Spend the Rainbow!

Yes, we're loud and proud in Canada, LOL! Plus our $50 bills smell like maple syrup. How cool is that? In fact, there's only one thing wrong with our currency, apart from the fact that everyone needs more of it. We desperately need to get rid of the Queen and all those old fogey Prime Ministers on our money and replace them with Canada's REAL folk heroes and role models.

Yes, My Rare One and I went to the Trailer Park Boys movie yesterday and it was AWESOME! Or should I say FUCKIN AWESOME! We both laughed like hyenas all the way through it. Go see it if you can!

Canadian Culture at its Finest, eh?

Thought you poor deprived non-Canuckleheads in the rest of the world might want to see the promo for the new Trailer Park Boys movie that just opened here in Canada. You're welcome.

NB: The promo's language is NSFW, it goes without saying.



My Rare One and I are going this weekend! It's ridiculous how much I'm looking forward to it.

Today is Earth Day!

But really, shouldn't every day be Earth Day? Of course it should.

Who Knew? (Easter Edition)

Turns out the Easter Bunny is one tough sonovabitch. I dare ya to take HIS chocolate eggs!

Happy Easter, JC Superstar

When I was a teenager, I was absolutely enthralled by the hit musical of the times, Jesus Christ Superstar. And I loved the 1973 movie version by Canadian director Norman Jewison too. It was on TV again this Easter weekend, of course. I watched it for the umpteen-gazillionth time and enjoyed the movie as much as ever.

Jesus Christ Superstar taught me that it was okay to question Christian dogma and to search more deeply for the truth. I still regard it as a central milestone in my spiritual journey.

I also really like the re-visioned 2000 made-for-TV movie version based on a UK stage production. It stars Glenn Carter as Jesus and Jérôme Pradon as Judas.
The clip I'm posting this Easter morning is the play's final big song and dance number when Judas audaciously questions Christ.



However, this rendition is much, much darker than the cheeky-but-still-earnest 1973 movie version. In a significantly more pointed fashion than the original, it also questions the depth and sincerity of our modern society's ability and desire to search for spiritual truth. Are we just too self-absorbed and superficial to truly understand the significance of the Easter message? Judas certainly appears way more interested in courting paparazzi attention than in truly striving for enlightenment. He's essentially portrayed as being just an obnoxious prick, not a truth seeker at all.

Good Friday

A blessed Good Friday to all who mark the occasion.

Never Underestimate Seniors

Recently, a friend of ours turned 60 and was distressed to receive a letter from her bank referring to her as a "senior." People! It's time to reclaim this word from its unfairly negative connotations. Many seniors lead fun, rich, rewarding, vibrant lives! Turn those stereotypes on their heads!

And to all you young whippersnappers out there who can't relate to this post . . . . well, just you wait, kiddos.

Easter Bunny Exposé

So the Easter Bunny arrives in town next weekend. Time for a little hard-hitting investigative journalism here on She Who Seeks. This blog is not just all superficial fluff and LOLcats, you know.

Is the Easter Bunny really the good guy and hero we always believed him to be?

Or is he some kind of irresponsible philanderer and deadbeat dad?

Are the whispers true that the Easter Bunny has a dark side? A crazed North Korean dictator-type dark side? *shudder*

Or can it possibly be true that the Easter Bunny is the drug lord kingpin of the world's biggest illegal grow-op network? Is his real goal to get our innocent kids hooked on the evil mary-jee-wanna?

Coincidence? I think not.

This concludes today's special report. Thank you for reading.

Hey, what are you bitching at me for? Good investigative journalism simply asks the tough questions. It doesn't necessarily produce the answers!

All Hail the Bee Goddess!

Isn't this a wonderful portrait of She who must surely be the Bee Goddess? Look at her gorgeous headdress, bee earrings and honeycomb dress! Now She graces the sidebar of my blog with Her sweetness.

I don't know the identity of the inventive artist who created this work but I found it posted over at Calvin's Canadian Cave of Cool last week.

Blessed bee!

LATE-BREAKING UPDATE: Many thanks to Diane at Always Crave Cute for discovering that the artist is Lea Bradovich, an American artist from Santa Fe, NM. Lea states on her website that:

My magical realist portraits depict a playful engagement with nature in her guise as the eternal feminine. Allegorical figures wear honeycomb garb, butterfly crowns, and caterpillar necklaces. Last summer's leaves are raiment for their decorative pleasure, metaphoric compost for the eye. Mythopoetic headgear is often entomological, hats display life cycles, food sources and sometimes predators as well.

Please check out Lea's website (click here) to see more of her fabulous works of art!

X-Men: Days of Future Past

I can hardly wait to see this movie when it opens next month! Four of my favourite actors will portray Professor X (James McAvoy / Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender / Ian McKellen) as their young and old selves.

And not to mention the return of Hugh Jackman as my fave, Wolverine! Jackman can pull off both the young and old roles since Wolverine ages so slowly there's hardly any difference between the two except for bone claws vs adamantium claws. Oh and that little touch of grey at the temples, yeah right.

Apparently Prof X and Magneto will finally become allies in this movie. Will it play out something like this, I wonder?

Oh, those wacky mutant BFFs!

Our Beautiful Tattoos

Long-time readers may remember my sad, cautionary tale about the disastrous temporary tattoo which I got in Mexico a few years ago. Chemicals in the black henna caused the tat to morph into a raised, angry red welt that took several long months to subside.

So did I learn my lesson from that whole ugly episode? No, I did not. I got another temporary tattoo in French Polynesia! Plus I talked My Rare One into getting one too! But not to worry -- this time there was no black henna involved, only safe non-toxic body paint.

Here's My Rare One showing off her alter ego as Honu Wahine -- Turtle Woman:

And here I am with my very erect hibiscus flower, LOL:

We sported these for about an hour before having a shower which caused their immediate demise.

[First photo by Debra She Who Seeks, 2014; Second photo by My Rare One, 2014]

Polynesian Tattoos

Tattooing was an integral part of Tahitian and Polynesian culture until Christian missionaries halted the practice in the 1800s. Thankfully, tattooing was re-introduced into French Polynesia about 30 years ago and is now a central part of the Polynesian cultural renaissance.

Here are some fabulous tattoos we saw on our trip. Their bearers agreed to let My Rare One photograph them.

The above tattoos belong to a guide on Huahine who originally came from California. His knowledge of Polynesian culture is truly encyclopedic. "Toa Nui" means "great warrior."

This handsome young Polynesian host on the Paul Gauguin ship has a fabulous tribal tattoo. And a beautiful smile.

These eye-catching tats belong to a catamaran captain who originally came from France.

Next post -- Did we or didn't we get our own tattoos?

[All photos by My Rare One, 2014]

Fakarava, Taha'a and Mo'orea

Fakarava is another atoll where we spent a lovely day at the beach. Fakarava is classified as an UNESCO biosphere reserve. My Rare One went snorkeling and saw a shark. Luckily, it was not in the mood for trouble.

The island of Taha'a is called "the vanilla island" and produces 80% of French Polynesia's vanilla crop. So of course we visited a vanilla farm to learn how it is grown. The woman in the red tank top is the very entrepreneurial farmer who gave us a funny and informative tour. Those are vanilla beans on the drying rack. Growing vanilla is incredibly labour intensive. The vanilla flowers must all be fertilized by hand with a Q-tip in the early morning hours. While drying, the vanilla beans require repeated individual massaging by hand to release the full flavour within.

The final island we visited was Mo'orea, possibly the most spectacularly beautiful of all. It is also more urban than the others and in that regard is similar to Tahiti which is only a few miles away. Look at that gorgeous water and reef!

Another harbour and valley on the island of Mo'orea:

You can see Mo'orea's typical volcanic mountains in this photo taken from a catamaran as we sailed out to a reef to snorkel.

French Polynesia is an ideal place for a quiet vacation of sun, sand, snorkeling, swimming and relaxing. I suspect Hawai'i was very much like this in the 1950s before it became more touristy and commercialized.

[Photos by Debra She Who Seeks, 2014]

Tahiti, Huahine, Bora Bora and Rangiroa

Tahiti is the largest and most urban of the French Polynesian islands. This photo was taken at our resort hotel in Papeete, the capital city. We took a bus tour around the island before boarding our cruise ship, the Paul Gauguin.

On the island of Huahine, there are several sacred sites of ancient Polynesian temples called marae. Standing stones were placed upright on the shore, looking out to sea. Historically, most marae were destroyed under the influence of Christian missionaries. The remaining few are now starting to be restored.

This photo of the Paul Gaguin was also taken in Huahine.

It rained cats and dogs in Bora Bora. But on the second day, it cleared up somewhat so we were able to do an island tour by "Le Truck," the local tourist bus line. Bora Bora is a beautiful place and features the craggy volcanic mountains common to most of French Polynesia.

Rangiroa is technically an atoll rather than an island per se. We wandered through a small village, down to the spectacular shore line. Look at the three different shades of blue in that water!

Tomorrow -- Selected photos of the other three islands we visited.

[All photos by Debra She Who Seeks, 2014]

Don't Hate Me

Hi everyone! My Rare One and I are now back from a cruise in Tahiti and French Polynesia. That's right -- we ditched wintery Canada for sunny paradise!

And no sunburn to report! Although we did both catch bad colds -- a hazard of constantly moving between the tropical heat outdoors and air conditioning indoors, as well as living in the germ stew of a cruise ship. Oh well, at least it wasn't the norovirus, LOL!

I'm also happy to report that the captain was a sober and responsible Serbian seaman who didn't pull a Costa Concordia on us. But as a precaution anyway when booking, we had upgraded to a stateroom with a balcony so that, if worse came to worst, we could always jump off the ship. Now that's just good prairie girl practicality.

Tomorrow and Friday I'll post a few photos of the various islands that we visited.