Week 1: Possible Storybook Favorites

The first storybook that really grabbed my attention was The Unanswered Questions of Pooh and Friends. At first, I thought they may be making fun of Winnie the Pooh and the characters or making them demented or something, but it looks like they are all behaving just like the original characters. In psychology class, we talked about how all the main characters have a basic psychological disorder, such as overeating, depression, anxiety, or ADHD, so I am assuming that is what these stories will deal with. I do find it humorous though and it's not like the author is going to present any seriously threatening problems like Pooh having a heart attack. You can find the story at Pooh.

The next storybook that grabbed my attention was Dragons Anonymous. The introduction is very funny and the website looked fairly well done. I am not that familiar with written stories of dragons, just ones from the movies, but I believe that they generally follow the same rules when it comes to dragons. They are usually the bad guys, or like in this case, seem like the bad guys but are really just misunderstood. The beginning scene is very similar to the opening scene from Wreck-It Ralph when he is at the video game villain support group. Likewise, it seems similar to How to Train Your Dragon, in that dragons are seen as evil, but really they just need to eat. However, in that movie, unlike in this story, the dragons seem dangerous because they are wild and misunderstood. Here, the dragons can talk and I do not yet understand why they do not try to talk to the humans, but I am sure I will find out when I read the rest of the story. This story is at Dragons.

Lastly, a storybook that really hooked me when I first read the title, and even more when I read the funny introduction, is A God Scorned or "How the Greek Gods Need Family Therapy Really Badly." Despite the very pink design of the website and a couple of grammar errors that stuck out to me, the story still seemed like there was so much to build on. I especially think that putting the Greek Gods in a Family Counseling setting is hilarious because they really are the worst behaved and most human gods to ever be made up. Now, I do believe the real life is usually stranger than fiction, but I do not think that when the stories of these gods were told that someone just made it up. I think that the reason they are so jealous and horrible is because the Greeks knew that even when people who are beautiful and powerful are that screwed up that it does not end well. But even if it does read like a bad Telemundo telenovela, at least it will be entertaining. You can find it at Greek gods.

Week 1: Decisions from the Un-Textbook

For weeks 2 and 3, the category is traditional and biblical stories. I will be choosing one from each of the categories. First, I think I would like to read the stories of Cupid and Psyche. Earlier this summer, I got to go to the Louvre, and there were so many statues and paintings inspired by these stories, but I was really not familiar enough with them to understand what was happening in the art. So, that should be very interesting since so many artists seem to have enjoyed the stories.

On week 3, I will be going with a biblical theme. I think I will be reading the modernized stories of the saints with Saints and Animals. Mostly, I really do not want to get into the problems that may arise when I read something I hold sacred and true, such as the Gospel of Mark, in a mythology class. Yet, for the same reason, the subject does interest me and it should be fun to see these stories told in a different light.

In week 4, a very interesting read would be Arabian Nights. I have read parts of it before, and Aladdin was always my favorite (though I know it is different from the movie). I always find the extremely wealthy lifestyles in the old Middle East very interesting. There have been many changes there over the years, but many things (both bad and good) have still remained constant.

Continuing the earlier theme of the Middle East (sorry India), I will be reading Turkish fairy tales. Turkey was seen as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East, and hopefully these old stories will shed some light on why so many different types of people chose to spend time there. Even if they do not, I am sure it will be much different fairytales I am used to.

Week 1: Storytelling Again of Doctor Foster

There once was a young man named Francis D. Foster who grew up in a small town called Gloster. As far as young boys go, Francis was particularly skinny and very clumsy. The whole town called him by the nickname of Footloose Foster because he always tripped on things whenever he was walking down the street. Eventually, Francis became fed up with this nickname and decided to prove to the whole town that he could become something useful! He was very smart, but unfortunately his small town did not have the proper training in the subject which would hopefully deliver him from his horrible nickname, medicine.

When he became old enough, Francis moved away to the big city to become a doctor. For years, he studied hard and worked two jobs to pay for his schooling until finally, ten years later, he gained enough experience to open up his own practice. But, not forgetting the citizens of his hometown and their years of mockery they put him through, he returned to show them his success. When he showed up he had expected everyone to immediately recognize him and he would gloat in all their amazement at his triumphs! But, like for most of his life, people simply did not notice. In fact, even when he would announce that he was Dr. Francis D. Foster, people had no idea who he was.

For days, he talked to everyone he could find to see if they remembered Francis Foster, but he had no luck. On his final day of his trip, the annual town garden festival started. Thinking that there had to be someone there that remembered him, he planned to make an announcement at the big championship banquet in front of the whole town. Though this was at its core a very well- thought out plan, there was one part that had alluded Francis. It had been raining all day long, and he was so distracted by his grand plan that he had forgotten all about his tendency to trip in front of large crowds. When the time came to make his announcement, poor Dr. Foster walked up to the stage, tripped on a rock, and fell face first into a giant puddle! Then, all at once, the town recognized him and all shouted out "It's Dr. Footloose Foster!" and pointed and laughed. The doctor, finally accepting that in his hometown, he would always be seen as a clumsy little boy, pointed his body toward the big city and walked all the way there, only tripping two or three times.

The End.

Puddle Hopping by T. Keller. Wikimedia

Author's Note: 

This story was inspired by the nursery rhyme, Doctor Foster. The rhyme originally went as follows: Doctor Foster went to Glo'ster in a shower of rain; He stepped in a puddle, up to his middle, And never went there again. 

I decided to take this story as it was and continue to let my story be as odd and sad. The original work can be found using the info in the bibliography.

Bibliography:

T. Eden Keller. Flickr. CC-BY-2.0 Wikimedia Commons. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0

Week 1: Alaska is Clearly the Best (and one of my Favorite Places)

A couple of weeks ago, I went on family vacation to Alaska, and it provided for some very beautiful photos to be given as reasons for it to be one of my favorite places.

 This is a picture of the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska. 

This picture is the view from port in Skagway, Alaska.

This is the end of the Tracy Fjord. That glacier goes1700 feet further under the water. 

This is also in the Tracy Fjord.

All pictures were taken the first week of August, 2014, by me, on the sites mentioned above.