Reading Notes: Ramayana Part B

Part B continues on from part A with Rama in his exile with Sita and his brother. Their love is not quite as prevalent in some of these chapters but is still a big part of the stories. In chapter 28 Rama is tempted by a beautiful and powerful woman named. Shurpankha. She disguised herself to be beautiful and steal away Rama. Despite her beauty and offer and refuses because "Sita is my beloved bride, nor would I leave her." Shurpanakha and Rama. He then offers his brother. I think that this an interesting story, that would be easy to rewrite for my own story. This also shows a lot about the characters especially Rama. The poem version has a lot more powerful language and portrays a much more emotionally charged and violent telling of this event. Another interesting sub story in the reading is chapter 33-35. Rama is tricked by Ravana to go after a deer and leave Sita alone. Ravana is then able to offer himself to Sita and then kidnaps her. I especially liked the analogy she uses to describe them. She says Ravana is a Jackal compared to the Lion of Rama, and that a Jackal could never hope to obtain a lioness. Him getting her would be the same as him tearing up a mountain by the roots. This is another event that could easily be turned into another story. This story also reminds me of a lot of fairytales and European stories. Once again this story tells a large part of the love between the couple, but shows more of overconfident and prideful side of Rama and his brother. This also shows the foolishness of Sita and her being blinded to reason by her deep love of Rama. She will kill herself if Rama dies.

Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sita

Various Authors-M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder. The Ramayana Online:Public Domain Edition. http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/ramayana-online-public-domain-edition.html

Reading Notes: Ramayana Part A

17. Rama goes into exile. Rama must go into exile but his wife Sita refuses to be apart from him. She says "Rather would I sleep with thee on the bare ground than lie here alone on a bed of down. Without thee I have no desire to live". Rama Goes into Exile. They both use a lot of powerful language such as this when talking about their love. I think this story has a lot of classic elements of stories such as powerful love, sacrifice, exile, and honor. The love between these characters is a powerful story element all they way from chapter 8 onward. This is when they met and it is also described with a lot of flowery, romantic language, with them falling deeply in love at first sight. I think any of the stories detailing there relationship could be easily retold. A modern or futuristic retelling of strong romance between these people. Even stories not pertaining to their relationship, but including both of them were heavily influence by the power of their love. In chapter 18-Crossing the river-Ramas primary concern - even with everything else going on- is to ensure that Sita is protected and will remain safe. Not all of the stories pertained to their relationship. Many chapters took place before they meet, but they still have a lot of powerful language and a sense of foreboding for the great things it seems Rama will go on to do. This is very apparent in the chapter where  Rama is born. His birth is described with great prophesy and detail and it is clear he is the chosen son destined for greatness.
One thing I had difficulty with was keeping track of all the names and people. Thankfully it is very easy to access background information on all of the big names in the stories. .
Rama-Rama Background
Dasharatha-Dasharatha Background
Vishvamitra-Vishvamitra Background
Sita-Vishvamitra Background

Rama and Sita

https://www.flickr.com/photos/144060333@N07/30382454521

Various Authors-M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder. The Ramayana Online:Public Domain Edition. http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/ramayana-online-public-domain-edition.html

Feedback Thoughts and Ideas

The first article I read was 6 Bad Mental Habits that sabotage your success. This article made some good points about not making exusses and seeking approval. This whole artice could be boiled down to it is important to be confident. If you are confident in what you do there is a good chance that will translate into you doing things well or a least better. Another article was Eight things students should do when they make a mistake. This talked about how it is important not to let criticism get you down and if needed use it to grow and get better. Personally I think feedback-both positive and negative- is vital. If I am doing something wrong I do not want my feelings protected, I want to learn to do it right, otherwise I'm just going to continue to sabotage my success by doing it wrong It is also nice to know when you are doing something correct. I think that as long as feedback comes from a place of respect for the purpose of improvement, then no matter how bad it is it needs to be shared. It is also great when feedback includes how to improve or what could make something great even better.

A Guy giving good feedback

https://www.flickr.com/photos/alaina_marie/4050479709

Topic Brainstorm

The first topic that interests me is the creation stories. I do not have much knowledge about Indian ones but these are almost always interesting and fun to learn about. I think this is a topic that is open to a lot of creativity when it comes to making a storybook. Perhaps a modern adaptation or set in a different culture. Creation Stories.

The next topic that caught my eye was Epic Battles. I have taken a lot of military/battle heavy classes so this is right in my wheelhouse and expertise. I am interested to learn about Indian War culture and how it compares to other parts of the Ancient world.  I think this is another topic that has a wide range of where I could go with my stories.

The third topic I would potentially want to write about is Epic Heroes. I have always enjoyed reading about the heroes of old, whether it be from Vikings, Greeks, or ancient China. It would be interesting to learn about India. I also think how a hero is embodied says a lot about a culture and I could learn a lot. This topic also has a lot of room for creativity.

The last topic that I was interested in was Ganesha, The Elephant-headed God. Anyone who is an elephant headed god is going to catch my interest and be someone I want to read about. I have seen this God portrayed a few times in literatures, but I know little about him. This would be a fun topic to write about but I think it would have a little less creative freedom as the others.

Statue of the Elephant-Headed God, Ganesha

https://pxhere.com/en/photo/636739

Week 2 Story - The helpfull Alien

On July 22 2123, a group of scientists and a space commando landed on a previously unexplored moon. The moon was a lush jungle planet and they hoped to determine if it was safe for a colony. After landing a horrible storm completely destroyed their ship, leaving them stranded with no food or drinkable water. After the storm passed a large Lizard man creature walked up and said "Hello, I saw you land and came to investigate. I have my own ship nearby and would be happy to give you a lift back to your planet." The scientists were skeptical and Sebastian the space commando outright refused because very few aliens are helpful and he was confident at least the radio could be fixed. . Finally Paul, the bravest of the scientist agreed to investigate with the alien and would report back if their was indeed a ship. He figured they were all dead anyway and even though he might end up eaten at least they had a chance. The scientist was lead away with the alien following close behind. After a brief hike he saw a small shuttle craft belonging to the alien. The alien said " here she is, its only made for two but I can ferry your crew up to my ship one by one and then we can be off." Paul was satisfied and hurriedly returned to the crew to tell them they were safe. One by the scientist were lead off and ferried up to the aliens ship. Upon arriving the helpful alien helped the scientists onto the ship and lead them into the ship kitchen. "It will be a long journey help yourself to anything in the fridge.", said the alien. He would then lock them in the fridge as he indeed had a long journey and needed all the fresh meat he could get. Finally only Sebastian remained, feeling hopeless he also agreed to be rescued and was ferried up to the ship. Upon arrival Sebastian was very suspicious of where all the Scientist were and did not believe they were off settling in. When asked if he was hungry Sebastian responded "absolutely, would you mind going in first to show me what you have, I don't want to be in there any longer than I have to be." The alien was overcome by his greed for meat and went into the fridge only to be locked in by Sebastian in his own fridge, leaving him to die by the same deception he used to kill others. Sebastian was then able to fly the ship home where he was able to live a long and warm life.


Authors Note: My story was inspired by "The Cunning Crane and the Crab". I replaced the setting with that of a futuristic setting. I also replaced the animals with people who were also trapped in a place they could not live long and needed a rescue. Instead of a crane coming to the rescue is a large alien who wants to eat them as well. much like the crane the alien would also meet his end by being deceived in the same way he deceived others, getting what's his.

"The Cunning Crane and the Crab" From The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse, online at:Internet Archive.

Space ship over planet. 

http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/Space-Forward-Science-Fiction-Sci-Fi-Space-Shuttle-2690279

Reading Notes - Jataka Anthology

This reading was a series of short stories. All of the short stories involved animals or creatures. A theme that all of the stories seemed to share was that being wise and clever was important. the protagonists in these stories, whether they be a crab, monkey, or man were not exceptionally strong or heroic, however they were all clever and wise. a quote that summarizes this is "People who try to deceive others often pay for it themselves, and that is what happened to the Crane."The Cunning Crane and the Crab. This was my favorite story and also summarizes the themes of this reading chapter. When writing my short story it will be about an animal that escapes peril from a predator by being wise or having a silver tongue.

crane transporting the foolish fish to their death

The Cunning Crane and The Crab

Bibliography

https://sites.google.com/view/jatakas/home

The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse

https://sites.google.com/view/jatakas/crane-and-crab

Reading Options

I am looking forward to the readings in this class a lot more than I usually am. It is refreshing to take a class that has such a wide variety of content sources and mediums, rather than reading a plain textbook. The first reading option that caught my eye was The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. I always find modern versions easier to read than old texts. This one is also available for free in the library. The next thing to catch my eye was the comic book readings for the second half of the semester. Browsing what's available online these comics seem to be a relatively light read and sometimes humorous. The pictures will also help make the reading more enjoyable. The last to catch my eye - while not actually reading - was the YouTube music playlist. I have listened to Indian music before and it was far from my favorite. Despite this I can appreciate it and know it will be a great addition to understand the course material.

Example of comic book by Subba Rao & Nandini Das

                                                     https://www.amarchitrakatha.com/us/uc-kumbhakarna

Time Strategies

I think the most important time management tip for me will be following the weekly calendar and my weekly schedule. The most useful article for me was How to Beat Procrastination. This had helpful tips like telling someone ahead of time you're going to complete it and rewarding yourself for starting. Procrastination is my biggest challenge in school, and especially in online classes. My biggest time challenges will be doing work on the days I scheduled to work on the class and not by when they are actually due. I do not have a very good time management strategy. My strategy is to try to make sure assignments are done by the exact time they are due.

                                                         The best strategy is to do it
                                  https://www.flickr.com/photos/59632563@N04/6261230701

Technology in the class

I am familiar with a few of the tools in the class, such as google docs. I have no experience using tools like blogging and website creating. This online class is a lot different than any other I have taken. This class has a lot more than quizzes and discussions on canvas. I have also never taken a class with so much external content and daily updates. This class also seems like it will have a lot more interaction with the other students in the class. I am looking forward to learning how to make a website and improve my general computer skills.

                                                          Thinking about Technology
                             https://pixabay.com/en/technology-digits-human-data-662833/

Thoughts on Class Assignments

At first, I was a little leary with how different this class seemed. Now that I understand how the class is going to work I like it a lot. I am most intrigued by the storytelling assignments and then reading and commenting on other peoples stories. I also like the level of freedom and discretion left to the student.  I have never had to take a class where I had to create and do assignment through a blog. I have also never had a class where you simply declare you did the work. The extra credit that most interests me is the Wikipedia trails. This is something I do all the time when I'm bored and you never know what you will end up reading about.

                                                                     Deep in thought.
                                                                            Pixabay

The Growth Mindset

I have never heard of the growth mindset or Carol Dweck. I think this is right on track and I can see how it affects me. I always do better and feel more accomplished when I am working towards something challenging. Even when I am not quite to the level I would like it is encouraging to see how far you have come and how much more you need to give. This applies to my schoolwork, hobbies, and athletics. Something I have learned about my learning is that I learn best if I understand why something should be learned. i need to know the why. I am interested in seeing some of the growth mindset we will see through the semester, but it is not something I am looking to dive into as of yet. My learning goal the semester is doing my capstone and graduating. Maybe growth mindset will help.
Here is a graph that helped me understand what it means to have a growth mindset.

Comparison of fixed and a growth mindset. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/butterseite/2658061277

Introduction to a regular type dude

Hello everyone. My name is Bailey Dennis. I am a Senior here at the University of Oklahoma. I am a History major. My best class I look last semester was American Military History. I learned a lot in this class and its always nice to take classes that directly pertains to your major. My biggest accomplishment last semester was passing all my classes and I hope to be able to continue this accomplishment. Something exiting I did over the break was go to Las Vegas for the first time. This was a lot of fun and I would recommend it to anyone. I do not recommend betting on Oklahoma to win - I'm still haven't gotten over that game. Anyways there is something for everyone to do in Vegas.

Vegas Skyline from my hotel room

Personal photo - December 2017

My career goals are to work in federal or possibly state law enforcement. I was in the military previously and this seems like a good next step for me. I do not have any pets but there is a stray cat I occasionally feed if that counts for anything. My favorite foods are tacos or really any Mexican, Tex-Mex type foods. My favorite food to cook is spaghetti because it is very easy and has a minimal cleanup. My least favorite foods are anything pickled or with vinegar in it. My hobbies are pretty normal, I like to watch football, go to the gym, and hunt and fish. Something exiting I have done is Cavern dive at Ginnie springs. This is scuba diving in an underwater cave where you stay close enough to see the exit. A fun hobby I would like to try is rock climbing. I have done it a few times at the indoor one here in Norman and it seems like it would be a lot more fun when you get good. If I had an extra day for fun, I would probably plan on doing a bunch of exiting and/or productive things to do, but then end up just sleeping in.

Storybook Favorites

         All of the storybooks that I saw were great and looked like the creator had put a great deal of time into them. One of my favorites was "Stories Of The Wild West", by Ali Sylvester. I thought that telling Indian epics from the point of view of the American wild west was really original and creative. All of the Indian legends such as Arjuna , Drona, and Vali were all reimagined as characters in the fictional town of Tombstone. The introduction does a good job of combining these to very different topics. The stories were also well written. The layout was also easy to follow and further proved the level of care that went into making this storybook.
                              Link to site -           https://sites.google.com/view/apsindianepics/home

 
      The next storybook I visited was also great, and also my absolute favorite. This one was titled "Rate My Rishi", by Kira Godinet. This one was a humorous take on Rate my Professor, and had humorous ratings of the different Rishis. I though this storybook was hilarious as well as being really informative. Each of five Rishi's had their own page describing them and giving a lot of background information on each of them. The title and homepage let me know immediately what it was about. The introduction explained what the creator wanted to share as well as being informative. I thought the design for this site was also really easy to navigate.
     Link to site - https://sites.google.com/site/ratemyrishi/home

Durvasa's Rating page.

Image link - Durvasa

                           

     The last of my three favorites was "Shadows of the Ishvara - A Search for the Truth", by Kevin Davis. Like the others this one was also very creative and unique. This one took the perspective of a quest set in more of an epic fantasy universe. This one also did a great job of incorporating the Indian epics into their story in an informative way. This person clearly spent a lot of time writing their story and did a fantastic job. I though their introduction as a bit lengthy but understandable considering the scope of their storybook. The title and introduction both explained what the storybook was about. This was further helped by the easy to navigate design of the storybook.
Link to site - https://sites.google.com/site/shadowsoftheishvara2/home

Favorite Place - Coco Beach, FL.

My favorite pace is Coco Beach, FL. This was the closest beach to where I grew up in Florida. I came here a lot as a child and even more as a teenager. I have a lot of fond memories of this place. I remember fishing here as a child. This is where I learned to surf. My friend and I would come here on the weekend during high school. This place is a symbol of my youth and somewhere I always enjoy coming back too.

Pier at Coco Beach, FL.

                                                              Wikipedia - Image Link

Test Post

This is a test post.?TEST TesT