Where I go from here

I just wanted to take a moment to describe my position as the creator and main writer for this blog. I've gone through a lot of transitions in my life trying to grasp on to something that I thought was me, something that I felt would allow me to use all of my talents and also challenge me mentally and physically. Essentially what I mean is, I wondered what I'd do to be successful in life. Initially my idea was to become a doctor but as I dived into the material, I found it far less appealing than I had previously thought. So for a while I was distraught, I remember I had always pondered about archaeology but I never thought of it as a career choice because it wasn't as profitable as something in the medical or engineering field. These were things I was told by people around including my mentor and various educators I knew. I allowed my life to be driven by the desires of others and the lust for money. I've grown to state now where material possessions are no longer the forefront of my enjoyment. I no longer hold consumerism as my means of living and being happy. I care more now about my connection with the universe and understanding the natural mechanics around me so I can live harmoniously with it. I have Dmt (dimethyltryptamine) to thank for that, it allowed me to go into the deepest expanses of myself (I will describe my experiences on dmt in a later post) . 

I started hiking a lot as a consequence of teachings I was putting into practice and realized that when I was alone in the forest, I felt a unique sense of belonging like being out there was where I was truly tested as a human being. All the while, I was continually immersed in esoteric ancient teachings and philosophies, helping to hone me spritually. So now it's the end of summer I'm ready to live and flourish without worrying about what other people think I should be doing. I'm moving at my own pace and it feels really good. Anthropology is a subject I feel encapsulates the things I am most interested in, like ancient history, evolution and human culture. I want to eventually immerse myself completely in the field and become one of the greatest anthropologists that ever lived. The Leakey family will be among the greats I will be immortalized with, contrasting the sheer vision I have for contributing to the field. 

Top 10 Archaeological Finds of the 21st Century

Hello readers, I just wanted to update you with this cool and informative article I was reading through. It notes the top 10 archaeological finds of the 21st century in detail, stating significant dates, people, and information about location of excavation site. This article also presents potential opportunities for those that may be in the field and want to contribute to a specific project. I myself am very interested in figuring out the secrets behind the wooden henge stones which also reside in England along with stone henge. Happy researching fellow anthropologists/archaeologists.

Cheers

 

Top 10 Archaeological Finds of the 21st Century

 http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/10-archaeological-finds-21st-century.htm

Anthropology in Toronto

Yesterday I spent my day at the Spadina Museum with my girlfriend Victoria Costa. We planned on going there for a while, when we first went to Casa Loma last year, we decided that we had to at least visit once. So we finally got around to it a year later and it was such an enriching experience. It was a guided tour with a small intimate group of 6, including Victoria and I. To dive into the actual experience, our guide was named Cathy (short for Catherine) and she was very informative about all of the cultural details of the home and also the aesthetics of how the house was designed including minor details about carpets used, furniture, wallpaper and paintings. We were told the home began construction in 1866 and originally acquired by James Austin from the previous owner William Warren Baldwin. James Austin was the founder of Dominion Bank and Consumers Gas to give a little background on his history. All the additions to the home were completed by 1912. A little fun fact that Cathy shared with us was that the Eatons family were neighbors to the Austins. We also got to see who in the lineage of the Austin family still remains, which was a cool modern perspective at their place in history. Because the estate was built on a hill, it was named Spadina house; Spadina stands for sudden rise of land. That's why Spadina Museum and Casa Loma are on such a high perch. As a summary, we learned a lot about the impact the Austin family had on Toronto financially and how Toronto developed culturally in the 1920s. We learned a lot about the smaller intricacies of the Austin family as well, such as the clubs they were involved in that added to their prestige and their musical endeavors. Overall it was a great experience. A few weeks ago, I made a vow to myself that I would start taking more initiative in my field and become educated in all aspects of our cultural history and other aspects of human development. I'm an Anthropologist in the making, and this experience only helped affirm that conviction I felt.

 Main Entrance

 Garden design at Front entrance

 Front foyer

Indoor garden

 Informal business room

 One of the family rooms

 

Old Canned foods (Servants kitchen)

 One of the beautiful displayed throughout the home

Old newspaper articles

Victoria by the window in one the servants' rooms on the 3rd floor

The archaeological finds from the Spadina house site

Archaeological finds cont'

Archaeological finds cont' 

Me in front of the Spadina Museum, Anthropologist in the making

Victoria in front of the Spadina Museum

Star wars nostalgia

Now and again, true star wars fans get major nostalgia when they think about the moments that first brought them into the star wars franchise. For me it was definitely that moment when Obi Wan was teaching Luke about the light saber and the properties of the force on Han's ship, the millennium falcon. It was just such a real and captivating moment for me. With the new movies on the horizon, there is even more excitement bubbling underneath the surface so I'm sure this will mean more visits to my star wars roots. Anyways, I'll leave you guys with this awesome picture as visual portrayal.

source: http://space-arcade.tumblr.com/post/21459694929

Dark souls fans don't worry, Bloodborne looks awesome on PS4

So Gamescom was today and a few games were announced but my personal fav of the show was Bloodborne. Being a huge fan of the original Demon's souls and now the Dark souls series, it's nice to see that From Software kept most of the aesthetics and characteristics that defined its' predecessors. It's still the same risk reward system that forces you to respect its gameplay mechanics, which is one of the parts I loved the most about the Souls' games. When you defeat a boss you actually feel like you accomplished something of great magnitude. To this day, I have not experienced multiplayer that has been able to rival that of the Souls' series. Without going into major detail, the mulitplayer has always been something where players are able to seamlessly jump in and help others in the quest to eradicate darkness, or invade and take all of their souls in your quest for power. I love that the game gives you choice and a real challenge to overcome, the cooperative aspects are just an added plus that keep the game fresh and active. I know I haven't talked much about  Bloodborne itself but at this point, I can only really analyze the superficial aspect of the game because it isn't out yet and I haven't gotten a chance to try a demo (duhh lol). But from the trailer, the game looks amazing. This was more so a chance to just talk about how amazing the Souls series is and maybe draw in prospective fans who are gluttons for punishment and pleasure. Also the lore is fantastic.

For a list of the other major Gamescom announces for PS4 check out IGN

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/08/12/gamescom-2014-sonys-biggest-playstation-reveals

Scarborough bluffs adventure

So my friend Quincy and my girlfriend Victoria came with me to the bluffs and it was actually pretty fun. We were hanging out in the regular area in the beginning then decided to explore more and we found this cool beach spot near the cliff that I hadn't been to yet. It was really cool, it had a family vibe/ cottage feel. There was also this cliff that I managed to scale, once I was up there, I saw a bunch of people below at the beach pointing an looking up at me. It was a pretty exhilarating feeling. I took a bunch of pictures so I hope you enjoy.

Looking all pharaoh like :p

Me after I conquered the cliff

Egyptians and the Grand Canyon

So, I was watching this program called National park secrets and legends and the topic that stuck out to me the most was the idea that Egyptians may have sailed over the Atlantic thousands of years before Columbus because of the evidence discovered in a cave along the grand canyon by G.E. Kincaid. According the official story regarding this incident, Egyptian hieroglyphics were seen inscribed on the walls, in addition to a few artifacts seemingly right out of Egypt, according to Kincaid. It was said that the Smithsonian sent an archaeologist named "Jordan" to verify the findings and then the items were then sent to Washington and never seen again. On record the Smithsonian denies any involvement with the excavation event and to this day, certain areas of the grand canyon are restricted and under military surveillance raising the curiosity of what may have been found there.

 

Source: http://www.crystalinks.com/gc_egyptconnection.html 

Gaming Update

Hey guys, just giving y'all a quick update with what's been going on with my gaming habits lately. I beat Dark souls 2 a while back and still have a huge backlog of games for my ps3 and ps vita that I have to finish but since getting my ps4 (and receiving it back from being repaired) my motivation to finish my ps3 games has significantly diminished. Although the same cannot be said about my vita, I do think in some ways, I've moved on from the ps3. I'm such a different gamer from the one I was before. I find that now, I'm satisfied with either short immersive experiences, with the ability to employ the suspend feature and resume later like that which can be found on the vita, or just full out interactive experiences that make me feel like i'm part of a world (destiny ps4), or games that actually require cooperation to function (the last of us multiplayer ps4). My gaming experiences now have to measure up to the incredible experiences I've had in the past like dark souls & 2, mass effect trilogy, red dead redemption, and the uncharted series. You can say I'm gaming snob because of how I've been spoiled with all these greats games. So I would have to say in all, I'm pretty happy with where I am in terms of my gaming habits. I just got a Nintendo 3DS XL with Pokemon y for 89.99 plus shipping, which is an amazing deal, so I'll have more than enough to play in the coming months. Pokemon Y, I might add, is an amazing experience. It is the most accurate capturing of the original TV show debut because it actually had a fresh feel and the characteristics & gameplay just exuded Pokemon personality. It also suits my need for wanting a game to pick up and play with suspend feature. To quickly touch on the last of us remastered, I had completed the original campaign on the ps3 and I loved it. It was a totally new game experience for me because the way the story and gameplay tied together, I actually felt the plight, I got a true sense of survival. The PS4 just enhances that and puts it in a better package that is 60 fps and 1080p resolution and packaged in DLC. All in all, the ps4 adds some ample improvements to the last of us, making it technically the best version of that game.

P.S posted a score of me playing supply raid in last of us multiplayer, I'm just too good lol