Week 14 Review: Things I Forget To Do

Breathe

The graphic I chose for this week is the gif of a clock with markers to tell you to breathe in for three seconds then out for three seconds. This is really relevant to the week I had. I felt like I constantly had a million and one things going on, and sometimes I forget to watch my breathing. Another technique I like to use is in through your nose for three seconds and our through your mouth for five seconds. This is something I learned while taking the Sho Hei Ryu style of karate for six and a half years. It helps regulate your breathing and pulse! 

(from the Slow: Three Seconds HEART post)

Sleep

While I was growing up, my mom has always stressed that it was important that I sleep enough. I always took her word for it. She's my mom and it felt nice to sleep. This video, by Claudia Aguirre explains some of the reasons behind why people need to sleep. It was really interesting to listen to and watch, especially learning about the guy who stayed awake for 11 days in 1965. I think my longest record for staying awake is two days, and I definitely felt horrible before I finally got some sleep. I used to use an app called SleepBot that tracked how long I slept, how much I moved around, and if I talked in my sleep. It was pretty cool, and I'm not really sure why I stopped using it. I do want to start keeping better track of my sleep from now on though. 

Tech Tip: OU Create's Wordpress and Adding Navigation Links

Before this semester I had never used OU Create or Wordpress, so this has been a lot of learning. When choosing a site to host my project on, Dr. Gibbs suggested that I check out OU Create because it's platform is friendly to hosting the HTML file I needed because of my Twine story. The first day I looked into it, I was really overwhelmed. For this Tech Tip, I'll be specifically showing you how to add header links in the Wordpress application of OU Create, because it took me a hot minute to figure it out.

Setting Up OU Create

Every member of the OU community has access to OU Create! Once you create your account and log in, you will see a page similar to this: 

For this example, you'll want to click on Wordpress and go through the set up for that. This will include picking a domain name. The one I use for class is dungeonsanddecisions.oucreate.com. 

Once the application is installed, you'll click on "My Applications" and then on your domain link that has /wp-admin/ on the end of it:

This takes you to the editing/admin side of your site. It should look something like this:

Setting Up Header Links

Once you're on the admin homepage, you'll click "Appearance" in the left-hand column. This will take you to a page with six pre-loaded themes you can use, or an option to make your own. For my project, I use the "Twenty Seventeen" theme. 

Once you pick your theme, you'll click the blue "Customize" button that shows at the bottom of the theme. 

This should take you to what looks like your site page, but with a control panel on the left side of the screen. Click on the "Menus" option. Once in Menus, there should be a choice labeled "Navigation" with "(currently set to:)" and either Top Menu, Social Links Menu, or nothing. 

Click on Navigation. There will be a place to name the menu if you choose, and a button that says "+ Add Items"

There will be a list of pages and posts after you click "+ Add Item" to choose from. Choose what you want to add to the Navigation Bar, and you should see it automatically added to the left under what you have your navigation bar titled. 

NOTE: If you have not created any pages, posts, etc. yet, there will be no items to add. Create a tester page/post if you need to. 

This will update on the preview of your page in the background. Once you are done, don't forget to hit the blue Publish button at the top of the control panel. After you have published, you are all done! 

I hope this helps! 

All pictures were screenshots done by me from my personal view of the OU create website. 

Famous Last Words: Finishing Up My Storybook and a Drag Show

Storybook

I did it. My last story in my storybook is in and I feel really proud of myself. This week, my story was the final encounter with Sedna, with only one player remaining. I chose to wrap up things this way for a few different reasons. For one, writing one player character meant I could write more about them, instead of a short amount about multiple characters. Secondly, I wanted it to feel like everything truly was leading up to this. This was the end, whether it went good or bad because there was only one person left. Had I had more time or more words to use, I would expand the story and maybe have four or five stories, but this semester didn't really allow for that sort of thing, haha. Overall, I'm very pleased with what I accomplished. 

Crimson & Queens

If any of you have heard about, or went to, the Drag Show, Crimson & Queens, thank you! I have been part of a three student committee planning this show since Fall. Things have not always gone our way, and true to show biz, we had numerous complications the day of. But, despite all that, we put on a fantastic show! We had three student performers, three local queens from Norman pride, a local queen from OKC hosting, and our headliners was Kennedy Davenport from Ru Paul's Drag Race. The event was co-sponsored/hosted by the Gender + Equality Center (where I my internship) and the Union Programming Board. Our LGBTQ Program Advisory Board was essential to putting on the show and we definitely could not have done it without them helping out Thursday night. A huge HUGE shout out to Chris and Jerry, the other two members of our trio. We went through a lot this semester to make this show happened, and we freakin' crushed it. 

(Planning Committee: Me, Kennedy Davenport, Chris Ebert, and Jerry Lessley. taken from Jerry's instagram)

(Some of our volunteers at the end of the night, ft. Kennedy. taken from Jerry's instagram)

Week 14 Storytelling: Dante in the Ninth Circle of Hell

(Rocky cave from pxhere; edited by me)

Dante watched as Virgil floated over the dangerously sharp rocks as he made his way to a two-story-tall black iron door. Dante walked behind him, but his still-living, mortal feet were sliced on contact with the razor sharp floor.

It took a few minutes for Dante to navigate the floor in a way that he would be cut as little as possible. When he joined Virgil by the door, the soles of his feet were bleeding. He looked up at Virgil, who smiles reassuringly down at him.

Without saying a word, Virgil pushed the large, black door open and floated inside the ninth circle of Hell. 

(Venice - Campo Pescaria from Wikimedia)

Standing outside the door, Dante imagined what horrors might be inside. He thought back to the monsters he had seen over the past couple of days. Giants, harpies, all of the eternally damned. He knew this final circle of Hell was were Satan himself resided.


Dante had grown up hearing the stories of Satan. A huge creature that made giants look small. Three heads, six eyes, three wings, and three mouths endlessly chewing on those who committed the worst crimes while on Earth.

As he stood in front of the cracked-open door, he could feel the cold nerves settling in his stomach. But, Virgil had already gone in, and Dante was there to follow him and see all nine circles of Hell.

So he went in.

At first Dante was blinded because it was so much brighter inside the door. Before everything was dimly lit by unseen lighting that gave just enough of a glow so one’s eyes could adjust to the dark. But this light was bright white, almost luminescent.

When his eyes adjusted Dante was astonished. Before him were linoleum floors, so shiny he could see everything reflected in them. Paintings and tall pillars alternated down the long hallway in front of him. There were furniture arrangements scattered about, creating small sitting areas. At the end of the hallway, Dante saw Virgil hovering next to a large table that someone was sitting behind. The two chatted idly.

(European-Style Walls And Pillars Design For Hotel Lobby from 3dhousedownload.com)

This was not what Dante was expecting.

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Author's Note: Dante’s Inferno is a classic. Everyone has either read it or at least heard about it. In the original story, Dante is led by Virgil through the different circles of hell, learning about the creatures that dwell there and how it all came to be. In the ninth circle of Hell, Dante and Virgil originally see Satan, with his three heads, chewing on Judas, Brutus, and Cassius, all traitors when they were alive. After seeing this final scene, Dante and Virgil climb up Satan and reemerge on Earth. In my retelling, I wanted something different. When I was think about what to write, I remembered Elizabeth Harper’s storybook that I read at the beginning of our class. She wrote about a new perspective of the underworld as a sort of office where Hades is the boss and has a new secretary, Kyle. I really enjoyed this new imagining of Hell and I thought it was great. So I wanted to incorporate that into my story by having Dante find the ninth circle of hell to be a hotel/office setting. I think it makes the story funny because the lead up of the rest of the story is dark and grim and horrifying, and then you get a different sort of “horror” with working in public service.


Bibliography: "Canto 34: Satan" from Dante's Divine Comedy, translated by Tony Kline (2002). (Web Source)
“Hero Visa Pending” by Elizabeth Harper (Web Source)

Reading Notes: Dante's Inferno Unit, Part B

Satan, Judas, Brutus, and Cassius

Since beginning this unit, I have been looked forward to seeing how the different levels of Hell progressed and who or what would be at the very end. I figured it would be Satan himself, but I didn't expect him to have three heads and be a giant to giants. I also never imagined that he would be using his mouths to chew on some other famous historical people. I think it's interested that the three men were all infamous for their betrayals. I wish that the story would have made some comment about why specifically they were there, but if I had to guess it would be that. 

Once I got to the end and was a little surprised, it made me think, "What was I expecting?" and I am not sure I really have an answer to that. After finishing this unit I'm a little concerned with writing a story for it just because I have no idea what I would re-imagine Hell to be like...but, I guess we'll see. 

(Inferno by Gustave Dore on Wikimedia)

Bibliography: "Canto 34: Satan" from Dante's Divine Comedy, translated by Tony Kline (2002). (Web Source)

Reading Notes: Dante's Inferno Unit, Part A

The First Circle: Limbo

Before this, I had never read any of Dante's Inferno. I had heard about it plenty of times with it being a classic, of course. What surprised me pretty early on was the concept of the first circle of Hell. From what I have understood growing up, limbo is an in between space where souls go when they can't go to heaven or hell. But, in this story, it is the place where good people, who died before Christianity was a thing, spend the rest of eternity. It just strikes me as sort of unfair. They have to live here just because Christ hadn't come about yet? And yes, a few were saved, but only a select few. I think I would rewrite this to be completely different just because I really don't think this would be...good? fair? right?

(Foggy Lake Mist on pixaby)

Bibliogprahy: "Canto 4: Limbo" from Dante's Divine Comedy, translated by Tony Kline (2002). (Web Source)