Week 13 Reading Notes: Celtic Fairy Tales (1) Part B

King O’Toole and his Goose
- King O’Toole is obviously very self-centered, because the narrator thinks I should have heard of him and I never have.
- I like that the narrator addresses the reader, making the story more personal. By referencing back to the reader every so often, you make sure that the reader is paying attention.
- How the story is written/told is exactly how I would imagine an Irish person speaking. I even dabbled reading some lines with an Irish accent for authenticity.
- Honestly, the plot wasn’t that good and I was focused more on practicing my accent than paying attention.

The Shee an Gannon and the Gruagach Gaire
- The explanation of words at the beginning of this section was thoughtful, because the title had a bunch of words with which had no meaning to me.
- “… put a stop to the laughing of the Gruagach Gaire, who before this, laughed always and laughed so loud that the whole world heard him.” Use the word “laugh” one more time. I don’t think there was enough.
- The subtitles that tell the readers when the settings have changed through me off a little. Just describe it???
- I thought cowboys only existed in the Old West. 

Cowboy hat with a three-leaf clover on it. Found on Celtic Cowboy.

- I know that this is too much to ask, but can’t the daughter have a say in the marriage, like just this once? 

Beth Gellert
- Llewelyn is a weird name and I don't even know how to pronounce it.
- Also, KILLING THE DOG WAS SO UNNECESSARY AND I HATED EVERY BIT OF THIS STORY.

The Tale of Ivan
- Ivan, honey, you should have definitely taken the wag and not the advice. Money is better.
- Okay, I guess in this case it was okay to get advice, because it helped him in the end, but if an old man decided to take my money that I earned working for an entire year and gave me some cliché advice instead, I would have been angry. 

Andrew Coffey
- I had a teacher in middle school with this same last name.
- I’m pretty sure that this entire story was just Andrew Coffey having a severe reaction to smoking weed, but that’s just me.

Brewery of Eggshells
- Creepy picture of kids. Fun.
- I just really wish there was more dialogue in these types of stories, because it moves the story along so much quicker.
- Also, don’t throw your children into lakes. Goblins will get them.

Bibliography: Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1892). Link to online reading.

Week 13 Reading Notes: Celtic Fairy Tales (1) Part A

Connla and the Fairy Maiden

- Okay, but like, Connla of the Fiery Hair? Really? We couldn’t think of a better name? The language in the story is already bad enough. I understand that it’s supposed to be Celtic and old fashioned, but honestly, gross. I also want to know what the maiden’s “strange attire looks like.
- This fairy maiden just loves Connla out of nowhere? Sounds fake, but okay.
- I’m glad that the King’s characterization allows him to admit that he has his shortcomings.
- The apple reminds me of the evil witch’s apple in Snow White, which would make a great twist in the story if the fairy maiden ended up being evil.
- I’m glad that the Druid has a name, compared to the maiden, who should also have a maiden considering that she is a main character. This might be a little sexist.
- Basically, this story is really dramatic and I didn’t like it.

The Field of Boliauns
- The picture at the beginning creeped me out.
- I’m glad that neither of the stories that I’ve read started with “Once upon a time…”
- There’s a lot more dialogue in this than in the first story, which moves it along quicker, but the dialogue is hard to follow because I cannot seem to imagine people speaking like they do in the story.
- Leprechauns are not nice. That is all.

The Horned Woman
- Okay, if a lady with a horn on her head came barging into my apartment, I would most definitely be appalled and slightly terrified. What is wrong with this woman?
- Why does no one have names in stories like this? I’m calling the police.
- “The mistress felt herself obliged…” Oh, I get it now. She’s being compelled.
- I have no idea what went on in this story, plot wise. All I know is that there was a lot of screaming.

The Sheperd of Myddvai
- A guy that gives me his food without me asking? Sign me up.
- Kinda of puzzled why all these farm animals came out of the lake. That’s not really where they belong.
- I like the maiden only because she knows when to leave a man who is “abusive to her.” Power to you, sis.
- I would have liked the ending to be different, simply because I was expecting more out of the characters in this story compared to the others.

The Sprightly Tailor
- Again, the picture at the beginning creeped me out.
- Wishing that the main character had a name, simply because it would be easier to relate back to him.
- There is more description in this story compared to the others, allowing me to have a better understanding of setting.
- The giant reacted in the same way I would if I didn’t get attention I wanted: by stamping my feet and whining.

Munachar and Manachar
- These two already remind me of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee from Alice in Wonderland.
- No descriptions = Sad Cassidy

Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree
- SNOW WHITE.
- The names are a little iffy, but at least they have names!
- Wishing I got descriptions of what everyone looks like. Or even just descriptions. There is too much dialogue.
- “I left them there.” SUCH A GOOD ENDING, despite the fact that the prince has two wives. Greedy bastard.

Square Celtic Knot. Found on Wikipedia Commons.

Bibliography: Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1892). Link to online reading.

Growth Mindset plus CATS

Photo at cheezburger.

I chose this image because it reminds of what I need to do to help myself move forward: I need to listen. I don't like being criticized, and a lot of the time, it makes me angry when people try to tell me to change something. Most of the time, however, they're only trying to help, and I need to understand that they are trying to help me better myself in the long run.

Found on cheezburger.

Everybody makes mistakes (everybody has those days). Errors, especially if someone points them out to me, make me anxious, but I need to understand that those errors are going to help me build on what I've already done and they're going to make me and my work better.

Found on cheezburger.

Now I just have to learn how to take the feedback that I get and think about where I can go from there. I don't want to plateau and continue on the path that I've been walking, I want to change it up and make sure that I'm on a better path to being, well, better! Taking critiques and feedback from others is going to help me in the long run.

Learning Challenge: DESKERCISE!!!!

I realized as I was working on these deskercises that I do a lot of them when I’m sitting in class or at my desk anyway, so it was easy to work them into my homework routine anyway. I read an article from the Harvard Business Review, which gives you six different yoga exercises to try. 

The hardest one to do was definitely the reverse prayer pose, simply because my body is not as flexible as it used to be (I probably need to start stretching more than just when I’m doing my homework), and my wrists protested when I tried twisting them. Since I didn’t want to push my body too much, I stopped this exercise and moved to the next one. I’ll try to go back to this exercise each day to see if there are any changes in the flexibility of my wrists/arms. 

Not only did this stretching make me feel good physically, but mentally, because yoga makes you focus on your breathing, which directly correlates to your brain. It helped me to relax and really focus on what I was working on, which was, of course, reading the article and focusing on the poses all at once. 

I would definitely recommend trying the neck and shoulder poses, because I don’t think people truly realize how much tension they are holding there when they are stressed or focused, or in my case, both. 

What I hoped for from this article that I didn’t get was leg exercises, since your feet are usually on the floor and that is where all the blood is going. I’m definitely going to look into some of those to see if there are any that I can do while just sitting down at my desk or in class or something. This was a lot more enlightening than I thought it was going to be.  

Paws and Reflect. Found on Bare Feet Power Yoga.

Reading Notes: Beowulf (Extra Credit)

- It was interesting to read about Beowulf from before what I usually have read, which is when Grendal attacks. The intro was a good way to lay out the story and provide the audience an understanding of the world that they are about to enter.

- I don’t like the “Once Upon a Time” though. It only works when the main character is not a tool, which Beowulf is. He thinks he’s all high and mighty. If he were a girl, well, people would think she was a bitch.

- There is a lot of descriptions about the land, which is good, because I usually have no idea where I am when it comes to folklore/fairy tales.

- Sorry, but Beowulf = Hercules. Except Beowulf doesn’t go crazy and murder his wife and children, nor does he have thousands of spawns.

- I like the illustrations, simply because they’re funny but also black and white, KIND OF LIKE THE CHARACTERIZATION IN THIS DANG STORY.

- The dialogue in this is exactly how I believed people in this time period would have spoken. Crisp and to the point.

- I wish that they would give certain characters names, especially like “The Wanderer,” since there is an entire chapter about him in this unit. Was he so unimportant to them? Does this not make sense to anyone else besides me?

- I think we should all introduce ourselves the way that they do in this story. “I am Cassidy, daughter of Michael and Jodi, Mikayla and Madison’s sister, all hail!” It would make introductions so much more interesting, plus we wouldn’t have to do the weird “getting to know your family life” thing because you would already know most of it.

- I don’t like Beowulf and I don’t think I ever will. Sorry, you guys.

Beowulf is Wyrd meme. Found on WeKnowMemes.

Bibliography: The Story of Beowulf by Strafford Riggs with illustrations by Henry Pitz (1933). Link to online reading.

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Week 12 Story: Interruption

Have you ever looked at someone and realized that you were staring at the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen?

Brit tilted her head, almost cat-like in its movement, as she stepped toward the young man in front of her. His hair was dark, eyes bright like fairy pools that she had passed getting to this very spot. His cheekbones created a natural contour that the sun caught nicely, and she couldn’t help herself as she reached up to run her fingers along his chiseled jawline.

Normally, she would be wary to approach someone who tried to kill her, but Brit was going to blame that one the fact that Artegall had had no idea who she was.

“I’ve been looking for you.” Brit whispered, a slow smile creeping up onto her face as she dropped her hand and stood there in front of him, unsure what to do now.

The smile that she received back was blinding, and his voice was deeper than she imagined it would be. It was rough, but somehow calming. It was a sound that could have come from her dreams. “Me too.”

The two of them were so lost in one another, they had forgotten that Scudamour – the bastard lord – was there. Brit heard him cough and she dragged her eyes away, still standing close to Artegall as her focused shifted to the man that she had been hiding from for some time, mainly because he had been trying to kill her. But it was for noble reasons, she was assured.

“I hate to interrupt such an… intimate moment,” Scudamour began. Brit got the feeling that he didn’t mind a bit. “But we came here for a purpose. You see, darling Brit, you released my love, Lady Amoret, from her captivity in the Fairy Queene’s court, and while I give you my undying gratitude for that, she is not here with me. I seek to find her. “

Brit sighed. She knew that this was going to be difficult for Scudamour to hear.

As if sensing her tension, Artegall reached out and gripped Brit’s hand, intertwining their fingers and giving them a light squeeze in reassurance.

Brit straightened her back and looked at the lord square in the face. “We need to talk, then.”

Arthegall and Talus in Fairie Queen. Found on Art History Reference.

Author's Note: This part of Britomart's story is when she finds Artegall after seeing him in the enchanted mirror, following him into the Fairie Queen's realm, fighting him and then discovering that he was the same man that she had been searching for this entire time. Meanwhile, Britomart saved a young woman by the name of Amoret, while also pissing off her husband, Scudamour. In my section of the story that I rewrote, I kept the same aspects of the story that go on in this part of the tale. However, I made the language more modern, and I gave Artegall and Britomart a more in depth connection. It's almost as if both of them had been searching for one another, and now they understand one another in a deeper way because of their journey to find one another. I made Scudamour more obnoxious because that's how I saw him in the original story, and I ended it on a cliff hanger to create more suspense. 

Bibliography: How Britomart Ended Her Quest. Stories from the Faerie Queene by Mary Macleod, with drawings by A. G. Walker (1916). Link to online reading.

Week 12 Reading Notes for Fairie Queen: Britomart Part B

1. The describe the men and women in The Enchanted Chamber better than the main character. I know exactly what each boy is where but no nothing about what Britomart looks like.

2. I like that each of these characters from above represent something, like Disloyalty, or Love. It gives the reader an understanding of who the character is despite not knowing much about the rest of the character as a whole.

3. I don’t like that the Enchanter doesn’t have a name. Give him a name!

4. Britomart spiting Sir Scudamour. I only have one word for this part of the plot: YES.

5. I like that Britomart is a female and can best all the men, but I don’t like that she has to hide her femininity. I know that it is the only way to compete in the competitions that she’s a part of, because everyone during this time was a MISOGYNIST, but it would have been a fun plot point to play with she was told, “no,” and she simply responds by doing whatever they told her not to, without having to hide her identity.

6. “Through all ages it has been the custom that the prize of Beauty has been joined with the praise of arms and Chivalry. And there are special reasons for this, for each relies much on the other: that Knight who can best defend a fair Lady from harm is surely the most fitting to serve her, and that Lady who is fairest and who will never swerve from her faith is the most fitting to deserve his service.” Alright. Sexist.

7. ALRIGHT. ARTEGALL BEING THE KNIGHHT IN THE MIRROR. THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT. THAT IS ANGST, MY FRIENDS. This creates an interesting dynamic and tension within the storyline.

8. Okay, so I’m really happy that Britomart found love because I’m a hopeless romantic. But think about this: What if her and Lady Amoret ended up together? Wouldn’t that have been an even better ending? Think about it.

Amoret and Britomart by Mary F Raphael. Found on Classic Art Paintings.

Bibliography: Stories from the Faerie Queene by Mary Macleod, with drawings by A. G. Walker (1916). Link to online reading.

Week 12 Reading Notes for Faerie Queene: Britomart

1, I was very happy to see that the stories didn’t start with “once upon a time,” since I’m a little over that, if I’m being honest.

2. I don’t like that the “Knight” doesn’t have a name, simply because it would be more dramatic if the villain, or antagonist at this point in the story, had a name besides what he is supposed to be. However, it’s interesting that the man is a knight and yet Sir Guyon and Prince Arthur are fighting him.

3. The author describes the actions of the characters well enough, especially when they are fighting, but I am having a hard time picturing the setting. More description of the land and where they are, maybe even how the people are dressed and how they look, will help readers to understand the time period as well as the people, and not only that, but it will provide a way to easily conjure up an image

4. “’I certainly will not give up my love, nor will I do service to your lady,’ replied Britomart.” This line made me LAUGH.

5. Britomart is definitely bisexual. You cannot argue with me on this so no one even try.

6. I wish there was more dialogue. It makes the stories more interesting because you’re more aware of who the characters are.

7. The third story is the first time that it references “Britain.”

8. It’s fun to read stories with characters that have been used all the time, over many different eras, in different literatures. Like Merlin, for example. He’s been used so much over the years that I don’t really know where he started out, or who he originally was written to be like.

9. DESCRIBE THE LAND OF THE FAERIE QUEEN. IT’S THE WHOLE POINT OF THE STORY AND YET WE SEE NOTHING THAT TALKS ABOUT WHAT IT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE.

10. The ending to the story “How Britomart Walked Through Fire” is so good, and leaves me wanting more, and it made me want to continue reading.

Britomart. Found on PDSH Wiki.

Bibliography: Stories from the Faerie Queene by Mary Macleod, with drawings by A. G. Walker (1916). Link to online reading.

Week 11 Reading Notes B: American indian Fairy Tales

1. Happy that the first story doesn’t start the same as all the others. The beginnings get redundant and it makes me not want to read them. I also liked the break in the story where Iagoo and the children are speaking, mainly because you’re reminded that there is an outside narrator telling the story. 

2. I liked the repetition of the main character being in the second story as well as the first. It makes the readers able to connect with the protagonist in a more personal way; they are able to see their characterization and understand who they are and what makes them tick.

3. I don’t really like stories about creations. For example, “how the summer came,” or even how the world came to be. I find them boring and they don’t provide much except details that can be explained to beef up other stories. Basically, they’re not my forte.

4. Alright, so Neen-i-zu likes to “walk in the forest alone” and that freaks me out. But I do like that it talks about how she has a close relationship with the other girls in the village. A lot of the time, old stories like fairytales only focus on the romantic ties to the main character.

5. Puk-Wudjies is a house in the American school of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter universe. Just saying.

Pukqudgie house crest from Harry Potter. Found on Harry Potter Wiki.

6. Okay, I know this is a reach, but making the Fairy Bride into a tale about lesbians would be a great twist. Obviously, there is not very much LGBTQ representation in stories from the older times, so it would be great to switch it up and add some diversity amongst the characters in the stories that are told. Children who struggle with their sexuality would find it easier to accept who they are if they see themselves in the stories they are told as they are growing up.

Bibliography:  American Indian Fairy Tales by W.T. Larned, with illustrations by John Rae (1921). Link to online source.