My Profession

Oh, Dezzy of Hollywood Spy, I should have known better. You hard-hitting journalists are all the same. "Don't take no for an answer!" That's how you get the big scoops and the inside info. I understand that. So even though I said in my "Ask Me Anything" post that I wouldn't reveal my occupation because I blog anonymously, you still asked about it.

Alas, I cannot reveal much to you, Dezz, beyond saying that I am an International Woman of Mystery. If I told you any more, I'd have to kill you.

Why This Blog is Full o' Bees

[art by Lea Bradovich]

In the "Ask Me Anything" post, several questions were raised about bees. Jadedj of The Banquet of Consequences wonders about the significance of the bee motif on my blog banner and sidebar, while MonkeyME of Green Monkey Tales cheekily asks which came first, the hive or the honey? Ivy of The Happy Whisk wants to know where my love of honeybees comes from. Here's the answer --

Bees have been sacred to the Divine Feminine for thousands of years in ancient civilizations from Babylon to Rome. In Greece, many Goddesses such as Rhea, Artemis, Cybele and Demeter were characterized as Bee Goddesses (among their other attributes). Their priestesses were called "melissae," which is Greek for "honeybees," because they served the Bee Goddess like female worker bees serve their Queen Bee.

That is the origin of the popular girls name Melissa. It means "honeybee" and connotes "priestess of the Goddess." The equivalent Hebrew name meaning the same thing is Debra, which actually is my real name (so that answers your question too, Rosemary of Where Five Valleys Meet!). I have also seen Debra translated more conceptually as "she who seeks." After all, what does a female bee spend her time doing? She seeks flowers and pollen in order to make honey.

[art by Lea Bradovich]

Debra She Who Seeks perfectly sums up my spiritual identity. My name honours the Divine Feminine and expresses my connection to the Goddess. And I have spent a lifetime seeking spiritual truth wherever I may find it. Like a honeybee, I have gone in turn to most of the flowers in the spiritual garden and gathered some wisdom teachings from each. So when Jane and Lance Hattatt of HATTATT and Missy George of This N That ask me what, exactly, am I seeking? -- that's the answer.

Bonus points to Jacquelineand.... of Cheapskate Blethering who correctly noted that Debra means The Bee and asked is that why you chose it?

[Note: This post is a condensed "Coles Notes version" of six older blog posts I wrote on this topic. Want to read the full version? Check out my archived posts dated December 14th to 19th, 2009.]

"Canadian Sniper" starring Fake Bradley Cooper

Unfortunately, Canada missed the deadline to submit our version for the Oscars, eh?

"Has Any Man Broken Your Heart?"

Thank you for this question, Guillaume of Vraie Fiction. Your worry that it might be considered crass is unfounded. My life is an open book, mon ami.

The only man who has ever broken my heart is Colin Firth/Mr. Darcy. God damn him and his Regency good looks! * sob *

But what about my university boyfriend Doofus, whom I dated when still labouring under the mistaken impression that I was straight? No, Doofus did not break my heart. Only my hymen. And good riddance to both it and him, quite frankly.

Now, I must admit that a certain amount of heartache has been caused by all the various lesbian lovers I've had over the years. "There's no drama like dyke drama," as they say and alas, it's true. Luckily, however, no long-lasting or permanent damage has been done to my heart. I'm a survivor in the game of luuuuv, baby.

Yay Vikings! (No, not Minnesota, the other kind)

Season 3 of Vikings starts tonight on the History channel! Is anyone else out there a huge fan of this series? (I know Francie, Mary and Cal are!)

To mark the return of Ragnar, Rollo, Lagertha, Bjorn, Floki and the gang, how about a few Viking LOLs? If that's not a contradiction in terms, I mean.

Historically, the Vikings were tremendous explorers. Those guys sure as hell got around. When you least expected it, there they'd be.

These days, however, Vikings restrict themselves to corporate raiding and financial plunder only.

Plus they take holidays now. Everyone's got to relax sometime.

Traditionally, Viking kids are raised to be fierce right from Day One.

Even their friggin' CATS are vicious.

So for example, don't let this baby's charming smile fool you. Inside every plush Teddy bear snowsuit, there's a savage Viking waiting to get out.

And baby Viking girls ALL want to be Valkyries. Who can blame them? I want to be a Valkyrie myself!

Hey, want the man in your life to look more like a sexy Viking? Here's a quick and easy way to achieve it using only simple household cutlery.

Or you can persuade him to get a haircut like Ragnar's.

If he'd prefer to leave his hair long, however, just make sure he doesn't wash it or brush it for a couple of weeks. And if he can cultivate a Stone-Cold Killer glare as well, then BONUS! The Barbarian is at the gates -- rowrrrr!

Gung Hey Fat Choy!

When the New Moon rises tonight, it marks the Lunar New Year. Welcome to the Year of the Sheep, everyone! Gung hey fat choy!

What can we expect in a Sheep Year? According to Susan Levitt and Jean Tang in Taoist Astrology:

The year of the Sheep is a time of peace, calm, and contentment. Travel is highlighted as are relaxing vacations. Life's hectic pace is slowed and people are more caring, sensitive, and emotional. Family, close friends, and intimacy are valued. All the arts will flourish and creativity will flow, but such refined beauty and elegance is expensive, and debts may easily accrue. Sheep's love of peace prevents major political upheavals and severe weather changes.

To guarantee good luck and prosperity for the upcoming year, be sure to exchange a small coin with a friend today -- click here for details of this fun little ritual!

Fingerless Gloves

Today, a set of related Q & A from my "Ask Me Anything" post --

Pink or purple? (from Mark at The Rambling Person)
See above photo.

Did you knit the purple gloves yourself? (from Linda)
Alas, no. I am the World's Worst Knitter. If you want to read about my one and only disastrous knitting project, click here.

What is the question you're dreading being asked? (from Julia at Life, yoga and other adventures)
This next one:

Are those your hands? (from Psychelin at Life . . . Here and There or Somewhere Else)
Ever since I started blogging in September 2008, I have used the above photo as my profile icon. Although everything on my blog is (more or less) true, I do blog anonymously. So I needed a photo that did not reveal my identity.

But now it's True Confessions time . . . yes, I confess . . . I confess . . . those are not even my hands, much less my gloves. I simply chose the photo off the internet because I liked the purple Celtic cable-stitch fingerless gloves.

Wanna see a photo of my real hands wearing a pair of green Celtic cable-stitch fingerless gloves?

See? I don't really have long and slender (if somewhat bluish) fingers. No, I have stubby chubbies and a broad palm. But baby, I can still work magic with them! * wink *

FYI, these beautiful gloves were handcrafted by Sarah Sullivan, who blogs at Cottage Garden Studios and whose Etsy shop is found here.

Canada's Flag -- 50 Years Today!

On February 15, 1965, Canada officially adopted our current Canadian flag. I remember that momentous day so well! I was seven years old and in Grade 2 at school. Our teacher had prepared us for the big event by making us colour a gazillion pictures of the new flag. We wore our red crayons down to the nub in the service of our country!

Canada has had 3 flags since becoming a country in 1867. First, as good subjects of the British Empire, we simply used the Union Jack of the United Kingdom. Then we asserted ourselves a bit after World War I and adopted the Red Ensign featuring the Canadian Coat of Arms but still with the Union Jack in the corner. Finally, we cut all the British apron strings and adopted the red-and-white maple leaf flag.

I think it is one of the world's most distinctive flags. There is no other one even remotely similar to it. The best description I ever read of our flag was by a little girl who called it "a maple leaf with curtains." She's not wrong, eh?

Happy Valentines Day!

Today on this holiday dedicated to sweet, sweet luuuuuv, I want to pay tribute to an overlooked and much maligned group of romantic fools --

Yes, that's right. LAWYERS.

Every parent wants their kid to snag a nice rich lawyer to marry, don't they?

It is not a well-known fact but inside those deceptively chilly legal hearts actually burns the unbridled impetuosity of reckless love that delights in throwing caution to the winds.

Wild gestures of passion can be expected from a legal lover.

The love notes you'll receive from them will always be meticulously drafted for the maximum romantic effect.

Your legal lover can always be counted on to set a sexy mood for whispering those sweet nothings in your ear . . .

. . . although the whispering will be done over the phone because your lawyer-love will still be at the office, of course. Still, it's the thought that counts.

Even cats and dogs have their equivalents to these passionate purveyors of legal lust.

Who can resist a lawyer's charms? WHO?

Let the Answers Begin!

Thank you, everyone, for posing such thoughtful, varied and interesting questions! Here's my first bunch of answers --

How in the world are you going to find the time to answer all these questions? (from Jo of My Grama's Soul)

Like Baldrick in Blackadder, I have a cunning plan, that's how! Similar questions will be grouped together and answered all in one post, while other questions will require individual posts. The occasional question may even require a couple of posts to answer adequately. Some posts (like this one) will have several unrelated "short snapper" questions that can be answered quickly. I intend to write at least one "answers post" every week until they are all dealt with. So yes, it may actually take a while to answer them all. But, gentle readers, when your question comes up, I'll leave a comment on your blog to let you know so you don't miss the riveting answer!

What's your favourite movie of all time? (from Optimistic Existentialist of Musings of an Unapologetic Dreamer)

"The Germans wore gray, you wore blue." That says it all. Casablanca! I have seen this movie innumerable times and it always retains its charm for me. I never miss a chance to see it on a big screen (usually at some tumbledown repertory theatre dedicated to art films and the classics) because that's the best way to enjoy it. But TV and DVD viewings are fine too! I think I like it so much because love, politics and noble self-sacrifice for a higher cause all combine in it. It definitely appeals to the romantic idealist in me. And I always get choked up during "La Marseillaise" scene.

Is 42 really the answer? (from Jeanne of The Candy Corn Chronicles)

Yes. Yes it is. The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is indeed 42. Deep Thought, Douglas Adams and I concur.

Why does Daddy drink? (from Bryan/Brandon at A Beer for the Shower)

You didn't say whether you meant my biological Daddy or my dom Daddy. You boys are maddeningly nonspecific. Therefore, no answer for you! Hmm, it appears that I am now channeling the Soup Nazi. I blame you for that as well. You should be punished.

Do you believe in ghosts? (from Robin Larkspur of Wiccan Writes)

The only ghost I believe in is my cat Her Royal Highness, who has now returned to this life to haunt me . . . I mean, "to help me." I really need to get around to writing more about her reappearance. We've been having the most lovely chats about the afterlife, she and I.

Stay tuned for more answers next week!

Ask Me Anything!

I've seen this prompt posted around the blogosphere from time to time, most recently over at Heart in Hand's Weblog. And now I'm going to take the plunge myself. So here goes . . .

If you're harbouring any deep, dark curiosity about Debra She Who Seeks, well, this is the time to ask. Yes, you may ASK ME ANYTHING! Subject to the following fine print, of course.

1. Only one question per person, please. So make it a good one.

2. I promise to answer all questions truthfully unless doing so would require me to reveal information which I deliberately keep private on this blog, such as my real name, my occupation, my educational background or similar facts about My Rare One or other people identified by pseudonyms. Otherwise, the sky's the limit.

3. Answers will be given in due course, written in one or more subsequent posts.

Okay, it's up to you now!

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Michael D'Agostino over at A Life Examined blog has so kindly bestowed this "Very Inspiring Blogger Award" on me. Thank you, Michael! It means a lot coming from you because your blog is all about inspiration. Last year, Michael blogged every single week about doing some brand new activity that required him to move out of his comfort zone. (His pole dancing post is a classic!) And this year, he will be blogging every week about confronting some idea or activity that stirs up a fear of failure. How's that for inspiration, eh? And he does it all while writing upside down from Australia!

Michael wrote that he passed this award on to me because he thinks I am "hilarious and engaging. . . . [and have] a great ability to connect with people from all over the world, no matter what their culture." And he said this (with an apparently straight face) even after my post a couple of weeks ago that made fun of all things Australian! Good gawd, man, you have the forgiving nature of a saint!

And quite apart from that, Michael --

So now I must pass on this award as well. And I'm passing it on to everyone who follows this blog because your continued reading of and comments on She Who Seeks are what inspire me to keep blogging! Thanks for everything, youz guys!

The Ultimate Scofflaws

You know why criminals such as this guy love kittens? Because cats are THE WORST SCOFFLAWS on the face of the planet. They follow no orders. They obey no rules. They love to stick it to THE MAN at every opportunity.

Cats are clever though. They're always very careful to have some bogus reason ready about why THEY are really the innocent victim in any mayhem which ensues . . . .

But the plain truth is that cats WANT to break the law. They WANT to be all hopped up on pills or catnip while speeding down the street with two cop cars in hot pursuit. Cats know they've got nine lives, so what the hell do they care? They LIVE for the adrenaline rush of bad behaviour.

Cats all have a VERY poor attitude when it comes to obeying any kind of authority. They'll break any rule, no matter how small or trivial, just to make a point.

And you know why, of course. Their Great Leader and Official Role Model sets the standard for the entire feline community -- the SCOFFLAW STANDARD.

Those of you with cats KNOW it's true. Cats have been thumbing their noses at authority for as long as they've been "domesticated" and living in our homes.

Cats go OUT OF THEIR WAY to show their contempt for us and our "rules."

Cats will never admit their Scofflaw Agenda though. When confronted, they always just give us some supercilious, snotty CATTITUDE about the whole thing and pretend like we're total IDIOTS.

And maybe, just maybe, WE ARE!

Jesus Identity Theft

Jesus identity theft is rampant in the western world. Some days it seems like EVERYBODY is passing himself off as Jesus God Almighty. Here are just a few examples for your edification.

Oh oh. If the name of this guy's Mom is "Mary," he might not actually BE an imposter.

This faker is easy to spot, however. Too goddamn lazy to drag that cross on the ground like the REAL Jesus!

And hey, even I can spot THIS con artist a mile away . . . .

Actually, I think Keanu Reeves CAN make a good case for divinity . . . .

But you know what? Sometimes even a fake Jesus makes the world a BETTER PLACE.

(I love the grin on that cop's face, don't you?)