Paris holds the key to my heart

For my lovely blog today I am choosing option 2 which is If you could do your monument analysis somewhere else where would it be and why. That is so easy for me. I went to France in 2009 and the thing that interested me the most was the catacombs. I will admit that I was extremely frightened the deeper I got into the underground and I had no idea what to expect at the time. But, when we finally started walking through I was amazed. We weren't supposed to touch the bones, but how could you not. These bones were from the 18th century. When else would I ever have been able to say I did that. Plus there was so much interesting history around looting and people that hung around down there. I did not expect it to be the most fascinating thing about my trip, but it truly was. As soon as I got a tourist booklet describing the history of the catacombs, I wouldn't put it down. France was my first time leaving North America and it was amazing to see history that was so old. When I back to school, all the kids who went to France got to tell everyone their favourite part of the trip. It's probably pretty obvious what I talked about. I think a big part of my fascination was the signs in the catacombs. Especially the one I put in this blog that says "Believe everyday is your last". They really give you the shivers. I would absolutely say that I would pick the catacombs to do my monument analysis on because it was something that I was fascinated with before I even really understood Anthropology.

This is the video my friend took of us in France. I don't suggest you watch all of it (it's about an hour and a bit long), but go to 26 minutes and you'll see us all going into the catacombs. One of the coolest experiences I have ever had. I apologize I couldn't embed it directly onto the page. It wouldn't let me. Click here to see the video. 

Picture cited: http://www.po-ferries-uk.co.uk/blog/po-ferries/city-of-bones-the-paris-catacombs/

Is it just me or is it chilly in here?

I found it ridiculously difficult trying to find interesting non-standard funerary practices available to Canadians. However, through pure luck I came across a website called the Cryonics Society of Canada. Now if you are not familiar, Google defines cryonics as "The practice or technique of deep-freezing the bodies of those who have died of an incurable disease, in the hope of a future cure". The deep freezing process involves being put in freezing cold liquid nitrogen. Apparently in 1987 a psychology student at McMaster University named Douglas Quinn created the Cryonics Society of Canada. Why did he create this? Well apparently two years prior to this, Doug had became the first Canadian to make arrangement to be cryopreserved when he died with a group called the Alcor Foundation in the UK. Apparently, in the early 1900s two Europeans were buried in Yellowknife with a permafrost burial assisted by the Cryonics Society of Canada. Apparently they haven't assisted permafrost burial since then. BC attempted to pass a law to not allow the marketing of cryonics, but there wasn't any success. There wasn't much on their history after the beginning of the 1900s but while looking at their news and events page I noticed that they're still having events to inform people about cryonics. The last one was actually just held 10 days ago in Toronto. This group seems like they're serious is lobbying for this opportunity to have a new funerary practice available to Canadians, and it also seems like not many people mind the idea. It has only been BC so far that has seemed really against it.

I think a big reason why this fascinates me so much is (1) because this is amazing to think that we could potentially bring someone back to life in the future and (2) one of my heroes (Walt Disney) was rumoured to be cryopreserved right under the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Disneyland. 

http://www.cryocdn.org/cdnhist.html <-- Cryonics Society of Canada website
http://www.deaflion.com/people/walt-disney/ <-- Where I took my photo from

Welcome!

Welcome to my lovely little blog my fellow Anthro 392 peers. My name is Taylor Sands and I'm in my second year here at UVic. I'm in this course because I'm currently doing a double major in Anthropology and Environmental Studies. Why you ask? I can't exactly put my finger on it why, but I adore anthropology. From what I've seen so far, I think I like physical anthropology best. If I were to do anything with anthropology I think it would be something to do with forensics because I find that completely fascinating. I'm also extremely passionate about Environmental Studies because my dad is a manager of energy for a school district back at home (Coquitlam, BC). He always informs my family about the environment and helps us be sustainable people. Why both of these subjects together? I believe that learning from the past (Anthropology) could potentially help us make better decisions for the future (Environmental Studies). 

Outside of school I'm a Community Leader in residence and I am obsessed with anything to do with The Hunger Games, Breaking Bad and anything Disney. If you love any of these things, you should DEFINITELY let me know. Ps. that picture down there is the new poster I just bought. So happy!