Epics of India

For my week 15 microfictions, I chose to write one story at 25 words or less and one story at 6 words or less, both of which can be seen below. 25 words or less: We had a big lead. Orlando caught the ball, wide open in the corner. Everyone was cheering. He shot it, and missed by 20 feet. 6 words or less: Sweet and spicy, crumbly yet consistent. Image of Youth Basketball  Author’s Note: For my 25 words or less story, I chose to write about a humorous moment I had with a friend in middle school basketball. For my 6 words or less story, I chose to write about my favorite dessert that my mom makes, pumpkin pie cheesecake.

For my week 14 Microfictions, I chose to write one story at 25 words or less and one story at 6 words or less, both of which can be seen below. 25 words or less: I was on the mound, pressure was on. The other team got a hit. I watched it go by, then heard cheering from my grandmother. 6 words or less: Always by my side. Short, sweet. Image of Dachsund Author’s Note: For my 25 words or less story, I chose to write about a funny experience I had with my grandmother at one of my baseball games. For my 6 words or less story, I chose to write about my first dog, Oscar, who I grew up with for most of my childhood.

For my week 13 microfictions, I chose to write one story at 25 words or less and one story at 6 words or less, both of which can be seen below. 25 words or less: At Ameristar, food was plentiful. All different kinds, all so close. The decision was difficult, but I always ended up at the same places. 6 words or less: BlackBerry was ruthless. Except to me. Image of a Casino Buffet Author’s Note: For my 25 words or less story, I chose to write about my experience going to a buffet at a casino with my grandparents, a tradition I completed with them almost monthly. For my 6 words or less story, I chose to write about a cat my grandmother used to have, that seemed to like me but was mean to everyone else.

For my week 12 Microfictions, I chose to write on story at 25 words or less and one story at 6 words or less, which can both be seen below: 25 words or less: Warm and light air. The smell of fresh cut lawns. On streets, sidewalks and parking lots. The same route daily. The jingle of loose change. 6 words or less: Loyal, obedient, kind. Protective, yet goofy. Image of a Border Collie  Author’s Note: For my 25 words or less story, I chose to write about an experience I had with my great grandfather shortly before he passed away. We would often take walks to get her, and this story is about me describing what those generally looked like. For my 6 words or less story, I chose to write about a dog my grandfather used to have. Brig, a loyal collie, was a good friend and dog for me as I was growing up, and this story is me describing him.

Note: For week 11 of my biography, I chose to write about a math competition I competed in when I was in 4th grade. My last writing was told in the first person, so I chose to tell this one in the third person, using the same character name I’ve been using in my other stories. Unlike my last story, this was a cool moment I had in my childhood, and it was fun to relive. The Underdog As a child, Percy was fairly advanced at math. He generally worked at least a grade level ahead of the rest of his class, and was event sent to a different school on certain days to learn with others like him. One day, his teacher approached him and asked him if he wanted to compete in a math competition. He wasn’t aware that math competitions were a thing, but it sounded like fun. What the teacher hadn’t told him was that every other student at the competition was a 5th grader, while he was only a fourth grader. He figured this out soon after arriving, but he thought it would be fun nonetheless to tr

Note: For my biographical writing this week, I chose to tell the story of a baseball game I played in when I was 9 using a first person perspective. This was not a pleasant story in my athletic career, but is one I can laugh at now. What are the Odds I’ve played baseball most of my life, and over that time I’ve changed in a lot of ways as a player. When I was 9, my specialty was bunting. I was that one skinny kid who was pretty fast, and at that age it’s pretty hard for a defense to successfully get an out on a bunt, so I used that to my advantage. It was the semifinals of the 9 and under state championship, and I was up to bat. There was a runner on third with one out, and we were losing 2-1. Like I had done all year, I tried to lay down a bunt to let the runner from third score, and I would try to make it to first base before they could throw me out. It turns out that it wasn’t my day, because for the first time that entire season, I popped a bunt up, which went right back to

For my week 15 tech tip, I chose to try out the snipped of HTML code which turns your browser into an easy to use platform for just typing. I’m not sure if this is something I’ll use in the future, given my easy access to Microsoft Word, but it was cool to see the an example of what coding can do for your webpage. I’ve tried creating my own webpages in the past using HTML code, so maybe this is something I could incorporate into that.

For my week 14 tech tip, I chose to try out the word cloud tool. This is something I’ve seen others used in the past, including our own professor for this class, and it seems like an interesting way to turn a story, document, or some other kind of text entry into a visual that’s easy to understand. I think this could be useful in a lot of my engineering classes in assisting me to see what the fundamental ideas of a chapter of a textbook or a problem are.

For my week 13 tech tip, I chose to download and try out the Canvas mobile app. This is something I’ve seen a lot of my friends use in the past but for whatever reason I had never given it a try. Since downloading it I’ve found myself using it quite often, especially over the past couple days just to check assignment updates and announcements given the recent development of online classes for the rest of the semester. It’s definitely something I’ll continue to use.

For my week 12 tech tip, I tried out Duck Duck Go, an alternative search engine to Google which doesn’t track or save your data. Given the heightened awareness of data tracking in the world today, this seems like something that will eventually become very popular. It was also cool just to try out something new, as well as to see that there are things out there that work just as well as Google, which is saying something given how used to it we are.

For my week 11 tech tip, I chose to download and install the text to speech package. This is something I’ve heard about but have never used before, although for the reading of epics of this class or for readings in many of my other classes, this is something that will be extremely useful in the future. Especially with online classes the rest of the semester, the ability to use this to multitask while doing things around the house or even other assignments will be very beneficial.

For this week’s tech tip, I chose to download and install the Firefox browser onto my laptop. I’ve always used internet explorer for an unknown reason, but this should come in handy as Firefox is much faster. I may even try downloading Chrome in the future.

For my week 11 Microfictions, I chose to write one story at 25 words or less and one story at 6 words or less. 25 words or less: A golden deer appeared. Although a ploy, Rama hunted. Upon finally catching the deer, Rama realized his mistake, and heard a scream. 6 words or less: Lie of death. Misery. Back-stabbed. Image of Rama Hunting the Golden Deer Author’s Note: For my 25 word or less story, I chose to write about Rama’s hunting of the golden deer. For my 6 word or less story, I chose to write about the trick used in the Mahabharata to kill the evil king by lying and saying his son had died. Both of these stories seemed fairly simple to convey in a short amount of space, so I thought it would be fun to try out.

For part B of my week 11 reading, I chose to cover the second half of the YouTube videos on Krishna. Similar to part A of this week’s readings, I enjoyed the use of illustration to convey the messages of Krishna’s story. It makes the story much easier to follow and helps keep track of who is who. Secondly, I loved the drama involved in Krishna’s story. With assasination attempts, the overthrow of rulers, war, and ascensions, this story is definitely one to keep you on your toes, and doesn’t progress slowly like some of the other stories we have read. Lastly, I liked learning about the different incarnations of Krishna. The idea of incarnation is something I’ve been aware of but haven’t really learned much about, so it was been cool to hear that aspect of religion from these stories. Image of Krishna

For part A of my week 11 reading, I chose to cover the first half of the Krishna Tales Video . The first thing I liked about these videos was the use of illustration to help convey messages. It makes the stories easier to follow, which is also something I noticed in the videos we watched earlier about the Ramayana. It was once again somewhat overwhelming to learn about the additional gods involved in our epics, especially since Krishna is considered a minor god and also the supreme god at the same time. The different names they are given is fascinating, and I would enjoy seeing some sort of graphic on where in India these different names and traditions come from. It was refreshing to hear about a god we had previously read about, with Krishna being mentioned in the Mahabharata, so it at least wasn’t too overwhelming in the sense of additional characters. Image of Krishna

I thought the reading for this week was very interesting. I enjoy reading a lot of the shorter Jataka tales where the stories themselves are simple but they messages they can convey are deep and powerful. Each one gives a different perspective on a variety of human interactions and emotions, and they also give a different perspective on what it means to be human, as often the stories are described using animals. I didn’t do a lot of writing this week, but I did thoroughly enjoy reading through Eden’s blog.. She’s taken a similar approach to me in her writing, often trying to intermingle Greek mythology and our Indian epics, and she’s done a wonderful job with it. I enjoyed the way each story flowed into the next, as well as the emphasis she put on the difficult moments each of her characters experienced. Things in my other classes are somewhat interesting right now. I’ve only recently heard from most of my professors, and while some of them have proven themselves to be fairly adept a

Here I completed my week 10 review. I backed up and checked my progress on canvas. In scrolling through the announcement page, I found the graphic on the corona virus and the video on the Inuit legend. For the graphic, I did think it was interesting how many similarities there are between the symptoms invoked by the corona virus, flu, cold, and just allergies. This is also concerning because it shows just how hard it can be to distinguish it apart from others without doing some sort of regulated testing. I found the video of the Inuit legend to be fairly similar to some of the Jataka tales we’ve read, where it’s a simple story that conveys a powerful message. Image of Corona Virus Comparison

For my micro fiction writing this week, I chose to stick with the theme of low stress online work and chose to wrote two stories, one at 25 words or less and one at 6 words or less. 25 words or less: Dasharatha owed a boone. Although cruel, he was obligated. Painfully, Rama was told of banishment. He had no choice. He must go to the woods. 6 words or less: Odd sound. Arrow. Not his intended. Image of King Dasharatha Grieving  Author’s Note: For my 25 words or less story, I chose to retell the banishment of Rama from the city. This story seemed to need more background information to retell in a shorter period of time, but I felt 25 words was enough. For my 6 word or less story, I chose to retell the killing of the old man and his wife by king Dasharatha. This story was accidental, and was crucial to the story of Dasharatha’s death, but I thought it would be fun to try and retell in as short a space as possible.

One thing I enjoyed about Eden’s work was that how descriptive she was with  the environments the characters interact in. I noticed that this is something I generally lack in, I suppose because I just don’t take the time to do so, but it is something I’ll certainly work on more in the future. Another thing I liked about Eden’s work was how much time and effort she spent delving into the difficult moments her characters experienced. Every difficult decision or sentence a character had to go through almost took up a whole paragraph, which didn’t seem like to much because of the intensity and implications of those moments to the story. I’m not sure how good I’ll be at incorporating that level of drama into my stories, but it’s something I’d like to at least attempt in my writing and I’m sure that over time I’ll become more adept at it. Lastly, I liked her use of cliffhangers. All of her stories are related to each other, and they each lead into the next seamlessly. Mine, although they al

For my Week 10 StoryLab, I chose to watch one of the Crash Course videos on Mythology . The video I chose to watch focuses on heroes and how they are often developed in mythology. It’s interesting how mythology often uses heroes to display a wide variety of human emotions and actions. Some use the heroes to set this wonderful idea that we physically can’t reach but should strive for, and some even appear to use heroes to demonstrate that even those better than us often struggle and have challenges they may not be able to overcome. The most interesting emotion they used heroes to convey was selflessness. It isn’t an emotion you would generally expect heroes in stories to convey but they often did, emphasizing the importance of it even more. Image of Nordic Heroes  

For Part B of my Week 10 Reading, I chose to cover Babbitt: More Jataka Tales . I’ve continued to enjoy these stories more and more as I like the deep philosophical thoughts they can provoke, which is surprising given their simplistic nature. The stories in this section definitely seemed to emphasize the importance of perspective. In the Red Bud story for example, four brothers got in an argument over the appearance of a tree, and it turns out that they all had seen the same tree, just in different seasons. It’s important to understand that not everyone views things in the same way that you do, and I liked how these stories echoed that. Image of More Jataka Tales

For Part A of my Week 10 reading, I chose to cover Inayat, Twenty Jataka Tales , namely the Guilty Dogs story. I was fascinated by this story and the message it was trying to convey to the reader. The idea that the rich and privileged dogs were to the guilty ones and yet they were the only dogs destined to live was a powerful message that still echoes today, and is something a lot of people certainly take for granted. The idea of it being dogs to as opposed to people was interesting, as the image people have of dogs makes them much more empathetic to a story about them, and certainly makes the message hit harder. Image from the Guilty Dogs

Rama's Journey into the Woods: Although odd, I must obey my father's wish. I'll come back when my time is up. For now, I'll venture on. What could go wrong? The Goblin Island: Surrounded. They appear pleasant. Can't hurt. Image of Rama Seated on a Throne Author's Note:  For my first microfiction, I wrote a hint fiction, and for the second microfiction, I wrote a six word story. Everything I've written for this class thus far has been quite long, so I thought I'd mix it up a bit. For the first story, I took inspiration from the Ramayana and Rama's journey into the woods, and for the second story, I took inspiration from the short story about the island full of goblin women. It was difficult to convey full ideas in this short of space, so I worked on them for quite a while until I thought they were easy enough to follow given you knew what the background was.

For Part B of this week’s reading, I continued the cartoons on the first week of the Mahabharata. For this part, I chose to focus on the setting. What I noticed more from this week that I had not in the past is the use of setting to help character development .Generally when young men of importance to the story were being raised, much of it was done outside. It appears to make them seem more pure and in tune with their surroundings, which gives you a positive image of them that sticks as the story goes on. Image of Duryodhana and Drona 

For this week’s reading, I chose to cover the cartoons based on the Mahabharata. Although I have been covering character development in the past, I chose to continue it for this week. The common theme of revenge is ridiculously prevalent in a majority of the epics we’ve read for this class, and this week is no exception. In Amba’s story, the position she is put in by two kings is cruel, and she does what she can to exact her revenge on the one she feels has most wronged her. Image of Amba from the Mahabharata

I’m very happy with my progress in the class thus far. I’m slightly ahead of schedule in terms of points for getting an A, and am very capable to completing some more extra credit assignments in the coming weeks so that I can finish early. My blog and website are coming along nicely, and I have no worries about continuing them in the future. Looking forward, the only thing I’d like to do differently, as mentioned above, is to complete more of the extra credit assignments. I believe I’m over halfway to the finish line to getting an A and the extra credit options will make that go a lot faster. Image of a Motivating Quote

Generally I would say the comments I’ve received from other students have been helpful in correcting small mistakes and providing inspiration for future stories. I would hope that my comments have been able to do the same thing, as I know sometimes it can be hard to come up with things to write about, so I generally tr to offer some suggestion on how others could continue their story. You certainly get a sense of getting to know people by looking through their blog posts, namely the introduction post. A lot of people really went all out in expressing themselves in those posts and that made it very helpful to get a feel for where they’re coming from. In the future, I’d like to take the time to read stories more thoroughly with the editing challenges in mind so that I might offer some more generalized suggestions for how people can improve their writing. Image of a Feedback Cat I chose this image because I think it’s important to not only be able to take criticism but also to be a

First, the reading and writing assignments are working well for me. I like the concept of micro fictions and may start to try and include those in some of my posts. I’m happy with both my blog and project website, and feel that the two are coming along nicely. It will be interesting to see them in their completed state at the end of the semester. My favorite reading thus far has definitely been the Ramayana. I especially enjoyed watching the movie version afterwards, as that helped clear a lot of the character confusion up. My reading notes are helping me somewhat each week, but I also rely on my memory a lot to convey the ideas of the story. One new reading strategy I’ve picked up is to focus on character development. It’s something that I’ve found I struggle with in my own writing and it’s been helpful to see how other authors use it in theirs. I think the only thing I’d like to focus on moving forward, like I stated above, would be to start working on micro-fictions. I like the chal