There’s no way you’re getting out of here with out one last art project! For these two challenges, use the resources in the Maya Glyphs Book and Mayan Date Calculator.

The first task, is to write your name in Mayan glyphs. When the Spaniards arrived, they were disgusted by what they saw. This is understandable, but tragic. They destroyed invaluable artifacts in the quest to purge the Americas of civilizations they were convinced emerged from the pit of hell!

Unfortunately, they did a great job of wrecking things. We are just now learning to crack the code of the Mayans. You’re going to utilize the Glyph Book to become like a palaeographer (someone who deciphers ancient writing).

Understand…Mayan writing is fluid. Don’t get too bogged down in doing it perfect. There are many variations of drawing and spelling available. Also, the explanations are complicated. Just have fun with it!

In the book:

• skim pages 12-31 for an overview
• skim pages 32-45 to learn how
• you’ll find the primary key on pages 17-22
• another important key is on page 36

I first broke my name into syllables:

Then, I spelled it like I say it:

Finally, I Mayanized that bad boy:

When you’re done, take a picture of your creation and insert in on your post. Put what name you translated as a caption on your image. Blog about the process.

The Mayans were obsessed with time. I love this cartoon!

For your final activity, you’ll create a Mayan stela. Stelas were placed on stone columns. Here’s an example:

Please read the brief description of the Mayan stela on Google Classroom.

Now…think of an important date. It could be your birthday. It could be an important date in history. It could be a first date with a smoking hot significant other! Whatever you choose, plug that date into the Mayan Date Calculator. Recreate the image that appears on the paper column I gave you. Take a picture of your masterpiece and insert it on your blog with the date as a caption. Make certain to blog about why you chose the date and how you feel about your creation.

I made the one below for my wife on her birthday:

Buddhism is all about letting go of attachments. We’ll do one more application of this concept before we say goodbye to this fascinating unit. You must do one the following:

• Give up something
• Give up clutter
• Give up a habit
• Give up an attitude

The crucial phrase is Give up. I decided, that till the end of this year, I’ll clean my desk at the end of each school day. This purge would be from the Give up clutter category. This is going to be quite a challenge. There are a lot of things in this room that I’m needlessly attached to. It’s so easy to walk out the door at the end of the day and not mess with cleaning my desk. I’m deputizing all of you to hold me accountable. If you come in and my desk is cluttered…crab at me! Perhaps, my daily desk purge will inspire me to expand my efforts.

 

• Include a before and after photo
• Indicate why you chose your sacrifice
• Indicate how you felt during the purge
• Speculate on how it could impact your existence.

Westerners inhale their food! While we devour our meals, the TV blares, the smartphone vibrates, and we nervously yammer through our full mouths to dinner companions that barely acknowledge us.

Hopefully, you enjoyed our slow silent eating exercise. Even if it drove you crazy, it certainly should have made you think. Do you:

• eat slowly?
• turn off all stimuli?
• eat in silence?
• savor your meal?

I TRY to do these things, but it’s hard! Modern life lends itself to speed and efficiency even when it comes to eating. What a pity!

For this prompt, we are going to produce and consume a conscious Buddhist meal. If preparing a meal for the rest of your family is too cumbersome, create a delightful snack. But please don’t just pull something out of a bag! At least…make a sandwich. Regardless of whether you dine alone, or have others join you, complete the following:

1. Describe your meal. Indicate why you chose it. (10 points)
2. Turn off ALL potential media disruptions.
3. Chronicle the meal prep. This could be done with images, video, drawings, or voice recording. (10 points)
4. Compose a paragraph which describes the experience. Focus on the experience, but also how it might influence future actions. (10 points)

Last spring, I created a Jainist meal. SAY WHAT???? I called it a Jainist meal because it was vegitarian. When I’m not dining with wife and offspring, I’ll often go vegan or vegg. One of my primary missions was better prepare TOFU. I was pleased the result.

I started with a block of extra firm tofu:

The key to making epic tofu is moisture extraction:

Sure…tofu is bland. It’s much like a dry sponge which allows it to assume the flavors of its partners! YUM…or perhaps YUM!

I like to fry tofu to a golden brown. I pour olive oil in a frying pan, chop the brick into small squares, coat the squares with corn starch by shaking them in a zip-lock bag and then fry them up:

I paired my fried tofu with spinach and rice noodles. But what really frosted my gourd, was this amazing Indian simmer sauce called Tikka Masala:

Check out this tasty masterpiece:

I dined alone, slowly, and in silence.

I ate a lot less than normal. I tasted each bite. After the meal I felt great. I did not feel like I had overeaten. Mahavira would have been so proud. It was a spiritual experience!

At Big Walnut University, we matriculate through an entire unit on Buddhism. But at BWU, we try to experience a unit, not just read and take notes. One way to do this is to engage in art. Buddhist are famous for crafting inspiring mandalas. Here’s a captivating 2-minute clip on monks creating a mandala:

 

Here’s the way to construct a paper mandala:

1. Take a perfectly square paper and folded it into 8 pie-shaped sections.

2. Create a cool design in one of the sections.

3. Fold the paper, place it on a window or light box, and recreate the image in the 7 remaining sections.

4. Here’s some examples from last fall. But in the spirit of Buddhism, we promptly took them out in the parking lot and torched them!
5. 

Why, you may ask, would one do such a thing? The answer lies in attachment. Buddhism is all about letting go. That’s a tough concept to grasp when you’re a youthful 17-years-old. Burning these beautiful works of art could have a profound impact on you. Regardless, I have no doubt you’ll remember this assignment and the message about attachment for the rest of your life!

Instructions: (20 Points)

• Create a beautiful mandala. Snap a picture of it and post it on your blog.
• Write a paragraph which describes your emotions creating and then destroying your artistic offspring

The artist holds a respected position in African tribal society. It is his job to provide the various masks and sculptures for use in ritual ceremonies. His work is valued for its spiritual, rather than its aesthetic qualities. Art without a ‘spiritual dimension’, in the broadest sense of the term, never transcends the level of mere craftsmanship and is unable to communicate those elevated emotions that are born from a deeper mystical inspiration.

African masks should be seen as part of a ceremonial costume. They are used in religious and social events to represent the spirits of ancestors or to control the good and evil forces in the community. They come to life, possessed by their spirit in the performance of the dance, and are enhanced by both the music and atmosphere of the occasion. Some combine human and animal features to unite man with his natural environment. This bond with nature is of great importance to the African and through the ages, masks have always been used to express this relationship.

Your mission is to create an African mask based on the directions in the link below. Include a photo of your mask. Also, include an information plate as if we were in a museum.

African Mask Instructions

 

 

 

At Big Walnut University, we matriculate through an entire unit on Buddhism. But at BWU, we try to experience a unit, not just read and take notes. One way to do this is to engage in art. Buddhist are famous for crafting inspiring mandalas. Here’s a captivating 2 minute clip on monks creating a mandala:

Here’s the way to construct a paper mandala:

1. Take a perfectly square paper and folded it into 8 pie-shaped sections.

2. Create a cool design in one of the sections.

3. Fold the paper, place it on a window or light box, and recreate the image in the 7 remaining sections.

4. Here’s some examples from last fall. But in the spirit of Buddhism, we promptly took them out in the parking lot and torched them!
5. 

 

Why, you may ask, would one do such a thing? The answer lies in attachment. Buddhism is all about letting go. That’s a tough concept to grasp when you’re a youthful 17-years-old. Burning these beautiful works of art could have a profound impact on you. Regardless, I have no doubt you’ll remember this assignment and the message about attachment for the rest of your life!

 

Blog #9 Instructions: (20 Points)

• Create a beautiful mandala. Snap a picture of it and post it on your blog.
• Write a paragraph which describes your emotions creating and then destroying your artistic offspring!

Westerners inhale their food! While we devour our meals, the TV blares, the smartphone vibrates, and we nervously yammer through our full mouths to dinner companions that barely acknowledge us.

 

Hopefully, you enjoyed our slow silent eating exercise. Even if it drove you crazy, it certainly should have made you think. Do you:

• eat slowly?
• turn off all stimuli?
• eat in silence?
• savor your meal?

I TRY to do these things, but it’s hard! Modern life lends itself to speed and efficiency even when it comes to eating. What a pity!

For this prompt, we are going to produce and consume a conscious Buddhist meal. If preparing a meal for the rest of your family is too cumbersome, create a delightful snack. But please don’t just pull something out of a bag! At least…make a sandwich. Regardless of whether you dine alone, or have others join you, complete the following:

1. Describe your meal. Indicate why you chose it. (10 points)
2. Turn off ALL potential media disruptions.
3. Chronicle the meal prep. This could be done with images, video, drawings, or voice recording. (10 points)
4. Compose a paragraph with describes the experience. Focus on the experience, but also how it might influence future actions. (10 points)

Last spring, I created a Jainist meal. SAY WHAT???? I called it a Jainist meal because it was vegitarian. When I’m not dining with wife and offspring, I’ll often go vegan or vegg. One of my primary missions was better prepare TOFU. I was pleased the result.

I started with a block of extra firm tofu:

The key to making epic tofu is moisture extraction:

Sure…tofu is bland. It’s much like a dry sponge which allows it to assume the flavors of its partners! YUM…or perhaps YUM!

I like to fry tofu to a golden brown. I pour olive oil in a frying pan, chop the brick into small squares, coat the squares with corn starch by shaking them in a zip-lock bag and then fry them up:

I paired my fried tofu with spinach and rice noodles. But what really frosted my gourd, was this amazing Indian simmer sauce called Tikka Masala:

Check out this tasty masterpiece:

I dined alone, slowly, and in silence.

 

I ate a lot less than normal. I tasted each bite. After the meal I felt great. I did not feel like I had overeaten. Mahavira would have been so proud. It was a spiritual experience!

 

SHOW NOTES

4 Jobs:

1. Create an attractive image for your podcast.

2. Interview a few individuals. Record those conversations on your phone. Ask them 3 questions about Islam. Include those 3 questions in your show notes. Decide which interview is best, email that sound file to yourself and then post it under your podcast image.

3. Include the 3 questions in the show notes.

4. The final portion of the show notes will be a paragraph where you analyze the interview. What does this conversation tell the world about American attitudes towards Islam?