Famous LAST Words: Week 9

This week has been a good one both in this online class and my other courses at OU. I felt like my story this week that I posted to my portfolio has been one of the better ones that I have posted. It is titled Princess’s Challenge for those of you looking for a good short story. The source story for it was Draupadi’s Swayamvara. In addition, my portfolio is starting to look a little fuller now. In addition, every week I seem to continue to clean up my grammar mistakes and other small writing issues. Therefore, I am having less and less revising to do. All in all, I have really appreciated this class and what it has offered me. This will be my actual last assignment and my true famous last words for epics of India.

March Madness (Jakesdtvblog)

What I will be up to from now on:
I plan to celebrate being done by watching the OU vs Texas A&M basketball game tomorrow. Normally during this time I would have been working on Indian Epics and would have had to multitask to watch the game. In addition, I will be focusing heavily on my other classes which will start heating up towards the close of the semester. My plan next semester is to take Laura Gibbs other course she offers, Myth-Folklore. This is because I enjoyed Indian Epics and I am very satisfied with the setup of this course. I assume Myth-Folklore will be somewhat similar to this course. I am a big fan of the set your own pace style in this course and the tons of extra credit offered. It allows me to work a lot when I'm free and miss a few assignments when I'm busy. All in all, I am pleased to say the least with how everything has gone. Thanks for reading.

Review Week 9: LEAP

Looking before you Leap (Proverb Lab)

This was my favorite announcement of the week. It encourages going for it, but it also encourages thinking before doing. I think there is a perfect balance between risk taking and being too conservative. This meme serves as a good reminder. Thanks for reading.

Learning by Heart Time Mangement Week 9

Matt Haig, Reasons to Stay Alive

I liked this learning challenge because I am always a fan of the Time Management related ones. This one was unique to the others and wasn't related to procrastination. I found it interesting how it incorporates all of the senses into different senses of the word "time". Thanks for reading.

Growth Mindset Week 9: Because I practice, I do better

Because I practice, I do better! (Laura Gibbs)

I like this meme because it is like the old saying of practice makes perfect. I truly believe that practicing anything can make you improve any facet of your life. This is a good rule to live by and something to always remember. Thanks for reading.

Tech Tip Week 15: Google Reverse Image Search

Ravana 10 headed mask (Ceylon Vintage)

This was the picture I reverse image searched. You can find it on many different websites in original size. Using the Bing search engine I found it on this Pinterest site. This is a really neat tool and is very easy to use. Thanks for reading.

Reading Diary Week 9: Divine Archer Cont.

Sugriva and Vail fighting

I finished the rest of the Divine Archer today and have been pleased with the overall plot. I have already previously mentioned this but I will go ahead and say again that I myself did not see a whole lot of difference between the two versions I read of the Ramayana. Below is my analysis of the rest of the Divine Archer:

· The only difference that I can partly see is that the Divine Archer appears to not emphasize the longevity of the war whereas it seemed in the pde version that the war carried on much longer.

· Rama again kills Vali and is identified as the main protagonist of the story.

· Again we see Hanuman as the “right hand man” so to speak for Rama. He again sets the town on fire and aids in the finding and rescuing of Sita.

· I liked and didn’t like the ending battle between Rama and Ravana. I liked it because it was short and sweet however was displeased with lack of detail.

· We see Sita and Rama are finally reunited and there is a similar ending as in the public domain edition of the Ramayana. Sita is again sent into exile by Rama and I’m again displeased with this ending.

· All in all, the Divine Archer was a nice simple interpretation of the Ramayana.

Bibliography: The Divine Archer, written by F.J. Gould.

Reading Diary Part A Week 9: The Divine Archer

Vali Courtesy of Wikipedia

This week I have chosen to read the Divine Archer for my personal reading selection. I have chosen this for a few reasons, but mainly just because I enjoyed the Ramayana more than the Mahabharata. In addition, I would like to revisit the Ramayana and see how this story differs from the public domain edition. Below is my analysis of the divine archer:

· For the most part, it seems to me as if the stories are very similar. Including the same characters and same plot.

· We see similiarly how Rama wins over Sita in the beginning with his great mastery of bow and arrows.

· Similiarly in the pde version we learn of the curse that happened to Dasaratha when hunting and accidently killing a boy.

· We see similiarly how Rama is exiled from the King’s curse.

· Again Rama teams up with the monkey god Sugriva. Once Rama helps him with his past troubles, Sugriva helps Rama on his quest to capture Sita.

· All in all, for the most part the interpretations from the public domain edition and the Divine Archer show to overlay well.

Bibliography: The Divine Archer, written by F.J. Gould.

Review Week 8: Sew vs Sow

Word of Day by Laura Gibbs

I picked this announcement because I have messed this up from time to time. It seems to be less of an error nowadays because people aren't as often doing either of these activities. Thanks for reading!

Famous Last Words: Week 8

For this class this past week I finished most of my assignments before spring break started. Which in turn paid dividends as I did not have to worry about anything being due. In addition, I was able to finish up editing on my last story telling titled "Two Brothers". I feel as if it turned out really well and gave a nice alternative ending to the Ramayana. Also I added another story to my portfolio this week which I thought was one of my stronger story telling’s as of late. It is titled "Queen's Challenge" and its source story is from the Mahabharata.

Me at Grand Lake over Spring Break

In my other classes and extracurricular I was not super busy, as it was spring break. I was able to fulfill some of my spring break plans and was able to go fishing with my grandpa. I am slightly disappointed that I didn't have any time to play golf over the break, but the good fishing made up for it. I am not really looking forward to getting back into the groove of things this next week, but I guess every vacation has to have its end. If not, I think it's called retirement. Anyways, I am soon approaching the point total for the grade I want to achieve in this class and I am looking forward to finishing early. It will really help to relieve stress on my other classes as I come into the crunch time of my other classes. In addition, I am looking forward to warmer weather. Once the time change date hits, I know that the cold weather won't last for too much longer. The days lasting longer is always awesome as I can’t stand when it gets dark at 5:30-6:00. I now should be able to have time to practice golf after I get out of class instead of it being dark. Thanks for reading.

Portfolio Introduction

Quest for the Throne
Corruption of the throne has led to its strange replacement by the gods of the island.

Island Kingsom

Author: Floato, Flickr

Two Brothers

A long missed brother returns to the city in which his brother is King. 

Awaiting the Return of the King (audiopalungjit)

Princess's Challenge
Who will be worthy of marriage to the princess?

Argo in disguise with a Golden Bow & Arrow (flickr)

Tech Tip Week 14: About Me Sidebar

Hey all, I added a new about me sidebar to my page. If you would like to know more about me though you can check out my introduction. Thanks for reading.

Tech Tip Week 13: Weather Gadget

I finally got around to doing this tech tip. It took a little more work than I thought, but I'm glad I learned how to do it! Now my readers can check out the weather for good ole Norman, OK when stopping by. Thanks for reading.

Learning Challenge Week 8: Time Management

Time Management (Courtesy of Laura Gibbs)

A lot of my learn by HEART challenges are about time management, but I think that is because it is my favorite at this point in my life. I like to try and remind myself to live in the moment. I feel as if this meme emphasized not living in the past, but trying to live in the present. Thanks for reading.

Growth Mindset Week 8: The bigger the challenge, the more you stretch

Stretch yourself thin is a good thing (Courtesy of Laura Gibbs)

As humorous as the picture is, it holds much truth. The bigger the task, the more you have to try to accomplish it. I think there is a healthy balance on stretching your mind with big tasks. It helps me to continue to learn something new everyday and expand my knowledge. Thanks for reading.

Tech Tip Week 12: Google Timer with Pomodoro Technique

I have been trying out the Pomodoro technique in conjunction with using the Google Timer feature. It really is a useful technique as long as you keep yourself disciplined to it. Shout out to Andrew Wright for showing me this tech tip. I wanted to share it with others because I liked it so much. Thanks for reading.

Pomodoro Technique (Laura Gibbs)

Reading for Weeks 9 and 10

I would like to revisit the Ramayana or the Mahabharata for my next readings coming up. I am leaning more towards the Ramayana as it was my favorite of the two epics we have read thus far. I have already watched Sita sings the blues, but I would like to read another version of the Ramayana still. One option I am considering is by Gould, called the Divine Archer. The other story I am considering reading is by Sisodia, called Ravana, Roar of the Demon King. The synopsis is about the background of Ravana and I would like to know more about his childhood. I think it would help me to understand his character more and I think it would be an interesting tie with my knowledge of the PDE version of the Ramayana. The last story I am considering reading is by Devee, called the Ideal Indian Women: Sita, Promila, and Shakuntala. I think it will be neat to see the perspective of the stories from the different wives point of view. In addition, it mentions how the Mahabharata will tie in with Shakuntala. Thanks for reading.

Rama from the Ramayana (Wikipedia)

Blog Ideas

Using the random blog finder I stumbled upon Nikita's blog. I really like the design of hers and how the colors were very visible. I feel that my background doesn't contrast with my hyperlinks very well, making them hard to see sometimes. Another blog I visited was Andrew's. There I found some interesting tech tips including the one about the google timer that I am going to try out with the Pomodoro technique. Lastly I visited, Alexis's blog. I found that one to be most similar to mine as far as setup goes. I liked it for one just because it was similar to mine, therefore I figured it must be a good format since Alexis is also using it.

Time Management

Time Management (Laura Gibbs)

For me I think my schedule fluctuates based on the workload I received each week in all of my classes. I will say that I have very few times actually finished all the assignments on the Friday schedule I had originally planned. It seems to me that I always split the workload between two days. Usually Friday and Sunday being those two days. In theory, I still feel as if my Friday schedule will still continue to work though because I am still on track for the grade I want to achieve in this course. My main strategy I want to continue is to keep up with the extra credit each week. It has really helped to excel my progress through this course and should allow me to relieve stress on my other classes when needed. Thanks for reading.

Reading Diary Week 7: Epified Mahabharata Continued

Since I missed the Tuesday reading assignment, I am finishing the rest of the Epified Mahbharata for the makeup reading. I did theses assignments so far apart that I had to re-catch myself up to what happened. Here are some of the highlights I saw in the Part B section of the videos:

• I didn't remember Karna's background and I liked the detail provided in this version. He is not trained the art of war until he lies about his ancestry.
• Once trained Karna's heart even more desires war.
• As Karna's jealousy increases after draupadi's swamayarma he only builds the suspense for war with the pandavas.
• I learned in more detail of how the arrangement of Draupadi's marriage with the five pandavas would workout. In addition, the similar consequence was interpreted in both the pde and the epified version of the Mahabharata.
• We learn about Arjuna's journey with the Brahmins in the himalyans. We also saw that he thought it was worth the exile. More detail was given about his other mistresses he finds on his twelve year journey.
• I find it odd how Arjuna's wants changed rapidly from each journey/kingdom he stumbles upon. It almost symbolizes how a person today changes there wants so rapidly.

Arjuna in the lake (Wikipedia)

Famous Last Words Week 7

This past week was especially tough and stressful. For one, in my other classes I had a pretty difficult test. In addition, I found it stressful that our teacher would not let us ask any questions during the test, because some of the problems were not absolutely clear on what they were asking. Instead you have to state all your assumptions. So in that aspect, I guess I just have to hope I got lucky and made all the correct assumptions for the test. Besides that test though, I received a few of my other test scores back from my formation evaluation class and my structural class. Both of which I was fairly pleased with and let off a great deal of anxiousness off of my shoulders.

As far as this class was concerned I was disappointed that I did not get my Tuesday reading assignment done before the deadline. This was due to my heavy obligations in my other classes, but I'm still upset to lose the points. However, since that I felt that the week went fairly well. My storytelling this week I felt like was some of my better writing for the semester. In my opinion, the story is as if you took a negative copy of a photograph. If you have ever seen an original "negative" copy of a photograph, then you know it is the complete opposite of the regular photo. This was the approach that I took for this week's storytelling. It turned out really well and gave the original story a great twist. In the week's upcoming I hope to continue to explore new writing styles. The one I did this week seemed to just spur upon me as I did not receive the idea prior to writing it.

I am looking forward to spring break coming up soon even though I do not have grand plans to celebrate it. It will be nice to take a break from school and relax. I am hoping the weather will be warm so I am able to go golfing and possibly do some fishing. Thanks for reading.

Where I want to spend my Spring Break (flickr)

Review Week 7: Passive/Active Voice

Passive-Aggressive Voice (Laura Gibbs)

This was my favorite weekly announcement for a couple reasons. First that writing my stories in passive voice seems to be my biggest problem. In addition, I found this post humorous for the Passive-Aggressive voice. Thanks for reading.

Growth Mindset Week 7: Geniuses work hard too

Genius work hard (cheezburger)

This meme was really inspiring to me for one reason. That being that not everything comes easy to people that are good at something. In other words even geniuses have to work hard to continue to stay a genius. Hard work is a must to become good at almost anything. Thanks for reading.

Learning Challenge Week 7: Time Management

Courtesy of Laura Gibbs

This was a post that really caught my eye. The time to start breaking a bad habit or start something new in your life doesn't have to wait. You can start anytime you want and that time can be now. Many people always wait for New year's to make resolutions, but that's not necessary. Anytime is a good time to start. Thanks for reading.

Storytelling Week 7: Arjuna and the Five Wives

Author's note: This story was inspired by Draupadi's Swamayarma in the Epified version of the Mahabharata. I have turned the tables though and made it to where Arjuna is picking five wives to be his queens. Similiarly, Arjuna comes under a curse however it is very different than what happened to Draupadi. He is cursed for wanting five wives and is prevented from getting what he wishes. There are some added details in my story but for the most part it is just a complete inverse of the events that happened in the Mahabharata. Thanks for reading. 

The time had come come for Arjuna to pick his wife, but one wife would not be suffice. Arjuna being the compartmentalist he was, he wanted a wife for each of his specific wants. The first wife that he would pick would first have to satisfy his food requests. Only a wife with the best cooking skills would be suffice for Arjuna. His second wife would need to satisfy his love needs and be able to give birth to sons fit for the taking of his throne. Not just any wife would do for making children, but one who showed great traits of courage, bravery, and intelligence. Traits of which Arjuna wanted his sons to bear. His third wife would need to be able to tend to all of his requests and be a messenger for him and his needs. Arjuna's fourth wife would have to possess qualities of athleticism as she would be his fitness and training partner. And Arjuna's fifth wife would have to possess shrink like abilities. In which, he would use to meditate and connect with himself and other spirits. Lastly, his request was

that all of his five wives must be sisters.

Arjuna trying to hold one of the Draupadis (Wikimedia)

Many people thought that his request was a very tall order and it was indeed. For three years Arjuna searched for the perfect wive set until he finally found the Draupadis sisters. All of which were to his very demanding criteria.

As the day came to be wed with the five sisters, an omen appeared to Arjuna. The love goddess Sofi spoke to Arjuna and was disgusted for his greed and lust for more than one women. Sofi cursed Arjuna with being unable to speak for the rest of his life. Arjuna thought little of the handicap as he would have no trouble still accomplishing his wants and needs. As Arjuna stepped up to the alter with the five women the priest before him asked if he would take the hand of all of the five women for marriage. Arjuna tried to say "I do", but all he could do was blink. Great confusion came over the women and the priest as they were shocked at the mute response of Arjuna. Again the priest asked and Arjuna did not respond. Finally the priest gave up on the wedding ceremony and deemed the sisters free to go back to their kingdom. Arjuna then lived the rest of his life alone and unable to produce words.

Reading Diary Week 7: Epified Mahabharata

For this week I am revisiting the Mahabharata in a new way. I have chosen the Epified Mahabharata because I was a fan of Sita sings the blues and I was hoping to enjoy this video as much as the other. I do wish that is was just one long video instead of little episodes. I did prefer the ending in this story over the Ramayana and watching this epified series helped me to see the ending clearly. Here are the notes/highlights I wanted to note from the episodes:

·       For the most part the general storyline is the same and the characters I recognized from the public domain edition of the Mahabharata have the same personalities and traits.

·       I was a fan of the story of winning Draupadi as queen at her Swamayarma because it helped visualize the story from me. I wrote a story similar to this last week and it was neat being able to see animations of the story they told in the episode.

·       Arjuna was as I imagined him in reading the PDE version of the Mahabharata. His bow is as mighty as I thought as well.

·       Karna finds out that he is supposed to be a soldier instead of a farmer, I don’t remember this realization in the PDE version.

·       There is no surprise when I see that there is still trouble between Draupadi and all five of the Pandavas’ marriage with her. We see that again Arjuna is exiled for 12 years and in his exile he visits a few different kingdoms and goes on what seems to me as random journeys. Upon which he marries another woman from another kingdom.

·       The ending in the episode seems to be clearer to me than when I read the PDE version. I now understand how the Pandavas exited the Earth and returned to Vishnu.

Krishna in Chariot (blogsuk)

Storytelling Week 5: Princess's Challenge

The Parka brothers lived in the Himalayan Mountains for years in hiding. They disguised themselves as holy priests and lived this lifestyle for ten years. Ten years they waited and waited for the princess Elizabeth to mature into a princess fit to be wed.

And finally came the day that the great princess Elizabeth would be fit for marriage and need a suitor to be her divine King. Among the country came the brightest, strongest, and charming men to attempt to be her husband. The father of princess Elizabeth deemed that the only man worthy enough of his daughter should be able to hit a target 300 yards away with a bow. That target being a giant golden salmon. In addition, the bow to be used was not your average mortal's bow. This bow required the strength of someone as powerful as a god to draw back its holy limbs. Even the arrows for the bow had gold dipped fletching’s.

One by one the suitors came up to the stage to try and hit the 300-yard target. The first few that attempted were left with only embarrassment, the crowd’s laughter, and the king’s disapproval, as they could not even draw back the mighty bow. Many of the suitors in line started to leave, in fear of being humiliated and not being strong enough to flex the mighty bow. A suitor named Goliath from a neighboring land came to the event. He was a royal prince who displayed much poise, bravery, and arrogance as he stepped up to the stage. Many suitors were fearful of him, but the Parka brothers in disguise did not seem to think much of him. Goliath said, “If I can’t flex the bow and hit the target, then no one in all of the mortal world will be able to!” As he drew back the bow, his arms seemed steady and his back arched strong. He let loose the golden arrow and it flew through the air whizzing at great speed. As the crowd and the king watched they began to grow anxious that finally someone would complete the challenge. However, the holy priests watched feeling calm and worriless. When the dust settled, the crowd and the king let out a devastated sigh, as the golden arrow had fallen only one yard short of the target. The royal prince himself was in disbelief and cursed the whole event. Sulking in his failure, he rode on his chariot back to his home without the beautiful princess Elizabeth.

Princess Elizabeth began to grow sad as she thought of not having anyone be able to be fit for marriage. Everyone at the event began to look around and there were no suitors left who had not already attempted to hit the target. Then suddenly one of the holy priests stepped up onto stage. He removed his disguise and underneath was a very charming and masculine man. A man that sent a feeling of enchantment to the onlookers of the event. Without announcement he grabbed the bow and whizzed an arrow downrange towards the target. The golden arrow struck the target and exploded gold amongst the patrons of the event. The princess let out a sigh of relief and grew exponentially excited to meet her new husband. Many of the suitors were in complete disbelief and became angry that the holy priest in disguise won the princess as his wife. Some thought of ambushing the accomplished contestant. However, none of the suitors was brave enough to question the great feat he had accomplished. Without any further hesitation, the father of princess Elizabeth declared his daughter, Elizabeth, as the wife of the mysterious man in disguise. The princess asked her new husband to tell her his name. The man finally revealed his identity as Argo, a trained warrior, prince, and blood of the Parka brothers.




Argo in disguise with a Golden Bow & Arrow (flickr)


Author’s Note: This story was inspired by the story of Draupadi’s Swayamwara in the Mahabharata. Argo is portraying the character of Arjuna. The strong and mighty suitors who all line up to try to win Elizabeth as their wife directly relate to the love-sick monarchs trying to win the love of Draupadi. I did not specify that Argo was watching upon the contest the whole time because I wanted his entrance be somewhat unexpected and suspenseful. This differs to the traditional story and how the reader is aware that the Pandava brothers and Arjuna are among the crowd and watching the event. I feel that this element only foreshadows that one of the Pandavas will intervene into the scene, therefore my story differs slightly. However, my main goal was to add detail to the story and show how some of the different suitors failed to accomplish the challenge. In addition, the traditional story of the Mahhbharata showed that Krishna, who attended the Swayamwara, was aware of the attendance of the brahmins and their lineage. I also wanted to use the word priest rather than brahmin to show that this story isn’t a “caste” type society or belief. Lastly, I hope I was able to draw more suspense to who the final winner of princess Elizabeth. My lasting effect on this story was to change the delivery and give a third person omniscient view of other characters’ thoughts and feelings in the story.

Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913).

Review Week 6: Trying a new Storytelling Strategy

(Pixabay)

This was my favorite announcement this week because Laura Gibbs mentioned trying a new story strategy. This week in my storytelling I attempted to do the sidekick point of view to the story. Next week I am going to try and venture to do more dialogue and character development through speech. Thanks for reading!

Famous Last Words: Week 6

This week has been a very up and down week. In my other classes I had a test on Monday and on Tuesday which made for a hectic studying situation. I feel as if I did better on my formation evaluation test on Tuesday however intuitively the Monday test should have been easier. I guess I really wont know until I get the grade back in both classes but those are just my initial gut feelings. Nonetheless I am glad to be done with them and next week should contain a lighter load, as I only have one test on Wednesday in my production engineering course.

Fist pumping baby meme (car-memes)

In this class I was happier with part c and d of the assigned Mahabharata readings. The plot really began to thicken and actually become apparent. In addition, it was nice that the amount of characters to keep up with in the story wasn't so vast. I also was more pleased with the ending of the Mahabharata than the previous epic we read, the Ramayana. Also this week I felt that my storytelling wasn't the best I've had on initial writes, but it was definitely not the worst. I would say "The revenge of Arjuna" will eventually make my portfolio after a few edits and maybe a few more developing plot lines. This story was a little more difficult to write because I attempted to write the story using a sidekick view as suggested by one of the styles in Laura Gibb's assignment. I struggled with whether or not to add dialogue, but I ended up not putting any. I was pleased with the different view it gave on my story and it helped provide more detail of the events than just a first person narrative. I am looking to possibly expand and try another technique next. Thanks for reading and have a good weekend.

Learning Challenge Week 6: What kind of Reader are you?

Learning by HEART Memes (Laura Gibbs)

I chose this meme because I thought it would be fun for the different people of the class to comment on what type of reader they are. Laura Gibbs commented that she was an Altruist reader. I myself am a Neurotic reader. My challenge for myself is to merge into one of the other groups as I grow older. What kind of reader are you? Thanks for reading! (haha)

Growth Mindset Week 6: Ponder you potential

Cat in Deep Thought (Laura Ritchie Inspired)

Ritchie writes: "an ideal learning situation where students consciously take responsibility for the processes of monitoring, reflecting, and eventually achieving their potential."


I chose this growth mindset meme for the week because reflecting on self progress is really something good to do. When someone can monitor their progress through life or a certain task it helps with goal setting and feeling accomplished. And as Ritchie says, you can find and release your true potential through this process. Thanks for reading.

Storytelling Week 6: "Revenge of Arjuna"

As Ashwatthaman went through the night, his brother, Ali, followed closely behind him. Ali and Ashwatthaman were on a mission to get revenge for their evil leader Duryodhan. Ali watched his brother climb the fence of the rival village and repeated his every step. His job was to be a scribe and write down the events of the night and what would happen. As they creeped through the village they arrived at the first hut. Ali watched as Ashwatthaman sneakily climbed through the window and slain poor innocent children of the rival village. And one by one Ali would follow Ashwatthaman through the village and watch him repeat the same events at each hut. Ali would fiercely write down the names of all of the victims of Ashwatthaman's wrath and mark them off of his list. Ali began to count and at least twenty-five names had been crossed off the list and only five remained. Ali had noted that these five names were the most important for the vengeance of Ashwatthaman and Duryodhan.

Ashwatthaman and Ali

Stealthily creeping through the village Ashwatthaman and Ali found the final secret hut where the last five names on the list resided. Ali watched as Ashwatthaman confirmed that Draupadi and her five sons were inside. Ashwatthaman used his magic powers from the emerald of his forehead to take invincibility when approaching the hut. Ali reported that the guards protecting the hut were no match for the stealth of Ashwatthaman and were slain just like the rest. Finally it was time for Ashwatthaman to make his move to kill the five sons of Draupadi. Ali watched as he had done before, and saw his brother creep into the window. This time was different however. Ashwatthaman did not appear for a long time and Ali began to grow worried. He was in no shape to fight or be a warrior to save. Then Ali heard the door open from the hut in which Ashwatthaman had entered. Quickly it was shut but something was first thrown out and rolling towards the feet of Ali. As the object came into the light he saw that it was the head of his brother. Ali looked at what was left of his brother in fear. At first he felt the urge to go back to Duryodhan and notify him of what happened. He thought he possibly could get revenge for his brother. However he began to feel regret for the side he was on of this rivalry. In feeling of guilt after peering upon the list of names of the village that had been sacrificed, Ali then sacrificed his own life, departing the earth.

Author's Note: My story was inspired from The Night Raid from the Mahabharata. I also took inspiration from trying to add a sidekick to the story so that the reader could view the acts of Ashwatthaman in a different way. I also twisted the ending so that all the sons of the Pandavas did not get murdered. I did not reveal in my story directly who ended up killing Ashwatthaman, but the title of my story leads the reader to believe that Arjuna could be the possible hero of stopping Ashwatthaman's rage. I also changed the storyline to that Duryodhan did not get satisfaction before his death. Instead he will wonder what happened in the night raid as he perishes for the last moments of his life. Ali's death at the end is nothing related from the Mahabharata or this particular story. It was just my twist for the end of the story. In addition, I changed the setting in which the events took place. Not much detail was given about raid and I wanted to add that to my story. Opposing from the story of The Night Raid, Ashwatthaman's gem did not save him from perishing in my story. Thanks for reading.

Bibliography: The prose is from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913), and the verse is from Mahabharata, Epic of the Bharatas, by Romesh C. Dutt (1898).

Reading Diary Part D: Week 6

Like I said in the past reading I am happy that the plot is thickening and the amount of characters in the story is becoming focused. I am excited to see what the climax of the story has to offer.

• Bhishma dies and Drona takes command of Duryodhana's army. The setting is really descriptive and the most entertaining of all the readings thus far.
• There are ups and downs of the fight on both sides for pandavas and the Kauvaras. Many of the warriors lose their sons in battle or future heirs to the throne. Bhima in particular loses his son.
• As in the Ramayana's ending the Mahabharata doesn't end with just the protagonist winning the battle (Arjuna). I am a fan and not a fan of this at the same time.
• The pandavas killing drone seems to give negative connotation to the story. It almost shows a low point of the heroin.
• When Krishna dies the brothers feel it is necessary to depart the earth and leave the kingdom to Arjuna's grandson, Parikshit.
• I found it interesting the parallels between heaven and hell across different cultures and even portayed in these Indian Epics that we read.

Yudhishthira's journey to hell

before ascending to heaven.

Reading Diary Part C: Week 6

From where I left off the Pandavas brothers were sent to exile along with Draupadi. In addition, I remember that Yudhishthira gave away many things in his severe gambling rage. Now the pandavas scavenged the forest for twelve years eating what they could and saving portions for the holy men. I have noticed that exile seems to be a big part of both the epics we have read thus far. Exile seems to be the upmost punishment for many of the characters in both stories.

• We see the presence of weapons reoccurring in the Mahabharata again. The divine bow is one given by the Great God to Arjuna. It is only to be used when all other means of battle have been exhausted.
• Finally, after much wait Arjuna reunites with the four other pandavas brothers and Draupadi in the Himalayas.
• We see Duryodhana's jealousy to continue to boil and progress the plot.
• With Karna on the hunt of the Pandavas brothers, Arjuna must go into hiding and disguise himself.
• Karna never figures out that the pandavas are his brothers
• Parallels between the Ramayana and the Mahabharata become apparent. Sita and draupadi show similar fates when in the forest. We also see that Hanuman was in the world at both times that these stories took place



Ghatotkacha.

• Bhishma is not as loyal as Karna and foreshadows the fate of Duryodhana.
• I am excited for what is to come next and am glad that the plot is finally becoming clear.

Famous Last Words: Week 5

This week was definitely a better writing week for me than last week. I felt as if the plot in my most recent story "Queen's Challenge" was much better than the previous. As opposed to the writings I did this week, I was not the biggest fan of the Mahabharata thus far. One of the reasons was just because there were too many moving parts. Characters were constantly introduced and then left out. I began writing down some of the relationships on the whiteboard on my wall and finally ended up running out of room. My hopes are that Part C & D will be a little easier to follow and that the main plot will start to develop more. In addition, I am hoping to find really good content for next week's storytelling assignment.

How I felt reading the Mahabharata (flickr)

In my other classes things have started to heat up. As I saw in one of my other petroleum engineering friend's post, "We're in the eye of the storm" so to speak. I have two tests coming up on Monday and Tuesday. The first being probably easier than the second however that professor is more unpredictable as to content. I also helped my lab group finish up a lab report this weekend in which I was a main contributor on data and editing. My writing skills that have developed in this class have helped me become more inept to spot grammatical errors in other classes. I am looking forward to what I continue to improve on and I hope to improve my writing. My goal is to write something very well the first time, so I don't have to spend so much time revising it. I also want to continue to expand my knowledge and experience of different writing styles. I haven’t yet ventured into a super creative or different approach however I am willing to give it a shot.

Review: Week 5

Insult Generator (Dream)

This was my favorite announcement this week because I was just wanting to send some non-friendly insults to friends who needed to cheer up. Haha I'm sure they didn't take it personally. Thanks for reading and follow the image citation to try it for yourself!

Learning Challenges: Every Morning

Every Morning (Laura Gibbs)

I picked this meme because I like the live in the moment feel of this motivational poster. It is often hard to just move forward from the things that bothered us yesterday, but the only things we can control are the things that happen today.  Every day is a fresh start and a new you. Thanks for reading.

Growth Mindset Meme: Comfort Zone

Outside our comfort zone (cheezburger)

One of the hardest things for myself and I'm sure many others is stepping outside our comfort zone and trying something foreign. The reason I picked this meme is because it is often very true that we find happiness in the things that we never expected we would, that are outside our normal comfort zone. Thanks for reading.

Thoughts about Comments

Thus far I feel like comments I have received have been very useful to me thus far. Many people from the class have left either encouraging comments or helpful tips. In addition, I like being required to comment on other classmates, as it gives me another opportunity to see different writing styles without "creeping" on other people's posts. One thing I think I could improve in my commenting is to try to be a little more critical and not always 100% positive about the post. Even though it is nice to hear good things all the time, constructive feedback needs it place as well. All in all, I see the comment process as a win-win for the commenter and the writer. Thanks for reading.

Storytelling Week 3: Two Brothers

For many years the people of Mishka awaited the return of the long exiled brother of the King. Romo departed the city for two decades, during which he accomplished several feats. One of the upmost importance was his quest for Sati, his love. And finally after his search and long-lasting journey through the seven realms of the known world, Romo and Sati were on their way home. This was their true home and in their hearts where they hoped to die one day.

As Romo and Sati came within the horizon of the great city they once knew, anxiousness and great happiness came over them. Romo loathed his brother Botu, king of Mishka, at one time, but was filled by forgiveness by the gods for his brother. Romo himself was ready to enter the gates of Mishka now. Romo was ready to stay in Mishka and to forever stay.

In the King’s palace, Botu was ready to commit suicide soon. He could no longer handle the level of guilt for stealing the throne from his ever deserving brother, Romo. As he was ready to commit himself to death and plunge a dagger into his abdomen, he heard a low murmur among the town. Botu paused. He asked his wife, “What is the ruckus that has overcome the city of Mishka?” Botu’s wife looked off into the main street of the city and saw two silhouettes walking towards the palace. The people of the town were bowing as the two persons walked towards the great palace of Mishka. Botu’s wife fainted as she finally realized who arrived on the steps of the palace. Botu himself finally saw that it was none other than his great brother Romo and Romo's wife Sati. In utter disbelief Botu dropped his dagger and thanked the gods for the return of his brother.

Awaiting the Return of the King (audiopalungjit)

Botu tried to speak to Romo, but Romo would not let him. Romo said, “It is okay. I forgive you.” Botu insisted on an apology, but Romo told him there was no need for it. Then Botu offered the crown to his brother while he kneeled before him. Romo did not immediately accept or refuse the offer from his brother for the crown. Instead he pondered over the thought with himself through meditation. The town of Mishka completely stopped for the time being. No cows were milked, no royal duties were fulfilled, and no one dared speak. It was a time for the whole town of Mishka to meditate with Romo and reflect upon themselves. All the town of Mishka patiently waited for the deserving brother Romo to make his decision.

After one week of meditation Romo spoke. “Botu, I shall not be king of the city of Mishka. You shall continue to lead the great city as you have done awaiting my return. I am in no position to run this great city as I have been gone for too long. The people trust you, my brother. The kingdom is yours.” The people of Ayodhya were shocked that Romo did not accept the offer for king, but the people of the kingdom showed respect for Romo’s decision. Botu was the most shocked of anyone of the city, knowing that many people in his situation would have taken the throne. Botu replied, “Many people will be born and pass in this great city, but none will be as noble as you, Romo.”

Author's note: This story is inspired by the story of Rama crowned King from the public domain edition of the Ramayana. I have changed the characters' names for my story and have given a twist to the end. In the Ramayana, the original ending includes Rama taking the throne and then sending Sita into exile. I feel that my twist to the end of this story would have allowed the Ramayana to have ended at this episode and allowed Rama and Sita to have stayed happily married. In addition, I was encouraged to change the ending of episode seventy-seven of the Ramayana, because I simply did not like how Rama's brave and noble character changed upon arrival back to the city of Aydohya. We see that in the Ramayana Rama's taking of the throne from Bharata changes his personality. Whether it be greed or power, he decides to end his marriage and provide an unexpected ending.  I did not explain in great detail why Romo makes this decision or what his thoughts were during his week-long meditation. However, I wanted the readers of my story to imagine the different possibilities to why he declined to be king of the city of Mishka. Some theories include: not wanting to be corrupted with power, showing ultimate forgiveness to his brother, or for personal reasons of wanting to leave the city. My theory is that it showed his brother ultimate forgiveness. All in all, I believe this ending is one I would appreciate as a reader and I hope you appreciate it as well. Thanks for reading.

Bibliography: Ramayana, The Epic of Rama, Prince of India, condensed into English verse by Romesh Dutt (1899).

Reading Diary Part B: Week 5

Draupadi and the Pandavas sent into exile

I've decided to finish Part A and B today of the reading because I have a test soon approaching this week. I am more interested in this section over part A. Mainly because the plot seems to develop more clearly and the focus becomes onto a more manageable amount of characters.

-The jealous Prince Duryodhana fails in his attempt to kill the Pandava Brothers through setting the house on fire. Instead the captain to which he summoned the deed is killed by Prince Bhima and another family of five brothers and a  mother perishes in the fire. There seems to be a theme of collateral damage throughout the Mahabharata thus far. I would like to possibly incorporate this idea of how karma later affects the lives of those people in my storytelling.
-Prince Bhima is approached by a rakshasa who wants his love. He refuses and in turn kills the brother of the demon and then decided to marrry the demon. He also defeats Baka who is an Asura. Another reoccurrence of asuras/rakshasa shows up, and I find it interesting that the warriors seem to always prevail.
-Arjuna steals the show at the Swayamwara with his impressive bow skills. Therefore stealing Draupadis heart and getting to marry her. This is similar to Rama's great skills with a bow in the Ramayana.
-Arjuna takes many journeys during his exile after breaking the rules of the marriage that includes his brothers and Draupadi. He meets these alligators that are also women. In addition, he has a son with Chitrangada who will become the new king of Manipur. This foreshadows to a bigger conflict. Another women he marries is Subdhara who is the sister of Krisna. Upon arrival back to Draupadi, the two women oddly come to peace with each other.
-Througought Part B, the jealousy of Duryodhana only continues to grow with the good fortunes of the Pandavas. This strikes the main climax of part B where he takes everything from Yudhishthira. He also make Draupadi a slave. Anger of the Pandavas only bring them worse luck and all end up getting exiled.

Reading Diary Part A: Week 5

For the Mahabharta, I have once again decided to read the public domain edition. Mainly because of the ease of access. In addition, I also am a fan of the listening option that has been prerecorded. I have had much trouble keeping up with all the characters introduced in the story thus far, but here is my takeaways from the Part A reading:

Kindana curses King Pandu

- King Chedi impregnates a fish while flying in his crystal car. The fish gives birth to a daughter and a son. The daughter, Satyavati, at first smells fishy but is cured as long as she follows some conditions. She is the mother of Vyasa.
-Vyasa believe his story of the Mahabharata is only worth of a god writing it down. This god being Ganesha, an elephant-headed god. This will be possibly something I can coordinate with my story telling with the incorporation of another animal as a being.
-Devavrata aka Bhishma posses powers of both human and divine gods. This is because he is son of a king and the goddess of the Ganges river.
-King Shantanu is heavily in love with Satyavati however cannot give consent for her love because then Vyasa would have right to the throne instead of Devavrata. We find out that so this love can happen, Devavrata takes upon an oath which in turn changes his name's to Bhishma.
- Bhishma at the Swayamvara is another story which incorporates demons (asuras) to which I can try to follow for my portfolio theme.
-Pandu's curse is similar to king Dashartha's. He mistakes two deer for a holy brahmin and his wife and accidentally kills them. His curse is that he will die in one of his wife's arms.

-Madri and Kunti both want to burn and die with the king because they both shared great love for him. The strong family connection is much to be appreciated.

-Duryodhana is envious of the five brothers, Pandavas, because they are rightful to the throne.  There is also much hate for their mother.

Review: Week 4

History of Writing (Announcements)

This was my favorite announcement because it is telling such a truth. We currently have the fastest form of communication, but people will still "forget" to text/call you back. Haha, thanks for reading.

Famous Last Words: Week 4

This week was especially tough in all of my classes. Mostly because the homeworks that were assigned were especially long and took much of my time this week. As a result, I am not super pleased with my storytelling for week four however I believe that it can be improved with later revisions. My best writing came through with the revisions I performed on my week two story. Thanks to a lot of help from Laura and some time, I was able to enhance the delivery of my story. I feel as if now it gives the reader a more engaging feel when he or she reads it. I changed the sentence structure of a few sentences from passive to active by either changing the main verb of the sentence or changing the whole sentence all together. I never realized before that when telling stories that this could have such an impact, but now I realize the impact it has on the reader. I hope to continue to improve my writing skills as this online course progresses. Fixing minor grammar mistakes each week also helps me to refine my skills as a short story teller. In the end this is also helping me outside of this class in my other writings. For me, it is like getting another English class while taking this course and reminding me of the proper etiquette of writing.

Brave Soul (cuddlebuggery)

I am appreciative of what this class has already offered me and am looking forward to more. At first I was overwhelmed with the word count and workload, but now I am really handling it well. Three hundred or five-hundred words is nothing now for me to get done within an hour and be of quality work. My goal for next week is to continue polishing my writing skills and also time manage my tasks in this class and in my others. It will be especially tough this week because I have a close approaching test in my structural and stratigraphic geology class. Thanks for reading.

Learning Challenges: Carpe Diem

Time Management Meme

This learning challenge is always a tough one for me to accomplish. My goal for this next week is to prioritize my homework tasks better so I can stay ahead in all my classes. Besides, pushing things off only makes things worse. Thanks for reading.

Growth Mindset Meme: Dare to Fail

Growth Mindset Meme 

I picked this meme because it may be silly but it reinforces daring to try anything. This cat may or may not get caught stealing these burgers, but it will have at least tried to complete a goal/dream. Therefore, no matter how big or how small, every dream is worth chasing. Thanks for reading.

Week 4 Extra Credit Reading Diary

For this week I decided to read part A & B of the Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie Shedlock. My favorite individual story of the collection was the King Who Saw the Truth. This was another great story that showcased facets of karma however focused mainly on what is important in life. I felt as if this story related to the king that his tangible gifts he gave his people were not things that would actually benefit their lives. He was a very generous and kind king, but he knew this was not the way he should lead his people. Finally in the end he gets his wish but in a somewhat strange way. By giving up his eyes it allows him to see absolute Truth of the world.

Buddha Statue, (flickr)

Another part of this reading assignment I enjoyed was the continuing incorporation of animals throughout the Indian culture. Buddha is cast as several different ideas and beings to teach countless lessons. I see it as a major contributor as a whole to the culture and it is a way of teaching morals to persons. For example, Buddha portrayed as a horse teaches things of loyalty whereas when he is cast as an ogre it brings up the principle of greediness.

Week 4 Storytelling: Two Narrators

Author’s Note: This story was inspired by the “Sita Sings the Blues” film. I enjoyed watching this film as a part of the assigned readings and wanted to incorporate its style into my story telling this week. A big part of the story setup was to reenact how the story was told in “Sita Sings the Blues”. I thought that the narrators who told the story were hilarious and comical so I thought that I would attempt to do the same in my storytelling. I do feel as if the dual narrator dialogue is better expressed in a video like the one I watched, but I still made an attempt for the fluidity of conversation. Most of the story of the Ramayana is the same, including character names and setting. When Raymos mixes up the names of Rama and Ravana in my story, this is similar to when one of the narrators is having trouble pronouncing and remembering the names of Ravana’s sister, Soorpanaka, in “Sita Sings the Blues”. In addition, the main part of my story that is different is just the presentation of the information and the side comments from our narrator’s, Raymos and Varun. Thanks for reading and feel free to comment on the style or story.

Ravana, from Sita Sings the Blues (YouTube)

“Rama was the king of Lanka and was a very talented man in many ways. He was master of many weapons and had much intelligence. His level of mastery even extended as far as playing instruments without his hands. The only major down fall of Rama however was his envy of Ravana” replied Raymos, the water God.


“No, no, no… you got it all wrong Raymos. Ravana rules over the land of Lanka and he is whom is envious of the great Rama from Ayodhya!” said Varun, the God of the wind.

Raymos remarked, “ah yes, that’s right my brother. You know me, I am always getting confused about my stories. I mean c’mon, both names start with “R” at least.”
“Anyways, yeah this guy named Ravana was just over zealous about the things Rama had that he didn’t. Most of all that he wanted was Sita. He’d do anything in the world to have Sita… So he did, he stole her from Rama and took her back to Lanka.”

“Yeah, but you know how the gods like to tell the stories Raymos. The good guy always wins. So my main man Rama comes marching down to Lanka to take back what’s his, aka Sita. And as every good story goes, Rama ends up winning Sita back and out smarting the multi-talented, multi-headed Ravana. And you know, Rama and Sita head back to their kingdom where Rama can claim his throne” replied Varun.

“See that is where you are wrong this time, Varun. The gods of Vishnu will nine times out of ten have a happy ending to their legends, but not this time. So when Rama and Sita arrive back in Ayodhya, Rama gets the throne and all is well. HOWEVER, he sends his lady Sita off into exile for an unknown reason at all! I mean why would you go track your “love” down from Lanka for 14 years to then just send her away. I just don’t understand it man. And then to top it all off, Sita’s kids still praise Rama even though their mom was sent off into exile!” added Raymos.

Varun said, “I am going to have to agree with you here this time. This story is just unorthodox and lacking a better finish. I mean, I feel the worst for Sita. If I were her, I would be thinking that I should’ve just stayed with Ravana.

The gods of Vishnu should let you and I write these stories, Raymos. We could come up with a ten times better ending than that!”

Bibliography: "Sita Sings the Blues" written, animated and produced by Nina Paley.