Week 7 Story: Rocky VII

Rocky was on top of the world. He was heavyweight champion and had no plans of stopping anytime soon. With Adrian by his side, he would continue to build his legacy as The Italian Stallion. There was only one person who could have come close to stopping him and that was Hans.

Hans was Rocky’s best friend back when they practiced together with Mickey in Philly. Rock was prepping for his first big fight against none other than Apollo Creed with Hans as a sparring partner. Eventually Rocky took down Apollo Creed and became a household name while Hans started his own successful career, albeit not at the level of Rocky’s. However, Hans did have a unique fighting style which could exploit Rocky.

This lead to animosity between the two friends, but mainly from Hans’s corner as he couldn’t bear to see the success and friendship between Rocky and Mickey. WIth Hans being with MIckey first he believed that Mick would come train him.

One day, Hans decided it was time to challenge Rocky and take all of the fame that he so desperately desired.

“What do ya think, Mick?” Rocky asked his old friend.

“You’re the Italian Stallion! The champion of the world! You gotta do it kid.”

Rocky accepted the challenge as a champion should. Rocky didn’t think much of Hans at this point and didn't practice adequately for the fight. Two met for the fight and round after round went by with Hans taking each. His unorthodox fighting style caused trouble for Rocky and after the full 15 rounds, Hans won by unanimous decision without losing a single round.

Adrian pleaded, “Please Rocky what do you have to prove? He knew all your weaknesses and used them. Why risk what you have already accomplished?”

“Adrian I have to go fight him again. I know what I did wrong last time and won’t lose this time. I won’t lose everything.”

The rematch was just as swift as before. Rocky tried a few new things but Hans still knew everything that he would do. Again 15 rounds for Hans and the unanimous decision.

Fans across the world decided that Rocky was washed up. Given more time to prepare and with full knowledge of his opponents capabilities he still went and fought Hans and lost easily. The (former) champion of the world doesn’t just get outclassed in back to back matches.

“Mick we’re gonna go harder than ever before. This can’t be how it goes for me. Hans helped me so much, but has taken everything.” Rocky and Mick left their premier boxing facilities and headed out for some really inspiring training. The montage of rolled boulders, scaled cliffs, and logs chopped was what really gave Rocky the weapons to take down Hans. This took years until they asked for the third rematch.

Meanwhile, Hans wasn’t too worried about Rocky. He had beaten the “Italian Stallion” soundly, twice in a row. World class training was new for Hans and he made okay use ot it, but didn’t train for as long as Rocky.

The days approached for the fight and Rocky had a calm confidence. Mickey had trained him well and Rocky was ready. A new feeling was in the air.

Gonna Fly Now

Hans and Rocky bumped gloves at the center of the ring as the bell chimed. This time Rocky was the one in command. Almost every punch thrown from Hans was dodged or deflect and it seemed as though Rocky couldn’t miss. It was a slow affair as Rocky did take some hits but it only lasted until the 8th round. At this point Rocky ducked a right cross from Hans and followed up with his own southpaw left cross and dropped Hans. 

Rocky's Statue

Scott Welch Flickr

Author’s Note:

For my story, I focused on the Mahabharata as a whole from the dice game to the end of the battle. Rocky was intended to serve as the entire group of Pandavas and Mickey became a sort of Krishna character. Hans was the Kauvaras and I just really wanted my villain to have a German name. Maybe it has something to do with Rocky fighting a similar version of Ivan Drago. Putting Apollo in for Krishna was an idea that I had but it probably would have been too quick. It would have been Rocky’s supernatural boost. With Rocky’s first two matches are supposed to resemble the dice game and Rocky’s triumph at the end is the triumph of the Pandavas.

Bibliography:

The Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part D

Yudhistira obviously still cares for his family. It's good to see that he is not blinded by jealousy unlike the Kaurvaras. This story seems to be founded on that distinction. He is almost Rama like in this way but Krishna would easily be Rama's equal because of course they are the same person.

Duroyhana's arrogance is a very important characteristic and it can be seen again with him thinking he can imprison Krishna. Karna's story is especially intriguing as he has ties to both sides but thinks he owes some loyalty to the Kaurvaras. This is misplaced and is only serving to hide his real agenda against Arjuna. Or so I believe.

Krishna’s power as a god with both of his transformations to the actual multidimensional god is much different from the characteristics of Rama. It is interesting to see that Krishna seems to have more of a connection with Vishnu than Rama did. The war between family is hard to read, I don’t want Bhishma to die or for him to kill any of the Pandavas. Karma being brought up for the first time is interesting as it hadn’t been mentioned in the Ramayana. Reading about their tradition with the caste system is very interesting because they believe they must do something just because of who they were born to.

Arjuna kills Karna

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

The Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part C

So I was sitting there reading the story of how Duryodhana got captured by the gandharvas and thought about Karna and the game of dice. First it would be interesting to put Karna into some sort of double agent role. He still doesn’t like the Pandavas so he would work for the Kauvaras.

My better idea was for a continuation between parts of the Mahabharata. The Pandavas would be represented by Rocky Balboa and get beaten in their first match (dice game) they will have a montage of getting stronger (getting epic weapons) and then, I’m assuming, come back and beat the original boxer, the Kauvaras.

Even thirst wouldn’t be enough to voluntarily kill yourself and these brothers must have been smarter than to not connect the death of the others with the water. My thought is that there must have been a curse or something placed on them which made them so thirsty that they would risk death. Yudhisthira's wisdom comes through again as he didn’t drink the water early. That yaksha just saved him.The trials of Yama and gift from him to Yudhistira make me remember some of the interactions between Percy Jackson and his dad Poseidon.

I love a good bit of irony from the interaction between Uttara and Arjuna, who does a good job of keeping up his disguise. I’m not really sure how this is all going to work out in terms of the exile because Arjuna clearly reveals himself.

Karna's role in the coming battle will be interesting considering it looks like he left the battle. I wonder if he will keep that up.

Yudhistira with Yama

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

The Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan

Week 6 Lab: Twine Game of Dice

So I decided to recreate the Game of Dice in Hastinapura in my Las Vegas of Las Hastinapura. You will notice similar outcomes from the choices you make.I could easily have put more options in because boy did Yudhisthira like to lose his stuff. Twine: Las Hastinapura

Shakuni playing the dice game

Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part B

I agree with the Pandavas, even if Dhritarashtra wasn’t plotting with is sons to take out his nephews, the Kaurava’s may still attempt to kill the Pandavas against their father’s wishes. Krishna is an unknown entity and is the incarnation of Vishnu but seems to have powers that are different than those of Rama. It is inferred that he could see the past, present, and future while I don’t think Rama every knew what was going to happen. But why is Krishna helping them?

The 12 year penalty for invading the privacy of one of the other cousins and Draupadi may cause problems later or could be used. Oh I was right, poor Arjuna, just needed some help. The favor of the Gods is very interesting, I wonder if one of them could somehow lose it and see everything crumble around them….

Duryodhana is a brat. That is all.

Sounds like the prophecy came true for Yudhistira. However, I feel like someone should have been able to stop him from losing everything. This part actually got me upset because I’m firmly in the “Draupadi wasn’t Yudhistira’s to give” camp and Krishna came in the clutch there. However, when Dhritarashtra just started handing boons out like candy I was confused. Why are they letting this happen all over again. Most frustrating story ever.

I got sucked into the story for a little bit there and didn’t take as many notes as I should have. However, I am very happy that Arjuna went and got more weapons so that they can take their revenge on the Kaurava’s. Reading about Krishna has given me a little bit of information for my storybook, but seeing more of him would give me a better idea.

Dushasana unwrapping Draupadi's sari

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

The Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan

Wikipedia Trails: From Mahabharata to Mahatma Gandhi

Mahabharata: I decided to start my trail with our second Sanksrit epic and reading topic for the next two weeks. After reading part A, I was interested in reading more about the epic because I had some questions about what the main conflict would be and who wrote it. I wanted to see the attributed author because it was actually mentioned many times in Narayan's version that so and so was the author. After a little bit a reading, the war between the cousins is the main conflict and Vyasa seems to be the poet.

Vyasa: Alright so it would appear that Vyasa definitely is in the epic which is very interesting. This holds many comparisons to the authors of the Bible when I think about it. Both are religious texts and the writers of both were involved in actual story as it was unfolding. Although they may not have been the focus, their presence was made known in the story.

Guru Purnima: This is a celebration/tradition for Hindus, Buddhists and Jains where they honor the spiritual leaders of the past. Many Hindus use the celebration to honor Vyasa as he was believed to have been born on that day. There are dances, songs, recitations and offerings all done for this celebration.

Mahatma Gandhi: I found my way to Gandhi from the Guru Purnima as he revived the celebration to honor his old spiritual guru. Like most people, I knew of Gandhi before this trail and thought he would be a good place to end. However, I didn't now exactly why he was assassinated or who did it so reading that section was enlightening. Because a Hindu nationalist, the people he had helped for years, thought he was being too inclusive. He was someone who was just trying to be helpful to all people and paid inappropriate price.

Vyasa

Wikimedia Commons

Tech Tips: Canvas Gradebook

The Canvas gradebook has always been something that I have a love-hate relationship with. On the one hand, I like how simple and accessible it can be to look at your grades, which was not as true of high school. However, because a good amount of professors have not jumped on the wagon for Canvas or their grading system just doesn't fit with Canvas, using gradebook can be more of a hindrance.

For this class, I think that it is helpful when using the Weekly Totals at the bottom of the page. I had never tried out the sorting options before, while they can be useful, I am okay with scrolling really fast and sticking with the status quo. Maybe it gives me motivation by seeing all that I have already done which gives me the boost I need.

The traditional gradebook of elementary school, it made no sense

Flickr

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part A

Devavratha is the incarnation of a vasu and has powerful skills, similar to Rama. I'm not sure that he has a goal on the earth, unlike Rama. His attitude is similar to Rama in that he willingly gives up the throne for his father. Could do a story about the actual stealing of Sage Vasishtas cow.

Wow Bhishma just took a wild turn, when taking those girls. It's odd that the two sisters ended up marrying the same guy. Could turn into some family drama later…

I'm not sure I understand the whole Vyasa deal. Are these children going to succeed the throne? Even though they don't have the lineage? So Kama is a demigod and could have some interesting powers. Also of the sun god, that could be interesting.

Could have had Arjuna and Kama fight in their first meeting. Where is Kama in all of the struggle between the cousins?

I wonder how the Drupada didn't notice the Pandavas when they came back. I assume that they were involved in the initial attack that was ordered by Drona.

The Pandavas

Wikipedia

Bibliography:

The Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan

Famous Last Words: Tests Round 1

This week and last week were midterm weeks for me, so that was fun. I must say though, having only one midterm in one week and the other in the next week is better than having everything crammed. While studying for them was not the most fun thing, it all went pretty well and I got good grades (yay!).

Reading for this class was nice because of the video option. I thought that Sita Sings the Blues was pretty fun with those three narrator characters who just showed how crazy The Ramayana can get with all those different versions. The other things that was pretty helpful about the video option was that when I was running out of time before class, I could just turn that video speed up to 1.5x speed. This can definitely get out of control like when the regular speed is already pretty fast. But when the tempo lulls, cranking it up can get you the same content in less time. If you haven't tried this out with long, slow videos that you just to get done with, you might see how helpful it is.

As for outside of school (but still inside of campus), College Bowl registration as opened! I am pretty excited about it, but am also dreading when I have to make all these schedules. If any of you OU people stumble upon this, you should make a team! It's super fun and you don't have to be good at trivia I promise.

During the past few weeks when I have worked on stuff for this class I have noticed/figured out that a new plan of mine has been working out. I try to get one of the assignments done on each day of the week and couple that with an extra credit assignment. The extra credit assignments aren't that time consuming and it's good to get ahead of things. As long as I keep doing that, it shouldn't be to hard to manage.

Some Last Words

Wikimedia Commons

Week 5 Story: Vali's Fall

Vali’s power was boundless. Even a brief interaction with the gods gave him incredible power. Churning the ocean to save the gods using nectar was no small feat and because of this the gods gave him his gift. No one dared challenge him now and this lead to his formidable control on man and even the gods.

But one day Vali was challenged. Not by a human or a god, but by a demon named Mayavi. This demon was just like all the others, strong but impulsive. His quick temper shined when he came out of his cave to take all that Vali had gained. Due to Vali’s power there was no threat that he would back down from or that would be too small for him. Especially a demon.

So Vali met the test of Mayavi, but Mayavi soon realized that what he had done was too quick. Vali wasn’t alone and was surrounded by all of his vassals, including Sugriva. Focusing too hard on Vali causes most to forget about his brother. Even though there was no way that Sugriva could match the power of Vali, he was still a force to be reckoned with.

With this, Mayavi retreated to his abode, deep in a cave. A part of him didn’t expect Vali to follow him, but that was wishful thinking. But before Vali left, he entrusted his kingdom with Sugriva. Informing him to keep the cave and to keep the kingdom.

Vali ventured throughout the labyrinth that was this cave until he found Mayavi. Although he was in the demon’s realm, the strength of the gods was enough to overpower Mayavi. Vali was clean but a single scratch from Mayavi’s claws.

“Oh foolish Vali.” Mayavi whispered with his dying breath. “You may defeat me here in this cave. But you have lost everything. Sugriva has probably already entombed you in this cave.”

“You speak nonsense demon. A dying plea. Sugriva needs me and he could never seperate himself from his brother.”

“You underestimate the pull of your old position. That much power is even strong enough to break the bonds of family. Soon you will see.”

With that Mayavi passed and Vali headed out of the cave, back to his kingdom. When Vali saw the boulders blocking the entrance he knew. All of his hatred manifested as the words of Mayavi rang true. Sugriva had become drunk with the power of the kingdom and was determined to keep Vali out. Vali couldn’t let this stand and became determined to destroy his brother, plagued by the thoughts of betrayal.

The Monkey King, Vali

Wikimedia Commons

Authors Note:
I made this story to go a little bit more in-depth with the story of Vali and Sugriva. Their relationship appeared to be similar to Rama and Lakshmana’s where one was stronger than the other. However, because their relationship evaporated so quickly after Vali returned, it made be want to go a little further. So I decided to highlight what may have happened in that cave before Vali made his way back. Showing how Mayavi infected Vali’s mind was the way that I attempted to explain how Vali lost faith in his brother so quickly.

Bibliography

The Story of Vali and Sugriva in The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan

Reading Notes: Sita Sings the Blues Part 2

Omg Dave. What a way to break up with someone. Email. Alright so this now starts a story that I haven’t seen yet as Sita gets pregnant. Interesting that Rama is now turning his back on SIta because he needs respect. I thought that the fire proved to Rama that she was pure. Kind of cold that they are going to abandon a pregnant woman in the woods. Oh, Rama thinks that there is a little Ravana waiting in Sita’s belly, yikes. Oh Lakshmana is sad as well. Yay Sita had her kids and they grew up very fast. The sing along graphics are hilarious regarding how the story has been told thus far. But really where is Dave right now? Rama seems to have no idea what is happening. I also have no idea what is happening with mother earth. Well I guess she was pure? I’m not sure if there was meant to be a parallel with the modern day story and Sita’s story. Maybe this actually happened but was coincidentally related which sparked the idea for the film. Anyways the three narrators were my favorite part. The humour they had was intriguing.

The Titan Gaia (Mother Earth)

Pixabay

Bibliography:

Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley

Tech Tip:Kindle Overview

I used Kindle way back in the early days before it turned it a tablet like the Kindle Fire. The easy access and screen without sun glare were the biggest selling points that I can remember. Audible was then pushed heavily a little bit after the Kindle was introduced as Amazon had bought the company. So I have actually used both methods to read books. But most recently I found a new method of Kindle when I was trying to setup how I was going to read the Ramayana. There happens to be a Kindle app for Windows 10 computers which you can download off of the Kindle website. This allows you to download the books straight onto the computer so that you don't need internet like you would when using the browser based app. I usually use my phone though but would love to get my hands on the actual device again at some point.

Gen 2 Amazon Kindle (I had this)

Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: Sita Sings the Blues Part 1

The animation at the beginning with the couple and the cat was kind of distracting because of the constant movement. Use of humour is really good when they are trying to decide what year the story is from. I wonder who the three people are that seem to be narrators. Their commentary with each other is fun as they mess stuff up. Why is Rama the only blue person?

Interesting that they skipped straight to Kaikeyi and Rama becoming king. This animation continues to be funny, I'm actually lol. Maybe I could incorporate some humour by using modern dialogue and being blunt.

Not exactly sure what the record player's role is. Maybe it displays Sita's point of view and feelings through songs.

Ravana's only bad deed was stealing away Sita. It seems like they think he also followed the right gods. Cool that Rama's bridge still exists. It's also interesting to see how far Ayodhya is from Lanka.

Shurpanakha doesn't seem to have her nose cut off. Oh singing Sita I'm so sorry but you're gonna be taken away from Rama. Ravana just picked her up and didn't use earth. There also wasn't an appearance by Jatayu. That's a lot of jewelry. I also didn't know that Hanuman was the incarnation of Shiva.

Ravana is just like the shocked Pikachu meme. Well Hanuman just lit the whole place on fire. That is an interesting idea, why didn't Sita just get on Hanuman's back. All three narrators made good points.

Dave's reaction to Nina is similar to Rama's to Sita when he rescued her. But why is Dave so cold? Rama had his reason.

Shocked Pikachu meme representing Ravana

(Image created with imgflip)

Bibliography:

Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley

Comment Wall

Vishnu

Here is my Storybook website: Vishnu's Deja Vu


Image: Wikimedia Commons

Wikipedia Trail: From Vishnu to Vedas

Vishnu: I started here because the Ramayana is focused on Rama and his destruction of Ravana. However Rama is basically just Vishnu which is stated throughout the epic. It was interesting to see that Vishnu is the deity that is mainly associated with avatars as he has the most avatars. The Ramayana did also say that Rama's brothers were also avatars of different gods.

Avatar: These people are physical incarnations of the gods where it is reinforced that avatars are commonly associated with Vishnu. However, Shiva and Brahma also have avatars such as Lakshmana for Shiva. It was odd for me to see Buddha on the list of Vishnu's avatars so that is where we go next.

Gautama Buddha: I went to go find Buddha's connection with Vishnu as his avatar and it seems that there are different opinions on the history of Buddha. Some Hindus do believe that Buddha is the ninth avatar of Vishnu, while he is also a prophet for a small sect of Muslims. It is interesting to see such overlap between religions.

Vedas: It said on the Buddha page that the Hindus believe that Buddha is an avatar of Vishnu but that Buddha's teaching went against the Vedas. So the Vedas are the religious texts of Hinduism, similar to the Bible and Quran. It looks like the Vedas are split into different categories which was different.

Statue of Rama

Wikimedia Commons

Week 4 Lab: Ted Storytelling

Before watching The Danger of a Single Story, I recognized the name. After watching it for about a minute I remembered it from last semester. We had watched the video together in my Native American Music class last semester. I was fascinated by the stories that she told about her time in Nigeria and how the stories that she told were shaped by the stories she read. The more that I think about this phenomenon, the more it makes sense. It can be applied to this class and story telling out of this class because you will naturally employ elements of writing that you have seen before in the stories you have read. Because of this, the stories that you read shape how you tell your own stories. As the presenter started to read different literature, she was able to expand her view of what a story could include and what techniques or ideas that could be used. Reading many different stories from different sources can help you in avoiding a singular belief in how a story should be conveyed. 

Imaginary Friends and Real-World Consequences: Parasocial Relationships was really interesting. The Harry Potter hook was fascinating and puts into perspective how influential those books are and how influential fiction is. Parasocial relationships are particularly cool because they wouldn't be possibly without the advent of mass media and shows how technology is also shaping our psychology. I can see this interaction with fictional characters is real thing that has affected me when a character that I really enjoyed is killed off or the TV show ends after years of seasons. This end of the character would affect me and others as we don't get to see them anymore. I think that these relationships are very powerful as we can escape our world and go into theirs or find comfort in our fictional relationships. Dr. Barnes discusses fictional grief as I did and looked into the physical impact on people due to this grief. Seeing that people don't care about the real person as much as the fictional one was interesting but also very believable. 

If you can read many different types of storytelling, you can incorporate different elements and give an accurate story. With this accurate story, powerful characters can be created and those characters can create a parasocial relationship with the reader. Then hopefully these characters can have a positive real world effect.

Working in the Lab

Pixabay

Reading Notes: Ramayana D

The story of Hanuman leaping across the sea and burning down Lanka were also in the comic book that I read two weeks ago. Hanuman seems to be slightly impulsive as he easily burns down Lanka and thought that Ravana's other wife was Sita.

Vibishana sounds like he doesn't want to be with Ravana and has a softer heart.

Seems like people have a prejudice against monkeys or maybe it's just Rama. Could incorporate hate of monkeys in the Vali story.

The actions of Vibishana are confusing to me. He tells Ravana that Ravana is still his chief, but goes to Rama and gives him all of Ravana's battle plans.

Pushpak vimana the flying chariot makes an appearance. I might be using this later for storybooks. It appears that Ravana may also be slightly fearful of Rama as he puts on full body protective armor and uses his chariot. He is going to pull out everything to win.

The chariots are like fighter jets in the sky sending all sorts of weapons at each other. Rama would ten recognize a weakness in Ravana's jet. Apparently these chariots are huge.

The Pushpaka Vimana

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography

The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan

Tech Tip: Countdown Widget

I decided to add a countdown widget, but not a countdown to a fun event. The MCAT is my biggest hurdle this semester so naturally I wanted to constantly be aware of how far away it was. So check out the MCAT countdown and see the time dwindle down.

Tick-Tock the Crocodile

Flickr

Reading Notes: Narayan's Ramayana Part C

The Story of Vali and Sugriva

Interesting dynamic between Vali and Sugriva. It seems like they are similar to Rama and Lakshmana as they are family and loved each other. However their bond must have not been as close and they didn’t trust each other as much as Rama and Lakshmana did. Those brothers would have waited for each other and been confident in their abilities to return back from the cave safely so they wouldn’t have listed to the counselors and elders. Could make a similar story with a different setting or be able to flip Vali later when Sugriva and Vali fight. Maybe an origin story for how Vali became so twisted. I can create a character for Mayavi and have Vali become dark while inside the cave. Must use the dialogue of Mayavi to change him.

Now Vali is very stubborn and defensive, this is shown in his dialogue with Tara and when he first emerges from the cave. This brashness ultimately lead to his death and was shocked that Rama could have pierced him.

Vali is also hypocritical which Rama points out. Perhaps he has a hate/disrespect of the Gods now because he has gain as much as he can from them.

Churning of the Ocean

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography

The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan

Topic Research: To Battle We Go

Earlier this week I had come up with an angle for story telling regarding the Epic Battles topic. I am still kind of interested in doing something with the creation stories but not sure what it would be yet. For Epic Battles, my thought was that I would somehow incorporate these epic battles into modern day or other historical battles. Maybe I would futurize the battles that happened in the Ramayana or bring modern day technology back to Rama. Another thought that I had was to bring the characters from these epics into the historical battles. There are still some other ideas swirling around in my head but those were a few interesting ones that have popped up. I read a little bit about the Vimana which you mentioned in your notes last week. My thought was that it would be cool to incorporate flying chariots into the modern day because no military general has seen a flying chariot. I also read a few stories from Epic Indian Battles and thought that showing the battles through the eyes of a common soldier was a good twist in the first story. The author used different ways to depict the battles in each story which could also be a good way to test different ideas.


Another idea that I had was instead of involving the original characters, I could simply take the characteristics and events of the battle and shift them into a different time period. For example, the battle at Rama’s hut in the woods where he eventually injuries Shoorpankha could be represented by two knights fending off dragons and wizards or something, just a little brainstorming :)


If I had to make three possible stories I guess they would be:

1. Ravana’s Sister from the reading guide for Narayan’s Ramayana. The story would go similar to what I described above.

2. I assume that Rama and Ravana will fight at some point and that battle could be used for a story where I could use other viewpoints or place the battle in a different time.

3. There must also be a battle in the Mahabharata, so I could use that to add one of the other elements that I discussed earlier.


Finding resources for these kinds of topics and twists would be nice to see how I could incorporate these elements. I’m not exactly sure what I should be looking for in resources that could help me.

Ravana's city on Lanka

Wikimedia Commons

Feedback Strategies

Giving Creative Feedback - A Guide for Those Who Aren't Creative was the one of the first articles that I saw and instantly said, yep that's me! I wouldn't say that I am the most creative person out there, but basing something off of other things I have seen or comparing their uniqueness makes it easier for me to understand if something is creative. The article mentions this thought process and that it can help to give feedback if the piece resembles something familiar. The main points from the article that I would focus on are the probing questions and looking for red flags. It seemed like these two could be easily be practiced in the class and maybe even in all kinds of feedback. Some of the other advice didn't seem as relevant to what we are doing but would be great in a different situation, but of course that's me.

My other article was The Trouble with “Amazing”: Giving Praise that Matters and I really agreed with the points. The author discusses how we have to describe what was done well when giving praise and I think that is a great thought. Now when I think about when people give feedback it is a much greater feeling when someone mentions how they liked this specific detail you incorporated. Knowing that something paid off when you intentionally put it there is a better feeling than the overall, it was great. Learning to give directed praise is a good skill so that people know that their specific efforts are being appreciated and worthwhile. I think that it is important for effort to be recognized, and the author agrees.

Someone giving the feed, back to the camel.

Pixabay