We Can All Join!

You can have classically Grecian looks and long straight hair

Or a big beautiful afro

It's okay if you're short and kinda squatty

Or if people say you're "too intense" and a little scary

Your memory doesn't have to be the greatest

You can come from any religion

And any race

And any dress size

Hell, you can be a big ol' hairy guy, that's fine too

Come join our Wonder Women ranks today!

[Calvin's Canadian Cave of Cool does a weekly feature called "Wednesdays with Wonder Woman" and that's where I collected these terrific images over the past year or so. Thanks, Cal, for doing all the leg work to find them from around teh interwebs!]

Buddha Beads

I've been thinking a lot lately about an old wooden Buddha statue that I saw in Japan a couple of years ago when My Rare One and I were there. It was at the Itsukushima Shrine on the southern island of Miyajima -- you know, the shrine with the famous red torii gate out in the water.

Anyway, there was this very old hand-carved wooden Buddha statue sitting in front of a little side temple adjacent to the main shrine. The wood was absolutely as smooth as glass from people rubbing their hands all over the statue for umpteen years, presumably for luck or in supplication to the Buddha.

The Buddha's wrists were adorned with several sets of prayer bead bracelets, perhaps from people whose entreaties had been answered or whose luck had changed. Or maybe just from those who wanted to honour the Enlightened One, I don't know.

I love little ritual gestures like this which arise spontaneously and uncommanded from people's deepest hearts.

[All photos © Debra She Who Seeks, April 2012]

And Speaking of Mormons

They do, though, have that rather unfortunate and annoying habit, don't they, of coming to the front door to try to convert us. Sometimes, however, they get more than they bargained for . . . .

[by doodleigh]

Hahahahahahahaha, love it! Wait, what? The Mighty God of Thunder needs reading glasses?

And don't ask why Thor and Loki are in bed together. They're consenting adults, you know.

Why I Like Mormons

I never met a Mormon until I moved to Alberta. In the late 1800s when polygamy was outlawed in Utah, 3200 Mormons moved north to this province. They were fruitful and multiplied and now Alberta has 50,000 of them (but they're no longer polygamous).

I've worked with a few Mormon men over the years and at first, I was worried that they would give me grief because I'm openly lesbian. I was prepared to fight if I had to. But what I found surprised me. Yes, they were indeed very conservative. But they were so right-wing, they actually embraced that odd Libertarian form of social tolerance. If they regarded me as being on the gay fast-track to eternal flames, they very nicely kept that opinion to themselves. And best of all, most of them had delightfully good senses of humour, so we got along just fine. I quite like all the Mormons I've met!

I did, however, profoundly shock one young Mormon guy, although not with my sexual orientation. I deliberately told him, oh so very seriously, that what Alberta needs is a good NDP (left-wing) government. The look of horror on his face, LOL! It was naughty of me to tease the poor little bugger that way, I know, but I just couldn't resist.

Those Bloody Royals

My recent blog hiatus meant that I also missed Victoria Day in May, which is the time when I traditionally poke fun at the Royal Family, past and/or present. Oh well, better late than never . . . .

It's nice to see that the up-and-coming generation of Royals are proving to be as big a source of fun as their parents were.

Never thought of this next scenario but he's got a point, doesn't he?

And now we have little Prince George being raised to carry on the Royal tradition.

The Queen is smiling quietly to herself in this next photo because she knows that her forebears INVENTED the Game of Thrones. Those fictional royal houses are a bunch of pussies compared to the Normans, the Plantagenets, the Tudors, the Stuarts, the Hanoverians and yes, even the Windsors.

See? What did I tell you?

The Glorious Fourth

Hello, Americans! Canada and the USA have been good friends forever (not counting your unsuccessful invasion attempts during the War of 1812) so we Canadians would like to wish you all a Happy Independence Day, eh?

We like you so much we're throwing you a party! Guess what? We made you a pizza -- mmm, bacon. And not Canadian back bacon either. Real American bacon.

And we baked you an awesome cake for dessert too!

We even laid in a supply of American beer, just because it's your special day.

So what time is it, America? No, it's not Miller Time. It's . . .

And sho, old buddy, old pal, *hic* to cap off the feshtivities, may we just shay:

P.S. to Yesterday's Post

So, okay, those of you who POINTED IT OUT, we must admit that there IS ONE Canadian activity in which politeness plays NO role whatsoever . . . .

And just one more thing while I'm here. What do Canadians love almost as much as hockey? That's right. BEER! So here's a fitting tribute to both Canadian patriotism and beer -- "The Beer Fridge." Enjoy!