Hi! My name is Blake Allred and I am majoring in International Relations with a minor in Spanish. I chose this major because I love travelling and meeting new people and learning about their cultures and traditions. One of my favorite things about the classes I take is the chance that I have to meet other people from a very diverse range of backgrounds. If all goes well, I will be graduating this semester, so this part of my college journey is coming to an end. I’m still not sure how I feel about this, it is kind of a mixture between excitement and dread, but overall, I am glad I could have such a wonderful experience here at OU and that I am now able to graduate. This summer we went on a family vacation to visit my grandparents who live in rural Colorado. My grandpa is a retired pilot and owns his own plane and built his retirement home right next to a remote airstrip. When we went there this summer, I was able to go out flying with him and even f...
Hello Blake!
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about the Incas but you do a phenomenal job of explaining their way of life and how it was brought to an end. I love the fact that all of the pictures you'll be using for this site are ones you took yourself! That adds a super cool element that not many people will have!
Your cover image for your site is perfect! It gives an ominous yet important and reverent tone to your cite!
For revision purposes: your last paragraph in the introduction is a bit repetitive. You already told us about their stories resilience despite the Inca downfall. Perhaps you could tell us about the stories that you're going to feature next! Are they going to be the Inca stories from a first person point of view or looked at through their conqueror's eyes? I can't wait to see what happens next!
Hi Blake!
ReplyDeleteI’ve always had an interest in history of different cultures so it was nice to learn a little bit about the Inca’s in Peru. I had no idea that the Spaniards conquered Peru since the focus of the Spaniard invasion that we were taught in high school was mainly in Mexico. I enjoyed reading your introduction and thought you did a great job explaining how the Spaniards ended the Inca’s way of life. I did see a few areas where there was some repetition that could be easily fixed in the first part of the introduction. I also saw a few grammar errors (I’m the worst at them) such as in the beginning of the third sentence in the second paragraph, the word “their” should be there. Other than that, I thought that this was a great introduction and I honestly can’t wait to read more tales from Peru and hope you share more pictures from your trip!
Hi Blake! First, I will start off with commenting on your overall website design. I personally like how the images on your website are actual ones you took while you were living in Peru. This gives your website a more authentic touch which I have not seen from any other storybook or portfolio. However, I do think you could add some more color to your website to add more to the aesthetic. What really caught my attention is that you are using your own personal experience, as well as other sources, for your stories. You bring a unique perspective since you got to experience Peruvian culture firsthand. I am mainly curious as to how the future stories on your website will be structured. What if you told them from a first-person perspective of one of the Incas? Also, I think it would be interesting to see the stories told from the perspective of the Spanish as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Blake!
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm truly impressed with your introduction! I think that the expository style works perfectly here, since it gives you a chance to explain the historical significance of the stories you're about to tell, why they matter, and how they were recorded. Knowing the implications of certain stories (such as the position of the emperor based on the creation story) is so interesting and makes me want to read more. I like that you explain the difficulties that the Incas faced in keeping their stories alive, because aside from being interesting, it makes your readers very grateful to be reading these almost-lost stories! If you are still looking to add anything to the introduction, you might think about including a short description of some of these rural Peruvians who still know Incan stories (I don't think the introduction needs it, but it might be an interesting detail). Finally, I really like that you have included your own pictures on the site. It gives it an authentic feel, and the pictures are beautiful. The picture on your home page was the first thing I noticed when I arrived at your site, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that you took it. Great job!
Hi Blake! I think it's super cool that your stories are all going to be accompanied by photos you took yourself — that gives your storytelling a level of authority and also personal interest that I think is going to be great. I enjoyed and learned from your introduction, but I think it could be written as more of a roadmap of the stories to come, if you were interested in expanding on it. Perhaps a few shorter, punchier paragraphs that provide a glimpse into the legends you're going to share in the following stories would help break up a few long paragraphs and give the reader something to pique their interest, if they're not interested in history. Overall, I am looking forward to hearing the stories of the Incas told from the rural Peruvian perspective. Nice job, and I'm interested in reading more of your story book throughout the semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Blake! It was great getting to read about your plan for your project! I personally really liked the introduction because I am all about the historical context! I think the coolest part about reading mythology is that it was really important to those cultures and tells us a lot about the things they valued - so it was really cool to see you emphasize that in your post! Obviously you haven't added your first story yet (totally get that it's been a longggg weekend) but I hope you will add more soon so that I can really get a feel for it! My favorite part about your project has to be that you used pictures you had taken yourself, I mean how cool!! It is going to be so cool to get to hear these legends and I hope you will use your authors note to really expand on your experiences in Peru because that is such a unique perspective!! Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Blake!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to save your storybook to my favorites list so that I can make sure to follow the new stories that you add. I love it! The pictures that you've chosen are beautiful, and the fact that you took them yourself, while in Peru, adds to the ambiance. Your introduction was extremely informative, and terribly sad. You did a good job of providing a succinct explanation of the end of the Incan empire and what happened to both save and almost annihilate, their oral tradition. Your story was really good. It was creative and entertaining, and you did a great job adding details to the somewhat sparse origin story. I like the way you incorporated the etiological stories about the desert heat, stalactites/stalagmites, and the rain in the rainforest. The story read like a very traditional myth and I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to the continuation of your storybook!
Blake, I just read your Introduction and first story, The First Men. Your writing style is very solid, and this made me happy to have landed on your blog! In the Introduction, I would suggest changing the last sentence of the first paragraph. Currently, you have "so that even today they continue to persist." This is redundant, so I would say something more like "so they persist today." Also, you have two different spellings of the capital city's name, so I would decide on "Cusco" or "Cuzco." In the first story, I would change "The Sun god, Inti, and the Moon had many children, who they sent to the earth to inhabit it" to "The Sun god, Inti, and the Moon had many children who they sent to the earth to inhabit." The same with "After some time, their father gave his children a golden staff, that held the key to life." I would omit the second comma. In general, the writing is great. Some of the commas you use, however, are unnecessary and distracting. Good job on this.
ReplyDeleteHey there Blake,
ReplyDeleteI first saw that you had added a personal photo of the Andes Mountains here on your comment blog so then when I read your title I knew that this topic had to be something that your were either interested in or liked a lot already. Because of this I had knew I had to dive into your introduction and see what you had going on. I thought that your writing style was very nice! I do think that there are some small changes that could be changed to enhance the readability of the story. There are some repetitive section of the story that I'm sure if you go back and proofread again you will easily catch. I have to proofread many times over and I still miss some stuff as well so no worries. Other than that I don't have anything else to really say besides it was very well done. Overall I am looking forward to reading the conclusion of your storybook!
Hi Blake!
ReplyDeleteWow, first off, I just wanted to say that the layout of your project is really well done. I like the photos, the colors you've used on your project, and they way you've organized your introduction and first story. I was really impressed with the fact that you even incorporated your own photos on this project, as they go with your project so well. What I liked the most in your first story was your style of writing in trying to give this characters more development. I have never read the original story, but reading your author's note, I think you really achieved the goal of giving more information to these characters. This also gives us a lot of information for any future stories that you write, so that we may be able to refer back to this addition for any details we may have missed. This story kept me wanting to know more. So, I am looking forward to new story additions that you will make this week. Nice job!
Hello Blake! I really like your project so far. Everything is really visually appealing and well organized. One thing that could help even more is adding more pictures to your pages to help get the reader even more in the zone to read your story. The introduction does a great job of laying out all the facts for what is to come in the following sections. Your first story was also really great! I loved reading all about your take on Incan mythology and your thought process seemed really unique. Overall, the wording is easy to follow and very descriptive so as a reader it’s easy to follow along and picture exactly what you are talking about. If I could say any advice to spice up the story could be to add dialogue. But I also think its completely great without. Anyways keep up the great work and I can't wait to check back in later!
ReplyDeleteBlake,
ReplyDeleteI think that it is awesome that you chose a topic that you have already connected with personally so that you can expand the already rich literature of the Peruvian culture. Your pictures are amazing and I am truly jealous of the fact that you were able to travel there; one of my best friends from my childhood is from Peru, so the country has always been on my long list of places to travel.
Your introduction is really informative and it really pulls me into what I believe is your reasoning for writing this: to make people more aware of Peruvian culture. I didn't know much about the history of the Peruvian people, so your introduction really helped me out. I am so glad that you extended the original tale of The First Men; playing with original tales is so much fun and it's awesome that you were able to add details that were not previously there. Your descriptions of setting were awesome, by the way. A lot of people forget to give their readers an image of where the story is taking place, making it hard for them to produce a picture in their head of where they are.
Awesome job!
Hi Blake,
ReplyDeleteI am familiar with some of Inca civilization, but not with their myths and stories. The story of the first Inca was very interesting, and made me wonder if it paralleled at all the journey of the Incas' ancestors to their homeland. It reminded me that there are deserts and rainforests and presumably caves around that area. I was initially confused by the differences between the first and second stories, despite them both being origin stories. However, the author's note helped. I had not considered the possibility, though of course it makes sense, that not all the Incas would have shared the exact same beliefs. I have heard of Lake Titicaca, and this is a really neat story about it. You gave a good description, though it might be nice to have more pictures of it. On a related note, I like how you took all the pictures yourself. It sounds like you had a great trip!
Hi Blake,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you are off to a really great start to your project. I am in the Indian Epics class, so it is always nice to come over to the Myth-Folklore class and see what you guys are up to. I like the layout of your website a lot. The easier it is to navigate, the more the user is going to like it and you you have done a great job of that. I also like your opening header photo. The fog with the mountains is a really cool picture and goes great with the theme you are trying to establish. My favorite story you have is the Legends of the Inca. It was a good plot and you did a good job of keeping it organized. You did a good job of taking the original story and making it into something even better. You did a really good job of developing the characters with the plot. You are off to a really good start so far. Keep up the good work. I am looking forward to coming back to your page later on in the semester and reading more of your future stories.
Brooks
Hello, Blake!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I must say your project is looking amazing. The images that you chose for your home page and each story are truly beautiful and do a great job of giving the reader a clear picture of where these stories are taking place. Not to mention that it is absolutely amazing that you took all of the images yourself.
Anyways, your introduction did a great job of giving a history on the Inca as well as the fall of the empire due to the Spanish. I honestly don't have a single suggestion since it looks so great!
The First Inca was also a great story! I am so impressed with your creativity and how you added to the original to have the origins of the desert, caves, and rain-forest. Also, I love the little fact below the author's note about where you noted that you took the image and how it is believed to be a spot where Manco Capac searched to place the staff.
Great work!
Hi Blake! I love your storybook. I had never read any Incan myths, so I wasn't certain how much of the stories were your work, but the detail and creativity you used in creating your own version of the stories made them awesome! One thing I thought while reading is that the storybook was a little impersonal. A lot of people have one of their characters tell the story or have a narrator. I think these stories might work well with an Incan storyteller — that might make the introduction a bit more engaging as well. Other than that, the only thing I saw was that one sentence was a little repetitive ("Every creature on the earth trembled at his sight, and the terrible monsters that roamed the face of the land fled forever from his sight"). Great job with this storybook — you write really clearly and with great descriptive detail. Looking forward to reading the rest!!
ReplyDeleteHey Blake.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I would like to say that your introduction is very helpful because I am from the other class. I have heard of the Incans and I know some things about Incan culture and architecture, but I do not know much about Incan legends and I have not read any. Your stories were very good. I think my favorite was probably the First Inca. It was very well written, and I like how your author’s note connected the story and how Incan emperors were thought to be descended from these gods. Your stories were very informative and interesting. Your pictures also went well with them. All in all, I like your website a lot. I hope to read more of your stories. Good luck with the rest of your stories.