Christian's Epic Blog

     Once again I am grateful for the list of articles.  While reluctant to get started at first, once I found the articles that fit myself and starting reading through them I immediately saw how they could be beneficial.  I think feedback is something that we generally don't get enough of, at least in a positive way.  I really like that aspect of this class when compared to just getting grades back.  The first article I picked was " A fixed mindset could be holding you back-here's how to change it ."  This article again touched on the value of having a growth mindset.  I was surprised to read that constantly boosting a kid and telling them they're awesome isn't always beneficial.  I work at a school, and I try to be as positive as I can just because I know some kids might need it more than others.  It makes sense that you can't always do this however; if they think they are perfect, when they find out they are not it could potentia...

     For this topic brainstorm, I began by browsing through the project topic listings.  I looked at all of those that stuck out to me.  After reading into each of the ones that stood out, I then narrowed it down to four to focus on.  I have included links for each one of the topics.  The page that I am linking for each of them is the page which I found the most useful in helping me decide that I ultimately wanted to include that topic in this post.  The first topic that initially stuck out to me was  The Loving Couples of the Ramayana .  This page helped because I saw immediately that I would have so much material to go off of if I were to choose this topic.  I liked that it included but was not limited to the story of Rama and Sita.  I have never written romance in any way at all, so I think it would be a new and exciting way to stimulate some creativity that I have never had to use before.  I think it would be really fu...

    Update: This story can now be found on my portfolio, here .      On a faraway island, there was a colony of cannibal witches.  These witches were not the old, ugly, and foul-tempered kind--in fact they were very beautiful.  Despite this, they were also evil.  They hated humans, especially men.  Men were, in fact, their favorite kind of food.  While men were not around too often, it wasn't rare for pirate or merchant ships to stop at the island for rest or refuge from tropical storms.  When men did venture into their home, it was only too easy for the witches to acquire their prey.  For men are not the smartest, especially when dealing with seemingly beautiful women.  These witches were clever as well; they would play to the men's weaknesses in order to get them to stay.  It wouldn't be very long at all before the witches convinced their men to stay on the island and get married.  Within a few days time, al...

     This week I really enjoyed reading all of the stories, though some stuck out more than others.  In the end, I was able to narrow it down to three stories that stood out as my favorites.  A common theme in all of the stories that I enjoyed was deception.  It seemed like in all of the stories, someone was generally trying to trick someone else.  I noticed that in some stories, there was a moment when the protagonist had a light-bulb moment and they understood that they were being tricked.  One of the stories I picked was  The Cunning Crane and the Crab  by W.H.D. Rouse .  This story is one of those which had the aspect of deception.  In fact, that was one of the main parts of the plot--the crane tricks all these fish into thinking they will be going to a wonderful lake, when in fact they are really just going to be food for the crane.  The most important part in this story's plot was when the crab and the crane first in...

    For the next several weeks, I have chosen to read the online Ramayana: Public Domain Edition.  I picked this one for several reasons.  I honestly like the fact that it is free, though the novel version sounded interesting as well.  I also like that there will be old language and visuals to follow along with while reading.  Finally, I know I will most certainly take advantage of the audio version and follow along while reading the texts.  The first comic that caught my eye was  Harishchandra: The King Who Chose Rags Over Riches .  The title is what caught my attention when compared to other comics; it sounded like a very wholesome tale and I immediately wanted to learn more about this story.  The next comic that I am interested in is  Ganesha: The Remover of All Obstacles .  The name for this story sounded very familiar, and once I started reading more into it I realized I had heard of this story before.  Though reading...