Famous Last Words: Week 14

Your reading for this week. 
I did not have to do any reading for this week. I actually have not done any reading in a couple of weeks. I was lucky enough to be able to watch the videos. They were so interesting and it definitely helped with the name pronunciations.

Your best writing for this week.
I didn't really do any writing this week. I was able to finish the revisions on my storybook and I am feeling really good about my storybook. I am quite proud of how it turned out. Hopefully everyone is enjoying it but even if they aren't, I still like it. I am really glad that it is finished now too. I feel like I put in a lot of effort for the storybook so it is definitely a relief to see it finally completed.

Screenshot of my storybook. Rama and Sita: Not So Happily Ever After

Other people's writing.
I got to read a couple of storybooks that I had not read yet and I am so glad that I did. All the storybooks are coming out so good and they are all so different. I am enjoying reading as many as I can. I am probably going to be reading some in the next week just because they are so interesting to read.

Your other classes.
My other classes are not going as well as this one is. I am getting so close to the end but I have a couple of partner assignments and my classes are all online so it is very difficult to be able to communicate. I am having to work on everything last minute and it is becoming very stressful. Hopefully everything works out.

Outside of school.
Since it is so close to the end of the semester and  I graduate on the 18th, my life consists of school and that is pretty much it. I manage to set aside some time each day to spend with my kids but other than that, school is keeping me very busy.

Reading

* What readings did you like best?The reading that I liked best was the Ramayana Online: Public Domain Edition. I thought that it flowed really well so that the story wasn't hard to follow at all. I didn't actually have to read it either, I was able to listen to it which definitely helped because at first I was not able to pronounce any of those names! I really enjoyed this reading section though and it was definitely my favorite.
My most favorite "reading" was actually the video, Sita sings the blues. I really enjoyed the movie and it was a nice break from reading about Sita to actually being able to watch it.

* What reading diary strategies were most effective for you?The reading diary strategies that were most effective for me were mainly just jotting down some important parts of the stories and also making a note of anything that I found to be interesting. I would also make comments about what I thought of the particular parts. I found that this made it easier for me to be able to remember the important details of the stories and it also gave me ideas for my storytellings.

* What did you think of the overall balance between reading - writing - commenting in the class assignments?I honestly love how this class is structured. It is the same basic concept almost every week, so I didn't really even have to try too hard to remember what was due and when it was due. I just knew that every week was virtually the same. I loved the idea of doing the readings, then writing, then commenting. It not only let me be creative and retell the stories how I wanted to, but it also let me see how other people thought to change the stories. 

* As you look back from the end of the semester, what advice about the reading do you have for students who will be getting started next semester?
You may want to break the reading up a little more than they already are. Sometimes it gets a little tough to try and do so much reading at one time. Also, when you get your free reading options, really look through the options so that you are sure to read something that you find to be interesting and something that you are able to understand and then enjoy.

Reflections

I loved this class. Before this semester, I knew virtually nothing about the Indian epics. I found this class to be so interesting and I loved learning about all the different gods and goddesses, especially since I knew nothing before.

The main thing that I learned from this class was how to tell a story. It was always fun to be able to rewrite the stories that we read to make them just the way we wanted. There were numerous times that I would just think "I hate that it ended that way" or "I think that should have gone differently" and then I was able to change the things that I didn't like.

I think that this class is so beneficial. I got to learn about something that is completely different than anything that I know. My major is psychology so there doesn't tend to be much room for complete creativity. I'm glad that I decided to take this class.

I have to say that the thing that I am most proud of would be my storybook. I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope that others like it as much as I do. I feel like I worked really hard on it, so its nice that I finally added the last story. I still have one more round of editing the story, and then a final edit for my storybook, but so far I think its going really well.

Smiley faces on the moon. Source: tumblr

Famous Last Words: Week 13

Your reading for this week.
I didn't do a reading but I watched the videos Pattanaik. Week 2 Videos. I watched both parts of the videos and I think they are so interesting. The main things that I learned was what each god and goddess stand for. It also explained what they are known for. I thought it was a really good addition to the reading because it gave me more information about the gods and goddesses than the epics did. I think my reading diary worked out well. I focused on what I found to be the most interesting.

Your best writing for this week.
I did my writing at my house, mostly on my couch. (I love having a laptop). I didn't write anything of interest for this class. I didn't do the storytelling for this week due to lack of writing topic. I just couldn't figure out which story I wanted to retell and how I wanted to do it so I skipped it. I do think that this class is helping me with my writing in other classes. It just gives me more confidence in my writing which helps me in my other classes.

Your other classes.
My other classes are going quite well. It is getting close to finals time so I am getting a little overwhelmed, especially since I am graduating in a couple weeks. I am finding I am so close to the finish line but so many things to do beforehand. Finals, papers, group presentation, etc. So many things left to do!

Outside of school.
It was Thanksgiving this week! I got to eat at my family's house and then I went Christmas shopping after with my sisters and mother. It was a good week overall. I'm just a little slow moving with the school stuff. Just ready for the holidays! I love Thanksgiving.

Turkey. Source: Cafepress

Tech Tip: Pinterest Research

For this week's tech tip, Pinterest Search and Pin Pages, I searched for more pins to add to my pinterest. Since it has been icy for the past couple of days, I have had to find activities to entertain my children. So I began by searching Children. This gave me many options so I clicked on activities. This also gave me many options so I chose indoor. This showed me exactly the items that I was looking for.

There are so many indoor activities for children to do to keep them entertained on days like these.


Kids Activities Blog

 

This blog had so many cool things for kids to do. I will definitely keep these in mind for the next rainy day.

Reading Feedback: Pattanaik. Week 1 Videos

Reading Review- Pattanaik. Week 2 Videos.

How and why did you choose your reading selection? Are you happy with the choice?
I chose these videos because I had already watched the week 1 videos and wanted to hear the rest of it.

What part of the reading made the biggest impression on you and why?

I just really enjoyed watching these. In the readings for class, I only got a small sense of the gods and goddesses and I liked how this went into more detail about what they represent and what the different pictures of them mean.

 

Was there anything in the reading you did not understand? Did you do any research on your own to find answers to your questions?

I felt like I was able to understand everything in the video. It did a good job of explaining everything.

 

Did the reading come with a Reading Guide? If so, was the Reading Guide helpful? If there was not a Reading Guide, would it help to have one?

The reading guide for these were very helpful. It let me focus on the video and helped me to be able to find the information that I needed for the reading diaries.

 

How much time did you spend on the reading? (The goal is for the A/B together to take about 3 hours; it's the equivalent of going to class.)

I spend a little over an hour with the videos.

 

What specific format did you use? (Some options are available in multiple formats, e.g. print book or audio book.)

I used my laptop to view the videos.

 

Vishnu. Source: Wikipedia

 

Week 13 Reading Diary B: Pattanaik. Week 2 Videos

For this week, I decided to watch Pattanaik. Week 2 Videos. Here are the things that I found to be interesting in these videos.

Vishnu's Secret Part 2:

"If Ram is about laws and appropriate conduct, Krishna is about love and affection. While Ram focuses on discipline and the head, Krishna focuses more on affection and the heart."
I feel like a lot of these are talking about the gods that are opposites of each other. Just as Shiva is the opposite of Vishnu, Ram and Krishna are the opposite of each other too. I notice that a lot with these epics. A god will represent something but there always seems to be another god that represents the opposite. It is as if everything in life has a purpose and a god that represents it.

Brahma's Secret Part 1:

"...creation happens for a reason, and Brahma forgets that reason, which is why he is declared unworthy of worship."'
I think that it is sad that even though Brahma is considered responsible for creation, that he is deemed unworthy anyways. It appears that he has no idea who he is and keeps chasing different parts.

"As a human being one is blessed with the ability to reflect on existence and think about its meaning. This reflection leads to self-discovery."
I found this quote to be quite interesting. I never thought that human's curiosity would be considered a blessing, but I guess it does make sense.

Brahma's Secret Part 2:

One image shows Vishnu rescuing an elephant. The elephant represents man who believes that the purpose of life is to gain fame, wealth and power. Vishnu is rescuing man from this incorrect way of thinking and from the pain and misery that this thinking causes.

Screenshot that I took from the video. It shows Vishnu rescuing an elephant from an alligator.

Week 13 Reading Diary A: Pattanaik. Week 2 Videos

For this week, I decided to watch Pattanaik. Week 2 Videos. Here are the things that I found to be interesting in these videos.

Devi's Secret: Desire and Destiny Create Life:

I felt bad for the goddess Kanyakumari. She was supposed to marry Shiva but the rooster crowed and caused Shiva to mistake the time and he returned home. She was so upset. I can't imagine being all prepared for your wedding day, only to have the groom not show up. That would be devastating! I find it so interesting, though, that the different colors of the sea and sands in India are multicolored because of her.

"As a bride, she is love; as a warrior, she is power"
This quote about Durga is awesome. It shows that she doesn't have to fit into one category but that she is able to be both love and power.

Vishnu's Secret: Detached Engagement Brings Order:

The differences of Vishnu and Shiva are described in great detail. It appears that in most aspects, they are complete opposite. Shiva stays still with eyes closed while Vishnu is shown with eyes open and looks as though he is participating in the world. Shiva is shown in darkness while Vishnu is shown in light.

Screenshot taken by me showing Shiva and Vishnu side by side.

Famous Last Words: Week 12

Your reading for this week.
For my reading diaries this week, I watched week 1 of the video that was emailed to us, Pattanaik. Week 1 Videos . I watched both parts for this week and I really enjoyed it. I learned so much about the gods and goddesses that I didn't know before. It helped me to understand more about the Indian epics. I am happy with my reading diary strategy. I mainly write what stuck out the most to me and parts that I liked. There were many quotes that I really enjoyed from this reading, so I put some of those in my blog post.

Your best writing for this week.
I was actually not that fond of my writing for this week. I just felt like I couldn't get the words right and so I am a little disappointed in it. I tried something different with my storytelling post and I am still not too confident that it turned out okay.

Other people's writing.
I can't think of the specific people's writing that I liked but I do love how everyone in the class seems to have a unique style of writing. Its really cool to see all the different ways that people can change the same story. I think everyone's writing is improving so much as we are ending this class and its cool to see how far everyone has come since you can read their very first story and then compare it to now.

Your other classes.
My other classes are going pretty good. The main connections that I am finding are that the more that I write in this class, the more my writing is improving in my other classes. The feedback is so helpful to let me know where my weaknesses and strengths are and this helps me with my other classes.

Outside of school.
I feel like there is not much of my life that exists outside of school right now. With the semester only having a few weeks left, I am noticing that school is taking up a huge portion of my time.

Clock for those of us who are always late. Source: Etsy

Week 12 Storytelling: The Elephant Head Child

Pam was lonely. She had wanted a child for so long but her husband, Steven, never wanted children. She begged and begged for him to have a baby with her but his answer was always the same.

"I think that I was made to be a mother," Pam told Steven. She knew what his answer would be but she needed to continue to try.

"You know that I don't want children, Pam," Steven answered her. "We have discussed this before. The answer is still no."

Devastated, Pam decided to take a walk. She continued to walk until she came across a baby. She couldn't believe it. This was finally her chance to become a mother. She didn't need Steven's permission.

She cradled the baby into her arms and walked him home. She was relieved when she saw that Steven's car wasn't in the driveway. She took the baby inside and rocked him to sleep.

Steven walked in on Pam in the rocking chair.

"What are you doing, honey?" He asked. He walked calmly to where Pam was sitting. He looked into her arms and realized that she was rocking a baby doll.

"I'm rocking our new baby." Pam replied, with a smile on her face.

Steven was so confused. What was Pam thinking? Did she seriously think that this joke would make him want to have a real baby. Angrily, he grabbed the doll from Pam and threw it across the room. Pam screamed when she saw the doll's head pop right off of the body. She began to cry hysterically.

It was at that moment that Steven realized just how sick his wife actually was. She genuinely thought that the baby was real and he knew that he needed to find a way to fix it. He grabbed his wife and walked her to the bedroom.

"I'm so sorry, Pam." he said. "I will fix the baby. I promise you that he is fine."

Pam laid down and closed her eyes. She knew that her baby was going to be okay. Steven would make sure of it. He was going to be such a good daddy.

Steven looked at the head of the doll. He had thrown it so hard that the head was unsalvageable. He went to the garage and found a stuffed elephant. He took the head of the elephant and attached it to the doll.

He laid the doll next to Pam. He would let her take care of the doll and he would continue to take care of her, no matter how sick she was. He could pretend that the doll was a baby. He would do it if it meant that Pam would be happy.

Ganesha. Source: Tumblr

Author's note: I based this story off of the birth of Ganesha from the video Ganesha's Secret. In the video, it describes how Ganesha was born. Parvati scrubbed a paste off of her body and used it to make a doll. She breathed life into the doll and it became her child, Vinayaka. Shiva, Parvati's husband, did not know that the boy was the child that Parvati created and he beheads the boy. After seeing how devastated Parvati was about the boy's death, Shiva attached an elephant head to the boy's body to bring him back to life. The boy with the elephant head was renamed Ganesha. I wanted to change the story to be a bit more modern and more realistic. Since it wouldn't be realistic for the elephant head boy to be real, I had Pam have a psychotic break and think that the doll that she found was a baby. I also wanted her husband to be supportive of this fact after he realizes that she thinks the doll is real so he fixes it and decides that he is going to let his wife continue to care for this doll as if it was a real child.

Reading Feedback: Pattanaik. Week 1 Videos

Reading review- Pattanaik. Week 1 Videos

How and why did you choose your reading selection? Are you happy with the choice?
I chose the videos because they were emailed to us and I really enjoy watching the videos. I feel like it gives me a break where I can just relax and watch.
What part of the reading made the biggest impression on you and why?
I think that the explanations of what the different gods and goddesses represent made the biggest impression. It is much more complex than I realized.

Was there anything in the reading you did not understand? Did you do any research on your own to find answers to your questions?
I feel like the videos were explained very well.

Did the reading come with a Reading Guide? If so, was the Reading Guide helpful? If there was not a Reading Guide, would it help to have one?
There was a reading guide for the videos that took notes over the video. This helped me because I could really pay attention to the videos and I could look at the notes to see the different quotes. This helped me to better structure my reading diaries.

How much time did you spend on the reading? (The goal is for the A/B together to take about 3 hours; it's the equivalent of going to class.)
Each portion of the videos was about an hour long so the total thing took me around 2 hours.

Screenshot of Shiva from the videos.

Week 12 Reading Diary B: Pattanaik. Week 1 Videos

For this week, I watched the videos that were emailed to us as the options for this week, Pattanaik. Week 1 Videos .

Ardhanari's Secret: God is Stillness Within, Goddess is Movement Around:

"The Upanishads, ancient Hindu scriptures dating to 500 BCE, constantly refer to these two truths: a truth which changes and a truth which does not change."

This quote caught my attention. It uses the examples of in movement, we seek stillness and in sound we seek silence. I think this is so true. We have the truth and then we have the truth that we wish to seek. I think this is so cool.

Ash represents permanence and snow represents is water that is still. These represent the unchanging truth. These are what are used in many of the paintings to represents this.

Shiva's Secret: Withdrawal Leads to Destruction:

Part 1
Shiva is the destroyer and our understanding would have us believe that all of this happens out of anger. Shiva is represented in the images as calm. The problem lies in our understanding. I have noticed that our understanding has a lot to do with the misinterpretation in the epics. We think of something as one thing when it can also represent something else.

Screenshot of Shiva from the video

Shiva destroys things by closing his eyes. He doesn't become an observer. I think this is so interesting. I love the contract

 

Part 2

 

Screenshot of Shiva carrying Sati's dead body.

 

 

Sati's death lead Shiva to destroy out of anger. This photo above shows how Shiva reacts to Sati's death which is unusual for him because he normally doesn't react to external stimulus.

The goddess causes Shiva to open his eyes. This just made me think of the fact that the gods can't exist with out the goddesses. They are the two sides that have to be present in order for things to happen. This reiterates what was said in the earlier videos.

Tech Tip: Pinterest Board

For this week's tech tip, I decided to make a Pinterest board for this class. I already have a Pinterest account so I am pretty familiar with how it works. I really enjoy Pinterest. There are so many different things that you can look at and it is also a great way to save websites and other things that you find interesting.

You can find my Pinterest board HERE.

Screenshot of my Pinterest Board. Pretty bare so far but I'll get there.

Week 12 Reading Diary A: Pattanaik. Week 1 Videos

For this week, I watched the videos that were emailed to us as the options for this week, Pattanaik. Week 1 Videos


Ganesha's Secret: People See God Differently:

The first thing that stuck out to me in this video was  the race between Ganesha and Karikeya. Kartikeya just went around their parents and said

 "You went around the world. I went around my world. Tell me, which world matters more?"

I think that this is an amazing perspective that I never would have thought of. They both traveled around what they believed to be the world, even though they both had a different conclusion of what that meant.

Another part of the video that caught my attention was the image at the end that showed Shiva holding Ganesha. After learning that Shiva, a hermit, didn't want children but his wife did, it is interesting to see the image of him holding a child. He was the one who originally killed the child that his wife created and then replaced the head because his wife was upset. This makes the picture stick out so much because it looks like they have a connection.


Narayan's Secret: What Dies Is Always Reborn:

The Hindus believe in rebirth. I think this is quite fascinating. It removes the sense of urgency in this life that other religions feel. I think the picture below is a great example of this belief. A person, according to the Hindus religion, does not have to be defined by one life because they live numerous ones. I find this so interesting.



Screenshot taken by me which shows the many lives that Hindus believe people live.

 

"Does our world exist when we are in a deep slumber?"
Obviously the actual world continues to exist for us. Our sleep does not affect time but this is an interesting question that I feel ties into the first video of what we consider to be 'our world'. If our world consists of other people, then it would still exist when we are sleeping. If we consider our world to be solely us, then it would not exist while we are sleeping. I found this quote to be quite fascinating to me.

Week 11 Reading Diary A: Dharma. Ramayana Week 1 Reading A

For this weeks reading, I read Week 1, Reading A of Dharma. Ramayana, I found the prologue to be of the most interest to me.

Prologue- What made this story so interesting to read was all the background information that it gave about Ravana. In the other epic, all we knew was that Ravana had been cursed so that he could not rape any woman. This prologue actually went into detail about how he came to have that curse. He attacked his nephew's wife and so his nephew put that curse on him because it was the only revenge that he could get against such a powerful rakshasa. I really enjoyed how it focused so much on Ravana. The other epics only told pieces of Ravana's story and this went into great detail. I was able to understand why Ravana was able to obtain such powers. It also showed that he had only wanted immunity from gods and didn't worry about humans because he was so cocky. This was the reason why he was undefeatable to the gods but a human was able to defeat him. It was so interesting to get that much background into his story.

Ravana mask.

Google Timer Tech Tip

I have never really thought about using a timer for task management. I think that it is a great idea though. I remember hearing that our attention spans are only good for about 30 minutes per subject and then you are supposed to take a break and then work on another subject. I think that the time would be perfect for this. I usually time myself but even just looking at the clock takes my concentration away from what I am doing. This timer would be a very helpful tool when it comes to task management.

I am taking a large course load so I usually have numerous subjects to work on and study everyday. I think that using the timer could help me to stay on task and really focus for a set amount of time. I really like the idea of a timer.

Quote. Source: sliptalk

Week 10 Storytelling: Sita Still Sings the Blues

Sita sat silently and looked out the window. She didn't know how long she had been here but she knew that it had been a while. She missed Rama so much and she knew that he would be coming to save her. Ravana had been begging her to be with him but she knew that she couldn't do that to Rama. It was Rama that she loved and Rama was the only one that she would be with.

Something outside of the window caught Sita's eye. Upon further examination, Sita could see that somebody was approaching the palace. It was Rama! She knew that he would be there to save her. She watched as Rama fought all the rakshasas and defeated Ravana. She couldn't have been happier.

After she saw that it was safe, she opened the doors of the palace and ran. She wanted so desperately to be in Rama's arms.

"Rama, my love!" Sita yelled as she approached him.

The look in Rama's eyes made her stop. She hesitated to go any closer.

"Rama? What's wrong?" Sita asked.

"I have done my part and saved you. I can't, however, bring you back to be my wife. You have been unfaithful. You have dwelled with another man. I can't bring you back to the kingdom. What would everyone say about me if I were to accept you back after this?" Rama replied, rather harshly.

Sita looked at him with tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe what he just said. Why would he go through all this trouble for her when he didn't want to be with her anymore.

"You know me. You know that I would never be unfaithful to you! I have always been pure and I have remained that way. Ravana wanted me but I refused!" Sita screamed back at him.

Rama made no reply. Sita realized that even though she loved him, she was not going to let anyone treat her this way. She knew the truth and so did Rama.

"I have always loved you Rama. Deep down, you know the truth and you are going to regret this. I have nothing to prove to you so goodbye Rama." Sita replied calmly. She knew that she loved him but her loving him wasn't enough. Rama didn't love her anymore. If he did, he would not treat her this way.

Sita turned from Rama and began to walk away. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew that she had to figure it out. She was all alone but it would be better to be alone than to be with someone who didn't trust her.

Sita continued on. She wanted to turn around and look at Rama one last time but she knew that if she did, she would change her mind. She would beg him to take her back.

"It's better this way," she told herself, hoping that if she says it enough times, that she will believe it.

Sita from Sita Sings the Blues

Author's note: After watching Sita Sings the Blues, I realized that Sita allows Rama to treat her horribly and she keeps taking him back. The majority of the movie shows Sita begging Rama to not leave her. I focused mostly on the part where Rama sees Sita after she has been kidnapped. In the original story, Rama tells Sita that he can't be with her anymore because she has been in the house of another man. He knows that it wasn't by choice but it didn't matter because people will still talk. Sita then begs Rama to stay with her and she even proves her purity by fire. Rama is able to take her back now that she has proven her purity. I think that Sita should have had more self-worth and not let Rama treat her so badly. That is why I changed the story to show Sita being able to stick up for herself. I know that Sita loves Rama still and that is why she is still upset. I wanted her to show that even though she loves Rama, it was best to let him go in the best interest of herself. I wanted Sita to care what happens to herself.
Bibliography: Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley

Reading Diary B: Sita Sings the Blues Part B

For this reading diary, I finished the second part of Sita Sings the Blues.

What I realized finally was the connections between Nina and this movie. She is the writer so I'm guessing that was a rundown of the events that led her to create Sita Sings the Blues. I was really racking my brain trying to figure out the connection. It didn't even occur to me to pay attention to the name but anyways, this part focused on after Rama takes Sita back and then finishes with Sita returning to mother earth.

I found this movie to be quite entertaining. It had such different types of animation that it actually seems as if there are numerous different stories that are just pieced together but I did find it enjoyable. I still hate that Sita let Rama treat her so badly and yet she still praised him and showed her love to him until she departed. I would have left him at the beginning. She should have had to prove anything to him and yet she kept debating on whether or not she would kill herself over him. He was so not worth it.

I think this movie told the story quite well. It focused on the details that went with Sita's songs and I like seeing things more from her perspective.

Opening scene in Sita Sings the Blues. Source: breathedreamgo

Reading Diary A: Sita Sings the Blues Part A

For this reading diary, I decided to watch the part A of Sita Sings the Blues. I was a bit hesitant to watch this because it looked a little chaotic but I am really glad that I did. The first part tells the story of Rama and Sita up to the point of Rama finding Sita after she has been kidnapped. It is also intertwined with the story of Nina and Dave. I am not quite sure how that story fits in with this movie but I guess I will find out in part B.

I have to say that I love how this movie is turning out. I was very confused at the beginning because I wasn't quite sure what was going on but the more I watched it, the more I understood what was happening. I love the narrators. It feel like I could just be sitting in a room listening to three people trying to tell a story. I like how they argue about some parts and mess up a couple other ones. I think that it helps remind us that these stories have been told over and over again which is why some of them know different versions.

As much as I love to read, I am enjoying the small break from having to concentrate so hard. I can just relax and watch a little movie. As a matter of fact, I am about to start part B... I'll update back on Reading Diary B when I finish.

Sita Sings the Blues. Source: Amazon

Week 9: Famous Last Words

My readings for this week: I did not manage to do any reading for this week. I had made big plans on how I was going to get a head and then found myself running out of time for everything this week. It was one of those weeks that made me wish that I had done more last week. I also wanted to get ahead using this weekend but lucky me, I got sick... and not only did I get sick but my one year old and my five year old also got sick... and then my husband got sick. Lets just say that it wasn't the best weekend to get a head of schedule.

Your best writing for this week: Although I did not do any writing in this class during the weekly assignments, I did do some work for my storybook. I really feel as though it is going really good. I found that my new story was a bit harder to write this week, mainly because the story of Sita's kidnapping occurs over numerous stories. I had to narrow it down some to figure out what I was going to focus on and I feel like it turned out pretty good. I'll see how well I did when the comments start coming in though.

My other classes: I have been doing pretty good in my other classes. I am currently taking 15 credit hours in order to graduate in December so I stay fairly busy with school. There are not really any connections between my other classes and this class.

Outside of school: Besides getting sick, I have been prepping for Halloween. My son is going to be a transformer and my daughter is going to be a fairy. We already had to miss one Halloween event that happened yesterday due to everybody being sick but they are looking forward to the upcoming week. Which is another reason that I wanted to get a head start.

I had big plans for this week and let myself get off track but I am ready to keep going and hopefully get myself on a schedule like I had planned to do already! We will see how the next week goes because I would consider this week to be a big FAIL! I do feel like I am getting things together though.

 

A cool looking pumpkin because its almost Halloween. Source: www.brit.co

Tech Tip: Weather Widget

This week's tech tip that I decided to learn was Add the Weather to Your Sidebar.

I feel like having a weather widget is a necessity in Oklahoma. You can never tell what type of weather we are going to have here so I figured I'd add the weather to my blog post to keep myself informed. I have to say that my favorite weather is when its cold outside. I love bundling up next to a fire with some hot chocolate and making smores. It is one of my favorite things to do with my kids. I like the hot weather but I don't like when it is miserably hot and in Oklahoma, that tends to be how our summers are. I definitely prefer snow.

Winter Beauty by Garen Johnson. Source: michaelfrye.com

Reading Plan

Since there are 6 weeks of reading left, I have planned out some readings that sounded interesting to me. There were so many options!

Dharma. Ramayana.- this is the modern version of the Ramayana. I actually found the Ramayana that I read earlier in the semester to be quite interesting but the way it was written was a little confusing. I am thinking that the modern version might be good to read since it is written in modern language. It also has 4 weeks of reading so the majority of my reading plan could consist of this one.

Sita Sings the Blues - I actually was thinking about watching this earlier. I am definitely looking forward to watching it as one of my free options for the remainder of the semester. Its also only one week long but it would be a nice break from reading.

Nivedita. Kali the Mother- This is the last of my reading plan. I think it would be interesting to hear the story for Kali's point of view, from a mother's perspective to see how she feels about the events.

Sculpture of Kali. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reflections: Looking Forward

After doing the Reflections: Looking Back post, I realized that I have a lot that I need to work on going forward. The main thing that I plan to do is the extra credit. I am set for a B in the class right now and there is no reason that I shouldn't be well into an A. I have been a little lazy so my plan is to make a better schedule. I no longer want to be doing the assignments on the same day that they are due. I want to make it a point to work ahead as much as possible. I also plan on doing at least a couple of the extra credit assignments a week. It would be nice to have a little leeway when it comes to due dates.

I plan to do enough extra credit assignments so that I am able to be done with the class early. It is always nice when you don't have to worry about a class during finals week. I am also going to make sure that I make a schedule that will allow me plenty of time to finish everything that I need to so I don't have to skip some assignments due to a time issue. I think these two things could make a huge difference in the rest of the semester.

Source: Blog called Candid Caroline

Reflections: Looking Back

I love having online classes. That is one of the main reasons that I took the mythology and folklore class last semester. After taking that class, I loved the way that it was set up which is what brought me to this class. I love being able to be creative and also being able to create a schedule that works for me.

 I work on this class for a couple hours normally four days a week. I do Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday. Sometimes I feel rushed but that is only because I have created a schedule that causes it. I have every intention of creating a schedule that works better for me. I am currently taking five online classes and I work two jobs so my mornings are completely taken so I only have the evenings and weekends to devote to my classes. This week is definitely going to help me create a better schedule though.

I normally do all my work at home. If I have some free time at work, then I will sneak some homework in their. Shhh... Don't tell my boss! However, most of my work is done at my house after my kids go to bed. I have a laptop so it varies on if I am at my desk or lying on my couch to do work.

I have not currently worked on any of the extra credit and I am quite disappointed in myself for it. Last semester, I was able to finish the class early because I had accumulated so many points. I plan on fixing that for the rest of the semester, especially since the extra credit assignments always teach me something that helpful.

I have been slacking a little on the storytellings also. I tend to not give myself enough time so I feel like I have made myself rush through most of the ones that I did and there were many weeks that I didn't write any at all. My favorite one that I wrote was the Week 6 Storytelling. I feel like I did a pretty good job on that one and I took my time more than I had been. Below is the image that I used for this storytelling.

Hidimbi approaches Bhima in human form. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Week 7: Reading Diary A:Mahabharata Online 61-80

For this week's reading, I chose Mahabharata Online: Public Domain Edition. These are some of my favorite stories.

Abhimanyu and Jayadratha: This story is about the revenge that Arjuna takes against Jayadratha for killing his son, Abhimanyu. Abhimanyu fights against Jayadratha and Jayadratha defeats him. Once new travels back to Arjuna he decides that he is going to seek revenge. He says "May I never reach heaven if I do not slay Jayadratha on the morrow". Revenge for his son's death is the only thing that he cares about. I think that the father's love for his son is so strong that he had to seek revenge for his son's death.

Bhima and Duhshasana: Its been quite a long time since the Pandavas were exiled because of the poker game. Bhima had vowed that he should never get into heaven if he doesn't kill Duhshasana and drink his blood. Many years after this vow, Bhima was finally able to make it come true. He does kill Duhshasana and does drink his blood. This of course has everyone freaking out saying that Bhima must not be human because he is drinking the blood. I think drinking the blood may have been going a little overboard. He could have just vowed to kill him and let that be enough. The image that I found is quite graphic but the story itself is pretty gruesome anyways so I guess it fits.

Bhima drinks thee blood of Duhshasana. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Week 6 Storytelling: Hidimbi Finds Love

Hidimbi was a rakshasa woman. She was able to transform herself and so she lived as a quite beautiful woman but something was missing from her life. She had been alone, trapped in a life that had no meaning. She stayed with her brother and although he was a horrible and evil rakshasa, she had no where else to go. Her brother was all that she had in the world.

Once day while sitting in the forest where they lived, her brother Hidimba smelled humans. She didn't like feasting on humans like her brother did but she knew that she had to go get them for her brother's dinner.

Walking into the forest, she saw a man. He was like nothing that she had ever seen before. He was beautiful and she knew immediately that she loved him. She wanted to approach him but was unable to move for a moment. She had never been in love before and she was confused by these feelings. She wanted to run to him and embrace him but she was too nervous to move.

Sensing that danger was not far behind, she knew that she had to make sure her new love wasn't going to be eaten by her brother. She could try to tell her brother how much she loved this man but it wouldn't make a difference. She knew that he would eat him nonetheless. He never really cared about her feelings anyways.

"Hello", she managed to say to the man. "My name is Hidimbi. I have to warn you of the danger that you are about to encounter. My brother is very hungry and he knows that you and your family are in this forest. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I am Bhima and I will have you know that I fear no one. Let your brother try to find me and he will pay. I am not going to wake up my family just because of some rakshasa. They are tired and they are going to rest." the stranger replied.

Once she heard this mysterious man talk, she fell even more in love with him. He was so strong and so brave and she knew right then that he would be able to take her away from her horrible life. She wanted so badly to tell him right then that she was in love with him but she knew that it had to wait until he fought her brother. She had to make sure that he survived first and then she would confess to him.

She held back her emotions as she watched her new love fade into the distance as he went to search for her brother. She hoped he would come back. She needed him to come back. He just entered her life and she definitely wasn't ready for him to leave it just yet.

Hidimbi approaches Bhima in human form. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Author's note: I based this story off of Bhima and Hidimba. In the original story, Bhima and the rest of the Pandavas are in the forest. Hidimba, the rakshasa, smells them and sends his sister Hidimbi to go get them for him. He wants to eat them. When she does, she sees Bhima and falls in love with him. She tells him that she will be his servant and save him if he wakes his family. He refuses, saying that he won't wake his family up and that he is strong and not scared of her brother. He then fights Hidimba and defeats him. In my story, I kept the storyline the same. The only changes that I made were to focus more on how Hidimbi was feeling. I wanted to show her emotions.The rest of the story was told with Hidimbi as the main focus. I also wanted to give her a little bit more of a backstory of why she would be so willing to run off with the Pandavas and to marry Bhima. I made her feel like she was missing something in her life and that she had no one but her brother and that is why she stayed with him. She knew that he was evil but she had nowhere else to go.
Bibliography: Source. Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913).

Week 6: Reading Diary B:Mahabharata Online 41-60

For this week's reading, I chose Mahabharata Online: Public Domain Edition. These are some of my favorite stories.
Krishna's Visit: Draupadi is obviously angry at the whole situation. She thought that her husbands should have protected her and stood up for her but they did not. Yudhishthira spends much of this time trying to convince Draupadi to forgive him saying that non forgiving him would be a sin. This is ridiculous because Draupadi has every right to be mad. Her husband lost her in a gambling match and then sent her to exile in another. I'm pretty sure anyone would be mad in this situation.

 Riddles at the Lake: The Pandavas approached the water when they were thirsty. Four of them heard a voice that warned them that they must answer questions before they could drink the water. They did not listen and drank the water anyways and died. Yudhishthira was the only one who listened to the voice and he was forced to answer numerous riddles. He was able to survive though because he listened to the voice. Its a strange turn of events that Yudhishthira was the brother that wasn't smart enough to stop gambling and lost everything, yet he was the only brother that listened to the voice and didn't die.

Bhima and Kichaka: The Prince Kichaka tries to rape Draupadi but she is able to fight against him. When she tells others what happened, she gets laughed at because everyone fears Kichaka. She is able to tell Bhima and finally one of her husbands is able to defend her. They trick Prince Kichaka and convince him that Draupadi will finally be with him but instead he finds Bhima and Bhima kills him.

Draupadi bringing the tray of food to Prince Kichaka

Week 6: Reading Diary A:Mahabharata Online 21-40

For this week's reading, I chose Mahabharata Online: Public Domain Edition. These are some of my favorite stories.

Bhima and Hidimba: I really liked this story. A rakshasa woman named Hidimba approaches Bhima and wants him for a husband. She knows that her brother wants to eat them and she tries to save them. Bhima refuses to run and Hidimba's brother finds them and threatens to kill her but Bhima won't let him. I like how Bhima refuses to let the evil brother kill Hidimba even though he just met her. He shows his bravery and fights for her and his family.

The Story of Nalayani: This story shows how Nalayani became reincarnated as Drupadi and became the wife of five husbands. I like how she ended up with five husbands due to the fact that her original husband left her unsatisfied. She prayed for a husband five times and ended up with five husbands and her main concern was that she would be similar to a prostitute. She ended up asking for her virginity to be new to each husband.

Arjuna and Chitrangada: Chitra was raised to pretend to be a male. She seemed fairly content in this until she ran into Arjuna. As soon as she ran into Arjuna, she was no longer content with pretending and she immediately went home and put on all things feminine. She wore a dress and jewelry.

Maya's Palace: In this story, Duryodhana goes to the palace of the Pandavas and basically just embarrasses himself completely. He mistakes water for land and land for water. He mistakes open doors for closed one and closed doors for open ones. You actually begin to feel a little bad for him because he can't catch a break. The entire story involves his misunderstandings.

Duryodhana slips into water. Source: Wikipedia

Thoughts about Comments

I love that people comment on the storytellings that I do for this class. I think that it definitely helps. I do like it when people comment things that they like but it helps more when people mention the things that they didn't, but only if they offer suggestions on how they think that I can improve. Sometimes something just doesn't sound good but I don't know how to make it sound better and the comments really help me so I know what to improve on next time.

I hope that I am helping when I comment. I tend to try to focus on the positives of peoples' storytellings. I don't want to be too critical and most of the time there aren't that many errors in people's writings anyways so that makes it easier.

I loved this. Source: Disney Memes

Week 5: Reading Diary A:Mahabharata Online 1-20

For this week's reading, I chose Mahabharata Online: Public Domain Edition. These are some of my favorite stories.

King Shantanu and Satyavati: This story mentions the birth of Satyavati. She was born from the fish and was found by a fisherman. She had a fishy odor and so when  Parashara asked her to be the mother of his son and told her that he would take the fishy smell away from her, she agreed. The other condition was that she remained a virgin still. Vyasa was born and grew quickly into a man and wandered away from her. This story is quite confusing so I am very glad that it is repeated. I feel like it made more sense this time around.

Satyavati. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Pandu and His Wives: This tells the story of how Pandu is cursed. He shoots two deer that are having intercourse and it turns out that the deer is a Brahmin in deer form. The Brahmin was not angry that Pandu killed deer but he was angry that he killed them while they were engaged in sex. So the curse to Pandu is that when he is having sex with his wife, he will be killed so Pandu now has to remain celibate until he is ready to die.

Drona: This story mentions how Drona and Drupada were raised together. When Drona visits Drupada, Drupada is extremely rude to him. Drupada talks about how he is so far above Drona that Drona is not to call him a friend. Drupada takes it as an insult which is completely ridiculous because you shouldn't have to have equal statuses in order to be friends with someone. Drona didn't say a word, he just walked away. This story just angered me.

Week 4: Reading Diary B: The Divine Archer

This week I read the second half of the Divine Archer. These are some of my favorite stories from this reading.

Lanka on Fire: I love how much courage is shown from Hanuman even when Ravan was threatening to kill him. He even showed courage when they were going to set his tail on fire. He knew that this would work to his advantage. As they continued to add more oil and rags to his tail, his tail grew and grew and grew. Ravan didn't take this as a bad sign and they still set him on fire. Hanuman  ran through the city burning down place by place. He  was able to grab a token from Sita to take back to Rama. I really like this story because it shows how much Ravan doesn't think things through and it came back to destroy Lanka.

Sita's test with Fire: This story still makes me angry. Rama fought so many people so that he could rescue Sita and then he decides that she has to prove that she was faithful to him. The fire proves her innocence and only then does Rama decide that he is able to take her back.

Sita's Exile: Rama decides to send Sita into exile,even though she passed the test of fire, because all the people wouldn't stop gossiping about it. Rama turned away from the one that he loved all because of some gossip. He should have just accepted that Sita didn't do anything wrong and keep her with him.

Sita and the Twins: Sita has twins while in exile and once Rama realizes that the twins are his, he decides that he wants Sita back. Sita returns, but only to return back into the earth from which she came.

Valmiki with Lava and Kusha. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Week 4: Reading Diary A: The Divine Archer

For this week, I read the Divine Archer. These are some of my favorite parts in the story.

Birth of Dasaratha's Sons: The beginning of the story tells of how Rama's mother was able to see that he wasn't just an ordinary baby. He was able to change into something great and then he returned to being a baby. He was also such a kind and gentle person.

Rama and Sita: I still love how they fell in love at first sight. She prayed  for him and he dreamed of her. It is actually really romantic how they immediately knew that they were destined to be together. I also love how numerous times someone makes the comment of how the dark one, referring to Rama, would make a perfect husband for Sita. Everybody seemed to realize that they were meant to be together.

The Succession: Desaratha decides, when he sees a gray hair, that he should now have Rama take over as king. This angered Manthara and she convinces Kaikeyi that Bharat should be king instead of Rama. So far, most of the story has stayed pretty consistent with the first version of Ramayana that we have read. I look forward to see what the big differences, if any, there are to come.

Comparing this version to the Ramayana Online Public Domain Edition, I have to say that this version is a lot easier to read. I think it is much easier and I also like how the two stories are so similar. It helps me to understand and remember some of the things that I read in the first version. It is making much more sense now that I have two to compare to each other.

Screenshot found on Blog

Storybook Styles

Topic: My topic is going to be the relationship between Rama and Sita. I am wanting to tell about their relationship, the good and the bad. There are many of the stories to choose from since their relationship is the main reason for mostly everything that happens, but I believe that I already have a couple of the stories that I am wanting to use for my storybook.

Bibliography:
1. Rama and Sita from Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914).
2. Sita Tested from Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914).

Possible Styles:

1. Therapy- first-person storyteller: I am really leaning towards the idea of having Rama and Sita attending marriage counseling, with the therapist as the first-person storyteller. I think this idea would show an outside perspective on the drama in the relationship between Rama and Sita. The stories would go together to show the ups and downs of their relationship. I like the idea of the therapist being able to add his/her opinion in along with what Rama and Sita are saying.

2. Diary- first-person storyteller: For this style, I could have Sita writing in her diary showing her point of view of her marriage. This would be helpful because you don't really get to hear Sita's side of everything. I would like to show how she feels, especially when Rama doesn't believe her. I would like to be able to explore what Sita was thinking and I think the diary is a good option for that.

3. Documentary- told in third person: The documentary could tell the story of the couple. It could start with how they met and how Rama fought to find Sita after she was kidnapped by Ravana. I think this style would be good because it would be someone who is not even involved in the story telling everyone what happened. It would be a neutral person therefore you would be able to see both side equally.

4. Children's story- told in third person omniscient: I think this would also be a good one to do. I could clean the stories up a little in order for it to be "child appropriate". It could be like a fairy tale and then could have the typical happily ever after feel to it. I also like the idea of having it told in third person omniscient because I like that I could have the emotions of every character. Every characters feeling and actions could be described in this style.



Rama and Sita's marriage. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Week 3 Storytelling: Rama and Sita: How it should have gone

Sita waited with the rakshasis, anxious to know if the rumors were true. They had received word that Rama had finally defeated Ravana. She had to hide her excitement, knowing that even though the news would be good for her, it meant that the wives of Ravana would be devastated. She was fearful of what they would do but she knew that Rama would come for her.

She heard someone coming. She looked up, hoping that it would be her love, Rama. She was only slightly disappointed when she realized it was Hanuman. That is when she was able to confirm that Ravana was finally defeated.

"I want to see my love. Will you send him immediately?" Sita asked, practically begging. She was only slightly worried that Rama would think that she was unfaithful to him. She knew that as soon as she sees him, she will have to convince him otherwise.

Word was given back to Rama, whom was so filled with joy. His only reply was for Sita to be brought to him immediately. He missed Sita so much that he decided to meet half way.

"Rama!" Sita yelled when they had finally stood in front of eachother for the first time in such a long time.

Rama immediately embraced Sita. He did not care that she had not been bathed. He did not care that she had been in another man's home. He wasn't even worried about the rumors that may appear after this incident. All he cared about was that he finally had his love, his wife, Sita.

"I've missed you so much!" Sita exclaimed, "I promise you that I remained pure. Ravana and his wives threatened me but never once did I give in! I would have rather died than been unfaithful to you. I will do anything to prove it to you"

" I believe you, Sita! I have never had any reason to doubt you." Rama knew that Sita was telling the truth. Not once did he ever doubt her loyalty to him. He knew that she would never betray him. She was pure when they first met and he knew that she would always remain that way.

They continued to celebrate the defeat of Ravana and the return of Sita from captivity. Everyone could see how much Rama loved Sita and how much he had missed her. He fought through so many battles all to get his wife back.

Rama and Sita with people surrounding them. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Author's note: I based this story off of the story of Sita and Rama. The original story has Rama winning back Sita, only to break their relationship off because of her captivity. He tells her that, even though it was against her will, she was in contact with another besides him. Sita refused to let him believe that and she said she would rather die than have him believe something so untrue. Sita ended up having to test her purity by fire before Rama decided that he could believe her. When I read this story, I thought that it was crazy that he went through all those battles just so that he could break off their relationship because of something that was out of Sita's control. I wanted a happier ending so I changed the story to reflect that. I thought it would be better if Rama immediately believed Sita, instead of accusing her like he did. I also thought that he would want to see her immediately because in the original version, he only wanted to see her after she had bathed. If he truly loved her, he wouldn't have cared if she had bathed so I changed that part too.
Bibliography: Source. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914). [600 words]