Jacob and The Epics of India

 Hanuman was having a largely peaceful afternoon surrounded by his fellow monkeys. Having just stopped his chaotic brother Vali from antagonizing Sugriva, he deserved it. Shortly after, Sugriva fetched Hanuman and told him that two strangers were approaching and that he should go check them out to make sure that they aren't coming to cause trouble. He then met Rama and Lakshma who said that they wanted to speak to Sugriva. Thrilled that they weren't dangerous or evil, he carried them on his shoulders to meet Sugriva. Rama and Sugriva agree to help each other and they go off to kill Vati. Later, Sugriva is crowned king of Kishkindha. It was now his turn to hold up his end of the deal. Sugriva gathered Hanuman and the monkeys and sectioned them off into groups. He sent the groups into the four directions to look for Sita and report back. Hanuman went to the south along with Angada, and Jambavan.  Hanuman and the southern search party soon reached the beach. They were all very up...

 Notes for Tiny Tales from the Ramayana pages 151-200 Ravana rides into battle with Tamasa "bringer of darkness" which incinerates many of Rama's soldiers. Lakshmana fires an arrow which destroys Ravana's bow. Vibhishana kills Ravana's charioteer and horses. Ravana retreats back into the city. Rama and Ravana battle. Rama keeps cutting off Ravana's heads but each time a new head grows. Matali tells Rama to "use the Brahmastra" and to "fire at his navel". Rama does that which destroys the pot of immortality that Ravana had in his navel. Ravana dies. Ravana's brother and his wives mourn for him. Rama sends Vibhishna to fetch Sita. Rama is all weird about Sita because of the scandal involved with her living in another man's house and at first, he basically tells her to do her own thing. Sita prays to Agni the fire god after telling Lakshmana to build a fire. She then enters the fire to prove her faithfulness to Rama and the fire doesn...

 Notes for Tiny Tales from the Ramayana pages 101-150 Rama and Lakshmana approach Sugriva who sends Hanuman disguised as a brahmin to see who they are. Hanuman carries Rama and Lakshmana on his back to meet Sugriva. Sugriva shows Rama Sita's jewelry and Rama tells his story. Sugriva tells Rama about Vali's actions. They become allies and swear to help each other. Rama shoots Vali when Sugriva confronts him and kills him. Sugriva is crowned King of Kishkindha. Sugriva sends out his monkeys after the monsoon to search for Sita. Sampati, brother of Jatayu, meets the southern search party at the ocean. He says he sees Sita on an island in the golden city. Hanuman leaps across the ocean to the island to find Sita. A mountain rises out of the water to give him a place to rest. Many people or beings attempt to stop Hanuman but all fail. Hanuman finds Sita and overhears Ravana attempting to seduce her. He tells her that she has 2 months to agree to be his wife or else he will kill and ...

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  How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk I always feel very awkward giving feedback when it involves some serious critique. I never want to hurt the author's feelings and I'm always trying to not come across as rude. This article provided some really good tips for coming across as helpful, without being too harsh. The main thing I took from this article was to be very transparent and open with how you feel about the work and to not speak as if from a point of superiority. I will definitely try to implement some of these ideas when I give feedback next. Five Reasons to Stop Saying "Good Job!" I think this is also a really useful article but for different reasons. While the first article was focused on not being too harsh, the second article was about not giving positive praise all the time. I've witnessed this first hand because have two younger sisters who are twins and are 9 years younger than me. When they were little, I noticed how when you tell a child ...

On a cold winter night in Maine, a bundled-up couple was walking home from the movie theater, it had been their date night. Pennywise had spotted them when they had crossed the bridge going from downtown into the suburban area. He knew that if he wanted to take the woman, he'd have to distract the man. Distraction was rarely a technique employed by Pennywise. He is a multidimensional shapeshifting entity after all. However, is a recent battle involving a bold group of kids had left him battered and shaken.  As Pennywise watched from the shadows, he finally spotted an opportunity. The woman had gone inside a convenience store, and the man had stayed outside waiting for her. Pennywise's mouth began to water for he knew his next meal would be coming soon. The only problem was that he needed the woman outside of the store in order for him to take her, and he needed the man distracted. As the woman was checking out, Pennywise saw his opportunity. He ran over to the side of the store...

 Notes for Tiny Tales 51-100 Rama is set to become king. But Kaikeyi asks Dasharatha for the boons she is promised. Rama is sent into exile. His wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana go with him. Lakshmana refuses to sleep because he must protect Rama and Sita, so the goddess of sleep tells Urmila, his wife, to sleep in his place.  Rama and his wife and brother travel, meeting various people and beings. Fighting some and hearing stories from others. Where Sita's and Rama's sweat falls, trees bearing fruit grow. Ravana's sister, Shurpanakha wants to marry Rama, but he refuses. She tries to kill Rama's wife Sita, but Lakshmana cuts off her ears and nose and she runs into the woods. Word reaches Ravana so he goes to abduct Sita has revenge. He turns Maricha into a golden deer to distract Rama. While he is gone, and Lakshmana goes to help him, Ravana comes to Sita disguised as a beggar. He then kidnaps her. Jatayu the eagle tries to stop Ravana but dies. Sita leaves a trail o...

 Notes for Tiny Tales 1-50 Ravana is born the son of a Brahmin and a Rakshasi. He has 10 heads and 10 pairs of arms. He pleads with Brahma to become immortal, and Brahma agrees.  Shiva renames him and proclaims him as He-who-roars. Ravana goes on a killing spree, battling gods, kings, and basically anyone he could find. He battles Yama and wins. He also rapes someone. Does not seem like a good dude. King Dasharatha needs to have a son because the prophecy says that his son or a boy from Ayodhya will avenge Anaranya. The Devas begged Vishnu to be born as his son. So he is as Rama. Vishvamitra takes Rama, who is only a boy, to fight the rakshasas. He is supposed to kill Tataka, a rakshasi with the strength of a thousand elephants.  The Story of Sita is one that definitely stands out to me, she was found in the dirt by King Janaka. They used Shiva's bow as a test of marriage. Whoever can lift and string the bow shall marry Sita. Ravana tries after eating some of Sita's food ...

  A Fixed Mindset Could Be Holding You Back     I think that this article is quite relevant to me. While I don't necessarily think that I'm always right or always the best at something, I often do get stuck on one idea or method, and rarely revise. I think that having a growth mindset is extremely important when it comes to writing because you will always make mistakes and there will always be a better way to word something. In creative writing, it is important to be able to accept criticism and learn from it. How To Overcome Perfectionism     Perfectionism is something that I have struggled with for a long time. Firstly, I am OCD. Not just in the "Every painting has to be straight" kind of way, but truly OCD. So being a perfectionist has impacted many areas of my life. Also, I grew up doing very competitive gymnastics. I think that my time doing gymnastics definitely conditioned my brain to always strive for perfection and efficiency. Now, this isn't always a s...

 The First topic that I came across which interests me is The Gods/Devas. I think that there are a lot of interesting ways to write stories about the gods. Learning about the gods and goddesses of different religions is something that I have a lot of interest in. I am spiritual so focusing on the spiritual side of things would be right up my alley. I think it would be cool to do a more sci-fi version of the gods. Or, perhaps doing a story about the gods in a superhero-style would be pretty cool. I'm not sure if I would focus on one particular god, or write about many of them. But I'm sure I will learn more about them as the semester goes on.  Khan Academy has a really good page about the various Hindu Gods and Goddesses. The next topic that I am considering is Reincarnation. As someone who is spiritual, I am very interested in learning about what happens after death whether it be heaven, or perhaps reincarnation. I recently watched the Netflix series " Surviving Death ...

Matthew was running faster than he knew he could. The house seemed to go on forever, and he had no idea where his friend had gone. "If I find Josh I'm going to kick his ass", he muttered to himself. "I can't believe he roped me into exploring another haunted house".  Matthew had known Josh for quite a long time. Josh was the quiet kid who always got great grades, but was secretly a thrill chaser. Matthew, however, was known to be kind of a troublemaker in school. Teachers always got onto him about talking too much, or not turning in his homework. The two became close friends after they discovered a shared interest in all things supernatural. It turned out though, that Matthew was actually quite a scaredy-cat compared to Josh. Josh would find nearby abandoned buildings for the two to explore in search of ghosts. Every trip before this one had been exactly the same. They explore the house for a while, find some minorly creepy items, try to contact the ghosts, ...

 My favorite of the stories was  The Turtle and the Geese  by Ellen C. Babbitt.  I really appreciated how, despite being quite simple and short, the story has a very good message. The moral of the story is basically don't be a loudmouth, something many people today struggle with. The Characters of the story are: The Turtle - not intelligent, naive, mostly friendly The Geese - seem to be wise, peaceful, friendly The Village Children - normal kids, mock the turtle While this story is short, I feel like there are many ways to alter it while keeping the same theme. Canadian Geese  Pixabay

 I have chosen to read "Tiny Tales from the Ramayana". My decision was mainly because I often have a hard time sitting still and reading for long periods of time, so the short stories will be a much better format for me. I also like the layout of the website and pdf version, and I appreciate the inclusion of the illustrations or pictures.  The first comic book that caught my attention was  Stories of Creation  because I really like learning about different religions and their views on creation and death. The second comic book was  Tales of Shiva  because I am interested in learning more about Shiva. My high school world history class taught us a little about Hinduism, Buddhism, and India, so I am eager to learn more. The first video on the playlist that caught my eye was  Ancient Technology - Atlantis and India  because I love learning about the idea that many old civilizations or cultures possessed far more advanced technology than we think. I ha...