Taylor Calvert

First I would like to talk about the story, "The Monkey and the Crocodile". As I was reading the story, I was enjoying it. However, I thought the ending was a little dry. I was disappointed. It was clever for the money to use the Crocodile to get to the other side of the Bank. I actually did not know that when Crocodiles opened their mouth to eat, they closed their eyes. If I were to retell the story I would make  the ending a little more interesting. I am not completely discrediting the ending of the story because it  is clever. I am thinking about changing the characters to a vampire theme because the mother of the crocodile wanted the monkeys heart. So, it is only right that I make it a vampire story! Right?! The one thing that I did like about how the story was told is the crocodile found a way to get close to capturing the monkey!                                                                                                                              Monkey and th

This week I would like to do a planning post over what I may write my next story on for my portfolio. I think my Charlie and the Chocolate Factory theme has come to an end. I think this is because Krishna's story is a completely new monster. Also, I really enjoy the story of Krishna. The most frightening part of Krishnas infancy was when King Kamsa ordered Putana the evil demoness, to kill every baby in the village. I would like to start off my story telling with this scene because it is a perfect example of what fear will make you do. King Kamsa was scared that he was going to face his death from one of the infants. I would like to remake the characters in my storytelling but keep the plot the same. I think I may put its n context with the United States and use the current President to play King Kamsa. President Trump could order the someone to go and kill all of the children so he is not assassinated. However, he will come to a road block because King Kamsa was told that th

Now on to Part B of Krishna's Story! I get to see more of Krishna's childhood with these Epified Episodes! In the first episode Krishna showed his divinity by providing the village with food even though the cows were taken by Bramah. I think it is pretty cool how humble Krishna is and he managed to take care of the village. The fact that Bramah bowed to him to acknowledge his divinity! Krishna is quite the trickster. Krishna's Love In my next story I must include the fact that he is a trickster. In the following videos, dharma plays a huge role in the story. Dharma is also important in the Hinduism religion. Everyone who practice Hinduism practice dharma. When Krishna arrived at Mathura, he used his strength to solve problems when he became on the wrong side of the people of the village. Krishna healed an old woman of her disabilities. He did it with love! This is why I absolutely like Krishna. He always did things with grace. Bibliography:  Epified:Krishna

This week I decided to do my reading notes over Krishna! I have been waiting all semester to read about Krishna. I am so excited ! While watching Epified, I admired Krishna because people hated him before he was even born. It amazed me how quick King Kuntz wanted to kill his own sister because he knew her eighth child would be his slayer. King Kuntz killed all seven of their other children unfortunately. I think it was pretty cool that some people felt the joy in the air when Krishna was born. King Kuntz would wake up in nightmares because of the news of the eighth child. He did not believe that a little girl would be the reason why he would see death. I couldn't imagine the fear he had to feel when Durga told Kuntz that his slayer was already born and somewhere safe. Kurtz went on a killing spree and started killing all the little babies in the village. He was that scared of his killer. This week I would like to write my story based off of the fear of King Kuntz. It is pr

In my first research page, I simply searched Durvasa because I think he is an interesting character in the Mahabharata! The Wikipedia talks about how Durvasa is also known for his short temper. Which is why everyone in the Mahabharata chose to stay away from him. He would put curses on people, for little to no reason. He is the son of Atri and Anasuya. An interesting thing about Anasuya is she helped Sita in  the Ramayana. She gave Sita an ointment to keep her beauty forever. I think that is pretty cool considering the fact that they are in two different stories.  Anasuya is known for her miraculous powers. Sita and Rama visited her during Sitas exile. These stories about Anasuya is quite epic. It is interesting to see the creativity in the stories that are told. When the Divine Trinity tested Anasuya she splashed the divine trinity with water and turned them into children. I wonder why she chose to change them into children? After, reading about Anasuya I decided to read

In the beginning of Mahabharata Part 2, we learned about Kuntis past. Durvasa gives a visit to Kunti and blesses her. This is unexpected because no one really talked to Durvasa. They were scared of him because he was known to lay curses on on people for little to none reasons. Therefore, people stayed out of his way. Everyone except for Kunti and that is what makes her special. When I was listening to the Mahabharata Part 2, I thought to myself Durvasa is a interesting character. In my past stories I have always talked about what was really going on in the stories. I never took a look at the characters that was not necessarily the main character. So, my idea for this next story telling, I would like to pluck one of the non-maincharacters and talk about them. For an example, I can talk about Durvasa and research his background story. I could find out why he is the way he is. Why he is so quick to put curses on people around him.                                                  

This week in the Mahabharata, I have started to watch the unfortunate story of King Shantanu. He fell in love with the live goddess and married her but the Queen kept killing they children and he stopped the 8th child from being killed. This part of the story is essential to the rest of the story because without this part of the story there is no backbone.  I like how they started of the story telling by saying this story is about Karma and the results of actions that were previously taken. When I retell my story, it is a must that I include the Karma part in the plot. I don't think the story would be the same if not. As I kept listening to the stories I began to think that this week I could make a poem for my retelling because this story reminds me of so much heart break. Then King Shantanu was over joyed when his long lost son returned.                                    King Shantanu and his Queen Bibliography:  Edified Mahabharata

I am happy with the progress I have made in this class so far. I have become a better writer also. I would rate the stories that I have read so far eight out of ten. I have learned so much about Indian Epics. I do think watching Sita Sings the Blues was the highlight of the semester. When I watched that movie I felt like everything in the story came together and made more sense. I am looking forward to reading more stories and making even more progress in my knowledge about Indian Epics.                                                                                                                         Progress

1) As I looked back on my comment blog page and my feedback, the criticism that I have receive up until this point has been great and constructive. Some of the students helped me see something in my stories that I didn't see. 2) I would rate the feedback that I give an 8 out of 10. I say this because I always try not to be overly opinionated with my responses. I like to be mindful of everyone's creativity.  However, I do like to give different outlooks on what they write about and also new ideas. 3) When I do leave comments and read my classmates introductions I do feel like I connect with my classmates. Everyone has told great stories about what they like and their hobbies. I am happy about my introduction! I explained everything that I love and my hobbies. It is interesting to see who have the same interests and hobbies. 4) The improvements that I can make on giving feed back is reading more stories outside of this class. Sometimes, I find myself speechless. I think it

Dear Bloggers, It is Review Week!! Looking back on my reading posts and stories. At first, I was not getting the gist of how useful the reading notes are. As the weeks continued I started doing my reading notes and thinking about my authors note as I began to brainstorm re-creating the epic. It is great that you require us to do reading notes because it does help! I look at it like my prewriting. Every good story needs prewriting. Overall, the reading and writing has been a great experience. My favorite story that I have encountered in this class is the story of Rama and Sita! I know many of us in the class will probably share the same opinion but this story is really cool to me! Rama and Sita's story is filled with drama and love! I was always engaged while reading. As of right now, I am not completely satisfied with my project yet but soon I will be! I want to add more stories to my project and polish the ones that I already have. I am excited to continue my Willy Wonka s

The Chocolate Battle!  In 2000 B.C, it was a bright and early morning at the chocolate factory when Arjuna was rudely awaken by an Oompa-Loompa. "Arjuna, wake up! We think someone is trying to sabotage the chocolate factory. The enemy dumped gasoline in the the chocolate pumps! Come and look!" said the Oompa-Loompa. Arjuna quickly got out of the bed! Then, him and the Oompa-Loompa slid down the chocolate slide to the chocolate laboratory. Arjuna yelled, "Who would do such a cruel thing? I am in no condition to fight. I am still recovering from my last battle but I must do something!" At this moment, every Oompa-Loompa realized they had to prepare for battle. They began to look around for any clues to who may have sabotaged the chocolate laboratory. About five minutes went by when Krishna and Shalya yelled, "Hey! We found a clue! Here is a boot print in the middle of the spilled chocolate. The boot prints lead to the back door!" Arjuna ran out the

Below my reading notes will be about the story of the Arjuna and Karna. I enjoyed reading this story because it reminded me of Achilles and Hector in the Trojan War. The Achaeans slaughtered the Trojans and desecrated the temples. Therefore, they earned their gods' wrath. I love this story because the Trojans showed their dedication to their great city Troy and they were powerfully lead by Priam. While reading the battle between Arjuna and Karna I could picture the arrows flying back and forth between each other. I plan to rewrite this story by amping up this battle scene! I am thinking about switching the setting to maybe a old time western theme. I want to  paint this picture of Arjuna and Karna coming in on horses with their riffles. When Arjuna said, " Pause, O Karna. According to the rules of battle, thou canst not attach a disabled foeman." I want to create that moment again in my story but using a different saying. Karna was very determined to fight and kill Arju

Below I will be talking about the stories Krishna and His Army. Krishna and his Army:  Since we have been reading the Mahabharata we have seen the relationship between them become more and more intense. While reading this episode of the Mahabharata I really got to the unity between Arjuna and Krishna. I admired the fact that Arjuna bowed at the feet of Shri Krishna because that showed respect to how Krishna is higher up than him. Other than Duryodhana, going to the head of the bed. At that point I could  tell that Arjuna connected positively with Krishna. I appreciated the loyalty that Lord Krishna showed towards Arjuna when helping them. It reminded me of all the times I need help with school especially during an action center session when the TA's are scrambling to hep everyone in the classroom. I wasn't surprised when Arjuna chose Krishna over the army. I thought it was a wise choice. Duryodhana seems to be power hungry. In my story I want to keep the plot exactly the