Alright so this last week was Thanksgiving week and I really wanted to finish up with this class this week so to pass that final hurtle, I'm writing this.
This last week a did a lot of reading on famous ceremonies that pertained to some Indian gods that were a little more obtuse than most. There were even a few that I read twice but were under different names. I really enjoyed this reading because the sections were fairly short and easy to read while also containing very relevant information. It was a good way to learn about several gods in a short amount of time.
I actually haven't done any writing this last week since I"m pretty much done with the class, but I think I've done some really interesting writing in my spare time. I like to write stories in my spare time and I've just been playing around with writing a medieval fantasy story, which helps me get out my creative side and keeps me from buying reading books at the bookstore.
So far in my other classes it has been going pretty slow. I had to write a short five page paper for a low level politics class which really wasn't my style and it was really hard to just make myself sit down and write it despite having all the information together a week ago. I submitted it ten minutes before it was due. :( Then I'll have another short quiz for the same class this Tuesday which I think will continue in the same fashion. However my Capstone class is where I really need to work hard because I have a 20 page paper and a presentation on said paper due in December for finals which I really need to get on top of. I don't even have my subject picked out yet....I know dumb.
In other news though, I had to work through Thanksgiving so that all the lovely people in my city could have their Thanksgiving centerpieces and arrangements. However I'm not upset about it because my boyfriend had to work too and really my job isn't that bad at all so it's forgivable. Also there was holiday pay involved. :)
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Week 14, Reading Diary B, Neogi
The Fatal Oath
About the goddess Sashthi, another journey of self discovery where the main character searches for the goddess, finds her, and everything becomes well again.
Sacrificed to Varuna
A Brahman sacrifices his grandson to Varuna so that they can get water for their well/pond, then by praying ardently to Sashthi, the daughter-in-law regains the sacrificed child.
The gift of Joya
A father commits some psychotic acts against his son in order to try and prove the falsity of his wife's deity. However the goddess passes every test.
Saved from the Cat
Another about goddess Sashthi and her ability to save people.
The wife Who Use to Eat the First Morsel
So apparently in this fable, the gods were upset with a woman because she always ate the first morsels that were suppose to be given to them so the gods never let her children live past the age of the cradle. The mother-in-law fixed this.
The Wife who Cooked Beef
in this a servant kills a calf for meat and her mistress cooks it unaware it is beef, when she finds out, she cannot serve it and throws it out and then after sacrificing to the gods she reanimates the cow.
The Banished Girls
This is just a repeat of "The Pir's Power" which places the girls in opposite positions and excludes the father Brahmin from the later part of the story.
About the goddess Sashthi, another journey of self discovery where the main character searches for the goddess, finds her, and everything becomes well again.
Sacrificed to Varuna
A Brahman sacrifices his grandson to Varuna so that they can get water for their well/pond, then by praying ardently to Sashthi, the daughter-in-law regains the sacrificed child.
The gift of Joya
A father commits some psychotic acts against his son in order to try and prove the falsity of his wife's deity. However the goddess passes every test.
Saved from the Cat
Another about goddess Sashthi and her ability to save people.
The wife Who Use to Eat the First Morsel
So apparently in this fable, the gods were upset with a woman because she always ate the first morsels that were suppose to be given to them so the gods never let her children live past the age of the cradle. The mother-in-law fixed this.
The Wife who Cooked Beef
in this a servant kills a calf for meat and her mistress cooks it unaware it is beef, when she finds out, she cannot serve it and throws it out and then after sacrificing to the gods she reanimates the cow.
The Banished Girls
This is just a repeat of "The Pir's Power" which places the girls in opposite positions and excludes the father Brahmin from the later part of the story.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Week 15, Reading Evaluation
Honestly I didn't have any readings that I really didn't like because every reading that I read was free. That was possibly the best part about this class! However out of the two epics I think that the Mahabharata was the better reading just because of the different characters and the evil characters in it. I also really liked being able to choose my own readings in between the readings of the two epics and in the ending weeks before the end of the semester. It gave me the freedom to get more information on different characters within the story and the different gods and goddesses within the realm of the stories.
Really I don't think that reading diaries did a whole lot for me because I am really great at retaining the information form things that I read. Overall it was easiest to really just do sort of a bullet point list to take small amounts of notes just to basically show that I had read the reading for that week.
I think overall the balance between everything was really good. The class really challenged me in terms of writing and commenting and the reading could sometimes be a struggle get through because there was so much of it to read. I feel like maybe the reading could have been stretched out a little more over a few more days so that way it wouldn't be so hard to force yourself to read it.
Like those that came before me in this class, my best advice I can give is to work ahead. Really try and do everything to stay ahead so that way, in case they do fall behind, they aren't really behind. Umm doing the extra credit can really help too. I remember sitting down one day and just cranking out a bunch of tech tips to pad my grade because it gave me some extra wiggle room. So WORK AHEAD!!!!
Really I don't think that reading diaries did a whole lot for me because I am really great at retaining the information form things that I read. Overall it was easiest to really just do sort of a bullet point list to take small amounts of notes just to basically show that I had read the reading for that week.
I think overall the balance between everything was really good. The class really challenged me in terms of writing and commenting and the reading could sometimes be a struggle get through because there was so much of it to read. I feel like maybe the reading could have been stretched out a little more over a few more days so that way it wouldn't be so hard to force yourself to read it.
Like those that came before me in this class, my best advice I can give is to work ahead. Really try and do everything to stay ahead so that way, in case they do fall behind, they aren't really behind. Umm doing the extra credit can really help too. I remember sitting down one day and just cranking out a bunch of tech tips to pad my grade because it gave me some extra wiggle room. So WORK AHEAD!!!!
Week 15, Reflections
So looking back, I've really learned a whole lot from this class. I've learned a lot about creativity and how to tap into that little nugget in my brain. However, most of all I've learned a lot about the Indian Epics of India. I know characters by name, I know regions associated with certain epics, gods and goddesses that I didn't know or understand beforehand, and a whole lot about Indian culture.
Before this class I had never had a blog before, so this was something completely new for me. I learned how to create a blog, change its template, change its design, do labels, edit posts, insert Pinterest into my posts and blog. I learned how to add images, links, gidgets and gadgets, a little html coding, and how to express myself well through my words. As my boyfriend often says, "Use your words!"
I learned a few things about growth mindset and I learned that I can sometimes rant pretty good when I get on a subject that I'm passionate about, like flowers, Syrian refugees, or baking. Also I think I can come away from this class pretty proud of myself. I always wondered what it would be like to not actually go to class and be able to sort of keep my own schedule. I really liked this class and how it worked, the deadlines and all that. My favorite part is being able to work ahead of the schedule and all the extra credit work there is. I really feel like I could control what grade I wanted by how hard I actually worked which was awesome and rewarding, to see the points go up and the workload go down. Overall I've loved this class, the feedback from Professor Gibbs, the feedback from my classmates and even those from the other class was really interesting!
I think I'm most proud of myself for the way that I continually tried to come up with something new for the storytelling posts and the projects. I didn't want to have something super boring, I really wanted to give my stories that creativeness that some of the others had. I was really inspired by some of the stories that my classmates wrote and I think it was great to get to know everyone and post to them on a weekly basis! This was a really great class and I"m very glad that I took it!!
Before this class I had never had a blog before, so this was something completely new for me. I learned how to create a blog, change its template, change its design, do labels, edit posts, insert Pinterest into my posts and blog. I learned how to add images, links, gidgets and gadgets, a little html coding, and how to express myself well through my words. As my boyfriend often says, "Use your words!"
I learned a few things about growth mindset and I learned that I can sometimes rant pretty good when I get on a subject that I'm passionate about, like flowers, Syrian refugees, or baking. Also I think I can come away from this class pretty proud of myself. I always wondered what it would be like to not actually go to class and be able to sort of keep my own schedule. I really liked this class and how it worked, the deadlines and all that. My favorite part is being able to work ahead of the schedule and all the extra credit work there is. I really feel like I could control what grade I wanted by how hard I actually worked which was awesome and rewarding, to see the points go up and the workload go down. Overall I've loved this class, the feedback from Professor Gibbs, the feedback from my classmates and even those from the other class was really interesting!
I think I'm most proud of myself for the way that I continually tried to come up with something new for the storytelling posts and the projects. I didn't want to have something super boring, I really wanted to give my stories that creativeness that some of the others had. I was really inspired by some of the stories that my classmates wrote and I think it was great to get to know everyone and post to them on a weekly basis! This was a really great class and I"m very glad that I took it!!
Week 14, Reading Diary A
The Gift of the Ascetic
A story about a king that is childless and in order to have children makes a deal with a yogee who requests that one of his children shall be his. Reminds me of Rumplestiltskin. In the end the prince that is taken ends up beheading the yogee during a sacrificial ceremony after which he was married to the young princess who was being held with him and they lived happily ever after.
The Sun’s Twin Sons
A pure woman, in a difficult circumstance, promised to wed the sun should he appear for her. He appeared and when she refused to appear he wed her spirit. Then she had two children and without a flesh and blood husband. Her children turned into blood during the day and human by night so that she poured her children into a tree during the day. They required 17 plums and plum leaves and rice and other things fit for gods from travelers.
The Consequences of Generosity
A devout woman lends her image of Narayana to her friend the milkmaid, after doing so the devout woman and her husband become very poor and are not recognized by any of their friends or family. They spend a year in poverty and then when the year it up the devout woman chastises all her friends and family for treating her and her husband horribly during the year of poorness.
The Brahman’s Ban
This is the story of when a Brahman turns Indra into a cat for twelve years because Indra insulted him. Then Indra’s wife lives with him and begs a boon of the goddess Kalika that she should let them sleep deeply throughout the whole twelve years.
The Pir’s Power
Basically this is the story of how easily a god can give and take away, flighty creatures.
The Gander-Eater
In this a young boy steals a gander from the king’s aviary and the king finds out a sends him to prison. The mother of the boy prays for her sons release. The boy ends up being released and engaged to the king’s daughter and becomes the heir to the kingdom.
A story about a king that is childless and in order to have children makes a deal with a yogee who requests that one of his children shall be his. Reminds me of Rumplestiltskin. In the end the prince that is taken ends up beheading the yogee during a sacrificial ceremony after which he was married to the young princess who was being held with him and they lived happily ever after.
The Sun’s Twin Sons
A pure woman, in a difficult circumstance, promised to wed the sun should he appear for her. He appeared and when she refused to appear he wed her spirit. Then she had two children and without a flesh and blood husband. Her children turned into blood during the day and human by night so that she poured her children into a tree during the day. They required 17 plums and plum leaves and rice and other things fit for gods from travelers.
The Consequences of Generosity
A devout woman lends her image of Narayana to her friend the milkmaid, after doing so the devout woman and her husband become very poor and are not recognized by any of their friends or family. They spend a year in poverty and then when the year it up the devout woman chastises all her friends and family for treating her and her husband horribly during the year of poorness.
The Brahman’s Ban
This is the story of when a Brahman turns Indra into a cat for twelve years because Indra insulted him. Then Indra’s wife lives with him and begs a boon of the goddess Kalika that she should let them sleep deeply throughout the whole twelve years.
The Pir’s Power
Basically this is the story of how easily a god can give and take away, flighty creatures.
The Gander-Eater
In this a young boy steals a gander from the king’s aviary and the king finds out a sends him to prison. The mother of the boy prays for her sons release. The boy ends up being released and engaged to the king’s daughter and becomes the heir to the kingdom.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Week 13, Famous Last Words
Alright so this week I decided that since my other teachers gave me the week off from school that I would really push to get this class done completely for the semester. So I spent all of today, Tuesday, working on homework for this class so that I could at least get ahead so I'm not struggling to get everything done for this class plus the finals for my other two classes.
I think the one thing that I'm really sad about with the readings is that I wish there was more information about other characters instead of a whole lot of information just on the heroes of the stories. I know a whole lot about Rama and Arjuna and Yudhishthira but not a whole lot about Draupadi, Sita, or say all of the evil people. :(
So I don't think I really did any great writing this week. I feel like my brain is sort of burnt out and that its difficult to get even the most simplest forms of writing out. So I wen to the bookstore today to get inspired and ended up fumbling through the fantasy and fiction areas, where have all the good writers gone?!
I think the one thing that I'm really sad about with the readings is that I wish there was more information about other characters instead of a whole lot of information just on the heroes of the stories. I know a whole lot about Rama and Arjuna and Yudhishthira but not a whole lot about Draupadi, Sita, or say all of the evil people. :(
So I don't think I really did any great writing this week. I feel like my brain is sort of burnt out and that its difficult to get even the most simplest forms of writing out. So I wen to the bookstore today to get inspired and ended up fumbling through the fantasy and fiction areas, where have all the good writers gone?!
I have noticed that due to this class I do find that I'm a lot more interested in the Indian culture now that I know some of their epics. I'm really interested in how the epics relate to modern life in India and if it's something that everyone seems to know or it is something that even they have to study.
Also I’m starting to really see why women in other parts of the world have such a hard time actually getting equal human rights. The inequality is basically ingrained in their culture and history. Women are taught from childhood storybooks that being a great wife is the most important thing in life.
Also I’m starting to really see why women in other parts of the world have such a hard time actually getting equal human rights. The inequality is basically ingrained in their culture and history. Women are taught from childhood storybooks that being a great wife is the most important thing in life.
Tech Tip, Google Site Themes
So I did this when I first created my site, I went through several times and changed my theme because I think the look and feel of a site really sets it off for the reader. If the site design and look is good then the reader will be excited to read the actual information of the page. I settled for one that looked fairly modern. I modified the text color, the tab colors, the navigation colors, and the title colors. I really just wanted to have my hand in every piece of the design.
A Celestial Father
A Celestial Father
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