Indian Epics

(from PHD Comic blog) I really liked this graphic because I wrote a research paper in high school ont Dante's Inferno and a few years after I graduated I found a graphic novel version at Hastings. I bought it and gave it to the teacher I wrote that paper for as I gift.  I loved this video not only because the dancing was beautiful and the storytelling so intricate but because I think LGBT+ representation is so important. I am glad that there are people out there showcasing LGBT+ stories through traditional aspects of their culture. 

"I'll Fly Away" I started with this hymn because I wrote about the lyric essay I wrote in this week's famous last words assignment. It included hymns from my great-grandmother's old hymnal. "'I'll Fly Away', is a hymn written in 1929 by Albert E. Brumley and published in 1932 by the Hartford Music company in a collection titled Wonderful Message " Source: "I'll  Fly Away" Wiki Charley Pride Charley Pride is an Ameican country singer who was successful in the mid-70s.  His most known song is probably "Just Between You and Me." Fun Fact: Before he was a recording artist he played professional baseball. I ended up at Charley Pride's Wikipedia page because he recorded a version of "I'll Fly Away." Source: Charley Pride Wiki Negro American League I got here because Charlie Pride played baseball for the Memphis Red Sox which was a part of the Negro America League. "The Negro American...

My best writing for this week was not for this class. It was for my Advance Creative Non-fiction class. We are wrapping up the semester by writing what are called lyric essays. Lyric essays are kind of a hybrid form of writing that includes strong sensory details that give the language the lyrical feeling while also employing strategies to tie the writing together like an essay. I wrote mine using lines from gospel songs. The songs were out of my great-grandmother's hymnal and I used the lyrics to structure my essay into three parts. The real meat of the essay was about my great-grandma and I's relationship as we both grew older. It was really hard to write but I think it turned out beautifully. It was hard to write as in emotional, not difficult craft-wise. I am not particularly religious but the hymns were a way for me to connect with my childhood spent with my Grandma Polly. I got some great feedback from a small peer review group in class last week and I get to workshop the...

I really like the idea of keeping a happiness jar. It's a good way to remind yourself to be positive every day. I'm going to use the whiteboard on my fridge to write my happy moments every day. At the end of the week, I'll write another blog post to let everyone how it goes and whether or not I've learned something about myself through the exercise. Stay tuned. (Happiness Jar from Popsugar.com )

I love this one mostly because of the picture of the cat's fur blowing in the wind but it's also a good reminder that sometimes change isn't a bad thing. In the more info tab, there were the lyrics from a Bob Dylan song that inspired the meme. I really liked the lines "May you have a strong foundation When the winds of changes shift." Honestly I just really liked the satisfied look on that cat's face. But, like the first picture, its inspiration in the form of a cat meme. The quote from Laura Ritchie's book that inspired this meme is fantastic and gave me a good boost to finish out this semester. Here is the quote, "Past experiences also influence a student's beliefs when approaching new projects, with positive experiences effectively building self-efficacy beliefs and negative experiences bringing them down. " - Fostering Self-Efficacy in Higher Education Students (2015).

I love a good quote maker. It makes the little part of high school me that's still hanging on really happy to make a good song lyric post.  quotepixel.com is super easy to use.

(Kumbhakarna from Smite Game Official Wiki ) As he slumbered the pounding of drums and the ringing of trumpets rolled through his unconscious mind.  Though he was cursed to slumber for half of the year, Kumby still absorbed the happenings around him. Kumby slumbered on but the pounding of drums grew steadily louder. He rolled over, covering his ears with his massive arms. However, his giant arms were not enough to drown out the sounds. "Kumby! Wake up brother, I need you now!"  a distant voice called, cutting through the fog in his mind. "Rav?" he muttered groggily. The voice called again. Kumby's eyes opened slowly blinking away the sleep. He rubbed at them with the backs of his meaty hands. "Kumby, brother, the kingdom is under attack. We are at war. I need you fighting beside me," Rav said, clapping his brother on his enormous shoulder. Kumby, the giant, blinked again willing all of the grogginess out of his mind. "What wa...

Reading C, pages 72 - 110 the war begins most battles take place at night because that is when the Rakshasas are strongest Sita would be told the outcome the next day by Trijatha Indrajit, Ravana's son, a "powerful enchanter" summoned clouds to hide him while he fired arrows the arrows turned to snakes (the Naga) and wrapped around Rama and Lakshmana, constricting them Rama called for the aid of Garuda  Garuda is a divine bird who serves the god Vishnu The Nagas are an ancient enemy of Garuda because his mother had been enslaved by her co-wife who was the mother of the snakes Indra, the lord of heaven at the time, promised Garuda that snakes would always be his food Garuda came and devoured the snakes, setting Rama and Lakshmana free Kumbhakarna a giant and younger brother of Ravana cursed to sleep for 6 months of the year Ravana needed him in battle so he sent a legion of musicians to make such a ruckus that he would have to wake up when he awoke h...

Reading D: Sita's Ramayana Comic Book p. 111-149 after Ravana is defeated Sita is freed Rama is distant and won't look at Sita He claims that he cannot take her back because Ravana must have touched her so she is no longer pure Sita finds herself defending her virtue but Rama rejects her and does not listen Sita insists that Ravana never touched her but still Rama rejects her Sita has Lakshmana build a pyre and steps in it but the flames don't touch her the fire god Agni shows up and tells Rama that Sita's purity burns hotter than any flame and that he should not doubt her Storytelling notes: I chose to take notes on this particular part of the end of Sita's Ramayana because it makes me angry every time I read it, no matter the version. I want to rewrite it so that Sita has more agency and does not have to throw herself on a fire to prove her "virtue" to Rama. I'm just not cool with. And after all Rama put her through she leaves with him ...

Part B - pages 37 - 71 the dying Jatayu, king of the birds, told Lakshmana and Rama where Sita had been taken Rama and Lakshmana followed the trail of jewels Sita had dropped Rama sent Hanuman to Sita Hanuman tells Sita how Rama came to know the monkeys or Vanara and their chief Hanuman approached the brothers because they dressed like ascetics but they were carrying the weapons of warriors Rama told Hanuman of his missing wife and Hanuman took the brothers to his chief, Sugriva Sugriva tells Rama that he has seen Sita and that Ravana has taken her Sugriva also tells Rama that he will need an army to wage war on Lanka to get Sita back Rama is upset because he is an exiled prince and has no way to raise an army Sugriva offers Rama a deal Sugriva is also an exiled prince whose brother stole his wife and exiled him from the kingdom of the Vanara Sugriva said that if Rama helped him defeat his brother and reclaim his wife he would lead the Vanara army to fight Ravana Rama ...