Week 13 Growth Mindset

So this week I played around with my writing style. I normally write very deep and serious stories. This week I wanted to play around with something more playful. I wanted to explore characters that are already developed. That is why I focused on How I Met Your Mother. It is one of my favorite shows and I know it was an inspiration for someone who did a storytelling assignment in years past. I had a lot of fun doing it. It was completely out of my comfort zone.

Happy

Storytelling Week 13: The Story of How I Made it Rain

*Ten years earlier*

"Hey, Ted, what are you doing, buddy?"
"I'm dancing, Marshall!" Ted replied, continuing to make dance moves the resembled a dying chicken.
"Bro, why are you dancing on the roof of our apartment?"
"Because Robin can't go on the office camping trip."
"Why not, Ted?"
"Because if she goes on that trip she will date that loser, Sandy Rivers, and I can't have that. I love her Marshall!"
"But why are you dancing?"
"I'm gonna make it rain!"

*Present day*

"Let me explain, kids. I was in love with your Aunt Robin for a long time. Sandy Rivers had just asked Robin on a date, but I told her I loved her, again. Robin was going to have to go on that date with Sandy Rivers as long as they still had their company camping trip. If it rained, then they wouldn't have the trip. So I was doing a traditional rain dance to stop the rain."
"Dad, that's stupid," Said Ted's daughter.
"But at the time I felt like a warrior fighting for true love."

*Ten years earlier*

"Ted, you look stupid."
"Thanks, Marshall."
"Why do you think you can make it rain?"
"Well, I read a book called the Ramayana the other day, and let me say it was a great read. The plot line is so deep and the characters..."
"Ted, just get to the point." Marshall replied, cutting Ted off.
"Oh yeah, anyway, there was this big battle between Ravana and Rama because Ravana had stolen Rama's wife Sita. And at a point in the battle, Ravana did a dance under the stars to cause a wind storm. So I figured, if Ravana can do it, so can I."

*Present day*

"Oh dad..." Both of the kids lowered their faces and shook their heads.

*Ten years earlier*

"Oh Ted..." Marshall replied while lowering his face and shaking his head.
Ted ignored him and kept dancing.
"Ted, you really don't think those stories are true, do you? I mean come one, buddy? If you just watch the weather report you'd know there is absolutely no chance it is going to rain today."
"I know that, Marshall, that is why I am dancing. If Ravana can cause a wind storm, I can cause a rain storm."

Then there was a quiet rumble.

"What was that?" Asked Marshall.
"Why, Marshall, could that be thunder you hear?"

There was another rumble, but it was louder this time. Then there was a big boom followed by a big strike of lightening.

"Come inside, Ted, you're gonna die out here."
"Not yet, not until it rains."

Then one drop fell. Followed by three more, then twenty, then a hundred. Thousands of little drops fell from the sky.

"I made it rain Marshall! I really made it rain! Look, look it's raining!"
"Ok, ok, ok, it is raining, now please come inside."

*Present day*

"So, I went inside. I was soaked. But then I ran out our front door, hopped into a taxi, and went to see your Aunt Robin. That is the day your Aunt Robin became my girlfriend, and this is just the beginning of how I became the man I needed to be before I met your mother. So that, kids, is the story of how I made it rain."

Author's Note:
So in this class I have written a lot of serious stories, and I wanted to play around with something that had some fun in it. I love the show How I Met Your Mother, and if you haven't seen it I'm sorry but you should really go see it. Like now. Great show. Anyway, as I read the Ramayana I saw how Ravana did a dance to cause a wind storm, which reminded me of a How I Met Your Mother episode where Ted does a dance to make it rain. I had a lot of fun adding in the Ramayana to this scene. It was also a lot of fun to play with characters that have already been developed. I was inspired also by a storybook project that was done in years past. The theme for that storybook was How I Met Your Mother. I hope you enjoy it!

Bibliography:
Ramayana by Buck 2000.

Image Information
How I Met Your Mother

Reading Diary B: Buck's Ramayana

Finally the last reading of the last week. Here we go.

Ok so big thing I didn't know. I didn't know that Sita was abandoned 10,000 years after she got back! People were gossiping for 10,000 years before Rama decided to banish Sita. That is mind-blowing. And like Rama keeps this golden statue of her? Why? And at this festival his sons are singing and he is like oh they those awesome singers must be my kids. It is a nice thought to think, what if Sita and Rama reunited in another world after they died. That would be a good story to write about.

Any way that is the end of the Ramayana.

Rama

Reference; Buck's Ramayana

Tech Tip: Twitter Follow

So I decided to follow Dr. Ben Carson. I do not want to discuss politics deeply, but I honestly want to know more about the presidential candidates. That is why I decided to follow him. I will follow others and other news sources to stay up to date on the news.

Reading Diary A: Buck's Ramayana

I think the story of Ravana dancing under the stars and causing a wind storm is fascinating. This reminds me of the time Ted from How I Met Your Mother did a dance and made it rain so Robin did not have to go to her business camping trip. This would be a really fun story to play with. Maybe Ted and Marshall and talking and Ted tells him the story of his rain dance and Marshall tells the story of Ravana's wind storm dance. That could be a really fun story and it would add a different pace to my portfolio.

How I Met Your Mother

Here we have the death of Ravana, yay. Then we have Sita on fire. I still think this is a stupid test. Then everyone leaves Lanka and you think it should be a happy ending. But its not.

Reference Buck's Ramayana

Reading Diary B: Buck's Ramayana

And now we get to all the fighting. I hate fighting. So instead of fighting I want to focus on the bridge story. I like the idea that somethings was impossible to them, but then they found a solution. I monkey named Nala is able to make rocks float on the water. Then bam! They all work together to build a pretty sweet bridge. I think I could work with a bridge building story. Maybe the humans building a bridge to the gods? I'm not sure just yet I am trying to be creative.

I also like the story of the giant brother attacking and eating everyone. I could write a story about bugs at war with a dog or something like that.

Attack

Reference: Buck Ramayana

Reading Diary A: Buck's Ramayana

Well this is now week three of reading Buck's Ramayana. The stories that I already know are fairly boring. This part includes the story of the monkey going to see Sita. Sita is in a garden and is safe. The monkey returns to Rama to let him know Sita is safe.

What I found interesting about this story was the information about Hanuman. The mountain rising from the water to let Hanuman rest was an odd story. What was more interesting was the story of the demon coming out of the water to swallow Hanuman. I don't remember this story at all. Hanuman ends up crushing the heart of the demon and getting out through the ear which is weird. I also did not know that Hanuman turned into a cat. This part is a little confusing for me. So he turns into a cat, but Lanka, the island, turns into a human and kicks him. Turns out there is some prophesy about a monkey coming. Strange.

Hanuman and Demon

I'm not sure exactly if there is a story with any of this. But I could work with Hanuman.

Buck's Ramayana

Storytelling for Week 11: Billy and the Punk

The news title read, "WARNING BOY STEALS DOGS WITH NO WARNING." He continued to read the story. Turns out there is a punk kid who just walks up to people, grabs the leash of their dogs from their hands, and runs.

"I'm not going to lie, this seems a bit odd. I mean not that I would steal a dog, but if I were to steal a dog, or anything for that matter, I would be sneakier about it. According to the paper no one has seen the kids face because he is so quick. I'm not worried though. No punk kid is gonna sneak one past this guy. "

So he went on his usual walk with his corgi Kix. Kix is a beautiful little corgi. Those things are like full grown big dogs on mini dog legs. Anyway, he took Kix to Central Park. It is a beautiful time of the year, although Kix has a problem with trying to run off an chase birds.

Corgi

After about an hour he figured Kix was tired and it was time to go. Out of no where he felt a gust of wind and the leash was pulled right out of his hand.

"Ah crap," he though.

So he began chasing after the punk. The punk didn't know that he had stolen the dog of Billy Sams. Billy Sams is no ordinary guy. He currently holds the gold medal in an Olympic running race. Needless to say, Billy was faster. He caught up to the punk, grabbed him by the shirt collar and said, "Your time dog stealing is up my friend."

The punk looked at him started to cry.
"I didn't want this life you know? I was meant to do better things than this. I wanted to be a vet growing up because I love animals. That's why I take dogs. I also take cats occasionally. I don't do anything mean to the dogs, I just love them. All of them are at my house. Are you going to turn me into the police?"
"No, I'm not. I want you to understand you did something wrong, you know? I'm gonna take those dogs from you, tell the newspaper I heard them barking and found them all behind some building, or something. Then I'll tell the newspaper I'll be at the park with the dogs, so the owners can come get them. But, I want you to be at the park with me and see the owners reunite with their dogs."

So they did just that. The punk and Billy gave back the dogs, and the police never found out who stole them. Billy and the punk became close friends. Billy wasn't married and didn't have any kids, so the punk became like his own son. A few years down the road, the punk became the vet.

Author's Note: I was inspired by the story of Sita being kidnapped by Viradha in the Ramayana. To me the episode was odd. Rama and Sita were just talking and then Viradha came and took Sita. I wanted to take the randomness from my story and change it up a bit. That is why I have a kid taking dogs with out a lot of warning. I wanted it to seem very random. I also like happy endings, so I wanted to kid to end up having a good life. Sometimes we just need to invest in others, then we can change their lives. I hope you enjoy the story.

Bibliography:
Ramayana by Buck. 2000.

Reading Diary B: Buck's Ramayana

Again as I was reading this I felt that there were stories that I didn't read before. So it was nice to read those new stories although I found some of them confusing. I always wandered why Ravana didn't just rape Sita. I didn't know that his head would explode if he raped another woman. This was a plot hole for me in the first book that I read. At first I could understand Rama's doubts that Sita didn't sleep with Ravana. But now that I know his story it makes it different. I wonder if someone would have told Rama that Ravana could not rape Sita, then the ending with Sita would have turned out differently. But then I could see how Rama would still be concerned if Sita gave in to Ravana convincing her. He clearly doesn't trust his wife.

Sita

Reference: Buck's Ramayana

Reading Diary A: Buck's Ramayana

I feel like this version includes a few more stories that the other story did not include. Now given, it has been awhile since I have read a version of the Ramayana, so I might have forgotten these stories. An example of a story that I do not believe I heard before is the story of the demon Viradha. While Rama is telling this story to Sita, a demon comes and takes her. I personally find that crazy. Imagine, just sitting and telling a story to your wife and a demon comes up and kidnaps her right in front of your eyes. This might make for a good story. Anyways the story ends with the demon dying. We also have the story again of the girl trying to seduce Rama and him turning her down and her attacking Sita and going and tell her brother about Sita. That is a good story I might be able to focus on to.

Killing of Viradha

Reference: Buck's Ramayana