Week 7 Famous Last Words

This week, I received very encouraging feedback from Laura about my writing. Specifically, the stories I have included in my Portfolio. I never really thought that I could be a writer. I am not creative and can't come up with original ideas. However, that bodes well for me in this class since I am merely retelling or expanding on stories that already exist!

I also read a few stories from my classmates that I really, really enjoyed. For you Trekkies and Sci-Fi fanatics out there, I highly suggest you give Allison's Storybook a read. She did a seamless job creating a back story that was clear and simple, which is not always easy to do. I also really enjoyed the artwork and characters in Jenny's Storybook, "The Girls of Spring", in which Sita is compared to the famous Persephone of Greek Mythology (her story here). It's great to get to see different people write about what interests them!

Frederic Leighton's 1891 depiction of Persephone. (Source)

 

For any of you who have been following my literary conquest, I finally started (and finished) "Jane Eyre"! At first, I thought I was going crazy because although I was certain that I had never read "Jane Eyre", the plot was almost identical to another book I had read before. Of course, my senile brain couldn't remember which book it was. Eventually it popped into my head: "The Flight of Gemma Hardy". And after a little research, I realized it is one of the many adaptations of "Jane Eyre". So alas, I had sort of read it already. But it was definitely worth reading the original, which was (as usual) way better than the movie. They left out so much! Ah well.

Otherwise, life has been uneventful. Work has been slow. There's snow on the ground, yada yada. However, I am very excited for this next weekend because I am going to attend the Sooner Mosaic on campus.  It's an amazing day-long workshop on campus that offers different presentations on different social justice issues - race, gender equality, conservation, education, anything! The presentations are primarily put on by students, but there's a whole range of people who attend. It's free and they provide food! It's really a great way to learn about different issues going on and get involved in ways to help what you care about most. I highly suggest you register!

Week 7 Essay: A Goblin's Riddles

19th century depiction of a goblin. (Source)

This week, I read the Twenty-Two Goblins unit in the Untextbook. These short stories are framed inside the story of a king carrying a goblin from a tree to a monk. Everytime the goblin tells the king a riddle, the latter must give an answer. If the answer is correct, the goblin magically returns to the tree and the king must start over. If the king lies about knowing the correct answer, his head will explode. The framework story was definitely my favorite part of the whole reading. Frankly, I didn’t trust the goblin to begin with, but it ultimately ends up helping the king. The notes provided before the stories were definitely helpful in better understanding the plot of the framework story - otherwise I may have been a little confused. 

My favorite story was The Girl and The Thief. I couldn’t help but laugh when I read it, thinking, “Everyone always loves a bad boy.” Some things never change, I guess! The General’s Wife was also a really great story because it brought up a sort of moral dilemma, which is always fascinating to read about. I enjoyed trying to guess the answer to the riddles before reading on and finding out what the King guessed. There really weren’t any stories I disliked, although I was indifferent about The Snake’s Poison. The setting seemed like it was going to be a really interesting story, but then it really didn’t go anywhere. What happened to the wife?? 

It was definitely interesting that a few of the stories took place in Ayodhya, and even mentioned Rama and Ravana by name. Putting the riddles into context with those characters would have been an interesting concept. While I enjoyed most of the stories in this unit, I actually found it very difficult to pick one to rewrite. It very well could have been lack of imagination or creativity on my part, but it could have also been the riddle-format of the stories that threw me off. Perhaps I could have used the stories to make the riddle more difficult or insolvable.

Week 7 Reading Diary B: Twenty-Two Goblins cont'd

Twenty-Two Goblins

Hawk killing a snake (Source)

• The Snake's Poison
• This story has the same characters as one of the others! That's kind of cool that some of them intersect. Makes for a complicate life though 
• The hawk kills the snake and it's poison just happens to squirt out and into the guys food. That's just bad luck 
• Seriously, the woman is ALWAYS blamed in these stories. 
• Again, some of the answers to these riddles are dumb. Yeah the guy was dumb for blaming the woman, but that doesn't mean the death was his fault. I'd have gotten this goblin to the monk in no time with all my wrong answers
• The Girl and the Thief 
• "But she was prudent and did not like men". FINALLY SOME SENSE 
• I take it back...she wants to marry the thief about to be executed. Dumb people always fall for the "bad" one. 
• This story is age-old! Dad tells the daughter she can't date the boy, daughter wants to date the boy even more. Good grief
• The General's Wife 
• Everyone who saw this girl fell and in love with her and went crazy with passion? Sucks. Reminds me of Rogue in X-men
• Hahaha women were warned to stay indoors, otherwise they would see the king, fall in love with him, and then be lovesick? priceless
• Their love at first sight is very similar to Rama and Sita's first encounter
•  This one I actually agree with - the King was more deserving
• The Four Brothers 
• "No matter how carefully won and guarded, three things are fickle and bring sorrow at the last: evil friendships, a flirt, and money." Preach. 
•  Father and Son, Daughter and Mother
• These are the best kinds of riddles!
• The goblin actually turned out to be good...hm, maybe they just have a bad reputation

Week 7 Reading Diary: Twenty-Two Goblins

Twenty-Two Goblins Unit

• Introduction
• A gem hidden in a fruit is a sure-fire way to crack a few teeth. Also, how the crap did he get a gem inside a fruit??
• Some crazy monk asks the King to go grab a dead body hanging from a tree and he does it no questions asked...what kind of kingdom is this!
• Just the word goblin sounds creepy and I don't trust this thing one bit. 
• The Three Lovers 
• From the notes: oooh, that is a tricky thing! Why couldn't the king not have listened to the goblin as he spoke and then said he didn't know the answer?
• OI! Why do people go so crazy for beauty? Not that there's anything wrong with being beautiful but I mean...this guy slept on her ashes? Yikes!
• My guess: she should marry the one who dipped her bones in the Ganges (although, really, if they're fighting over her maybe no one should get to marry her!
•  Ah well, I suppose that makes sense? 
• Brave, Wise, Clever 
• Okay but really, why are all these riddles about who the girl should be given to?
• My guess: the wise man?
• Wrong again! The Brave man.
• The Girl, Her Husband, and Her Brother 
• What is the matter with these people?! Okay, cool, let me just sacrifice my head to this goddess but my body will still live
• Annnd there goes the brother's head, too
• Notice the women never do anything stupid? All their decisions are smart
• My guess: it basically comes down to what makes a person - their brain or their heart? I'm going to say their brain soo the one who is her husband is the one with her husband's head 

The goddess Gauri, who the husband sacrifices his head to. (Source)

• Food, Women, Cotton 
•  Everyone's just too damned special to carry a turtle
• Just curious...but how do you become a connoisseur of women? ;))
• A goaty smell...she perfumed her "neighborhood"...oh my god
• The third brother is like the princess and the pea! Hahah
• Uhhh don't really think the third brother is the cleverest! Sorry King

Week 6 Reading Diary (Extra): Folktales of Bengal

 Folktales of Bengal

• The Evil Eye of Sani
• gods turning to humans for advice...they definitely don't have the same concept of deities as we do!
• love the loyalty between Sribatsa and Chintamani
• Chintamani's abduction, Sribatsa's search 
• a big pile of brick-like gold poop...cool...
• Lakshmi is mean - rather than making Chintamani ugly to save her, SHE SHOULD HAVE JUST SAVED HER
• Communicated through signs and gestures, these folks really are smart!
• Possibly a cursed garden which Sribatsa fixed with his presence?
• The Boy Whom Seven Mothers Suckled
•  WHAT?! Infanticide and cannibalism...this is definitely not your average folktale (although the original folktales of Grimm fairytale are usually pretty gruesome).
• This little boy is awesome. 
• Even if some rakshasis are evil, they have some pretty cool magic 

Poppies! (Source)

•  The Origin of Opium  
•  Oh boy, I don't trust this mouse. He's like the mouse in that book "If you give a mouse a cookie..." - always wants more more more! 
• This mouse is crazy! First he ridicules women and then wants to be one?
• I did not see the end of that coming! What an interesting story of how opium was created. Do people really have those characteristics when they smoke it?

•  The Ghost Brahman
•  Cowboys are so clever. Classic.

Week 6 Reading Diary B: Tales of Bidpai cont'd.

Tales of Bidpai

• The Hare, The Fox, and the Wolf - first time I can recall a female animal being the trickster
• The Sparrows and the Snake - am I the only one who read this and immediately thought of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets?? Guess birds and snakes have never gotten along! Interesting that the sparrow didn't actually kill the snake himself. Brains over buff
• The Frog, The Crab, and the Serpent - why do the frog and the crab live in the same area?? Was there no separation of climates back then?
• The Blind Man and the Snake - moral of the story: being blind sucks

Adder (Source)

• The Camel Driver and the Adder - that Adder was a bitch! Although he did have a point, as did the cow and the tree. But hey, for once the trickster fox used his wit for good and not evil! Glad to see the Camel driver get away. 

Week 6 Reading Diary A: Tales of Bidpai

Tales of Bidpai

• Intro - the four paragraphs summarizing all the kings books? Genius! Basically what any story is always about

A rose tree (Source)

• The Rustic and the Nightingale - there should have been a purpose for the bird ripping at the roses. And why does the Rustic get a pot of gold just for letting her go??
• The King, The Falcon, and the Drinking Cup - this was good! Definitely a favorite. Could be fun to expand upon. Humans suck. 
• The Two Travelers - Salem is my kind of guy, I would second guess this inscription, too! People in tales always make foolish and rash decisions, but he's thinking clearly. 
• The Poor Man and the Flask of Oil - oh my god, seriously? This would happen to me...
• The Merchant and his Iron - LOL! That asshole got served 
• The Gardner and the Bear - oh, this could definitely be rewritten as a funny misunderstanding

Week 5 Famous Last Words

I really enjoyed writing my Storytelling assignment this week. It came surprisingly natural to write about a strange dream. Speaking of strange dreams, I had a really odd one last night:

My family and I were all at the hospital because my mom was having a baby. While she was giving birth, we all waited in this big room full of presents, all wrapped a different color for each woman who was giving birth. My mom came out later with the baby...yay! She opened some of her presents and then we all went home. Here's where it gets weird. I drove by myself in a big truck with the car seat (which was covered with a blanket...I assumed to help keep the baby asleep? I don't know!). Then my car runs of out gas 3 minutes from returning home. I freak out, not sure what to do. I start walking home and then realize, duh, the baby!! But I don't want to carry to baby home in the freezing cold and snow. Somehow I end up home with, as it turns out, an EMPTY car seat. And my family just makes fun of me for hours and hours about the whole thing. Eventually they just start teasing and tormenting me, being really cruel (which is totally unlike my family). I get really upset and try to defend myself but it just makes them laugh at me harder and no one takes me seriously. If you've ever had that happen to you, it's an awful feeling. The rest of it gets kind of fuzzy. What strange dreams do you guys have?

Yesterday I started a book called Fante, a memoir written by Dan Fante. It starts out about him telling the story of his Italian immigrant grandfather, and then father. His father, John Fante, is a novelist but ends up writing screenplays for a bunch of Hollywood shows and movies just to make a living, which he seriously resents. If you want to look him up, one of his books was made into a movie in 2006: Ask the Dusk. Although according to Dan Fante, the movie did not do the book justice. Anyways, the book talks about his father's struggles with writing and alcoholism. It eventually comes to his own story and his own struggle with surviving in New York in the 60s and 70s, alcoholism, and somewhat mental illness. It's been a great read so far and I've almost finished. I'll share a quote with you that I really enjoyed! 

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Week 5 Storytelling: The Dream

The red sky (Source)

Dear Rama,

My stay with Grandfather has been very pleasant. I wish you and the family were here to enjoy time with him, too. Last night I had the strangest dream. It's left me a little shaken, to be honest. You've always been able to give me sound advice. Maybe you can make something of it!

I was walking along the ocean shore. The sun was setting, tinting the sky red and orange. The soft waves were lapping at my feet, and I felt completely at ease. I stood, facing the ocean, and closed my eyes. I felt the water pool around my ankles and then retreat with the tide. I waited for it to come back, but felt nothing. I opened my eyes and water was rising up into the sky. As if it were raining upside down, the water going from the ocean into the clouds. I watched on and in seconds it was gone. The ocean was gone. All I could see for miles out was rock and mud. Fish and plants lay dead without their source of life.

Terrified, I ran home to tell father what had happened. As I approached Ayodhya, I noticed no fires were lit in any homes. The sun remained near the horizon but would not set, casting long shadows. The sky seemed red and angry. The air was so still and dry. I could hear the elephants cry loudly, their bellows cracking through the air like thunder. I looked around to try and help the ailing animals, but could not find them. All that could be heard were their painful laments. I slowly began to walk up the palace steps and felt something beneath my feet. I looked down and saw shattered pieces of something. I bent to get a closer look and realized the cause of the elephants' cries. Their tusks, big and sturdy, had fallen and shattered into thousands of pieces.

I ran up the palace steps hoping, needing to find anybody. Though I climbed and climbed, they did not seem to end. Finally I reached the top of the stairs and was high in the sky. The tall tower crumbling beneath me. Frantic, I tried climbing higher until I reached the very top. The sun finally began to dip below the horizon. Below me the earth burned with red light. The moon appeared in the high night sky. Its face resembled my mother's. 

"Help me! Please!" I cried out to it, afraid I might fall.

"Jump onto me,  and I will keep you safe," it replied.

Just as the last step fell to the Earth, I reach up and grabbed the moon. I pulled myself up into its curve. I felt cool sweat on my forehead, but began to calm. Only moments later, the moon and I began to fall. Smoke and sun glared up at us from the ground and I screamed. I called out for you, Rama, but you were not there. Just before I hit the ground, I woke up.

I don't know if it means anything at all or if it's just a silly dream, but I cannot help but feel uneasy about it. What do you think, Rama? Please respond speedily, as your words will calm me. I see three horseman with the Ayodhya flag coming up to grandfather's palace. Perhaps they have a message for me!

I miss you, dear brother. Give my love to father and the rest.

Love,

Bharata

----

Author's Note: This story was adapted from William Buck's "Ramayana." In the chapter titled 'Bharata Returns,' Buck mentions that right before the horsemen arrive to give him news of his father's death, Bharata awakens from a bad dream in which he sees the ocean dry, the moon fall, his father's elephants' tusks shatter, the fires of Ayodhya go out and smoking rising from the Kosala hills. I included all of the elements into my story and expanded upon each one, telling a detailed account of the whole dream. 

I decided to expand on this part of the story because I believe dreams can be a really fascinating way to see view our lives. Sometimes, they are meaningless. Other times, dreams can be an outlet for our subconscious. In storytelling, dreams can also be a great way to either foreshadow or express a character's feelings in a more descriptive way. Bharata is an interesting character in that he is offered a kingdom, and yet can see that Rama is truly meant to rule. He feels anger towards his mother and loyalty towards Rama and his father. I wanted to expand on Bharata's role and allow him to have a kind of adventure of his own (even if it is only in a dream). It is obvious in the Buck's story that he does not want to rule, and hopefully my story conveys that he really doesn't even have the ability to rule. He is always asking for help or seeking someone else.  

Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way. 

Week 5 Reading Diary A: Buck's Ramayana

pg 110-161

• Bharata's dream as possible story (111) 
• I can really picture the city after the King's death. Like an old mining town that thrived in the 50s but now is desolate and empty
• I like the interaction between Bharata and the queens in this version better than in Narayana's
• Possible story: Kaikeyi in her next life - what will it be like? (117)
• Birth of beautiful women from tree vines
• Bharata and his mother hugging after Kaikeyi was 'forgiven' is a nice addition. Her shame makes her more likable 
• Rama and Sita going for a walk in the forest - what would they talk about? Beautiful scenery setting

Rama shooting the crow that attacked Sita (Source)

• What is the point of the crow scenario?

Typing Game Tech Tip

I had my computer class when I was in elementary school, and they taught us how to type. We would basically just play typing games on the school's computers. They taught to use the 'home row', but that never really stuck for me. Interestingly enough, someone recently pointed out to me that while I use all the fingers on my right hand to type, I only use my middle finger on my left hand to type. Funny! I had never notice that before. I really enjoy typing - I like the sound the keys make when you're typing quickly. I never learned to use a typewriter, but I imagine it would be fun to use one of those (albeit a little frustrating when it comes to make mistakes).

Ninja Cat was okay! My computer is old so the screen kept flashing which made it difficult to type the words without being certain what words they were. Even though the words were easy, trying to focus on all the words was definitely difficult! My eyes hurt after just one game haha. But I found that it's easier to type words than it is to type single letters or numbers.

Week 4 Famous Last Words

Oof, this week was LONG. I started my new job and worked 10 hour days (plus I worked Saturday, which actually wasn't bad but I definitely could use another day to rest). The upside is that I get to work for my stepdad, who is a great boss! The work isn't difficult, but it's mentally draining, which is why I didn't get around to doing the Storytelling assignment this week. But I did enjoy reading a few of them this weekend! I had hoped to write a story about Sita's abandonment. Maybe I'll be able to add it later on!

While I work on this project for work (at a law firm in downtown Dallas) I am staying with my mom and stepdad in Frisco. The weather has been beautiful, and it's always nice being around family. When I'm with them I always feel like a happier, brighter person. I owe them everything! Here are some pictures of my family and me vacationing in Plymouth. We used to go every summer when we were kids, and in 2012 we went back. It was so fun!

 The Kids (from left to right): Michael, Kevin, Maria, Alexa, Frankie, Me!

Unfortunately, because it's been such a long week, I haven't had the chance to start 'Jane Eyre', but I hope to soon! Today I made some Valentine's cards to give to my sister and mom. I am a firm believer in Valentine's Day just being about spending time with people you love - boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, family, friends, dog, whoever! Plus it's an excuse to eat a bunch of chocolate, so I'm not complaining. 

Week 4 Reading Diary B: Rama's Exile

pg 60-109

• Dasaratha's visions (63)
• Kaikeyi saving Dasaratha's life in the chariot
• Very good description of Kaikeyi's transformation and how she is found on the floor of the anger room (where can I get one of those?) 

Dasaratha finds Kaikeyi in the anger room (Source)

• How well did Kausalya and Kaikeyi get along after Rama's exile?
• Lakshamana points out that NOTHING angers Rama, even when he is being wronged. At least somebody said it! 
•  Sita gives some sass here - I like that! 
• Lakshmana is great in Rama's exile. Buck's version has just made me like him more! So much more real and relatable (thought I think Buck portrays Rama in a more personable way, too) (99)

Week 4 Reading Diary A: Buck's Ramayana

pg 1-59

• Why would Buck choose to introduce the story with a song from Indrajit? I can't figure that out
• Sauti describes the Ramayana as a story of romance and love and wild adventure - not sure that's how I read Narayana's version, but we'll see where Buck takes is
• Sita has been Rama's wife for ten thousands years - is this literal or a figure of speech? Has that much time passed since the Battle of Lanka?
• It is so strange to have the abandonment of Sita described from someone out of view. IT reminds me of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, when they turn back time and witness events that just happened but from an outside perspective.
• Ganga the River Goddess tempting people to suicide??

Ganga trying to drown Bhishma (Source)

• I like that Valmiki watches the story of Rama and Sita through water in his cupped hand - best drive-in theater ever! 
• This is nowhere near how poets in ancient Greece and Rome composed their songs
• Love the description of Ayodhya here (10)
• I like the flow of the story, especially the transition from the sacrifice to Indra and then then to Indra who had just fought a battle against Ravana
• LOVE the encounter between Indra and Brahma - I would have reacted the exact same way (12)
• Really glad Buck included a physical description of Rama and Lakshmana 
• Description of different ages is very interesting - reminds me of Ovid's Metamorphoses and how he talked about the golden age/bronze age/etc.
• Door under the ocean (25)

Typing Test Tech Tip

Well, the website that was listed (RankMyTyping.com) didn't work - maybe they took down the website? So I just googled typing tests and tried a few of those. Here are my comments!

Typing Test
This website had you type out an Aesop tale for one minute. I like it because they are basically everyday words that you would use. They're not asking you to type some really obscure words or anything haha. It also takes into account any errors and subtracts a certain amount of seconds per error. I got 85 WPM with 4 errors, leaving me at 81 WPM.

Speedy Typing Online
This rest was a little different and I didn't like it as much as the first. At first it gave me something from Beowulf which severely slowed down my speed because of the character's names - they were very difficult to spell. Then it refreshed and gave me lyrics from Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats", which was a little better. I ended up with a 72 WPM and 91% accuracy.

Week 3 Famous Last Words

This has been a fun week for me. I had some time off before I started my (new) job. So I spent a lot of time reading and going for walks around Lake Hefner. The weather was beautiful for it, and I'm glad I had the chance to do my own thing before I throw myself back into the adult world. I still don't feel like an adult. I feel like I'm just a young kid pretending I know what I'm doing. This is a weird age.

Personal photo taken of Lake Hefner, OKC, OK - January 26, 2015

I'm glad to hear everyone who read my last Famous Words post found E. B. White's quote as interesting as I did. I'm about 50 pages from finishing the book. The last few pages I've read were about New York City - how it had changed from when he first visited. And I'm sure it's changed even more so since he wrote those words. That city seems like it will always be changing. What I found most interesting was his writing from 1934, when he spontaneously decided to jump on a ship heading for Alaska. When he ran out of money, the captain hired him to work on the ship to keep his room and board. Sometimes I wonder if the things young people did back then could really fly today. Is it the times that are different, or just the people?

In case you live under a rock, today is the Superbowl. And in case you didn't know, I'm from Massachusetts. So today is basically like Christmas for me! I'm rocking my Patriots gear and am hoping for the best against the Seahawks. Their both great teams, and I'm not arrogant enough to think there's not a chance we could lose. Either way, it'll be a good game!

Brainstorm: Sita and Storytelling Styles

Topic: For my topic, I have decided to choose Sita for my storybook. It was a difficult choice, but I think I can do some really interesting things with it! One person seems to e very adamant that I am a feminist - call me whatever you want, but I am really interested in socially assigned gender roles, characteristics, and gender equality. I would really love to interpret that into my project about Sita. I'd like to do one story about Maya Sita and Helen of Troy as parallel to each other. Two women with the same fate. I'd also like to retell the story of Sita and Rama's meeting with switch rolls (Rama as a woman, Sita as a man) and possibly play with the idea of whether their fates would be different. This can be based either on Narayan's version or Buck's version, depending. A third story I'd like to write would be about Sita as a child, a young girl, going through an experience foreshadowing her future as Rama's wife and her ultimate death. Lastly, I'd like to write about Lakshmi and Sita. The Ramayana says that Sita is the reincarnation of Lakshmi, so I would like to write a story about Lakshmi and how it might influence herself as Sita.

Bibligraphy
'Helen' by Euripides
Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic.
Story of Lakshmi by Abhilash, author of Hindu Blog
Story of Vishnu and Lakshmi via Sacred-texts.com

Photos: Left: Lakshmi (Source) Right: Helen of Troy by De Morgan (Source)


Styles Brainstorm:

Alternate Realities - Seeing as a lot of the stories I want to explore have to do with Sita as either a different person or at a different time, setting the storybook in the frame of time travel seems to make sense. But perhaps further than that, rather than going into different times it would be to alternate realities.  The setup would be someone who read about Sita and judged her to just be a weak person. Somehow, they get transported to an alternate time and reality where THEY are Sita, and thus live through her story themselves.

Stories told in the Afterlife - this sounds perfect for my storybook! I can see it now: Sita is in purgatory, and they are trying to decide whether she should be sent to Heaven or Hell. So they look back at all her past lives in order to decide.

 Detective - So there is this detective who is called in for a case. The police have in custody four different people (all some version of Sita). The detective has to figure out which one is the 'real' Sita, and so he takes each one into the interrogation room and has them tell their stories. I'm not sure how it would end yet. This would be more of a comic style - think very old school, over the top P.I. !

Story Told In a Bar - oh who among us hasn't gotten a little too typsy and ended up spilling our guts to some stranger at a bar? This again would be more of a comical telling, maybe even dark comedy. Sita is at the bar, and she's lost everything. So she tells her story. Some of them are from her different lives, but they all end up the same.