a brief history of our month of may (and late april)

april and may were a busy time, to say the least.

we were off doing this

road trip to montreal ft. cirque du soleil

and this

wine and dance beats

a little bit of this

exploring the red dirt expanses of pei

lots of this

general foolishness around sackville

even more of this

wine and dance beats

and then this

graduating!

 and then ali went all the way back home and summer jobs started and it rained a lot in sackville because sackville likes to rain. so you see it's not that we don't like you, it's just that we like spending time outside more.

#studentproblems.

i'm not going to lie, things have been difficult lately. we're almost done our undergrad (some are already done). people are talking about their plans for the fall (shout out to our gurl sarah and being accepted to a program to teach english in france. woo!!), jobs, grad schools... the future...ahh! NUTZ!

i've noticed how we have all been stressed out or sad about being done, but i don't want to focus on that. i want to focus on the time we have left with one another!

i feel very fortunate to have the amazing friends i have in my life! it wasn't until quite recently that i realized just how much i love my friends! they can change my mood in a split second with just a smile, hug, or by making me laugh... i know it sounds dorky... but the people i've met in the last two years have had a very large impact on me. i didn't know i could be this happy before<3

with that said, i want to enjoy the time we have left together to it's fullest. i want to laugh, smile, joke, drink all the wine, eat all the food, take all the photos, enjoy all the company NOW!

so, if you are sad or stressed, i hope you can smile, because in the everlasting words of the late great dr. seuss, "don't cry because it's over. smile because it happened."


-m.

ps. this song is actually the most loveliest song i have ever heard. i feel like a dork listening to it because i cannot help but smile. and i hope it will make you smile too :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK_OS_zpHTE&feature=youtu.be

the ladies of SAM are always classy.

role model

“as girls we’re taught to love sleeping beauty. i mean, who wants to be sleeping beauty when you can be aladdin?”
                     - ellen page


it is on my bucket list to run into her in halifax someday.

s

smarts

(via kerri and eva)

s

"Archaeology is the search for fact... not truth. If it's truth you're looking for, Dr. Tyree's philosophy class is right down the hall."

Adventure. Intrigue. Treasure. Archaeological depictions in pop culture are full of attention grabbing aspects such as these as well as heroic and hairy chested leading men and gorgeous and mysterious exotic locations. As a student studying archaeology I have nothing against the popularity that the discipline has in pop culture, I think it's pretty great that the public is interested in history, but I do have a couple of issues with the stereotypes and popular beliefs surrounding archaeology that these depictions have created.

Now, before I go on with the topic at hand I'm going to share a little tidbit about my experience with archaeology. I have taken part in a field school in Belize for twice now, both seasons being a month in duration. We stayed at a fully functional but less than glamorous camp, working at an ancient Maya site in the middle of the jungle. From digging through clay to bug nets, outhouses to climbing overgrown temples, and howler monkeys to analyzing artifacts I loved every moment of the trip, but let me tell you, there was most definitely no golden idols, evil villains, or posh living quarters. 

hard at work, note the lack of face melting.

home away from home - the camp to the right. Photo Credit: Bruce Templeton.

Now from that top photo you can pretty clearly see that we are not following a series of clues while raiding the tomb of an ancient emperor to find a plethora of gold while ghost spirits unleash deadly traps of fire while the building tumbles around us while a despicable villain lurks in the shadows WHILE the golden treasure melts our faces off. No sir. We are carefully excavating, following the established ethics and procedures, and eventually filled that test pit back up, leaving almost no trace of our work there. 

This leads me to my first issue with archaeology in pop culture: lack of ethics.

With the exception of documentary programs, archaeological depictions usually lean more towards a grab-and-go approach to archaeology, where the only thing of value is the largest and most monetarily valuable artifact. Even documentary-type programs have this focus on the 'big find', because it is what the public is most interested in, when in reality the little finds and information gathered are of great importance to understanding the day to day life of the culture/society being studied. Archaeological depictions in pop culture are seriously lacking in the taking your time, following standard procedure, handling artifacts with care, and doing proper documentation and analysis realms. From Indiana Jones to American Digger, National Treasure to Chasing Mummies, archaeology is portrayed in a way that incorporates treasure, adventure, and a sense of urgency and time constraints, all of which add excitement and appeal to the public.

second issue: stereotyped image.

standard archaeologist attire. you all thought it.

 Arguably the most popular of archaeological depictions in popular culture, the Indiana Jones franchise has epitomized the archaeologist as being one of two types - the hairy chested or the hairy chinned (those who go out and do hands on fieldwork for their research, and those who do their research through reading texts). While they were not the first to dress archaeologists in what has become the stereotypical archaeologist fashion, Indiana Jones certainly solidified the image of archaeologists wearing khaki and a fedora. While the attire of an archaeologist in the field isn't too far off from this, there are multiple other types of archaeology that require different attire. 

Third issue: sexism.

A problem with archaeology is that it has been perceived as being an inherently masculine practice due to it's male dominated history and the aspects associated with it (action, adventure, outdoors, strength, hardship, drinking, etc.), and pop culture has supported this through it's heroic male leads. When looking at depictions of females in archaeology films  it can be seen that over time female characters begin to appear in the spotlight, instead of just as damsels in distress. However, because of archeology being constructed and viewed as a masculine field leading female characters are often portrayed in a masculine way, and are essentially male characters in a female disguise. Prime example? Lara Croft.

While it may be said that Lara Croft is merely a strong female character, she possesses all of the characteristics typical of your average heroic male lead - with the exception of her skin tight attire.

So arises the question: WHY is archaeology is being portrayed so inaccurately in pop culture? Archaeology burst into pop culture with the discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamen, which garnered media attention from around the world.  As archaeology continued to grow in popularity films and television shows began to be produced. Due to a lack of communication between archaeologists and the public the public began to turn to fringe archaeology and fictional depictions to get their fill of archaeology. Hollywood is not interested in an accurate depiction of the discipline, but rather appealing to as large of an audience as possible to maximize profits. Audiences have begun to demand more from films however, and as a result archaeologists and historians are being utilized more than ever to assure details are correct - though this does not mean that archaeologists of pop culture will stop being unethical any time soon. The disconnect between archaeologists and the public has resulted in a near monopoly of the industry by pop culture, and the creation of a false understanding of who archaeologists are and what they do. There is a certain sense of nostalgia and mystery that surrounds the past and archaeology, causing it to appeal to both young and old and has been marketed accordingly.

Indiana Jones Lego set, complete with conveniently located treasure.

Now, in spite of all of this I'm going to reaffirm that I do appreciate the awareness of archaeology that is raised, as well as archaeology's popularity in pop culture. It is exciting that people are finding history interesting and are appreciative of museums and want to visit them and archaeological sites. I'm just a little concerned that all my friends and family think I'm going to be busting down temples and snatching up artifacts when I grow up.

s.

this post was written to the absolutely fantastic sounds of the Black Keys's newest album El Camino.

Sources:

Kulik, Karol. "A Short History of Archaeological Comunication," in Archaeology and the Media, ed. Timothy Clack and Marcus Brittain, 111-124. California: Left Coast Press, 2007.

photo: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TREJ--ugL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Holtorf, Cornelius. Archaeology is a Brand!: The Meaning of Archaeology in Contemporary Popular Culture. Oxford: Left Coast Press, 2007.

photo: http://openlibrary.org/works/OL8489130W/Archeology_Is_a_Brand!

Holtorf, Cornelius. From Stonehenge to Las Vegas: Archaeology as Popular Culture. California: AltaMira Press, 2005.

photo: http://openlibrary.org/works/OL8489131W/From_Stonehenge_to_Las_Vegas

Indiana Jones photo: http://www.google.ca/imgres?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1196&bih=596&tbm=isch&tbnid=l6vTdbc7r2tdjM:&imgrefurl=http://movies.ign.com/articles/118/1182597p1.html&docid=Du5gDmY2Wv5TKM&imgurl=http://moviesmedia.ign.com/movies/image/article/118/1182597/cowboys-aliens-20110719034801336.jpg&w=431&h=300&ei=_tF_T5DEAcP8ggfI7si8DA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=562&vpy=31&dur=195&hovh=187&hovw=269&tx=156&ty=111&sig=108160869769436767562&page=2&tbnh=126&tbnw=168&start=28&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:28,i:243

Indiana Jones Lego set photo: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/bricktales/z-godbricks/7621-1.jpg

Indiana Jones title quote: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097576/quotes

Lara Croft photo: http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BNzgwMDcwNzk1NV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNzY2OTY5._V1._SY317_.jpg

on love

Robbie knows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww8JgDPp9sU

s

Rent

rent opened last night. ali and i haven't really had time to sleep or eat or do homework in a while (ali while longer than i - life of a stage manager). it's great. if you are in sackville or the near vicinity i definitely suggest you come see the show, it is really fantastic.

s

the break that was not a break

it turns out march is going to be a pretty busy month for me. theatre-wise i am assistant stage managing for Rent (which ali is stage managing, whatta girl), and doing costume design for another show called Abel. life-wise applications for both summer jobs and programs for next year are due, i need to work on the yearbook, i am going to see the sam roberts band and hey rosetta, and visiting my dear friend julia in fredericton. and then there's just a whole heck of a lot of school work to do.

julia! o we are pretty.

in light of this insanity to come i decided it would be smart and necessary to buckle down for reading week and use it for, well, reading for once. i have been super productive and knocked quite a lot of things off of my massive to-do list, which feels really good. knowing that i will be a lot less stressed this coming month is a big relief. this being said i am super jealous of all those jerks that headed south for the break. you turds.

where i was last spring break - jamaica. (ali was there too!)

i worked on a whole bunch of things, everything from renewing my passport to reading about archaeology in the media, applying for teaching in france to going to the gym, writing a paper on canadian history to doing a major room clean & purge. SO MUCH PRODUCTIVITY HAPPENED.

i did let myself have some fun between all the work - mary and i built that crazy 3d puzzle of the cathedral, the girls and i had a movie night and watched crazy stupid love, gushing over the emma stone and ryan gosling scene. if you are female and have not seen it you most definitely need to, i'll even attach it right here and everything, that's how much you should see it. if you're a guy you should probably watch it so you know how to properly woo a lady.

i spent another day with a different pack o friendsies having a lord of the rings extended version marathon, with all the appropriate meals included. so. much. food. so. many. orcs.

still waiting for them to make out.

so, while i did not get a typically awesome spring break with bikinis and beaches and mojitos, i had an excellent reading week in the snowy lands of sackville in the company of good friends who were just as swamped with work as i.

as a reward for accomplishing so much this week i will be making myself this deliciousness.

rainbow white sangria! except my class will have a sugared rim.

s

ps. i have had childish gambino on repeat all week.

3d magic

oh what a find. a 3d puzzle of a church. so yeah, we built it! we built it real goods!

built from the ground up.

one piece at a time...

we have a roof!

done like dinner!

those who visit our church.

its creators.

hehe.

- s&m

ps. we're also good cooks... see!

mary's stew!

sarah's fresh pasta!

love.love.love

happy valentine's day!

we even wore pink for you.

we hope this makes you feel loved or smile. it is a pretty song
- s.a.m.

a jaunt around europe with s & a

we have big plans for september. they look roughly like this:

holy crap it's europe.

the wonderful, cookie-bearing julie is also included in these plans. we are hoping she brings cookies in her backpack, lots and lots of cookies. they will fuel us as we make our way around europe on trains n planes n bikes n stuff. we are hoping to ride a blimp. this seems unlikely.

we quickly came to the realization that this is a whole lot of places to go in a month, and we will have to use our time wisely and plan smart. in light of this we have decided to go for a 'divide and conquer' strategy, each of us taking a couple countries and researching the bejesus out of it so we don't miss any of the fun times. after much though we have concluded that the best approach to compiling our plans and map out the exact train and road ways we will need to take, as well as the locations of all the hot spots would be to create a large map of europe on the living room floor with various breakfast cereals (chex = czech republic, french toast crunch = france, puffed wheat = netherlands, etc). mary doesn't know yet. now she will.

now, the tricky part is that our knowledge of europe and all its hidden gems is limited. this is why we would like to extend to you, dear ________ (insert name here), an invitation to influence our plans! drank awesome wine in france? shredded the gnar gnar in switzerland? had coffee at a quaint cafe in italy? done german stuff? LET US KNOW! we would welcome travel advice and will send you a hug in the mail or give you one in person.

shenanigans will be had by all.

s. & a.

ps. this here is a song we like. we listened to it last night while doing this:

studying.

sex.

MASSIE. wtf??

if you weren't already aware of it, i have a part-time job with mta... i'm the MASSIE program assistant 
(wait, wtf is MASSIE??)
MASSIE - mount allison semester studies in english.
so japanese students from kg university come to mta for a semester. take special classes, where they focus to improve their english listening, speaking, writing, and thinking skills.


i consider myself very fortunate to have this job. i have met some incredible people (massies and canadians) i started out by being a conversation partner (saw they needed people on facebook...) then continued. after having four different massies, in the span of a year, i applied to be program assistant, starting this past fall... and obvi i got it.

yu - my first massie

i've learned this past fall, and during our new winter program, that i love getting to know the whole group of massie students who come. i enjoy talking with each, watching them improve in their skills and confidence!!


i can definitely say that being involved in the program has allowed me to see that i am interested in japan and japanese culture. it pushed me to apply to the JET programme... japanese english teaching. i have an interview next week, so hopefully by the end of this summer, i'll be in japan! wow! talk about culture shock... i'll stick out like a sore thumb...

fall '11 massies

this past week we got a new group of massie students, they are the first winter group, they are only here for 6 weeks. but i'm super-duper pumped for them to be here. i'm actually pretty impressed with them... well, i mean they are actually dressed appropriately for winter, don't want the lil massies to freeze... that'd be awkward...

winter '12 massies

-M.

ps. i found out today that i am going to be the summer program assistant! points!

tribute to julie

this girl brought us cookies and a plethora of earrings. we were pretty happy.

the lady of the hour.

i love tea. i love cookies. i love lamp.

earring madness!

omnomnom.

julie is a good thing.

s.a.m.

the onesie

this is by far the most ridiculous thing that i have ever purchased. i mean, my children's sized muppets socks  from walmart were pretty silly, but at least they were functional on a daily basis.

from modcloth and originally priced at 50 bones i am quite pleased to be able to say that i only spent a mere 15 on it. it was an 'ah, what the heck' situation mixed with a 'this is not something i can see and not purchase' situation.

i mean look at it.

colour blocking like a boss.

i sent a couple of my friends the link for it and asked them how it made them feel. one asked me what i would do with it and if i was planning on frequenting the beach more next summer. the rest of em told me that it was probably the best use of 15$ they had heard of in a while. fashion forward, fashion forward.

while i was scoping the site out for other sweet deals the size i wanted sold out, leaving me with no choice but to get an extra small in it. instead of leaving the onesie behind i interpreted this to be a sign that the small wouldn't have fit and the fates were telling me to get an xs. i closed my eyes (literally) and clicked 'confirm order' button and don't really know how to feel. half of me felt like laughing at myself, the other felt like i was soon to be the baddest girl in town.

shipping this puppy took what felt like aeons, though it was only about two weeks  in reality. yes, i did check my mailbox everyday. when the parcel finally did  arrive i was pretty excited - would this prove to be a waste of 15 dollars or the best thing to ever happen to my wardrobe? i hustled home, took the onesie out of its packaging and slipped er on. little tight. higher neckline than expected.  kind of a wedgie inducer (the bigger size was totally what i needed). but all in all pretty good for a 15 dollar onesie.

for all you fashion mongers out there i plan to wear this number with my black jeans or a black skirt.i don't think my eyes could deal with it being paired with anything other than black.

did i mention it snaps in the crotch? imma get all the boys.

s.


ps. good music straight outta australia comes from here. the boat song is my personal favorite.

just a lil lovin' from the oven.

i don't try to hide it...

i love to bake.

but not just to bake for the sake of baking. i love to share my goodies with others. that's why i love a good ol' potluck. when i need to de-stress or get away from life's problems i bake. i want to share with others, whether it's the other members of s.a.m, the neighbor elephants, my father, or a friend who needs cheering up, i always share.

growing up i would always help my great grandmother in the kitchen, then i would try to help my mom. but mostly i just wanted to lick the spoon. my nanny was an amazing lady. every sunday she would put together this huge dinner for the family. turkey or roast beef, with all the fixing. then to top it all off, dessert. and oh man, were they amazing! boiled icing was her speciality. now, my mother is also a fantastic cook, growing up with my nanny, she learned a thing or two. but one time, i still remember this, she attempted nanny's boiled icing... fail. and even to this day, she doesn't understand why. she's made it since then, and each time, it's been a success. 

so i guess, being around my nanny and my mom in the kitchen i developed a liking to baking. but like them, they would always bake for others, so maybe that's why i do the same thing. bake for others.

noms.

so why banana chocolate chip muffins?

my friend kali (she likes birds) made me a pair of feathered earrings. and as payment i agreed to make her banana chocolate chip muffins. my first reaction, "yay, i get to bake," second thought, "shit, i've got to wait for my bananas to ripen." 

this is a recipe my mom gave (so you know it's good):

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 12/3 cups white sugar
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 mashed ripe bananas
• 1 egg
• ½ cup butter, melted
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• as many chocolate chips as you please

1. preheat oven to 180° C (350° F).  line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.
2. in a large-sized bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. in a medium-sized bowl mix together the mashed bananas, egg, melted butter, milk and vanilla.
4. add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir to just combine.
5. add the chocolate chips and stir to just combine.
6. divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups, filling three-quarters full.
7. bake, rotating tin halfway through baking time, until tops are pale golden and a tester inserted in the centre of one muffin comes out with some melted chocolate attached but no crumbs, about 32 minutes.
8. transfer baking tin to wire rack to cool for a five minutes.  turn muffins on their sides in their cups and cool completely.

a neat trick, if you don't have muffin papers, grease them with shortening... yum, fat...

muffin pyramid. 

all the sweetness.

and of course, i had to test one, just to make sure they didn't taste like cat poo. hehe.

enjoy my friends.

- M.

holy snow batman

it snowed something like 30cm today. talk about your great white north.

up to our knees i say!

it is pretty though.

s.a.m.

little house (not) on the marsh

i figure that since this blog is named after our lovely abode it is only fair that we give it a post.

delicious sunlight.

in the two years that i have resided in the house there has been an oddly high number of people who have had the pleasure of living here, between the roomies and the subletters. the house has remnants of all these friends in its decorations, it's quite nice.

silly me.

last year i lived here with two lovely ladies, becca and sarah. we called ourselves 'becca and the sarahs', like a band but cuter. they are responsible for many of the decorations and things that make the house so endearing, and also i miss them to bits.

like the crane parade!

the house itself is an oldie but goodie that was redone on the inside and divvied in half to create a super cool duplex that almost doesn't feel like a duplex. #youwouldthinktheyweighedthousandsofpoundsthewaytheygoupthosestairs. in terms of decor we essentially went with a 'make the entire room a collage of all the things so that people won't be able to take it all in at once and want to come back over and over' theme. it's high end.

all of the things.

my room also follows this theme. happy things go above my bed.

welcome to where we eat, sleep, and speak without thinking first. it's like a playground for silliness.

shelf of a thousand knickknacks. and a world map - a necessity for every house.

ghetto box: one of my most prized possessions.

motivation to go to the gym.

mug collection.

just a little house fit for some girls.

s.


this post was written to the sweet sounds of local artist devarrow, follow the link to have him serenade you with his nice voice.