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Showing posts from February, 2018

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part D - Arjuna and Karna

Arjuna and Karna fought by shooting arrows at eachother from their chariots. Arjuna's bowstring broke and he went to fix it While he was fixing it he called for a cease fire because it was 'unmanly' to attack a defenseless foe Karna fired at him anyways wounding him Eventually Karna's chariot had to stop and he called out for a cease fire saying it was 'unmanly' to attack a defenseless foe Arjuna was about to agree, but Krishna called him out and mentioned how he ordered his men to kill Arjuna's son Arjuna heard this and fired at Karna killing him Karna calling for a cease fire Source: Quora References PDE Mahabharata

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part C - Karna and Indra

Indra knew that Karna had armor that made him invincible. Wanting to protect Arjuna, wanted to get his hands on Karna's Armor. So Indra disguised himself as a brahmin and demanded that Karna give him his armor. Karna refused. Karna knew the brahmin was Indra and told him that if he wanted his armor, that Indra would have to give him something in return. Indra said he would give him anything but his lightning bolt. Karna asked for an invincible dart. Indra agreed. The dart was capable of killing many weak foes, or one strong foe. And that if it was used in anger, it would kill the user. I would like to retell this as a crossroads demon style tale of sorts. a chracter in Indra's place comes asking for something, A demon in Karna's place agrees to give it to them, for a price. Karna and Indra Source: IYadav References PDE Mahabharata

Week 6 Story - The Challenge

Jun Kai was set to take the throne. In only moments he would become emperor; just as his father before him and his father before him. However, he would first have to go through ritual combat. It was customary that anyone who though that they were more fit to rule would have the opportunity to challenge for the throne. That time was now.  One by one challengers stepped forward. An expert swordsmen, Jun struck them down with little effort.  "If there is no one left to challenge, Jun will take his rightful place on the throne" The Elder Shaman proclaimed.  "I will challenge" a hooded figure said stepping forward.  "And what is your claim to the throne?" The shaman questioned. "It is rightfully mine” The figure said removing his hood. “Shiro!” Jun exclaimed, “But I thought you were –” “Dead?” The stranger replied, “I thought so too, brother. The throne is mine! And if you want it so badly you will have to try to kill me again!

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part B - Bhima and Hidimba

The brothers escape through a passage way and head into a forest The forest has a lot of scary monster, including demons Eventually they find a place to rest One of the demons in the forest was particularly dangerous He noticed the humans and sent his sister to get the humans for him His sister could shape shift and she transformed herself into a beautiful woman When she saw one of the brothers she fell in love she told him of her brothers plan and asked him to marry her She offered to rescue them and take them to a safe place The demon brother grew impatient and then went to confront his sister and the humans One of the brothers fought the monster Bhima and Hidimba Source: KidsGen Could stage this as sort of an undercover story a person undercover in a cartel is sent to kill some people Instead of killing them he puts them into witness protection Or maybe an assassin that doesn't actually kill people, just tells them to go into hiding References P

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part A - The Arrival of Karna

A major tournament has just ended as another challenger approaches The challenger asks if he can compete He was permitted The champion calls out the challenger They get into an argument They did not end up fighting Karna Source: HinduFAQs I think telling this as a sort of challenge to the throne would make a good story I just watched the Black Panther so the scene when T'challa is set to be king and he has a challenger is fresh in my mind Not sure on the setting I want for this Potentially two brothers vying for a throne likely will focus on dialogue May include the fight References PDE Mahabharata

Week 5 Story - The Hunter and the Beast

Jameson’s feet sank into the fresh snow as he trudged along the mountainside. Two days he had been in this new territory, British Columbia, and he had already been asked to track something. A spirit bear, they called it. A great bear with fur white as snow. No such thing , Jameson thought, but still he listened to them; money was money. They said that it had started to come down in the night and take people, that they needed help. Jameson obliged, he told them what he needed on top of his pay and they happily agreed. That was almost a week ago. Today was his fourth on the mountain; his fourth without so much as seeing another soul. Jameson was no stranger to the wilds nor the isolation. When he was an infant his parents moved to the newly founded Oregon Territory. His father taught him how to hunt and how to track; skills that would prove to be invaluable to him as looked to make his own way in this world. Tracks. Finally. Jameson rejoiced, if only for a moment. He could fin

Reading Notes: Ravana Graphic Novel - Ravana Convenes a War Council for Revenge for is Fallen People

Word comes in that some humans have been killing demons in a forest to make it safer for them Ravana is furious at this news Calls for a war council to discuss revenge Wife begs him to reconsider After this conquest he then takes the underworld Then he takes heaven with the help of his son, indra is defeated and he names his son indrajit In the novel he doesn't actually talk to his council Most of the focus is on his wife talking to him I would like to actually show the war council taking place Would be very dialogue heavy Could potentially write this in play format I think I would like to have multiple dissenting opinions to kind of show Ravana's arrogance Could change the setting to medieval to to modern Advisory War Council Meeting With U.S. General Douglas MacArthur Source: Wikipedia References  Ravana, Roar of the Demon King by Abhimanyu Singh Sisodia

Reading Notes: Ravana Graphic Novel - Sumali Hunts the Snow Beast

Heard of a beast that came down from the mountains to kill villagers He and some of his men went hunting for it in the mountains They found it unexpectantly far away from where they thought they would He killed it with his sword and deliberately missed its heart Took its claw as a trophy that he eventually gave to Ravana  I would like to expand upon this story Sumali will most likely be a mortal I will try to make this a bit more tense I think a man lost in the wilderness would be more exciting Maybe mid 1800's era? could be a mountaineer that got lost Has a stare down with the beast could also be someone who has been hired to track and kill it. Black Bear Source: Wikipedia References Ravana, Roar of the Demon King by Abhimanyu Singh Sisodia

Week 4 Story - The Walled City

A mile inland from the eastern shore lay Onyx, crown city of the Seylun Kingdom. Built into, on, and around a mountain, the city housed the royal family. To the northeast of the city was a large river, winding its way to the ocean from the inland mountains. To the west of the city was open field, prime farmland. Many of the city's lower-class citizens found themselves here working the land, only venturing into the city to trade for essentials. Around the edges of the city, near the base of the mountain, was the city’s primary defense: a towering wall – twenty stone high and ten deep. Legend tells that the walls have stood for thousands of years and that they would stand for thousands more.   As a major trading hub, the city was a prime target for invasion. Many nations wanting to plant their banner in the heart of the city have attempted to assail the walls; none leaving so much as a scratch. Each successive monarch thinking in their hubris that they would be the first to con

Reading Notes: Ramayana Part D - The Bridge

The hero is blocked by the ocean from reaching his destination He makes a sacrifice to the ocean god for passage He gets no response He shoots magic arrows onto the ocean “damaging” it The god of the ocean then comes and tells him he is bound by oath to not allow passage The then suggests he finds a bridge maker to make a bridge The hero then got the bridge maker and they made a bridge Could do like a gate keeper that taunts a commander the commander comes back with siege engines or something The gate keeper could be another commander for an opposing army Could be some banter between the two Instead of telling him to go get a bridge maker, the gate keeper could taunt him and tell him he’ll need “something bigger” if he wants to get through the gates Rama's Bridge Source: Wikipedia References PDE Ramayana

Reading Notes: Ramayana Part C - Sugriva's Story

Two brothers pursed an enemy for a long while Eventually it finds a cave and goes into it One of the brothers goes in after it, asking the other to stand guard at the entrance while he is gone A long time passes and the brother who went in still has not come out After hearing noises and seeing blood come out of the cave, but not hearing his brothers voice, the brother on the outside believes that the other is dead He then returned home and ruled over the other brother’s kingdom The trapped brother was still alive, however, and came back to his kingdom He declared that his brother sealed the cave to trap him there so he could take his kingdom The brother insisted that he thought the other was dead, but was still banished by the brother who came to retake his throne I think that spinning this story as two bounty hunters or two monster/demon hunters would work very well Would need to figure out what the “kingdom” would be Could also do this as a story of two pr

Feedback Strategies

How To Give Students Specific Feedback That Actually Helps Them Learn I definitely think highlighting specific things done well is immensely more helpful than just saying good job. Highlighting specifics makes it so much easier to know how much you are improving in certain areas, and how much you still need to improve in others. Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback This article makes some great points, however, the author seems to be under the impression that all feedback focuses on mistakes instead of making suggestions to improve. In my opinion, the whole idea of feed forward is one of the most important parts of feedback. If you don't tell someone how to fix something, there is almost no point in telling them that they messed up in the first place. Suggestions on ways to improve are so important when giving feedback. I played soccer from when I was about 5 years old until the end of high school. By far the coach I disliked the most was one that just yelled at me when I messed

Topic Research: Weapons of the Gods

Barbarika and his Three Arrows Barbarika is in possession of 3 arrows given to him by the gods. These three arrows allow him to mark the targets he wants to kill, mark the targets he doesn't want to harm, and finally, the third arrow kills all marked targets and returns to him. This weapon reminds me a lot of Yondu's arrow from Guardians of the Galaxy. Varja: Indra's Lightning Bolt The Varja is a weapon Indra used to slay the dragon Vritra to free the rivers of the world from captivity. Lightning bolts are just cool. Narayanastra This was a weapon of Vishnu capable of destroying an entire army by launching a volley of arrows at all those who opposed the wielder. Ashwathama used this weapon against an army. Krishna then appeared to the opposing army telling them to lay down their arms and surrender to the weapon. The soldiers oblige and are spared. Additionally, the weapon could only be used once in a war. If used a second time, it would fire upon the wielder

Week 3 Story: Infection

“I can’t believe you lost the keys!” “Ya know what Hill? There’s a lot of things you don’t think about when you’re being shot at.” The air was still as the two men walked into the town. “Awfully quiet round here…” Schafer said as he flicked off the safety on his rifle. “For an outer world capital, there sure aren’t many of people. But I guess there aren’t many bandits either.” Hill shrugged. “What the hell is that?” Schafer pointed to a figure out in the distance. “What the hell is what?” “That!” “Well, we should probably check it out.” The two men began to make their way towards the figure. As they got closer they began to be able to see the figure more clearly. “What the hell is that!” Hill said, with a slight quiver in his voice. “It looks like a person but…. Twisted….” Schafer responded, almost as if he was saying it to himself to confirm his own disbelief instead of answering his companion. The creature walked listlessly, almost st