An Enriching Week

So I have been waiting for this book to come for quite some time now. I ordered it the day after Christmas and it came on the 10th. I was about to go crazy waiting. I've wanted this book for the longest time and no book stores had it in stock. So I ordered it off the trusty internet! Woo!

For those of you not in the know, the Ramayana is a Hindu epic written by the ancient poet Valmiki. It has been told in numerous Asian cultures for centuries and is the reason for the yearly celebration of the Hindu holiday Diwali.

I learned about this book because I bought the author, Sanjay Patel's, first book, "The Little Book of Hindu Dieties". The book is the story of the Ramayana told in the most beautiful visual style. Patel, being an animator and designer at PIXAR, is more than versed in the visual language. After purchasing both of his books, I can honestly say he has a customer for life in me. I mean wow. I read the entire thing from cover to cover in one sitting and enjoyed every minute of it.

At the end of the book, Patel also gives a bit of a glimpse into his creative process, which I thought was very generous of him. There are many ways to tell the Ramayana, and I was pleased to see he told the happier version of the story. It has not been since Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues that I have been so excited about a new version of the Ramayana. If you're interested in a prose version, there is a wonderful author by the name of R. K. Narayan who wrote a fantastic version as well.

As for the other books I am reading, I am still working on the two I had previously mentioned and plan to probably write about them in a future blog seeing as I'm nearly finished with both of them. I'd have probably finished them already but I have been busy with various things. One of those things was helping my good friend Wick Thomas edit a video for the KC EQUAL Center about their recent protest against the anti-gay sentiments rising in Uganda.



Doing this video was very enriching for me. It felt good to use my talent to make something of value that has the capacity to make change. I am blessed to have a friend like Wick who constantly encourages people to push their boundaries and to commit toward things that matter. We need more people like him in the world. It also felt good just to edit again. I haven't edited video in so long, I only wish we'd have had a better program than iMovie to work with.

Other than that, things have been not bad. Been catching up with some old friends, making some new friends, and I might be looking at a possible job offer in the near future. I really hope this will happen, because I am hurting for money and really need some change. If you know anyone looking to fill a position, I'm your girl.