Wikipedia Trail: From Medusa to Grammy Awards

(Grammy Award)

There was a funny picture portraying Medusa on the class Twitter so that's where I am beginning this Wikipedia trail. Medusa was a monster in Greek mythology. She is described as a winged human with a hideous face and living venomous snakes in place of her hair. The myth is that when people look at her they would turn into stone. Medusa was beheaded by Perseus, but the head still retained its power to turn people into stone. The symbol of Medusa's head is used in modern culture, specifically as a logo for the fashion company Versace. Versace is an Italian fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. They produce Italian leather accessories. The founder chose the logo because Medusa made people fall in love with her and they had no way back; he wanted his company to have the same effect on people. Versace is described as the "Rock n' Roll" designer because they design for famous people like Bruce Springsteen. Bruce Springsteen was born on September 23, 1949 and is a singer and songwriter. He has sold more than 64 million albums and more than 120 million records. He has earned 20 Grammy Awards, 2 Golden Globes and an Academy Award. The Grammy Awards is an honor that recognizes outstanding achievement in English music industry. The first ceremony was held on May 4, 1959. The trophies handed out are gold-plated and are shaped like a gramophone. By 2009, 7,578 Grammy trophies were handed out.

Wikipedia Trail: From the Bermuda Triangle to The Grapes of Wrath

(Bermuda Triangle)

There was an article on the Bermuda Triangle on the class Twitter page so I started my Wikipedia trail began here. The Bermuda Triangle is also called the Devil's Triangle and is the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean. Aircraft's and ships are said to disappear here. The earliest suggestion of disappearances in the triangle were published by Edward Van Winkle Jones in September 17, 1950 in The Miami Herald. The Miami Herald is where the trail let next. The newspaper was founded by the McClatchy Company in 1903 and now employs over 800 people. It almost went out of business in the 1930's during the Great Depression but recovered. The Great Depression began in 1929 when the  stock market crashed and lasted until the late 1930's. Unemployment rates rose and and international trade dropped. Many books were written about the Great Depression including The Grapes of Wrath. The Grapes of Wrath was written by John Steinbeck in 1939 and it is set in the Great Depression. The family in the book is forced from their Oklahoma home by drought and travels to California to seek a job and a future.

Wikipedia Trail: From Queen of Sheba to Natalie Portman

(The Queen of Sheba visits King Solomon, Giovanni De Min)

While looking through the class Twitter stream, I came across a link to a reading about the Legend of the Queen of Sheba. After reading that article, I wanted to learn more about her so I looked her up on Wikipedia. This is where my Wikipedia trail began. The first article, called Queen of Sheba explained how the queen came to Jerusalem with camels, spices, gold, and precious stones. She gave these gifts to King Solomon and then returned to her land. I wanted to learn more about King Solomon so I linked to his Wikipedia page. The name of this page was just Solomon. Solomon was the king of Israel and son of David. He reigned from 970 to 931 BC. He built the First Temple in Jerusalem. This led me to the Wikipedia page named Jerusalem. Jerusalem means "City of Peace" and is considered the holy city in the religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. While reading about the city, I came across a section dedicated to residents. Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem and lived there until she was three years old. I went to her page next, titled Natalie Portman. Not only was she born there but she also has dual citizenship. Portman is a well-known actress and has starred in many movies including; Star Wars prequel trilogy and Black Swan.

Week 13 Review

It's the Sunday before Thanksgiving break is over so I am doing this assignment to make sure I completed all the assignments before break! Which also means class starts tomorrow. While rereading the announcements I came across a photo posted on Tuesday, 11/15.  I thought this was so cute. I was an avid reader as a kid (and still read whenever possible) so I thought that this accurately described my life. Over break I actually read the new Nicholas Sparks book. I love reading and am grateful that this class introduced me to some new stories that I probably never would have tried otherwise.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016 Link

Improvements

After reading through the ideas that are thinking of being implemented next semester, I had a few that I really liked and a few I was impartial about. I personally really liked the review weeks. It was a way for me to check and make sure that the points I had kept me on track for an A, while also allowing me to look at what I need to improve on. Maybe at the beginning of the semester, in Week 2, it can be a planning week for students to plan their schedule for the semester, and then in Week 9, students can review the work that they have completed and make sure they are on track. I tried the story planning option semester and I was not a huge fan of it. I just feel like its hard to write about how how you are going to plan a story. At least on the Internet. When I plan a story I brainstorm on paper with like lines connecting ideas so its hard for me to be able to write a blog post about that. One of the ideas I really liked was making audio students from recordings extra credit. I always retain more information by reading out loud, so if it were made an extra credit option, I feel like a bunch of people would do it every week, and would therefore be better able to remember and understand the stories they read.

Tech Tip: Pinterest Sidebar

I embedded my Pinterest board as a widget on the side of my blog! If you want to learn how here is the link! In this board you'll find pictures or articles relevant to this class!

Tech Tip: Sidecar Bar

Hello everyone! I added a new widget to my blog page! If you want to learn how just follow the link to tech tip! Only a few weeks left, so you all can do it!!