Week 1: Introduction

Apparently I slightly misinterpreted the course overview assignment, and already gave a brief introduction there. Oops! Nevertheless, I will go ahead and give a more thorough introduction here. My name is Austin Clanton, I am 21 years old, and a junior in chemical/biomedical engineering: pre-med. I have 3 younger siblings and a girlfriend of almost 4 years, who is actually taking this course with me (Taylor Haddad). Below, you will find a picture of my family with me at the far right:

Image Information: Personal Photo at My House

 



I have been at OU for my entire college career and have really enjoyed the experience. In my spare time, I like to play basketball and occasionally play videogames with my roommates. This summer, I turned 21and went on a trip to Las Vegas with my girlfriend's family. We had a great time and managed to make it back to Oklahoma without losing all of our money! Taylor and I enjoyed the Jersey Boys show and playing blackjack. We ate at several great restaurants and found some free entertainment in watching all of the interesting people (and let me tell you, there are a ton of interesting people that are willing to do almost anything to earn money from people walking along the streets).

 

 

                                     

                             Image Information: Personal Photo from Italian Restaurant in Vegas

 

Some of the other courses that I am taking this semester are Biochemistry, Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer 2, Thermodynamics, and Numerical Methods. Needless to say, I am looking forward to this class as a break from all of the other math and science courses that I am enrolled in. Unfortunately, I do not consider myself to be the most creative writer, so I also hope to improve on that skill through this course. I hope to have a great semester, and am looking forward to getting to know the rest of you!



 

 

Week 1: Storybook Favorites

The following were 3 of my favorite storybooks that I came across:

1. The Thin Line Between Tragedy and Comedy by Taylor Haddad

The topic of this story was Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, a topic that I am familiar with. The author of the story chose to write in a way that imitated Romeo and Juliet's personal diaries as they endured the various complications that were imposed on their relationship. I particularly enjoyed how the author chose to make the story interactive, such that the reader might determine the fate of the two lovers. The introduction did a great job of capturing my attention. Overall, this was a great story with a very unique twist. Navigating the story was easy, and good images were used throughout. I would like to employ the interactive style in my own writing later in the semester.

2. Bedtime Stories by Jocelin Chacko

Unlike the previous storybook, I was not familiar with the topics of these stories. I really enjoyed the author's creativity, and how she broke the book into several short stories. The introduction did a good job of, well, introducing each of the families. I was not particularly fond of the sites navigation. The bar on the left hand side could have been larger, or possibly a different color, so that it could be recognized more easily. That being said, the stories were great, and I really enjoyed that images that were used on each page. The idea of diving the assignment into several shorter stories was creative, and I may consider doing this.

3. Epic Indian Battles by ???

Once again, I was not familiar with the topic of this storybook. This author also chose to break the book into several shorter stories about various battles. Something that I found particularly interesting about this storybook is that the author chose to include a unique soundtrack that the readers were intended to play as they read each story. In fact, there was one story in which the author requested us to read at a particular rate such that the soundtrack might influence the emotion of the story. I would have liked to accredit this work to the author, but could not find his/her name within the storybook. Overall, the stories were good and music was a unique addition. The author used several pictures, but I would have liked them to be placed in a more creative manner, instead of at the top of each page.

Indian Epics: Week 1 Introduction

This post is for our course overview assignment.

My name is Austin Clanton. I'm from Shawnee, Oklahoma and I'm a junior in chemical engineering: pre-med. I have a girlfriend of four years, Taylor Haddad, who is actually taking this class. In my spare time, I enjoy playing basketball. I have always liked epics and hope to improve my creative writing through this course. Taylor strongly recommends Professor Gibbs, so I'm looking forward to a great semester!

Week 1 Storytelling: The Weasel and The Squirrel

There once was a greedy weasel who sought to become the wealthiest creature in the forest. Every day, he would set out in search of treasures and unsuspecting animals from whom he could steal. When the weasel finally felt that he had acquired enough wealth, he decided to visit the great oak tree that all of the other creatures liked to frequent. He brought with him many of his most prized possessions in hopes that the other creatures might envy his fortune. As the day progressed, the weasel’s audience grew as more and more animals stopped to marvel at his belongings. The weasel was quite satisfied with his success until he noticed a squirrel that walked right passed his pile of shiny objects, without so much as a glance in his direction. The weasel was so surprised that he stopped his display and abandoned his possessions to pursue the squirrel. “Excuse me! Did you not see my spectacular collection?” the weasel inquired. “I did” said the squirrel. “Then why didn’t you stop?” insisted the weasel. “Your wealth neither impresses nor concerns me,” and with this response the squirrel wandered away, leaving the weasel in utter dismay.

 

 

(Money Can't Buy Happiness: ChristArt)

 

The weasel returned to his display, but could not get the squirrel out of his head. Eventually, his frustration got the best of him and he set out in search of the squirrel’s tree. When the weasel arrived, he was greeted and welcomed up as if the squirrel was expecting him. “What brings you to my tree?” the squirrel asked innocently. “Honestly, I was baffled by your lack of appreciation for all the nice things that I have devoted my life to collecting” replied the weasel. The squirrel could no longer bear the weasel’s preoccupation with his wealth. “For many years, I have watched you scurry around in search of anything of value that might bring you the acceptance of others. I actually feel sorry for you. It’s been years since you’ve been happy and when you finally achieved a sense of accomplishment, it was taken by something as simple as another animal failing to acknowledge your wealth.” In that moment, the weasel realized the error of his ways and began to regret the years that he had lost in pursuit of worldly treasures.

-Happiness is the greatest treasure-

 

Author's Note: This tale was inspired by Aesop's fable, The Cock And The Jewel. In the fable, the rooster is merely looking for something to eat when he comes across a jewel. The rooster alludes to its worth, but ultimately deems it worthless to him. Though my characters and overall moral vary greatly from the original, they share a common appreciation for the lack of importance of worldly possessions.

 

"The Cock And The Jewel" from Aesop for Children, illustrated by Milo Winter (1919)

Week 1: A Couple of My Favorite Places

Hawaii: About 3 years ago, I went on a vacation to the Hawaiian Islands. This was one of the greatest vacations that I have ever been on. We stayed on the island, Oahu, at the Aulani Disney Resort and made an excursion to Kauai.

(Aulani Disney Resort: tripadvisor.com)

 

(Fern Grotto on Kauai: to-hawaii.com)

 

Lapland, Finland: Well not necessarily Finland, but I wanted to choose a place where the Northern Lights can be seen, and this one of the best pictures that I could find. Although I have never seen the Northern Lights in person, they still hold a spot at the top of the list of my favorite places.

(Lapland, Finland: Article from CNN)