I read the original in the book.  This story tells of how the Carpenter and the Walrus get a family of small oysters ...

Meme made by Caitlyn Buckley at ImgFlip.com Story: I had my students do some extra practice problems last week and turn it in for a grade on Friday.  Somehow, I've lost my copy to the answer key.  I have too much homework of my own to solve all 75 questions and make sure they're correct, so it is now for a completion grade.