Script for Cannibals

Scene: cannibal hut/desert island, complete with human body parts on a spit]
[enter Sailors]

Sailor 1: Arrrr, a real cannibal island! Now, I remember reading an essay by some French guy...
Sailor 2 Marner: Michel Montaigne. You didn't read it, you just used Spiff Notes.
Sailor 1 Jonas: Bark Notes, actually, and it's all the same anyway. OK, I'm trying to remember if he gave us any clues about how not to get eaten.
Sailor 2: Just stay cool, man. I read the whole essay, and we just have to remember that just because people are different doesn't make them wrong. Steady, [other sailor is deep breathing] steady as she---
[enter Cannibal]
Cannibal: Boooooo!
[Sailors screech like girls and start shaking]
Cannibal: Haaa, teeny sailor girls screech like stuck pig! Welcome to our island, sailor sandwiches!
Sailor 2 Marner: Look at me, I'm shaking like we're still in that tempest!
Sailor 1 Jonas pirate: Um... I don't think it's sea legs anymore.
Cannibal: No need be frightened!  [switch to normal side] See, we offer you welcome! Rest, help, food! Anyone care for some delicious... Lady Fingers?
Sailor 1 Marner: Sailor 2!!! I mean, Jonas!!!
Sailor 2, nervously, Jonas: Ha! ...I bet they're ...finger-lickin' good! Arg.
Cannibal: HA! No worries, sailor sandwich man, I no eat you, you a comedian!
Sailor 2 Jonas: Well, why not?
Cannibal: Comedian taste funny!
Sailor 2 Jonas: HAA! See, [Marner], they're not so bad! Oh, oh, I got another one: what do you and a HR rep have in common?
Cannibal: What HR rep mean?
Sailor 2: You're both... fed up with people! (snare drum snap)
[Both laugh until Cannibal abruptly stops.] [switch to scary side]
Cannibal: ...all this laughing make me hungry.
Sailor 1: DON'T EAT ME!
Cannibal: Well, we humanists so we like (to eat) humans. I give you TEST. You can answer few question right, we no eat you. You answer wrong... and we helps you find out where you funny bone be.
Sailor 1 and 2: HELP US!

Help the sailors and work toward your own Exploring Brave New Worlds Badge:

option 1: I've already read Michel Montaigne's Of Cannibals. I'm ready for the challenge!
option 2: I need a refresher first! Take me to some texts!

Quiz:
1. Michel Montaigne's writing looks like...
            a. a personal essay
            b. a chapter from a book
            c. a speech to Parliament
            d. both a and b
            e. all of the above

*** 2. Michel Montaigne likes to get his information from...
            a. a famous explorer of the period, Thomas Heriot
            b. the wisest, most experienced explorers on the ocean
            c. Long John Silver, the ship's cook.
            d. a simple, ignorant crew member

3. According to Montaigne, cannibals are savages in the same way...
           a. fire is hot: they will always be that way
           b. a mean dog is ornery: it's been taught to bite back
           c. fruit is wild: it's still in its natural state
           d. heaven is cloudy: it's actually better that way

***4. Montaigne believes cannibals are no more savage than...
           a. Wild apples (since they actually taste better out of the orchard)
           b. Europeans (since they torture their prisoners alive)
           c. Zombies (since they really don't have a choice in what they eat)
          d. Pocahontas (since she ...wasn't around yet)

***5. What are the two chief values of the cannibals?
           a. valor to their enemies and love to their wives
           b. peace and plenty
           c. careful seasoning and perfect barbeque techniques
           d. drinking and dancing

6. Why does M. use so many allusions to older myths and civiliations in history? Name one such nation and do some background research on what the inclusion would have meant to his day. (ad fontes)

7. Humanism

A Description of a New World, or, The Blazing Script

Video Intro to Margaret Cavendish's A Description of a New World, Called the Blazing-World 

[scene: otherworldly-looking beach, with several strange creatures in the background--Fish-men, Bear-men, Fox-men, Bird-men, maybe even Steve Tyler.  There are several stars visible in the sky even though the sun is up.  Our two heroes have washed ashore and are looking about.] 

Sailor 1:  Arrgh!  Where be we? 

Sailor 2:  So we're talking like pirates now?


Sailor 1:  What else be we talking like, matey?  We be sailors!


Sailor 2:  Uh huh.


[enter a Bird-man, which I'm sorry to say is the gender-neutral term]


Bird-man:  Well, hello, strangers!


Sailor 1:  What be ye, strange creature?  Arrgh!


Sailor 2:  And where are we?


Bird-man:  I am a Bird-man, and.... 


Sailor 1:  [interrupting] A bird!  By Poseidon's beard, I'll gut ya and fry yer innards!


Sailor 2:  He actually won't.  Not only are we unarmed, but he hates fried food.


Bird-man:  No, I understand.  Anyway, you are on the Blazing World!  A human woman from your world named Margaret Cavendish once wrote about it.


Sailor 1:  Women-folk writin' stuff!  Preposterous!


Sailor 2:  And how did we get here?


Bird-man:  Well, according to Margaret Cavendish, our Blazing-World rests atop your North Pole.  As she says, "[I]t is impossible to round this World's globe from Pole to Pole, so as we do from East to West, because the Poles of the other World...."


Sailor 2:  [interrupting] Whoa, whoa, whoa.  We've only got ninety seconds, buddy.  Save your quotations for the next section.

Bird-man:  Sorry.

[Text pops up asking the viewer how to proceed:  "How does the sailor respond?  Option 1:  "It's okay, I'd love to hear more about Margaret Cavendish and The Blazing World."  Option 2:  "I'm pretty sure our viewers are familiar with The Blazing World.  Let's just go to the quiz."]

Option 1: Tell Me About Margaret Cavendish's The Blazing World

This would be another short video, perhaps five minutes long, of narrated scrolling texts.  It would give a brief (20-second) overview of Cavendish, then outline The Blazing World and including some quotes and passages.  It will, of course, provide a link to the full text.  It would end with a link to the quiz.

Option 2: The Blazing World Quiz

1. The book A Description of the New World, called the Blazing-World is usually referred to by which nickname?

a. The Blazing World
b. The Description
c. The New World

2. Who wrote A Description of the New World, called The Blazing-World?

a. Margaret Thatcher
b. John Winthrop
c. Queen Elizabeth
d. Margaret Cavendish

3. Where is the Blazing World in relation to Earth?

a. underneath Earth
b. on top of Earth
c. at the center of the Earth

4. What does the Emperor do when he first sees the Lady?

a. worship her
b. ask her to marry him
c. order her execution

5. Which of the following creatures is NOT mentioned in the text?

a. Fish-men
b. Bear-men
c. Goat-men
d. Ape-men

5. Why does the Empress eventually return to our world?

a. She misses her family.
b. The Blazing World is drifting away from Earth and she does not wish to be trapped there.
c. Her homeland is under attack.

6. What was the occupation of the Bird-men?

a. They were Philosophers.
b. They were Mathematicians.
c. They were Astronomers.

7. The Blazing World is an early example of what genre of fiction?

a. science fiction
b. travel fiction
c. utopian fiction

(Trick question--all answers are acceptable, even if some are better than others.)

8. Write two paragraphs or record a short video describing why The Blazing World relates to the theme of the Brave New world.  Include an explanation of why we should study The Blazing World today.  Post your paragraphs or video HERE (imbed link to our website).

Script for Petrarch letters mission

Mission: Alonzo must find motivation to learn Latin and Greek (A difficult task)

Setting: Ancient Greece/ Rome

Script:

(In a study room)

Alonzo: I give up! I’m never going to be able to learn these ancient languages, why even try?

(Voices from the past, transition setting to ancient Greece/ Rome)

Cicero – Do or do not, there is no try.

Alonzo – Who are you? And where am I?

Cicero – I am Cicero, the great Roman author and your Latin master.

Homer – And I am Homer, your Greek master. A master Homer is. You are in ancient Europe, at the height of the Greek and Roman empires.

Alonzo – Why am I here?

Homer – So you can gain an appreciation of Latin and Greek works. It is important that your generation still looks back to what we have done.

Alonzo – But I can’t learn Latin or Greek. I’ve tried, and it’s just too hard. I’m afraid if I keep trying, I’ll just fail.

Cicero – Fear is the path to the dark side. We must replace that fear. In a dark place we find ourselves, and a little more knowledge lights our way.

Alonzo – What knowledge?

Homer – The knowledge that comes with motivation. When you are motivated, you will find the strength to learn Latin and Greek.

Alonzo – But how will I become motivated?

Homer and Cicero – By learning about one who did what you’re trying to do.

Cicero – Read Petrarch, you shall. He had trouble learning the same languages you’re trying to learn, but he persevered.

Cicero and Homer – By learning why Petrarch loved our writings so much, you will find your motivation. (Go to the texts)

Cicero – Congratulations! You’ve learned why Petrarch enjoyed reading ancient texts, and you’ve gained motivation! You’re one step closer to earning your Ad Fontes badge. Let’s see what you’ve learned. (Quiz)

Typographia script + have heart!

First, I've written up a script to the first video for typographia that you can read here.

Also, I've mentioned this guy a couple times before because he's one of the grandparents of online video, but  yesterday Hank Green talked on his tumblr about YouTube putting millions of dollars into educational videos that aren't making enough money to cover the cost of their production.

This MIGHT seem a bit disheartening, but the important part is here:

There were a lot of recipients of this money, and many of them were major media companies trying their hand at online video that received some fat checks, up to $5M a piece, to launch TV-like channels. What we all found out is that, no matter how hard you push them and how much money you spend on them, YouTube doesn’t work like TV…and funding it that way is daft.Of the 114 channels that YouTube funded as part of this initiative, my educated guess is that exactly one earned back its advance…SourceFed, the four-times-daily news show from Phil DeFranco’s studio. Hardly traditional media…SourceFed is gritty, low-budget, written by its hosts, and edited by a tiny team.Most of the channels that did well had comparatively small budgets and were run by people who had made online video before. Some great content got made, some of my favorite channels wouldn’t exist without the initiative. SciShow and CrashCourse are not doing terribly, at this rate, we’ll earn out our advance in about three years...Spending more money to produce the same number of minutes of content does not increase viewership. Online video isn’t about how good it looks, it’s about how good it is.

 Anyway, this made me more optimistic about this project and I thought I'd share.