Reading Diary B: Week 2

I was surprised at how the town was so loyal and willing to follow Rama on his way to his 'exile'. He had not even been their king but they loved him a lot. This gesture asserts that he had a good character to everyone around him. It would be interesting to try and do a storytelling post from his perspective. Even his brother that was supposed to be given the crown due to his mother's wishes thought this was an absurd action, that there was nobody more suited to rule than Rama was. I wonder how much can change after fourteen years of life in this story since the life spans are long long long. I wonder why the queen banished Rama for this short time then if there was so much time left in their lives... maybe thought this was how long the kind had left but sadly, his life was to end even sooner than that. I am glad that Rama saw his brother's innocence of his mothers plan because I as a reader knew his innocence and had one of those biting my nails, hitting myself on the head moments when Lakshmana thought he had put on battle garments and came to defeat Rama with an army.
It was nice to see Lakshmana shine in this chapter with his ability to build such intricate houses out of the materials found around them. Rama is a great warrior against evil and a good person overall but I was wondering how he would fare living off the land. It is lucky that his brother insisted on coming with him, both to look after Sita when Rama was busy and to provide makeshift homes that they could take shelter in.
It was hard to keep up with characters and their relations in the next chapter but the main ones I think are pertinent to the storyline are Soorpanaka and Ravana.
Soorpanaka: beautiful(or so it seemed) woman, catches the eye of Raman though temporarily, offers her hand in marriage to him but he refuses politely and then she gets overly jealous upon seeing Sita's beauty. Her family line is that of the evil class and it is Rama's life mission to take them all out in these lands, yet she is still so infatuated with him that she pursues his love and goes as far as to hatch a plan to divide him from his wife so that he will fall in love with her (seems totally naïve), shown her true colors after her wrath is set free and she is no longer of beauty when Lakshmana cuts off several body parts of hers when she tries to snatch Sita
Ravana: The brother to Soorpanaka, it is hard to believe he has so many followers in his palace under his influence to wait on his every need since he is supposedly evil. I think he is also kind of a coward because he does not go after Rama himself after hearing from his sister what Rama is capable of but still sends someone else to even fetch Sita for himself after hearing of her outstanding beauty. I wonder why these two siblings are so enveloped in love for Rama and Sita after simply looking at them (or in Ravana's case hearing about Sita). I wonder if it is due to their past lives as Gods that intoxicates those around them to love them and adore them so much, this seems to be a pro and a con in their case. Also, the one that Vishnu reincarnated as Rama had set to destroy in the first place. Has ten heads.
The instance with the adorned deer that Sita asks Rama to fetch for her is precarious because it shows a lack in Rama's judgment and further shows how useful Lakshmana actually is. I am not sure if there are errors in Rama's judgment or if this is due to the powers possessed by Mareecha (who has failed in killing Rama twice already but lived to see another day so he tried to live a better life when he is pulled in by his nephew Ravana to lure Sita away from Rama) it is weird to think of how there are certain characters in this story who have superpowers and others who do not but all the same talk to everyone as if they are equal. I am also impressed by the honesty between some characters when the evil doers are not trying to deceive.

Reading Diary A: Week 2

King Dasaratha: beloved king of Kosala, wants a child and at the same time the gods need a human to defeat the evil demons (especially Ravana) so they reincarnate Vishnu as one of his four sons he is able to have because of special rice told to be fed to his wives after a ritual. Seems to be a loving father, very fond of Rama and the well being of his people, kills an innocent boy in his younger years on accident and this curses him when he is trying to have Rama as his successor to the throne because of his old age. Seems to have Alzheimer's disease because of repeating things during preparation for ceremony of crowning Rama
Kausalya: Rama's mother, loving
Kaikeyi: Bharatha's mother, persuaded by her servant to redeem her two promised wishes of King Dasaratha because her fate when Rama becomes king is in question, stubborn, WAS King's favorite wife, after she made her request of Rama's banishment to the forest for 14 years and her son's crowning as king she was seen as a demon in the eyes of the courts and the people for forcing Dasaratha to fulfill these promises because she saved his life one time, his honor is at stake if he does not comply
Sumithra: King's other wife, mother of Lakshmana and Sathrugna
Lakshmana: goes with Rama on voyage with Viswamithra, loyal brother to Rama, outraged when heard of Kaikeyi's demands and dresses to go with Rama into the forest.
Viswamithra: used to be a king, persists that Rama go with him on voyage, (I think he knows of Shiva's existence inside Rama), teaches him to fight with weapons and such, tells stories of areas and things along their journey.
King Janaka: King of Mithila, father to Sita, said no man was worthy of his daughters hand in marriage unless they could string Shiva's bow, becomes Rama's father-in-law.
Sita: really Vishnu's wife in reincarnated form, this explains her urgent attraction upon laying eyes on Rama, very beautiful and loyal as a wife to Rama, princess of Mithila, she insists on coming with him as well into the forest since life's would be meaningless without him by her side.


--everything seems to have a purpose
--Vishnu's existence in Rama as a human is proving to show itself
--prophecies stay to be true
--very sad that the king asked for a son and has to risk his life when he leaves with viswamithra and then again because he is compelled to keep a promise to his queen in which his life is in debt to
--Can't tell if Rama is actually easy going and humble like he seems to be or if this is the God in him accepting how things are, either way he is better suited to fit the throne because he does not wish to take the throne (In sociological theory class remember that one of the classical theorists-update name later- asserted that the ones who are best fit to 'rule' society are those who do not wish to)

Famous Last Words: week 1

I wish that working ahead was more simple and accessible to do in all my other classes because it really helped me this week in this class! With my Italian online courses I had the same teacher thought the two required years of courses and it was similar to this one in how there were assignments everyday and declaration quizzes. I did not however take advantage of the fact I could work ahead in that class and it caused a lot of stress. Learning experience. I love this new blog thing to communicate to other students in this class because we are more free to express our creativity instead of simply answering questions on a discussion board in D2L and replying to other students answers.
- One thing that I wanted to make a note of doing that I saw present in a few student's storytelling posts was including a message through the stories. Just something to get the reader thinking. -
- Another thing I want to note to myself (and maybe others if your reading this) is that the blogger site is very easy to view and use on practically any device. So far I have been able to post and comment and read other posts on my laptop, Microsoft surface, and MY iPhone !! So I can practically do my homework anywhere (except the movies). -

All the possibilities ;) from flicker

I hope this semester proves to be as easy-going as it is seeming to be. The only thing I am dreading is the long walk I have to take from my parking space to my classes. Even when I got to school TWO hours ahead of my first class (arrived at 8:30 a.m .) I still had to park in the Boyd parking lot and at the back. This pregnant lady is not enjoying the walk lol, especially in the heat of the afternoon when my classes are over. Crossing my fingers for some cooler weather this fall or at least a closer parking spot ;)

Blogger Templates Tech Tip

I chose to customize the 'picture window' template on my blog. I liked this simplicity of the template along with freedom to customize. I almost uploaded my own picture for my background but I found this great background that stayed consistent the whole page (no tiled images). I also really like the color scheme with this background. I am not usually 'girly' but I couldn't resist how cute this combo was! The custom options for font size and style really made a big impact on how my blog looked as well, so I chose what I thought looked best.
This exercise really reminded me of the hours I would spend on Myspace customizing my profile page. The customizations and templates that are offered on blogger are very similar to those that were offered on Myspace (until they changed everything once everyone moved to Facebook). I used to be an html lover and user to create a page that was different than everyone else's. One thing I disliked about Facebook when I became a user was the blandness and similarity of everyone's account pages. Now I don't find this to be as crazy because it is about networking more than anything. I have never blogged or read blogs consistently unless a post was shared on Facebook that had a catchy title.

Week 1: Introduction

Hi everybody! My name is Brittany Rodgers. I live in Moore, Ok and commute to school. I went to Southmoore high school and graduated in 2011. I am a senior this year majoring in Sociology. I hope to graduate in the spring with my bachelors, and then take a year off maybe before I start my masters program. I have a two-year-old son named Brady that I got to carry around campus the first semester of my freshman year here at OU ;) Now I am expecting my second boy in early December. I work full-time at a daycare and enrolled as a full time student. I like to take both online and campus courses, there are benefits to both that I love. I am a part of Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society here at OU but my schedule limits this as being the only extracurricular I can be involved in. I used to have a big hobby of collage-ing, cutting various pictures and words out of numerous magazines and creating something new. Other than that, I never really got to be passionate about something which used to really irk me but now as a mother I found a whole different thing to serve my attention to.

Here are a couple interesting things I like to think are a part of my 'story'. I traveled across Europe my senior year of high school with a tour group and two of my very best friends. I fell in love with the sights on this trip, especially everything in Italy! I encourage all of you to go if you ever get the chance. Another thing is that the daycare I work for was hit by the Moore tornado May 20th, we were located right next door to the Moore Medical Center but nobody was hurt (we had about 20 children in the building and 10 teachers). It was a life changing experience for me but I know there are many more people in this town whom lost more than their car or job. This event definitely solidified my love for this city I grew up in.

Here is a picture I took more recently, he was obsessed with those socks!

This was taken of me and my son by 10 news, two days after the event, standing in the remains of the daycare center.

Obviously taken by me, I am sure you might see a bigger version of me around campus this semester:)
 

Week 1: Storybook Favorites

The first story that caught my attention is titled, The Royal Girls' Room by Marissa Dutton. The title immediately reminded me of the skit off of The Amanda Show that was called 'The Girls' Room'. This was one of my favorite shows as a kid so it was nice to see how the author took this as inspiration to relate the story back to. I also really liked the format of the story, being told by a nearby royal toilet listening in on the women chatting (women tend to do this). The background and lettering was vey girly and fit with the title and theme of the story which is a neat thing to maybe remember for my own story. Also,The way the author focused on each woman separately was effective to me to understand their backgrounds better.

The second story that I thought was well done is titled, The Mystery of the Missing River. I was drawn by the title because it was mysterious and seemed like what an actual story would be called. I liked the custom background and integration of the title in the opening picture. The author did a good job of splitting different aspects of the story into journal entries by Sherlock Holmes, there is both separation and cohesion in this way that makes it easy for the reader to understand.

The third story that I enjoyed is Women of Epic Proportions by Rosa Pasquarella. I liked the way the stories of each woman in the books were told through their own words by answering questions through a dating game. Pretty clever idea. Besides the overall theme of the story I liked how there were pictures included for each woman, having more visuals is aesthetically pleasing for the reader. I haven't read the books yet but I think that the author included a character to be the host and that was a neat inclusion.

Week 1: Indian Epics

First off, I got to watch about ten minutes of Sita Sings the Blues (my toddler then proceeded to jump on the bed demanding my undivided attention). I thought this video, I guess you could call it a story, was very.....interesting. I could definitely tell that this was a story being told and there was many different versions as the narrators were arguing at times. I think this was a good idea of how stories are told through the grapevine.

I am nervous about reading the books for this class, as they look like nothing I have read before. I am excited as well though! I think this online course is different from any other I have taken before in the way it deals with other websites such as blogger and Google drive, most of the other classes I have had before usually have work turned in on a book companion website or D2L. It will take some getting used to but I think once the weeks get going in this semester, it will look less chaotic:) I am VERY excited to learn more about the technical aspect such as making blogs and such, where else would I be able to learn this stuff hands on? I think it is a nice aspect to this course that I had not known I would be introduced to prior to registering! nice little surprise!
I don't have any background in my knowledge of India or any stories, except about some dance related Gods I learned about in my intro to non-western dance forms class.

Really really really appreciative of the fact I can work ahead in this course this semester and have the option to finish early because I am due to have my second baby on Dec.1st!! Eeeeekkkk! The less stress on how to finish my courses this semester without missing class the better :)

Week 1: Storytelling (Hush-a-bye-baby)

HUSH-A-BYE, baby, on the tree top;

 When the wind blows, the cradle will rock;

 When the bough bends, the cradle will fall;

 Down will come baby, bough, cradle, and all.

(Original Nursery Rhyme)

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There once was a woman who had just become a new mommy. She and her baby lived in Oklahoma, and it was spring time. The new baby would cry all day and all night, only to be soothed by the sound of wind. Without any electricity, the woman would sit outside with her child all day wishing for wind gusts to sweep their way. On a day that there was no wind, the woman took her baby to the doctor and the doctor gave some advice to hush the baby. “On a stormy day, leave your baby outside and see if a tornado will cause her to despise wind from then on” The mother was horrified. “Won’t that be a danger to her life? I have heard many stories of tornados being ravenous to everything it touches…” The doctor sighed and looked at the child. “This little one will not stop crying until she hears wind that will scare her; a small tornado should do the trick.” Reluctant but desperate, the mother left her baby girl outside one afternoon when she had heard rumors in the town square of a possible small tornado coming to town. Sure enough, she could see one in the pasture coming her way.

(Pix a bay)

 

After ten minutes and the tornado had passed, the mother went to look for her baby. There was no crying sounds coming from anywhere and she began to get worried. Finally, after looking everywhere, the mother spotted her baby in a nearby tree. The baby was calm until the wind started rustling again. The doctor was right. The mother had to reassure her baby she would be in her arms again after the wind came back to push her cradle back down. Sure enough, the cradle fell with the baby safely into the mother’s arms just like she had told the baby. From then on, the child was calmed by her mother’s voice and not the sound of wind that reminded her of her journey into the air onto the top of a tree.

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Author's Note: I created this story based on the nursery rhyme, Hush-a-bye Baby available in The Nursery Rhyme Book edited by Andrew Lang and released in 2008.  I surrounded my story on the premise of how the baby got into the tree in the first place. Of course, this is highly unlikely to occur in real life, which is why I felt it appropriate as a story ;) The only way a baby could end up in a tree in a cradle would be to have been put there but I thought about how things end up in trees around here. Since tornados are more likely in Oklahoma I based the story here. I then had to figure out why on earth a baby would not be undercover in the case of a tornado, hence the colic-y state of the child and the desperation of the mother. With doctor's orders, I figured it would be most believable. I hope I get better at this storytelling business because this was pretty difficult to do ! But fun as well :)

Pinterest Widget Tech Tip

Follow Brittany Rodgers's board Helpful ideas on Pinterest.

Week 1: A couple of my Favorite Places

Although I have only visited Red River, New Mexico once, when I was in sixth grade, I fell in love with the town and the atmosphere. The town is nestled on a main street surrounded by gorgeous mountains. I did not get to visit during the winter time but I fully intend to go sometime since there are so many beautiful pictures of snow covered mountains. I remember getting to ski lift into the mountains and seeing chipmunks everywhere below me, it was so funny. Also, horseback riding is a must if you ever visit here!

See the street where all the shops and hotels are located in between these big mountains :D

Wikimedia Commons



Another favorite place of mine is Italy. I got to go during my senior year with a tour group and two of my best friends and this place inspired me to take Italian in college in hopes of going to live there one day. Now that I have a two year old, I am not so sure I will be able to go after that dream but I am still in awe of the country and hope to return with my little man in the future.

 

These are some vineyards that I felt were breath taking !

Taken by me, on my camera

testing 123

me here!