Feedback Thoughts

     I read the articles "Why rejection hurts so much — and what to do about it" and "Why It’s So Hard to Hear Negative Feedback". Both articles seem to push the idea of not beating yourself up as that won't change anything, and to try to use the negative feedback you may get as an opportunity to grow. The first article also mentions that it's a good idea to find the positives and keep your surroundings positive. Having good people around you is really important, and I agree completely with that. The second article makes it point that people have to remember that feedback is usually given in good faith. Most people are not going out of their way to inform you of your mistakes if they didn't want you to improve.

Feedback by www.gotcredit.com (January 2019). Source: Flickr

    I don't believe I take negative feedback badly, but I'll to keep the tips from these articles in mind when I receive negative feedback. When it comes to giving others feedback, I'll try to be as informative and kind as possible.

Topic Brainstorm

 Epic Battles

    I am interested in this topic largely because I have interests in weapons, militaries, and strategies used in combat. I don't have any knowledge on Indian Epic battles or history, but I would like to learn the reasons behind the conflicts and who may be the "good" or "bad" side. I would likely try to tell the stories from a commander's or foot soldier's perspective. Currently, Wikipedia seems to be good source for a broad overview of battles that have taken place.

Rāma going into battle by Pahari School and Chamba Style (Late 18th Century). Source: Wikimedia

Weapons of the Gods

    I am also very interested in this topic as I'm quite fond of learning about weapons. I don't have much knowledge of the Indian weapons used during these time periods, let alone those used by the Gods. At most, it would a broad knowledge or swords, spears, and the such. I'd like to learn the varieties of weapons they had, the roles they were used in, and what made them special or unique. I may tell the stories of the weapons from the view of a collector looking for the last one missing from his collection. Again, Wikipedia seems like a good staring point as it contains brief descriptions of the weapons.

Epic Heroes

    My interest in epic heroes stems from the last two topics I chose. I would try to focus on heroes from battles as I feel that would be more interesting. I have no previous knowledge of any Indian epic heroes, but I'd like to learn of their accomplishments and how they may have changed the course of their people's future. I may tell the story from the perspective of someone who had been saved multiple times from the heroes. Wikipedia has a large list of cultural heroes that provides links to more information for each one.

Food

    I am interested in Indian food as I've heard many good things about it, but I've never actually tried it. Perhaps learning about it will persuade me to go out and try it. My knowledge on Indian food is limited. I've heard of curry (can be very spicy to my understanding), ghee (a form of of butter), and that Indian food tends to lack on meat (this somewhat deters me as I like to eat meat). I'd like to learn more about the variety of food they have and how it's prepared. I may tell stories of the food from the perspective of a chef making the foods for a special occasion. Wikipedia provides what I believe to be pretty good descriptions of the food.

Week 2 Story: The Arbiter's Side Journey

Link to updated story in my Portfolio: Arbiter

The Arbiter's Side Journey

    The Arbiter awoke underwater, confused as to how he was alive. The last thing he remembered was evacuating The Ark on the ship with the Demon... and now he was a...crab? Realizing he could breathe just fine underwater, he gathered his bearings and headed towards the shore. As he walked, he thought about how this could have happened, he assumed the slip-space travel somehow transported him here, and into the body of a crab. He never fully understood that technology, but hoped to get back to his old self one day.

Illustration by W. Robinson. Source: The Cunning Crane and the Crab

    

    As he approached the shore, he heard a few fish and a crane conversing about some traveling. He thought it wise to keep some distance, out of sight, and listen. 
    

    "- There's only room for one, so ol' one eyed will go first. Then I shall come back and get the rest." said the Crane. 

    

    The Crane then scooped up a fish and flew away. The Arbiter climbed an elevated rock and observed the Crane. He noticed the Crane stopped in some trees and ate the fish. Curious as to what was happening, he hid again before the crane came back and listened. 

   

     "Ol' one eyed seems happy enough in those cold waters, who's next?" said the Crane.

    

    "Me, me, me, me!" exclaimed the remaining fish.
    

    The Arbiter now realized that the fish were being lied to and being flown to their demise. It reminded him of the lies the Prophets spewed to his people. He remained hidden as he thought of a plan to stop the Crane, one that would work in his new crab body. A few hours had passed and he realized that new body is vaguely similar to his old one. Instead of a suit of armor and sword, he has a sturdy shell and sharp claws. Yes, he now had a plan and moved to where the fish were. When he got there, he saw one fish left and told it to scram. Now he patiently awaited the Crane's return.

    

    "Hey crab! Might I interest you in some cooler waters?! I can take you just down the lake!" the crane yelled as it neared the spot the fish previously laid and noticed only a crab remained. 

    

    "Perhaps," said the Arbiter, "and how do you plan to take me?"

    

    "Why, just jump in my beak," the Crane said as it landed and opened its mouth.

    

    "How about I hold on instead? I trust my grip more than your beak," explained the Arbiter.

    

    The Crane thought for a second as his belly was somewhat satisfied. But alas, he hadn't had crab in a while and figured he could treat himself today.

    

    "I suppose you have a point, go ahead and latch on," he said.

    

    The Arbiter held firmly around his neck and was taken to the same place the fish were eaten. He saw the bones of the fallen. With this sight, he became angered.

    

    "Don't worry, I'll only eat you slowly," said the Crane.

    

    "If you want to hear me beg, you will be disappointed," said the Arbiter as he tightened his grip.

    

    The Crane, realizing what the situation he was in, exclaimed hoarsely, "Hold on! How about we forget this ever happened! I'll let you go on your merry way!"

    

    "Were it so easy," said the Arbiter, a moment before he beheaded the Crane. 

    

    He watched as the lifeless body of the Crane collapsed at his feet. It reminded him of the Prophet he had slain not long ago. After a moment, he moved on to try to find his way back to his old self.

Author's Note

    I added elements from the Halo universe (several video games, books, comic books, and even a couple of movies) to the story of "The Cunning Crane and the Crab". I changed the original crab from the story into the Arbiter from the Halo universe. I tried to make the story a condensed version of some of the Arbiter's journey in the Halo universe. Simply put, there were "Prophets" in the Halo universe that led several alien species that worked together, known as the Covenant, and essentially lied to them and were leading them all to their death. The Arbiter eventually became aware of this and stopped the Prophet who betrayed his people. Hopefully this is enough information to make sense for now.

Bibliography:

"The Cunning Crane and The Crab" by W. H. D. Rouse.

Reading Notes: Week 2 Reading Anthology

    My favorite stories are the The Turtle and The King and The Cunning Crane and the Crab. I like these stories because the prey outsmarted the predator that really should have known better. I like turtles and I am glad that the story ended happily with the turtle going back to his old home and not being needlessly killed. However, I am a bit surprised that no one in the story knew that a turtle would be safe in the water. I also like the crane story because the crane was a bit smart at first and then made a really dumb play. Why one would ever let a crab's claw around their neck is beyond me. I think the crane would have had a better chance of eating the crab with a direct attack. Either way, I'm glad the to see that the crab lived happily ever after and that the crane met a fitting demise.

Illustration by W. Robinson. Source: The Cunning Crane and the Crab

Bibliography: 

"How The Turtle Saved His Own Life" by Ellen C. Babbit.

"The Cunning Crane and The Crab" by W. H. D. Rouse.

Week 2 Reading Overview

    I have chosen to read the Public Domain Edition of the Ramayana because it seems to be more easily accessible for me and it is free. I chose this image because it looks like an interesting battle scene, especially because of multi headed and armed individual.

The battle of Lanka
Ravana wounds Lakshmana; Hanuman attacks Ravana
(British Library: Mewar Ramayana)

    The two comic books I chose are Paurava and Alexander: Battle Of The Giants and The Jackal and the War Drum: Panchatantra Stories of Courage and Curiosity. I chose the Battle of The Giants largely because of the battle aspect as I am quite fond of those kinds of things. I then chose The Jackal and the War Drum because of the word "war" and because there was a cartoony turtle on the cover.

   

    The two videos I chose are Foods for Gods | Epified and Stages of life. I chose the food video because I like to eat and explore different kinds of foods, so I thought it would be interesting to find out what gods eat. I find it somewhat amusing that the video had several cool sounding and mythical items, and then just butter. I also chose Stages of Life because I was intrigued to find out what would be similar and different to how I live. I suppose I would be somewhere between stage 1 and stage 2 of life as they describe it.