Week 1, Introduction

Hi everyone! My name is Mary. I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is my senior year at OU, but I'll graduate in May 2016 because I changed my major a few times. I finally decided on studying accounting and biology. So officially I am a Duel Accounting and Biology student, which means that when I graduate, I will receive both a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science. With these degrees I plan on going to graduate school for Health Administration. I enjoy my course work from semester to semester because the business courses are evened out by my awesome biology courses. My favorite class I have taken thus far is Medical Entomology with Dr. Heather Ketchum.

Here's a picture of a secondary screwworm, Cochliomyia macellaria, I took while looking at it under a dissecting microscope last semester. Look at that sponging mouthpart!! 

This semester I am starting Big Brothers Big Sisters and I will be a Big Sister. I'm pretty excited about it. Speaking of siblings, I have two older brothers. Richie, who is six years older than me, went to Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY and is now the Master Brewer at Bacchus Brewery. My other brother, Andy, is four years older than me and went to Suffolk University in Boston, MA. He works in California for a start-up company. My dad has been a medical malpractice attorney for over 30 years and my mom just started a realtor staging business.  

I took Italian 2 and Veterinary Entomology over the summer at OU. Veterinary entomology is the study of arthropods in veterinary medicine, so we learned about the transmission of vector borne disease and various arthropods who positively or negatively affect the quality of life of livestock, domestic animals, etc. Toward the end of the summer I cut off 11 inches of hair and donated it to locks of love. I also worked for my dads office, going to the courthouse, filing in the office, answering phones.. Anything I could do to help.

Looking forward to a great semester!

Week 1, Storybook Favorites

The first storybook I chose is called Indian Horror Story: Tales of the Lingering Souls. This title popped out to me because I watch the TV show it is inspired by. After reading the poorly labeled introduction to the story, I noted the authors creative use of language and descriptive words and phrasing. Being a biology major, any papers I write are usually lab reports or other scientific research that does not benefit from highly ornate description. Using descriptive language for our blog posts this semester is going to be difficult for me. Also, the layout and design of the webpage reflects the eerie tales. 

Because I found the title intriguing, I chose The Four Elements: Birth and Death Stories as my second storybook. I am not familiar with the birth and death stories of the Indian Epics characters, but I am familiar with the concept of the four elements: earth, wind, water, and fire. The title is descriptive enough to inform the reader of the contents of the story, while also being intriguing. Descriptive words and compelling sentences are used throughout the introduction here as well. In comparison with the previous storybook, the layout and design of this webpage could have included more references to the four elements with a background design or colorful text. Although clean looking, the design does not intrigue the reader nearly as much as the story itself. 

Told in first person, I chose To Sumitra, With Love as my final storybook. The moment I noticed the introduction was told in the first person, I was hooked. I imagine first person storytelling is the most enjoyable and compelling way to hear a story. The title did not reflect what the story is about, but I think that it is an appropriate title. A bit overly detailed, the introduction seemed to drag on until the final paragraph when the character made a reference to how a daughter always cherishes the stories of her father. I love my dad more than I can explain, I get teary eyed just thinking about how much I love him, so that final sentence was the hook for me. The overall design was not the most impressive, nor did it reflect the story all that well, but the fonts were good.

After looking through those three storybooks, I have more ideas for the design and content of my own story.

Week 1, Indian Epics

As I watched Nina Paley's, Sita Sings the Blues, I was first intrigued by her costume and make up. I then noticed that she had four arms and was holding different objects in each hand.. and then she blew up. I have never thought about what the symbolism behind four arms is, I'm sure it will be interesting to learn about. I am also curious about why this man has a revolving head with many faces. Very interesting symbolism going on throughout the entire video. I only watched 10 minutes of the film, but I noticed there has not been any singing yet.
I will definitely watch this film in its entirety when I have the time. Maybe I'll add more to this blog post. This video has drawn out a desire to educate myself on Indian culture and understand the big picture of their history.

Week 1, Storytelling, The Wolf and the Lion

Residing at the University of Oklahoma, a council of students were appointed to uphold the standard for academic integrity. These students have the authority to examine and penalize other students academic misconduct in accordance with university policy. In an eloquent room coated in mahogany, a particular case was brought to the council regarding a student who plagiarized on his final research paper. Upon submitting his final paper, the professor instantly recognized and made note of the conspicuously unformatted, copied sections within each paragraph. One week later, the student was informed via email of his required attendance at his hearing for academic misconduct. Ignorant of what constitutes plagiarism and oblivious to the repercussions, he shouted in anger, “I didn’t do anything wrong! I wrote that paper. What the heck is this about?!”

Following the evaluation of the paper through various plagiarism sites, the professor and council agreed that the paper would receive a grade of zero. After being informed of this sanction, the enraged student in question attempted to argue his case by announcing to the council, "That's my work! My property! I worked hard to research, copy and paste that information. I added my own input on parts! How dare you give me a zero!" While the exasperated student paused to catch his breath and calm his heartbeat, the head of the council replied, "Oh, its your property? Did a magical fairy come and implant those words into your head? Did you write each sentence and choose each word? No. You stole those ideas from another person and you will be held responsible." Before the student could breathe another word, the council adjudicated a semester suspension and a mandatory Do You Understand Integrity course upon his return to campus.

After his semester suspension, the student returned to campus with an improved understanding of plagiarism and a new-found cognizance that nothing is accomplished unless it is accomplished with your own talents and abilities. Although he did not pass the course and had to re-take it, he recognized his fault and later admitted to being thankful for the critical mediation.

Ron Burgundy from Anchorman, 7 Meme Lessons

Authors Note: Aesops fable, The Wolf and the Lion, is a story of a wolf who had plans to eat a lamb until a lion stole the lamb from his mouth. The hungry, shaken, defeated wolf ran a distance away from the lion and then turned around to inform the lion of his frustration for stealing his meal. The pretentious lion told the wolf that the meal was never his to begin with. The moral of the story is "What is evil won, is evil lost" (Aesops for Children). I adapted this parable to reflect the phenomenon of plagiarism that has plagued the University of Oklahoma's campus and many other college campuses across our country. I visited the idea of the wolf representing a student without education on the definition of plagiarism and the lion as the distinguished council of students whose role is to teach the student a lesson for his benefit. 

Works Cited: “The Wolf and the Lion” illustrated by Milo Winter, from Aesop for Children (1919). Web Source: Aesops for Children.

Week 1, Blogger Templates Tech Tip 1

I chose the "Picture Window" design because I liked the way the text box had a solid background, rather than one where the words are projected onto an image and move along the image as you scroll down to read. I customized the design by adding a background image of colorful vases and used the advanced settings to adjust the font and color.

This is the first time I have blogged so I'm not sure I have any concrete opinions on it yet. Blogging is a useful tool for those who have an interest with sharing information with large volumes of people.

Week 1: Wrigley Field... My favorite place

Home of the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field, its history in baseball, and my memories of being there are why it is my favorite place. My parents were born in separate suburbs of Chicago and my dad grew up going to Cubs games as often as he could. Although I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, my parents made an effort to take my two older brothers and I up to Chicago at least once every couple of years. I have many happy memories of running around Wrigley when I was too young to appreciate the game and equally as many sitting in our seats watching and enjoying our Cubbies play ball. 

Personal photo of my older brothers, Richie and Andy, 

and my three year-old self at a Chicago Cubs game