Tech Tip: SoundCloud Embedded

For the SoundCloud tech tip, I added The Doors' song "Moonlight Drive" to my Favorite Place post, whose title was inspired by the song.


Image Credit: Doors Elektra Publicity Photo, by Joel Brodsky (Elektra Records). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

[Extra] Reading Notes: The Fugitive

This week, I thought I'd do some extra reading to pick up some bonus points, and I ended up choosing The Fugitive by Rabindranath Tagore.

The first thing that strikes me about it, fittingly, is the very first line: "Darkly you sweep on, Eternal Fugitive..." It's so evocative, and let's be real: a story about any kind of eternal fugitive is my kind of story.

There's also this line: "...the storm centered with your dancing limbs shakes the sacred shower of death over life and freshens her growth." It's interesting to think of death as a process that needs to happen for a new batch of life to grow; it makes the Reaper less of a boss, and more of a handyman.

Plus: "We came hither together, friend, and now at the cross-roads I stop to bid you farewell. Your path is wide and straight before you, but my call comes up by ways from the unknown." I like the idea of two old friends or a longtime couple parting ways because of the paths they see for themselves in life: the protagonist feels like the world is his and he's got all the choices he wants, but his significant other feels like she has to follow the path that's been set out for her, either by her family history or legacy or a curse/something more personalized.

I also really just like the style of this in general: The MC is addressing everything to this mysterious You, who seems like a significant figure in his life, but also possibly one that's constantly shifting, cycling through. Each separate thought, some interesting hybrid between a poem and a micro-fiction story, is separated by a different number, but they're all tied together by the speaker and the way he's talking to that You.

This was another gem, on so many levels: "Do not stand before my window with those hungry eyes and beg for my secret. It is but a tiny stone of glistening pain streaked with blood-red by passion. What gifts have you brought with both hands to fling before me in the dust? I fear, if I accept, to create a debt that can never be paid even by the loss of all that I have."

"This morning, separation from those whom I was born too late to meet weighs on and saddens my heart."

And this one: "Be not concerned about her heart, my heart; leave it in the dark." It makes me think of someone who's done his best to turn his back on someone he used to care about, someone he's tried to convince himself to leave behind because she's too dark-hearted. He tells his companion not to worry about her or fall for her tricks, not to feel bad for her, because she doesn't want it or deserve it anyways.

"You have shattered my freedom, and with its wreck built your own prison." Dang. That's good stuff.

"For a moment bear with me if I forget myself." But interpreted literally.

The character, described by his own actions here, is really intriguing: "I forget if you ever shamed me by looking away when I bared my heart. I only remember the words that stranded on the tremor of your lips; I remember in your dark eyes sweeping shadows of passion, like the wings of a home-seeking bird in the dusk. I forget that you do not remember, and I come." For some reason, the dysfunctional nature of their on/off-again relationship also kind of reminds me of Joel and Clementine from Eternal Sunshine. 

Then there's this line from the exchange between Kacha and the Titan's daughter, Devayani: "Thrice had the jealous Titans slain me, and thrice you prevailed on your father to bring me back to life; therefore my gratitude can never die."

And since I'm gathering too many different story seeds and this post is starting to get unwieldy, I think I'll add one more thing, then save the rest for a different notes post: I really loved the dynamic between the protagonist and his Mind.
    "Why these preparations without end?"--I said to Mind--"Is some one to come?"
    Mind replied, "I am enormously busy gathering things and building towers. I have no time to answer such questions."
    Meekly I went back to my work.
    When things were grown to a pile, when seven wings of his palace were complete, I said to Mind, "Is it not enough?"
    Mind began to say, "Not enough to contain--" and then stopped.
    "Contain what?" I asked.
    Mind affected not to hear.

and

    "It is close at hand," said the mad man.
    I went to the office and boldly said to Mind, "Stop all work!"
    Mind asked, "Have you any news?"
    "Yes," I answered, "News of the Coming." But I could not explain.
    Mind shook his head and said, "There are neither banners nor pageantry!"




Bibliography: The Fugitive by Rabindranath Tagore. Source: Freebookapalooza.

Image Credit: Underwater Swimming by Unsplash. Source: Pixabay.

Week 9: Story Planning (Pre-Portfolio Story)

I'm going to do a story this week regardless, because I'll need something new for my portfolio. But I've got a few options I'm weighing, so I figured I'd plan the story out here, take a little longer deciding between them, and then write the story tonight or tomorrow. That way people in my weekly comment group will have something a little more substantial to comment on than a planning post, too.

For my next portfolio story, I've been batting around an idea of a young war god, but it hasn't quite come together yet. And in my reading this week, I came across a couple of other options that might work out instead:

The first comes from “The Birth of Draupadi,” where a little after Draupadi was born to her father from fire and sacrifice, it was predicted that she would be “the cause of the destruction” of many warriors. Of course, that ended up being because people fought and died to be her husband, which is a little bit anticlimactic, not to mention stupid of the suitors. But I love the idea of this daughter being born of vengeance and flames and then becoming Daddy’s Little Enforcer, the dark, crackling shadow of a girl who goes around taking out enemies of the kingdom or anyone else her dad sends her after.

I was also intrigued by something in “Karna Becomes King": the fact that “surprisingly, it was Duryodha who came forward and gave Karna a chance.” Yes, he was giving him a chance against his own cousins, so it benefitted D—but throughout the rest of the story, he and Karna are actually good friends to each other, and treat each other with care and loyalty. More loyalty than the “good guys” ever show each other, in a way. Thick as thieves, I guess, but I like that aspect of the villains being more loyal and tightly-knit than the heroes. Anyways, I’m always down for a story involving antiheroes or criminals or petty crime. I've also been tossing around an idea involving teenage grave robbers and a tiny magical/cursed-artifact empire, and that could work well with this: the MC and her best friend sticking together even when business as usual becomes decidedly unusual, and everything starts going very south.

Finally, there was a story called “Wax Palace Conspiracy.” I didn't find the tale itself all that interesting, but dang, that title. That title deserves to be spun off into its own story. I’m feeling horror, maybe with a little bit of supernatural/fantasy, but we’ll see.

Anyways, this is what I've been tossing around this week. Once I settle on one and get it written, I'll link back to it or something.

Bibliography: Epified: The Mahabharata, by Epified TV. Source: YouTube.

Image Credit: Man with a Shovel, by tpsdave. Source: Pixabay.

Reading Notes: Epified Mahabharata, Part D

As frustrating as it was to read about Draupadi’s birth-based rejection of Karna in “Karna’s Humiliation,” the way it scarred and impacted his character arc is still really compelling. It might end up being interesting to write about a character who’s got a similarly complex relationship with his birth and bloodline, and how the two interact and conflict—a character who deserves the best based on skill and merit alone, but is also never going to be allowed to accomplish anything through legitimate venues, because of his family or their past, maybe even something his family is known for or illegally participates in. I could see a story spun off of this about a character from a Mickey O’Neil-like background, cast out and judged by everyone else and so deciding to get what he wants by less legitimate means if necessary.

I was also really struck by a line from “Narad Visits Indraprastha.” In it, the Pandavas are being told a story about a couple of brothers with a very tight-knit bond: “They knew the only way death could approach them was if they killed each other.” Unfortunately, the brothers in the story ended up fighting over a girl, because of course. But I do think there’s a lot of painful potential in the idea of two brothers who put each other ahead of everyone else, till something goes wrong and turns the two of them into bitter enemies. Somehow, being enemies with someone you still care a lot about seems much more bitter than someone you’ve just always disliked—you have to love someone at least a little to deep-down hate them, right? Plus the situation would be even more complicated because of the fact that the brothers know each other’s likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, histories. Because they know each other, period, full stop. And I think some interesting, complex storytelling issues could come from that.



Bibliography: Epified: The Mahabharata, by Epified TV. Source: YouTube.

Image Credit: Street Lamp at Night, by Pexels. Source: Pixabay.

Reading Notes: Epified Mahabharata, Part C

The first thing that caught my interest was the story “Karna the Kshatriya,” in which Karna’s new master took a nap and rested his head on Karna’s thigh, and a scorpion came along and bit Karna while his master was sleeping. Not wanting to wreck his master’s nap, Karna ignores the pain, waiting till the older man wakes up. But when he does wake up, instead of being grateful for Karna’s sacrifice, he kicks him out—only a warrior could withstand that kind of pain, he says, and Karna knows he doesn’t train warriors. I love the fact that Karna tried to hard to be good, but that was the very thing that gave him away—that got him punished and kicked out for what he was. I’d probably take this down a monster route, because that’s just who I am, but we’ll see.

Also, in “Karna Becomes King,” there’s the fact that “surprisingly, it was Duryodha who came forward and gave Karna a chance.” Yes, he was giving him a chance against his own cousins, so it benefitted D—but throughout the rest of the story, he and Karna are actually good friends to each other, and treat each other with care and loyalty. More loyalty than the “good guys” ever show each other, in a way. Thick as thieves, I guess, but I like that aspect of the villains being more loyal and tightly-knit than the heroes. Anyways, I’m always down for a story involving antiheroes or criminals or petty crime.

Also, there’s not much about “Wax Palace Conspiracy” that I actually find interesting, but dang, that title. That title deserves to be spun off into its own story. I’m feeling horror, maybe with a little bit of supernatural/fantasy, but we’ll see.

In “Bhim Kills Bakasur,” the Pandavas come to a town where villagers rotate in being chosen to deliver food to a local monster—whereupon the monster, you know, eats the deliverer too. The nice old scholar they meet is slated to play delivery boy and also for death, but Bhima takes his place, then uses that in to kill the monster. I like the idea of the MC agreeing to turn himself over to a local terror figure or crime boss in order to infiltrate the organization, take it down from the inside—you know his plan and the risks, and you learn over time why he’s doing it, what his personal stake is. But the story itself just ends with him meeting the monster or crime boss or whoever and playing nice, starting the process—so you don’t know how it turns out. A taste of what’s to come, only it never actually does come.

In “The Birth of Draupadi,” a little after Draupadi was born to her father from fire and sacrifice, it was predicted that she would be “the cause of the destruction” of many warriors. Of course, that ended up being because people fought and died to be her husband, which is a little bit anticlimactic, not to mention stupid of the suitors. But I love the idea of this daughter being born of vengeance and flames and then becoming Daddy’s Little Enforcer, the dark, crackling shadow of a girl who goes around taking out enemies of the kingdom or anyone else her dad sends her after.


Bibliography: Epified: The Mahabharata, by Epified TV. Source: YouTube.

Image Credit: "Buick Electra in Dark Alley" by Fossa. Source: Wikimedia Commons.