Week 2 Story - The Monkey's Revenge

Once upon a time, monkeys and crocodiles ruled the Amazon River. These were the only two species in the Amazon in this period of time. The crocodiles had control of the water, while the monkeys had the power above. The two kings, Melvin (king of the monkeys) and Gordon (king of the crocodiles) have a known rivalry, but have never came in contact with each other. The crocodiles watch the monkeys swing from branch to branch all day long, and finally Gordon's wife said to the king in confidence "I wish to have that monkey's heart to eat." Gordon was stunned by the ridiculous statement, as they could never get close to the monkeys, but made it his goal for his wife.
 
Gordon devised a plan to get close to Melvin. He crept to the bank of the river, and asked the monkeys permission to see their King Melvin. Gordon claimed to want to make peace between the two animals for ultimate survival in the amazon. The monkeys thought this plan could work, and scheduled a meeting for the next day.

The day of the meeting marks a significant event in the amazon. This is the first time these two kings have came in contact with each other. As Melvin approaches Gordon to begin the meeting, all of the crocodiles pounce to grasp his tail and capture him. "IT'S A TRAP!!" screeched by all of the monkeys. But this was all apart of their plan. As the crocodiles were busy trying to capture Melvin, the monkeys collectively dragged Gordon deep into the trees. Melvin barely escaped the strong clamp of the crocodiles jaws and returned back to the bank of the river. As the crocodiles were distraught about the failure of their plan, they realized their king was gone with no notice.

Gordon ended up being the monkey's dinner for the next year, and they never came close to the river again...at least until they get hungry.

King Melvin versus King Gordon: (Flickr)

Author's Note:
This story is based off of an original "The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart." In this story the wife wants the monkey's heart, but their plan to get it is to offer a ride across the river. After the money knows it's a trap, he lets the crocodile go back home. When I read this original story, I thought the crocodile deserved a more punishing revenge, so I made him be cooked as dinner in my version.

Bibliography. "The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart" from Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock. (Link)

Reading Notes: The Monkey and Crocodile

These stories were much different than I had expected. They were short and straight to the point. My favorite one was The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart because of the deception of the monkey. The crocodile convinces the monkey to get on his back to cross the river, then reveals that he wants the monkey's heart to give to his wife. Once the monkey is aware of his intentions, he deceives the crocodile and sends him back to his home. I would have ended the story with a more gruesome punishment for the crocodile, and wouldn't have let him return home alive.

The Winning Monkey: (Wikipedia)

Reading Options

I am very excited to begin the readings for this course because I have never been exposed to any material like this. It will be interesting to see how I like it and if I am able to comprehend it as intended. Some of the readings I am interested in is The Ramayana, Dasharatha: The Story of Rama's Father, and Narayan's Mahabharta. These were the three books / comic books that stood out to me based on their story plots. Obviously I don't know them in depth yet, but these are some of the options I am panning on choosing to read later in the semester.

Indian Epics: (Wikimedia Commons)

Time Strategies

Coming into college, I made time management my number one priority and I believe I have really got it down. I'm good at prioritizing my schedule, and have done many online courses. Two of the articles I read were Realistic Study Plans and The Myth of Too Busy and they discussed some of the main thoughts that I have about time management. I wake up early with a to do list, and complete everything before I give my self any down time. It has worked well for me for my two years at OU, and I plan to keep using it for the next two.

Time Management: (Wiki Commons)

Course Technology

I have become familiar with the blogger website, but am unsure of some of the future technologies we will be using. I'm sure once the course continues, I will get a better grasp of them and widen my use of websites. I took an online course last semester, but this one is far more different. I like the structure of this course a lot better, as it accommodates our busy schedules. I like the fact that Professor Gibbs is a forward thinker by realizing we will not use canvas after graduation, and is trying to expose us to more websites.

Technology: (Pixabay)

Future Assignments

I am very excited to dive into this course. It is a completely different approach than any class I have been in, and it'll be interesting to see how it progresses throughout the semester. The weekly assignment that stood out the most to me is story telling. Once again, this is something that I have never experienced in a class, and I have already really enjoyed the "free structure writing" we are able to do. The Wikipedia trail extra credit assignment is the one that stood out to me the most because I have never thought of doing that. I plan on completing all of the extra credit assignments, but am looking forward to that one the most.

Projects of India: (Pixabay)

Growth Mindset

I have not heard of Carol Dweck, but I have heard of the growth mindset. I first heard about it this summer during my internship, as one of the other interns had to do a book report on it. I try to be more towards growth in everything I do, but catch myself in fixed some of the time. I have progressed a lot in the growth mindset and it is becoming more natural. The growth mindset for example, helps me retain information I study for an exam, rather than cramming and forgetting. In my opinion, everybody should attempt to have the growth mindset perspective.

Grow your brain: (Pixabay)

Introduction to the Blogger

My name is Brooks Burgin, and I have lived in Dallas, Texas my entire life. I have been an Oklahoma football fan since I can remember, so the choice of school wasn't too difficult. I am a junior majoring in Finance and Accounting, with interest in obtaining a job in investment banking or real estate. I spent my summer in Austin working for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, and am glad I am far away from those Texas fans down there. Now enough about the boring stuff, I'll start sharing other things about me. I am a huge Dallas Cowboys fan. Nothing makes it a bad day more than a Cowboys loss. I try to go to as many games as possible (yes, even when I'm in Norman). I'm still waiting to live through a super bowl, and I think this is the year. I played football in high school, but wish I played golf because I recently discovered that I really love it and am really bad. On June 26, 2015 my claim to fame occurred - a hole in one. I was 157 yards away with a pitching wedge, and drained it. That is by far the best day of my life, and maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to do it again. Another activity that I enjoy is grilling. Whether its steak, chicken, pork, who cares as long as there is meat on the grill and cold beer. Eating is like a hobby to me, because food just simply tastes really good. My favorite movie is Stepbrothers, and I have seen it way too many times. Other movies I love are Shutter Island, Animal House, and Hall Pass. I guess now I'm a daily blogger, so I'll add that to my resume here. That's a short summary of myself, and I'm looking forward to reading about y'all.

Grilling Steaks: (Pixabay)

Storybook Favorites

Many of the storybook titles were vague and didn't grasp my attention. There were some that lead to me opening the link, and then they had me hooked. The three storybooks below, are three examples of fascinating stories:

CSI: Indian Epics (Link)
I clicked this title as fast as I could out of curiosity of how "CSI" could related to this Indian Epics course. The opening sentence of the story relates to finding a book your supposed to turn in and the first words you see are "If you are reading this it means I am dead." I was hooked instantly. This was the best introduction I came across. The design of the blog is a yellow notepad, which corresponds to the story s/he was telling. Whenever the reader learns about the death of different characters, the description is superb. It goes through details of who is deceased, when the death occurred, what items were on the scene, etc. CSI: Indian Epics was my favorite storybook by a wide margin.

The Temple of Doom (Link)
The Temple of Doom obviously stood out to me because of the dominant title. When I opened the storybook, this was the best design / format of all the books I viewed. The images are spectacular and are in very high definition. The background of the blog is a rolling thunderstorm that actually moves when you view the page. The story of The Temple of Doom was slightly vague in my opinion. The introduction doesn't get you informed or even necessarily hooked. I was mostly impressed with the design of this storybook. An example of a photo is below:

The Temple of Doom: (Madison Bender)

Brothers in the Animal Kingdom (Link)

The structure of this storybook was very fascinating. It was from the perspective of two birds who are married, in the form of multiple written letters. The design of the storybook could have better, as it is very bland, but I enjoyed that actual story of the page. It is also never bad viewing pictures of monkeys and birds. 

Soaring Vultures: (Brothers in the Animal Kingdom)

Favorite Place - Dallas

I have lived in Dallas (including my same house) for my entire life. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma, I intend on moving back and finding a job there. I love the city itself, and am obsessed with Dallas sports teams. My favorite day of the week is Sunday because that's when the Dallas Cowboys play (my favorite team). The skyline is beautiful and it is the Texas culture I am accustomed to. I enjoy the variety of weather we get in each season, as it keeps things new. Although this isn't a "sexy" vacation destination, it is my favorite place to be in the world.

(Dallas skyline: Senior Digest )

(AT&T Stadium: Wikimedia Commons)

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