The Value of Literature: Life Lessons that teach values & cause/effect

Why study literature?  Why should I care what someone (dead, most likely) has written?  How--or why--does it concern me--or anyone else?  (And why do I put samples on this site?)

Excellent questions.  Here's your answers--or some of them (for now):

* Dynamics of literature show our best and worst as testimonies of society over the legacy and history of Mankind (as we know it).

* Enables us to recognize achievement of human dreams and struggles from places and times apart from our own.

* Offers valuable testimonies about life experiences that broaden our knowledge.

* Links us with varied base of culture, philosophy, and religious values that comprise our beliefs and ideals.

* Provide resource tools of perspective by using our imagination in ways that a computer or television set can NOT do but our brain is capable:  literature sensitizes us with interest, concern, tension, excitement, hope, fear, regret, humor, and sympathy.

* Literature helps shape our judgments through comparison and perception of good and evil (cause-and effect); options, decisions, outcomes.

* Literature teaches us about human nature:  Perceptions, feelings, lives, patterns of human existence that are timeless and consistent; motivations that have shaped and altered society for better or worse.

Therefore, literature makes us THINK and stretch our ability to do so!  

(That's called "extrapolation" and "juxtaposition" in vocabulary terms; go look them up and see what they mean.)

Things you never knew: the Great Lakes

1. Lake Superior is actually not a lake at all, but an inland sea.2. All of the four other Great Lakes, plus three more the size of Lake Erie, would fit inside Lake Superior.3. Isle Royale is a massive island surrounded by Lake Superior. Within this island are several smaller lakes. Yes, that’s a lake on a lake.4. Despite its massive size, Lake Superior is an extremely young formation by Earth’s standards (only 10,000 years old).5. There is enough water in Lake Superior to submerge all of North and South America in 1 foot of water.6. Lake Superior contains 3 quadrillion gallons of water (3,000,000,000,000,000). All five of the Great Lakes combined contain 6 quadrillion gallons.7. Contained within Lake Superior is a whopping 10% of the world’s fresh surface water.8. It’s estimated there are about 100 million lake trout in Lake Superior. That’s nearly one-fifth of the human population of North America!9. There are small outlets through which water leaves Lake Superior. It takes two centuries for all the water in the lake to replace itself.10. Lake Erie is the fourth-largest Great Lake in surface area, and the smallest in depth. It’s the 11th largest lake on the planet.11. There is alleged to be a 30- to 40-foot-long “monster” in Lake Erie named Bessie. The earliest recorded sighting goes back as early as 1793.12. Water in Lake Erie replaces itself in only 2.6 years, which is notable considering the water in Lake Superior takes two centuries. 13. The original publication of Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax contained the line, “I hear things are just as bad up in Lake Erie.”Fourteen years later, the Ohio Sea Grant Program wrote to Seuss to make the case that conditions had improved. He removed the line.14. Not only is Lake Erie the smallest Great Lake when it comes to volume, but it’s surrounded by the most industry.Seventeen metropolitan areas, each with populations of more than 50,000, border the Lake Erie basin.15. During the War of 1812, the U.S. beat the British in a naval battle called the Battle of Lake Erie, forcing them to abandon Detroit.16. The shoreline of all the Great Lakes combined equals nearly 44% of the  circumference  of the planet. 17. If not for the Straits of Mackinac, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron might be considered one lake.Hydrologically speaking, they have the same mean water level and are considered one lake.18. The Keystone State was one of the largest and most luxurious wooden steamships running during the Civil War.In 1861, it disappeared. In 2013, it was found 30 miles northeast of Harrisville under 175 feet of water.19. Goderich Mine is the largest salt mine in the world. Part of it runs underneath Lake Huron, more than 500 meters underground. 20. Below Lake Huron, there are  9,000-year-old animal-herding structures used by prehistoric people from when the water levels were significantly lower.21. There are massive sinkholes in Lake Huron that have high amounts of sulfur and low amounts of oxygen, almost replicating the conditions of Earth’s ancient oceans 3 million years ago. Unique ecosystems are contained within them.22. Lake Huron is the second largest among the Great Lakes, and the fifth largest in the world. 23.  In size, Lake Michigan ranks third among the Great Lakes, and sixth among all freshwater lakes in the world.24. Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake that is entirely within the borders of the United States.25. The largest fresh water sand dunes in the world line the shores of Lake Michigan.26. Because water enters and exits Lake Michigan through the same path, it takes 77 years longer for the water to replace itself than in Huron, despite their similarity in size and depth. (Lake Michigan: 99 years, Lake Huron: 22 years)27. When the temperature of Lake Michigan is below freezing, this happens. 28. Within Lake Michigan there is a “triangle” with a similar reputation to the Bermuda Triangle, where a large amount of “strange disappearances” have occurred. There have also been alleged UFO sightings.29. Singapore, Mich., is a ghost town on the shores of Lake Michigan that was buried under sand in 1871. Because of severe weather conditions and a lack of resources due to the need to rebuild after the great Chicago fire, the town was lost completely.30. In the mid-19th century, Lake Michigan had a pirate problem. Their booty: timber. In fact, the demise of Singapore is due in large part to the rapidly deforested area surrounding the town.31. Jim Dreyer swam across Lake Michigan in 1998 (65 miles), and then in 2003, he swam the length of Lake Michigan (422 miles).32. Lake Michigan was the location of the first recorded “Big Great Lakes disaster,” in which a steamer carrying 600 people collided with a schooner delivering timber to Chicago. Four hundred and fifty people died. 33. Lake Ontario is the smallest of the Great Lakes in surface area, and second smallest in depth. It’s the  14th largest lake on the planet.34. The province of Ontario was named after the lake, and not vice versa.35. In 1804, a Canadian warship, His Majesty’s Ship Speedy, sank in Lake Ontario. In 1990, wreck hunter Ed Burtt managed to find it. Only, he isn’t allowed to recover any artifacts until a government-approved site to exhibit them is found. He’s still waiting. 36. Babe Ruth hit his first major league home run at Hanlan’s Point Stadium in Toronto. It landed in Lake Ontario and is believed to still be there.37. A lake on Saturn’s moon Titan is named after Lake Ontario.

Welcome to Holiday (Horror Day) High School! (A funny look at Grades 9-12)

On Amazon.com

(PS: After our 50th reunion last year, I stopped by and gave a copy to the current principal.

He had NO idea of these stories. Well...NOW he has homework!!)

 

 

 Welcome to a new school year! On Amazon.com Kindle or paperback.

Welcome to “Horror Day” High School.

--------------------------------

Meet the Class of ‘67: it’s a typical teenage crowd—with a European, 7’0”, 110-lb. albino “vampire” who sucks the juice out of oranges through a straw, a hairy wolf-boy who howls over tests, the Hulk-in-football pads, a pink lollipop-Valentine girl, a Brainiac, a Halloween Goth-witch, a Christmas surfer girl, and a guy with green skin—and hair!

👻👻👻

It’s really “Holiday High School” in Las Vegas. These are the memoirs of “the Dirt Devils,” the weird-and-wild-ones who “did it their way” enroute to graduation before the fame, notoriety, and legacies of success in business as adults—but not before they turned the world of education on its head.

The boys love monster movies at the drive-in shows, putting cars on top of the auditorium roof for fun, and scaring the opposing football teams with weird cheers—and their appearances. The girls like to dress according to their favorite holiday colors—and keeping up with the mischief.

Join them as they craft bizarre school songs, smoke cigars in empty classrooms, engage in spitball-straw cannon fights, and overall, leave the administration hanging from the ceiling in dismay.

The Fibonacci Sequence: the Golden Ratio of Math

Life skills at any age

 

Inside the Secret World of the Manta Ray | Free Documentary Nature

Prehistoric Planet JWE2 - Chapter 1 "Ice Worlds"

What Was The Earth Like During The Ice Age?

Alan Watts For When You Feel Stressed: consider art as life

"Ough" says WHAT? How? When?

 

Dinosaurs of the Late Cretaceous - ReYOUniverse

Reality is in the mind of the observer

Just remember: perspective (or what you THINK you see) is a matter of what your brain says to your capacity to view an idea, object, or concept. Just because someone says "This is how it is" does not make it real. To that individual, it IS. But the capacity to change one's perspective is just as important. 

The story is told of the blind men and the elephant. 

There were once six blind men who stood by the roadside every day, and begged from the people who passed. They had often heard of elephants, but they had never seen one; for, being blind, how could they?

It so happened one morning that an elephant was driven down the road where they stood. When they were told that the great beast was before them, they asked the driver to let him stop so that they might see him.

Of course, they could not see him with their eyes; but they thought that by touching him they could learn just what kind of animal he was.

The first one happened to put his hand on the elephant's side. "Well, well!" he said, "now I know all about this beast. He is exactly like a wall."

The second felt only of the elephant's tusk. "My brother," he said, "you are mistaken. He is not at all like a wall. He is round and smooth and sharp. He is more like a spear than anything else."

The third happened to take hold of the elephant's trunk. "Both of you are wrong," he said. "Anybody who knows anything can see that this elephant is like a snake."

The fourth reached out his arms and grasped one of the elephant's legs. "Oh, how blind you are!" he said. "It is very plain to me that he is round and tall like a tree."

The fifth was a very tall man, and he chanced to take hold of the elephant's ear. "The blindest man ought to know that this beast is not like any of the things that you name," he said. "He is exactly like a huge fan."

The sixth was very blind indeed, and it was some time before he could find the elephant at all. At last, he seized the animal's tail. "O foolish fellows!" he cried. "You surely have lost your senses. This elephant is not like a wall, or a spear, or a snake, or a tree; neither is he like a fan. But any man with a particle of sense can see that he is exactly like a rope."

Then the elephant moved on, and the six blind men sat by the roadside all day, and quarreled about him. Each believed that he knew just how the animal looked; and each called the others hard names because they did not agree with him. People who have eyes sometimes act as foolishly.

 

Film Comedy - a lost skill

I wanted to take a course in college once on the history of film.  One of the papers I would have written would be the legacy and history of burlesque: the art of slapstick comedy and the reasons why it could not be performed today in the same way.

One of the reasons was that the performers were more realistic; the nature of the film industry has changed greatly with the changes made with technology, computers, and special effects.  Another reason was the chemistry between the cast members:  it's as if innocence has been lost over the years. There just isn't the same kind of dynamics.

And finally, there just aren't the same kind of comedy teams working the circuit of theaters because the movie industry itself has changed:  the promotion of DVDs and other home entertainment systems have altered the way we view the world. 

One of the acts was the Three Stooges. To me, the example of their personalities and appearance being so absurd as to be believable; it was to their credit that it seemed ANYONE could be smarter than these guys.  It was also because of the timing of their routines; notice in the film short that it's one gag after another, and that they appear totally surprised at each new one.  Nor did the remake of the Stooges story in a movie make the same impact: even though the actors had very similar appearances, the gags just weren't the same because the personalities weren't the originals.

It's hard to imagine holding one's composure and reflexive response NOT to duck when a pie is coming! "Oh, me! Never have I been through such a lion fight!" The self-control and timing of the cast are superb.

The penultimate classic for me is "Niagara Falls", which was later copied by Abbott and Costello. (It says volumes to me when another great team copies another's routine.) In "NF", we see the years of timing that Moe, Larry, and Curly built together: from the build-up of Moe's intense distress, Larry's outrage, and Curly's dismay at becoming the unwitting target of their emotional outbursts when they finally explode. And then...and THEN...it's as if they were best buddies--UNTIL...ONCE again!--THAT WORD!

And through it all, to his credit, Curly keeps his sincere nature and sweetness intact! It's a credit to all three that they performed this for an audience that really appreciated their humor and acting.

ASL students: learning to communicate in their own unique way

Not everyone has the chance to say directly what he/she feels, thinks, understands, or values.

For these young boys and girls, it's just a matter of finding a different way to share those qualities. They have to use ASL: American Sign Language--because they were born deaf and unable to hear.

But if you listen closely, you can understand every word they are saying.

Giant prehistoric insects: don't bug out on me!

Ambergris: the expensive ingredient for perfume

 She called, crying: "Help! I found your web site--and I have to do a scholarship essay statement--no more than 30 words! What do I do?"
I thought about it: she needs a thesis--and replied, "It's worth $20/gram. That's $25,000 for five pounds. You must report it if found in the U.S. or Australia. And it's sperm whale digestive garbage--or ambergris." Twenty-seven words.
She replied, "How much? Where? It's what? Ewww--but that works! Thank you."

(I wanted to tell her she wears it--but she would have hung up on me. That is, she would have--unless she knew it's used in fine perfume. Oh well.)

https://ambergrisconnect.com/identification.html#two

Why Animals Get Creepier the Deeper You Go in the Ocean

The Creative Classroom PowerPoint Video for a thesis

 So I've found that a PowerPoint can be tough for some people to see--but they can watch a PowerPoint video instead. With that in mind...here's something I crafted for students and instructors on how to brainstorm an idea for a thesis. Enjoy!

Oh. So someone asked, "What's that 'Double-Dutch Twist/Irish Treat' idea regarding Money? Is that a new form of coffee?"

I saw this while teaching in China: my students were furiously studying a paper in MY class that was for their NEXT class in finance. (I was teaching public speaking.) So I asked to see what was so interesting: and they showed me the article with that title--and begged me to help. So I read it in a few minutes and then translated the idea, although I don't know finance:

The article stated that Apple, Inc., was sending pre-tax profits to two banks in the Dutch West Indies in the Caribbean. It was then re-routed (after a lower tax rate for deposits) to a bank in Ireland--and then sent back to Seattle as a means of--shall we say--"legal money laundering"?

PS: I told the students, "Don't tell your instructor that I figured it out. YOU take credit for it and pretend like you had the idea down cold and impress him for it."

My point: If you can READ something, you're likely to understand it if you know how to "think outside the box". 

"HSBC ad for learning foreign culture"

I had fun at Jiangxi University in China when I showed this to my business English students. They got the point that THEY also had to learn the culture of the country where they were assigned in graduate school. I also show this to my MBA students who are learning in a module about international business culture--and why it matters to know it.

I DID know how to use chopsticks because I had been to Japan 40 years earlier, but the difference in food styles between central China and southern China is quite remarkable. And I was served sea worms--twice at one banquet--as an "honored guest."

And yes, I ate them. I also think I ate stir-fried Godzilla because I had NO idea what it was, but I know it came out of the ocean.

How to Negotiate Your Job Offer - Prof. Deepak Malhotra (Harvard Busines...