Tech Tip: Google Website

I've got a google site! Here's a link to it. It wasn't too difficult to set up, but it's still pretty bare. I'll be adding to it over the next few weeks for my storybook, though.

The one issue I've notice with google sites is the inability to do much custom HTML and very limited scripting capabilities. This is a little annoying for me because I'm trying to do an interactive storybook. However, I think I can get around this by using a separate host for the interactive sections.

Cat Meme
made on LOLBuilder

Week 4 Storytelling: Congratulations

Bibliography:
 Ravana: Roar of the Demon King, A graphic novel detailing Ravana's life from his own perspective, Author: Abhimanyu Singh Sisodia, Artist, Sachin Nagar

Author's Note:
This story is set about midway during the war between Rama and Ravana, from the Ramayana. At this point, Ravana has been losing severely to Rama's army, and it's not looking good for him. It's told mostly from Ravana's perspective. The letter in the beginning goes over the current state of things, and the following CV lists the highlights of Ravana's life, according to him.
I wanted to have a little fun this one. My story is given in the form of a hiring letter and CV. I got the idea from the interview storytelling style. Ravana actually has a lot of achievements in his life, both good and bad. I thought this would make for an interesting resume. I wrote a CV because (in the US) it's a bit more detailed than a resume.
I came up with the letter in the beginning while I was about halfway through the CV. I was looking for a good story to wrap around the CV, and I thought it would be great if it was part of a hiring letter. I was going for a kind of dystopian style with the letter, giving it a very polite tone over a very unsettling idea.



Greetings,

      If you are reading this letter, you have received the honor of being called upon by the almighty Ravana to serve in his army. As you may know the King of Lanka has engaged in a military campaign against the warrior Rama. Regrettably, there have been losses sustained by our great army, thanks in large part to the betrayal of our nation by the monkey people of Kishkindha. Due to this, we have had several openings come up in the Lankan army, and you have been selected as one of our candidates. If you are interested in the position, please bring your resume to the Palace of Lankapura no later than next Monday. We have attached Ravana's curriculum vitae for your perusal so that you might become familiar with his military exploits and experience. If you have any questions please direct them to the guards' office at the palace gate. Please have a nice day.

Sincerely,

Indrajit

1st Lankan General 

Note: All recipients who fail to comply with the aforementioned recruitment will be investigated for treason, punishable by life imprisonment and/or death.

---

Curriculum Vitae

Headshot of Ravana
From Ravana: Roar of the Demon King

Personal Details:

Name: Dashananda a.k.a. "Ravana"

Address: Palace of Lankapura, Lanka

Birth date: c. 1560 BCE

Webpage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravana

Nationality: Lankan, formerly Bisrakhan

Education:

1556 - 1542 Studied under the great Brahmin, Vishrava, the mind-born, son of Pulastya.  Materials studied included martial arts, music, literature, language, and religion.

Honors and Achievements:

1493 Utilized clever strategy to capture the beautiful Sita from the warrior known as Rama, in order to make her my wife.

1513 Negotiated a valuable treaty of alliance with Vali, the ruler of the Kishkindha nation.

1523 Seized the Pushpaka Vimanana from the city of heaven for my personal use.

1525-1523 Launched a successful campaign upon the city of heaven, defeating several of the gods and obtaining untold riches.

1529-1526 Conquered the underworld after a long military campaign covering much of the Earth's surface. I granted the domain to one of my most valiant generals, Ahiravana.

1530 Created the rudra veena out of my own flesh and veins so that I might play music in honor of the god Shiva.

1530 Lifted the mountain of Shiva in order to bring him to the home of my dying mother, so she might worship him directly.

1535 Peacefully seized the kingdom of Lanka from the former ruler, Kubera, through powerful persuasion

1534 Granted several boons by the god of creation, Brahma, after cutting off own head ten times to show devotion. Boons include: a potion of immortality, a book of shape-shifting mantras, and supremacy over gods and beasts alike.

Professional Experience:

1535  - Current Title: Lankeshwar, absolute ruler of the Kingdom of Lanka. Current holdings include: Balidweepa, Malayadweep, Angadweepa, Varahdweepa, Shankhadweepa, Yavadweepa, Andhralaya, and Kushadweepa

1542 - 1535 Served as a Daitya Prince under the rulership of the mighty rakshasa, Sumali.

Additional Skills:

Military strategy
Kshatriyan combat
Extensive knowledge of the four Vedas and the six Upanishads

Musical Instruments:
Veena
Ravanahatha

Week 4 Reading Diary, continued: Ravana: Roar of the Demon King

Reading:
Ravana: Roar of the Demon King, A graphic novel detailing Ravana's life from his own perspective, Author: Abhimanyu Singh Sisodia, Artist, Sachin Nagar

I loved the art style of this book. It has one of my favorite depictions of Hanuman, shown below. There was also a great picture of Ravana roaring with his ten heads at the end, but I wasn't able to get a picture while I had the book. I'll have to try and get it later.

Character Depictions from Roar of the Demon King
Source

For the second half of the story, Ravana acted a lot more in character, from the perspective of the Ramayana. As they quoted, "Pride comes before the fall." And, he was extremely prideful. Every time he was defeated, he acted as if he had let it happen on purpose, and he never listened to warnings from anyone else.

The story of him capturing Indra and displaying him in the city, only to be captured himself and given the same punishment was a really good demonstration of Karma, I think.

In Ravana's version of his war with Rama, a lot of the characters seem to have much more respect for Rama. Kumbhakarna seems to be very much against fighting Rama, and he is only coaxed into doing so when Ravana says it's for his family, something that seems to be extremely important to Ravana and his siblings.

Also, Lakshmana's defeat of Ravana's son seems very dishonorable in this version. He takes a small army and invades a temple where the son is worshiping to kill him while unarmed. On top of that, the gods drop in to help as well. It seemed very out of character for Lakshmana, and if it was mentioned in the Ramayana, it was definitely glossed over.

I think it was interesting that Ravana has actually been worshiped as a deity, according to the notes. I didn't expect that at all. That and the (supposed) fact that he made an instrument, which would eventually lead to things like the violin, paints a very different picture of him.

Week 4 Reading Diary: Roar of the Demon King

Reading:
Ravana: Roar of the Demon King, A graphic novel detailing Ravana's life from his own perspective, Author: Abhimanyu Singh Sisodia, Artist, Sachin Nagar

Cover of Ravana: Roar of the Demon King
Source

 

 

Ravana had some interesting origins. I didn't realize that his father was a Brahmin. I think there's an interesting dicotomy between his grandfather and father. His grandfather was the epitome of evil, and his father actually reminded me of Vishvamitra. It seems as if Ravana could have gone either way, Dharma or Adharma. He's almost an anti-hero. I spent a good part of the story rooting for him.

Ravana's wife, Mandodari, and brother, Visbhishana, are both very devote characters, and they almost seem out of place next to a lot of the actions Ravana takes. From Ravana's perspective, the gods don't seem so perfect. There seems to be a mutual disrespect.

Ravana seemed to care about his family in the Ramayan, but in this story, he really seems to have a deep caring for them. A lot of his decisions are made for the good of his family members. Of course, the story does have a pretty unreliable narrator in Ravana himself.

It seems like Ravana's story follows the hero's journey. Of course, he succumbs to temptation, but he still ends up finding Dharma in the end. That might be an interesting tool for the structure of my storybook.

It's kind of mentioned as an aside, but Ravana actually goes to the underworld and conquers it. I can't imagine Yama would be very happy with that, but there's not really any mention of the god or his reaction. That might be worth looking into. It could make for a good conflict.