Indian Epics Overview

I am really looking forward to starting this class! I have never had a class on Indian culture or history so this will be a great opportunity to learn about it. I think it will be interesting to read the same story written by two different people because of their different backgrounds. I am excited to see how their different lives will affect their stories. Also I really liked hearing the Indian music. I have never really heard before, but the song that was in the overview was really entertaining! I have read some epic literature before The Game of Thrones. I absolutely love these books! They are amazing works of literature. One topic that I am really interested in learning about are avatars. When I took the Myths and Folklore class I wrote a storybook on demigods, and for this class I would like to try and incorporate avatars in my storybook.

Ganesha with his consorts. Image Source

I chose this picture because I have seen Ganesha image before. I don't know a lot about Ganesha, but I am excited to find out more information about Ganesha.

Storybook Favorite

The first storybook I chose was “The Herculean Hanuman.” I picked this storybook because of the word herculean. I have always had a love for Greek mythology, and this story book had herculean on the title, which made me think of the Greek demigod Hercules. I really liked the introduction. The author did a great job at laying the groundwork for a great story. A reason I really liked this story was because it gives the gods a very personal demeanor. I really liked this fact. It makes the gods seem like they really care about humanity. Also when I looked at who the author was it turned out to be a guy I went to high school with.

The second storybook I read was “ The Four Elements.” I chose to read this storybook because I was interested in reading about how the four elements fit into this class. I really like how the author presented their thesis for their story. The way they took the approach to relate how each element relates to each of the gods death and births. Also I really liked how the author has a really passion for what they are writing. The way they write makes me really want to keep on reading their storybook.

For my final storybook I read “RateMyRishi.com.”  I picked to read this storybook because of the title. I was not disappointed with this storybook. It was so well written! The author has done a great job making this storybook entertaining. I loved the design of the storybook. Especially at the end of introduction with the links to follow the website on twitter and like them on facebook. The stories also sound very interesting. I like the idea of having everyone being able to review their teachers. I definitely would read the rest of this storybook.

From the storybook RateMyRishi.com

Introduction

First hunt of the break. (Image information: Personal photo)

Well hello all, my name is Shane Holloway, and I am a junior at OU. I am majoring in chemical engineering with minors in Spanish and chemistry. I am from a small town in the Northeast corner of Oklahoma called Pryor. I have been told I have a country accent. When I graduate I would love to get a job working for pharmaceutical company helping develop cures for many diseases. I am a manager for the OU baseball team. I have done that since I was a freshmen at OU. I hope to one day travel to every Spanish speaking country! I just love the thought of seeing everything that is in the world! I am a huge nerd! I love to read, play video games. I own a Kindle Fire so if I am not studying or working you can bet I am reading on there. I am a huge fan of Doctor Who, Supernatural, and Castle. I also love sports. I played baseball all through high school. I am a big New York Yankees fan. I actually grew up next door to a former baseball player. He and his wife would watch me for my parent when I was little. My parents say they would come pick me up and I would be in all of his old Yankees gear and he would let me wear his World Series rings. One of my favorite series is the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. Also I am a avid hunter and fisherman. It is one of my favorite things to do. During winter break I go duck hunting with all of my best friends. Since we all go to different schools this is a special time for us. This is one of my favorite things about coming home for winter break is getting to see those guys and my family.

Storytelling Week 1- The Championship

On the eve of the championship baseball game, our player was practicing by himself. Many of his friends had come to give him advice during the week on what he needed to do to be prepared for the game at the end of the week. The player had many friends from other schools who came to give him advice on what to do. Many of his friends said to take 100 extra swings before the game. Others would say he needed to take so many ground balls for practice.  Some told him to get plenty hours of sleep. Others said he needed to eat healthy so he would be well fed for the game. Our player took all these things into consideration. He wanted to be the best player for his team so that they would have a great chance to win the championship game.

He took over 100 extra swings. He took extra ground balls. He made sure he ate well, and that he got plenty of sleep. The player listened to all the advice he had been given except for one person’s advice. The person’s advice he didn’t listen to was the advice of a player from a rival high school. The player from the rival high school had told him that he didn’t need to take any extra swings. He didn’t need to take any extra ground balls. He didn’t need to get any extra hours of sleep. Also he didn’t need to eat well. He told our player that he was already so good that he didn’t need to do anything. The rival wanted to sabotage our player because our player and his team had beat the rival’s team out of the game before. Our player knew that he didn’t need to listen to his rival. His rival was trying to hurt him and his team. Our player decided he wasn’t going to listen to his rival, he was going to listen to his friends and family who all wanted him and his team to succeed. The moral of this story is that you need to be wary of the advice of some people because their motives may not always be pure.

Author’s Note: For this story I change the setting and the characters quite a bit. In the original fable, the Greek god Zeus is getting married. All the animals bring gifts. A snake brings a gift in his mouth. Zeus said he wouldn’t accept his gift because he didn’t trust the snake. The moral of the original fable is favors of wicked people are frightening. I made the setting a modern scene of taking place on Olympus. Instead of a wedding of the gods, I made my story about a championship baseball game. Also I changed the characters from Zeus and animals to real people.


Bibliography: Aesop's Fables. A new translation by Laura Gibbs. Oxford University Press (World's Classics): Oxford, 2002. Link to the story.

Field of Dreams. 

My favorite places

These are a few pictures of some of my favorite places. I am a big hunter and fishermen so I absolutely love the outdoors.

                                                              Going to be a great hunt!

Let's catch some fish!