Pope's Posts

Down the long, dark corridor we walk. I waited patiently for her to begin to talk.  All the hidden history spewed from her mouth, and my throat closed up as though I were suffering from a drought. Louder and louder my heart would thump just as the shadows chasing across the walls made me jump. It's like my life began to unfold. What else is there that has to be told? Further and further I dragged my feet on. In this windowless corridor, I couldn't tell if it was dusk or dawn. Time felt as though it had paused. I've been dragged into this new dimension to continue some sort of cause. On and on about my parents' life the rakshasi explains, and the tears star falling down like the spring time rains. Click and clack we reach the end of the hall as I stop and stare at the birch bark door so high and tall. A future awaits behind these doors. As soon as I pull the handles, I can't turn back anymore. ...

I've stared at this screen several times trying to figure out the best template for my blog. There were so may ideas going through my mind as to what I wanted see on my blog. The plethora of templates that I had envisioned matched the number of customized template options that blogger has built in. I have changed the presentation of my blog at least three times. One time, I completely re-built my site and forgot to hit the "apply changes button." I was distraught and gave up on site decorating for a couple of hours. Now, I am satisfied with the presentation of my blog. I wanted a template and display that was cohesive with the content of my stories, the course, as well as my own preferences for a webpage. I wanted the webpage to reflect me. The technicalities and gadgets that are involved in the tinkering of colors, fonts, and images can be quite taxing on an individual. I'm pretty tech savvy; however, I did face a few setbacks with assigning colors to different asp...

Actor dressed as Ravana. Commons Wikimedia This week I decide to read The Lord of Lanka: The Rise and Fall of A Demon. The story talked about Ravan's siege in the Land of Lanka. Unlike the Ramayana, this comic goes into detail about the demon king who kidnapped Sita and how he rose to power. The story begins with an explanation of Ravana came to be a demon. Because Ravana's parent's conceived at an improper time, therefore their children were deemed to be wicked and born as rakshasas. I saw this portion of my story was an opportunity to further illustrate how my character in last week's story planning post came to be. Furthermore, when Ravana's mother Kaikesi found out that her son was going to be wicked, she was distraught. Her husband counteracted her grief with a word from the gods that "the youngest however will be a noble one." The youngest song was Kubera. As all of Kaikesi's sons became of age they acted arrogantly. Even in their arrogance,...

Ashoka Grove was a beautiful resting ground in the middle of a dark, evil-ridden forest. The flowers ranged from pink, puffy ashoka blossoms, orange lotuses, to beautiful Malobar daffodils, orchids, and magnolias. The aroma was overwhelming and enchanting. It was a scene so serene. The crisp, warm spring breeze would blow and pick up the swirling pool of petals collecting on the ground  in a whirlpool and sweep them up into the air. The whistle of the wind was a harmonious sound to the ears of the grove's visitors; it is a sound so hypnotizing and enticing that the visitors go numb to the razor-sharp teeth of the rakshasas that are sinking into the veins of their warm, fleshy necks and limbs. For years, Ashoka Grove was a hot attraction. Thousands of visitors would venture across the world to experience such a magnificent wonder of Mother Nature. People from all walks of life could be seen lying down in the mounds of petals on the ground trying to make a "flower angel....

Rakshasas stories in the corridor. Down the long, dark corridor we walk. I waited patiently for her to begin to talk.  All the hidden history spewed from her mouth, and my throat closed up as though I were suffering from a drought Louder and louder my heart would thump just as the shadows chasing across the walls made me jump. It's like my life began to unfold. What else is there that has to be told? Further and further I dragged my feet on In this windowless corridor, I couldn't tell if it was dusk or dawn. Time felt as though it had paused I've been dragged into this new dimension to continue some sort of cause On and on about my parents' life the rakshasi explains And the tears star falling down like the spring time rains Click and clack we reach the end of the hall as I stop and stare at the birch bark door so high and tall. A future awaits behind these doors As soon as I pull the handles, I can't turn back anymore. There's ...

The Danava King Part B of the gleanings consisted of five different stories; however, I decided to focus on one story in particular. This story illustrated how the good versus evil spectrum in both the celestial and earthly realm were out of kilter. Why were things out of kilter? A demon king, Bali had come to reign over the earth and almost all of the heavens. Most demons were vicious and wicked; however, Bali was wicked in a seductive and enticing manner. Bali drew people to him by granting and honoring favors. He possessed so much power and adoration by the people and even the most powerful gods and goddesses that he exhausted his time posing as a charitable and kind king. I want to utilized this aspect in my storytelling this week. I like the idea of plot twist and shocking the reader, for I was really surprised to find out that the Danava king was good. Many men and women worshiped Bali over the usual gods. His reign was so powerful, yet concerning, that the great Godk, the Prese...

The reading notes for Part A were split into four different stories. I decided to take notes on each section. Battles of Gods and Demons The story is set around the Creation and balance of the universe under the direction of the Trinity. I liked this idea, as it reminded me of the holy trinity in the bible, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Some Christian based religions don't recognize the three. This chapter presented the preface of the story. It set the tone that the story was going to be about good versus evil, Devas versus Danavas. The story talks about how the war between the demons and gods began. It started with the sharing of ambrosia, an immortalising liquid to be given to both demons and gods to preserve them; however, the demons did not receive their predetermined portion.  I got the idea to continue my story, My Life's A Charm. from this chapter. It talked about the gods living in peace until a certain demon was born and built up the a...