Week 12: Famous Last Words

(These are personal pictures of my boyfriend's cat, Link, and me and my cat, Lucky.)

Well, it's been a great semester in this class.

I've really enjoyed myself in this class. I am really sad that I ave very little left to do to get my A. After this post, I just have to edit my last portfolio story and then I am done. Yay! I am really happy to be done with a class a few weeks early. It makes it much easier for me to focus on my other classes. I am going to miss the new readings. I will probably still come back and read some peoples stories that they have written when I want to procrastinate homework. I will check on the storybooks for sure. I know some of my favorites are still unfinished and I hope I get to read the last stories.

Meanwhile in other classes, I have a few papers coming up. One is due Friday and a rough draft for another is due next Monday. I look forward to getting those done. My semester is coming to a close and I cannot wait. I have been counting down the days until I graduate. I am so excited to finish my undergraduate career strong. I look forward to my year-long break and starting my graduate education.

Mostly, I am excited to move in with my boyfriend. He is my best friend and I completely look forward to living with him. It sounds silly, but I cannot wait to marathon Star Wars, play video games and cook fun meals with him whenever I want.

This semester has had a lot of ups and downs. Many of which I have not mentioned on this blog, but I am both happy and sad to see it end. I wish everyone the best of luck on their future endeavors and maybe our paths will cross again!

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Week 12: Review

This week's favorite announcement came from Sunday, April 17. It's a really good growth mindset image about how we all struggle. I can agree with that. This week seems to be my struggle week because all of my classes are starting to come to a close. You know what that means... a lot of deadlines.

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Week 12 Reading Diary A: Epified: Mahabharata Vidos

 (A screen shot of The Blind Bride video.)

This week I decided to watch the Epified TV videos of the Mahabharata.

I don't have much to stay on the story side of things because we have all read the Mahabharata and really know what has happened. I like to speak more about how I felt when watching it in a video format. I liked how everything seemed much more real. Reading a book allows you to imagine everything, but sometimes it is hard to feed the other senses. I like that it is pleasing visually and I can put a voice to the characters.

I wish there was enough time to make a video skit for a story. That would be super fun!

My favorite videos were The Blind Bride and The Magic Potion. I think the focus of my story this week will be the Blind Bride. I think it would be a good, but weird love story to tell.

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Week 11: Review

Hi guys. This week's favorite review item came from Sunday, April 10. It is Ninja Cat v. Zombie Dinosaurs post. I know that I need to focus on improving my typing skills by typing without having so many errors. I played this few games and got weirdly hooked. You don't realize how much you're learning until you notice how much better your typing skills get. I will definitely keep using this to practice my typing. Until then, I recommend you check it out!

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Week 11 Storytelling: Rukmini's Issue

(Rukmini and Krishna running off to get married.)

Where is he? I cannot believe he is not here yet. He promised me he would be here at 6 am. It’s 8!! I am so pissed.

Two days ago….

Hi! My name is Rukmini. I am the daughter of Bhishmaka, the king of Vidarbha. While I love my father, I am rather annoyed with him right now. Why? Because he made the worst decision of his life a few weeks ago.

My kingdom is in dire need of help financially. We used to be the economic powerhouse of the land, but a few bad decisions by the top businessmen ruined everything despite the warnings and eventual threats by my father. He was not too happy about it either. He loves his people and was livid that these few men ruined it for the people he loved so dearly. This happened about two years ago. Ever since then, my father has been trying to find a way to fix this problem.

Don’t worry. My father punished the businessmen. He forced them to walk the forests forever.

Anyway, about a month ago my father received a proposition. Shishupala, cousin of Krishna and prince of a very wealthy country, offered to pay for all of the debts of our land and bring us back to prosperity… only if I would agree to marry him. My father was delighted and agreed to his proposal. He could save his land, people and find a partner for me! Except there is a problem.

My father thinks I have not met a man who has taken my heart. He is wrong. In fact, I am in love. I am in love with Krishna. Not just a I-love-you kind of love… it’s the type of love where my heart stops beating and my breath catches when I think of him. Luckily, he feels exactly the same. It’s completely consuming and very terrifying. We have not told anyone that we plan to marry yet because we are waiting for the right time.

So, how do I tell my father that I can’t marry Shishupala because my heart belongs to Krishna? I don’t.

Krishna and I are to meet tonight to figure out how we will fix this. He has told me numerous times that he has a plan for how we fix this. He won’t tell me until we are face to face. We are meeting in our sacred spot. I am very nervous to hear what his plan is. If I have to get married to Shishupala, I am going to be so upset and I will never talk to my father ever again. I do not love him. Not even a little bit.

Back to present day…

It’s 8:30 am. The wedding to Shishupala is today. Krishna finally came to kidnap me and we planned to get eloped. He was late because he was getting gold. So much gold that my father could fix our land. In the room I was to be in until I walked down the aisle is enough gold that it will take twelve large carriages to take it to our main castle.

Now, all problems are solved.

Author's Note: This story is inspired by How Rukmini Became the Bride of Krishna by Edmund Charles Cox. I recommend everyone read the original story. The original story is about how Rukmini falls in love with Krishna but is supposed to be marrying Shishupala. The marriage is completely unwanted. Instead of Rukmini marrying Shishupala, Krishna's cousin, Krishna swoops in like a hero, kidnaps her and marries her. Rukmini is the main wife of Krishna. I was inspired by how this story is different because it's, in a way, a voluntary kidnapping. In my story, I skipped how Krishna and Rukmini met and focused on the fact they are in love and why he has to kidnap her. I didn't stray from the main factors of the story too much, but I did put my own twist on it. It can be take as modern or not. I wanted this to be a timeless story that sounds like a complicated fairytale with a really happy ending for all. The photo that I picked is how I pictured the kidnapping happened. It's more blissful than fearful. It depicts how they are both heading off to get married and be happy together forever and completes the story for you.

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Week 11 Reading Diary B: Tales of Ancient India

(Indra wielding lightening in a battle.)

This is a continuation of the Tales of Ancient India by Edmund Charles Cox. Section B was more focused on the Gods. I was really excited to read this section because I feel like I have spent a lot of time on Krishna on the first section, which was cool, but I was so ready to move on to more characters in the reading.

I am going to save the reactions to Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Rama. I feel that I have talked about them more than enough already. So, for this diary entry I am going to talk about Soma. I am not sure if Soma is like the Ganges River. Is he in the form of a liquid or plant on earth? He is clearly used to benefit Indra. This is where I got a bit confused. He heals the sick and makes them strong. That's pretty cool.

Indra reminded me a bit of Zeus. He wields thunderbolts and used the chariots as clouds. This chapter about him is seriously similar to many introductory chapters or stories of Zeus. I know I keep making the comparison but it is so striking. I wonder if they originated around the same time. I guess some research will have to happen.

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Week 11 Reading Diary A: Tales of Ancient India

(Krishna and Rukmini looking very much in love.)

This week I decided to read Tales of Ancient India by Edmund Charles Cox.

The first half is all about Krishna and his adventures. I was really interested in learning more about Krishna because I feel like I didn't give him as much attention as I did other characters that we have read about in this class.

The story that interested me the most was Krishna and Rukmini. I am intrigued at how he basically married her to prevent her from getting married to someone she did not want to marry. It seems like they really care about each other. While I was reading this, I was thinking of ways I could turn this into a story this week. Perhaps I could modernize it where they use technology to develop new names for themselves to live a long life together in peace in happiness. I also like the idea of making it have a bit of magic where the way he rescues her from the wedding is extravagant and everyone knows that he saved her.

We will see how it goes. I will definitely be writing about this couple this week. I look forward to expanding my ideas.

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Week 10 Tech Tip: Embedding Soundcloud

This week, I decided to add some music to my blog to make it more fun. The way you add soundcloud is very similar to how you add the weather widget. Check out Josh's post for step by step instructions!

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Week 10: Review

Oh hai. Diz week'z review maded meh laugh so hard. I actualleh had to try it out for diz post. It is from Sunday, April 3.  It is none other than the Oxford LolCat translator. I got quite the giggle playing around with this and sending texts to my boyfriend in the lolcat language. You have to try it out! Heres to fun and giggles this week!

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Week 10 Storytelling: Brahma's Tweets

                                       

                                     

Author's Note: After watching the Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art, I decided to do a twitter story about Brahma and his love more than fatherly love for his daughter. In the video, we learn that the reason that Brahma isn't mentioned quite as often as Vishnu or Shiva is because he is stuck in this cycle of chasing after material things rather than focusing on things that are important for the spiritual self. He will not work towards understanding and reach the level of Vishnu or Shiva because he is always finding himself in situations like this where he is focused on something that is not spiritually beneficial. I decided to make it a twitter conversation to have a modern twist and bring Shiva in so he could ease some of the tension between Saraswati and Brahma. I made the story where Brahma was obsessed with her from the moment of creation. Shiva and Saraswati must consult Vishnu about how to handle this situation because he is good at being detached from things. Family drama can get pretty crazy and I think this story shows that. 

I made the tweet at: http://simitator.com/generator/twitter and the story comes from Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art by Devout Pattanaik

Images are from:

http://www.maadurgawallpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Lord-Brahma-images.jpg

http://beautifulhdwallpaper.com/saraswati/saraswati-maa/

http://blog.onlineprasad.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/lord-shiva-images.jpg

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Week 10 Reading Diary D: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art Continued

(An image of Brahma with his four heads.)

I am a bit sad that I am almost finished with the Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art.

The first video this week featured the Ramayana. It was pretty cool to see how things that we have read in class appear throughout other works. I know this happens all the time, but I was impressed with how quickly you notice things like this in this class.It's a bit weird because the narrator refers to Rama as Ram.

This video explains the cultural and societal differences when Vishnu appears in different forms. It directly compares Rama/Ram and Krishna. I liked that the videos do this contrast of forms or characters.

Brahma's secret is human life is an opportunity. Brahma isn't talked about much. He has no festivals, no rituals or prayers for Brahma. He is the creator and he forgets the reason of creation therefore he is not "worthy." Drastically different from Christian ideas.

Brahma created the world to understand who he was. The world was his daughter and he fell in love with her. I found this a bit weird. It's a pretty universal theme that a father should not fall in love with their daughter and this story upholds that theme. He seems a bit crazy and I can see why people tend to shy away from him.

Brahma creates everything, Shiva destroys everything and Vishnu is detached from everything. Brahma is unworthy of worship because he wont understand anything. This is why the human lives is cyclical and keeps repeating. To stop the cycle a soul needs to reach the level of Shiva or Vishnu and needs to accept things around him. Life needs to be about the spiritual well-being rather than the material well-being.

I am pretty sad that these videos are over. I loved them. I think I am going to write this weeks story about Brahma. His story is pretty sad.

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Week 10 Reading Diary C: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art Continued

(Balarama)

This week's "reading" is a continuation of the Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art Continued. I am on part C.

This week I decided to try something new and write the most interesting things that I learned in the videos.

First thing that comes to mind is the merged form of Shiva and Vishnu: Hari-Hara. It's kind of crazy because these forms, even though they are merged, represent complete opposites of each other. In my mind I pictured them as yin and yang or the power of good and evil. Total opposites, but completely dependent on each other. Very cool.

I will be honest in saying that I focused a bit more on Vishnu than I did on other characters in the videos. It blew my mind when I realized how many avatars Vishnu had. I understand that in Hindu culture many of the gods and goddesses have many different forms, but still. He also takes form as a fish, a turtle and so on. It reminded me a bit of Greek gods and goddesses. Why? Because they could also take forms if they wanted or change the forms of people.

Not to mention that Vishnu is also takes form in Rama, Krishna and many more. It was cool to learn how Balarama, which is the eighth form of Vishnu, is often equated with Buddha. I never knew that either. These videos teach you so much and I cannot wait to see more!

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Week 9 Tech Tip: Weather Gadget

This week I added a weather gadget to my blog. Follow instructions here and add one to your blog too!

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Week 9: Review

My favorite post from this week came from Sunday, March 27. I was a bit late to hop on the Star Wars fan train, but boy have I turned into a big one. Kudos to my boyfriend, I bet he is proud. Anyway, this was was about how to Yodify Your Language. It is brilliant and I had to share it. I hope you get as much joy out of this infographic as I do.

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Week 9 Reading Diary B: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art Continued

(Shiva depicted as the destroyer)

There are three videos for this section, but I think I will only embed one in this post.

I was excited about these videos because it included Shiva. I watched the Shiva videos last semester and it was fun to watch them again and get a new perspective on it. One of the most interesting things that I picked up from these videos is how God is embodied in three human couples for Hindus. Those three couples are: Brahma and Saraswati, Vishu and Lakshmi, Shiva and Shakti. It's like a holy trinity for both genders. I found this SUPER interesting. 

My favorite quote was from Ardhanari's Secret:

"Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the sutainer, and Shiva is the destroyer. Brahma, with four heads and a book, looks like a priest; Vishnu, with four arms holding a conch-shell, disc, mace, and lotus, looks like a king; Shiva, with his trident, looks like a mendicant. Lakshmi, Saraswati, and Shakti embody wealth, knowledge, and power."

I thought that was an amazing way to look at it. 

The Shiva videos are interesting because it has SO many stories and details about Shiva that I would have never known. 

Here is the video I wanted to include:

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Week 9 Reading Diary A: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art

(A depiction of Narayana)

While I did not technically "read" this week, I did watch some youtube videos about the Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art.  I will include the videos below because they are super fun and interesting. I was drawn to them last semester while in Myth and Folklore. One was posted in the announcements and I watched quite a few then.

I love how in the narrator explains why the gods and goddesses in Hindu are widely accepted amongst believers. As a westerner, it is hard for me to get past the decorative images that depict multi-headed creatures or gods with many arms. I do think that if I were raised to believe in these gods and goddesses that I would not second guess the imagery or stories behind them.

Another thing I really enjoyed was how they explained the cycles of Hinduism. The videos go into detail how things that die are always reborn. I like the idea that there isn't a sense of urgency to master all of these things within a religion in Hinduism. You have cycles and its always in phases.

As promised, here are the videos:

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Week 8: Blog Ideas

Originally, I had a completely different layout for my blog. I scrapped it for something more simple, more me. I am always open to a new look or a redesign. I feel there is only so much I can edit in this HTML because I didn't write the whole thing :P

There are three blogs that had small features that stood out to me.

Morgan's and Thomas' location of the labels really changed the blog. One simple feature changed everything about how the blog looks and the feel it gives. To me, Morgan's emphasized the use of labels for navigation and Thomas' made his blog look cleaner and user friendly. I think my blog could use some help in the navigation area.

Whitney's weather widget stood out to me. Last semester, I tried putting a weather widget on my page, but it never had the right location or time. I kept setting it to the correct one, but it wouldn't stay for some reason. it was unfortunate, because I like having them there. It makes it so convenient if you're about to step outside after working on your blog. I hope I can get it to work this time, because I really do want it on my page.

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Week 8: Time

I have been pretty terrible at keeping the schedule I created at the beginning of the semester. I find myself spending time on other activities when I should be doing homework. I haven't been too terrible at doing homework for this class or other classes. I managed to get them done on time, but I know I can be doing better. I had a perfect time schedule set up at the start of the semester, I just really need to follow it.

The second half of the semester I will be actually adhering to a time schedule (and I've also challenged myself to sticking to a budget :P). It will be hard to not procrastinate. I have never lost enthusiasm, but I do think I work really well under pressure. Sometimes, it is that pressure that motivates me. I need to find another motivator to get my work done early. I think I will create a reward system for when I stick to by time schedule (and budget). My goals are to finish this class as early as possible. That way I can focus on my finals in other classes.

I chose this image because it really represents how much I will procrastinate. No more waiting until 9PM to get a human for the next day for me!

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Week 7: Review

This week's favorite post comes from Thursday, March 3. I love that this cat looks so serious with a newspaper. It's both informative and funny. Here it is below in case anyone missed it:

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Week 7: Reading Diary Extra Credit: Mahabharata Cont.

(Bisma on the bed of arrows)

I AM FINALLY DONE WITH PART D!!!!! AND THE MAHABHARATA!! I just had to share my joy with everyone. As usual, I read the public domain and below are two of my favorite stories from part D.

The Pandavas and Bhishma: I thought that this was super noble of Bhishma to tell others how to rule after his death. I also found it interesting that he was able to choose when he died and chose now. When reading this, I felt like I was watching the end of the Titanic or something equally emotional. It seems like many were affected by his death and this provoked a lot of emotion. It was really sad.

The Afterlife: Like everyone is dead and then Yudhishthira has a final test to do?! Crazy. He is brought to the city of eternal bliss and is required to let go of all earthly connections. It sounds like something out of a fantasy movie. It reminds me a lot of myth and folklore where after a major battle a warrior will fall into "eternal bliss" if they leave behind the connections. I love how stuff like this is across cultures and isn't mutually exclusive to one.

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