Month: December 2022

Bambi wishes her dear readers, especially those who highlight Christmas in one way or another, a Merry Christmas eve/day. She will do so in music with Bocelli’s beautiful voice. If she may, she will also add the following thoughts:

Be merry everyone, whether you celebrate or just respect the birth of “Baby Jesus” (tonight or maybe later in January?); whether you acknowledge his birthday, at least in the hearts of those who believe in him even if you don’t yourself; regardless of your own different faith or lack thereof, and last but not least regardless of your efforts of being, or just wanting to sound, too “inclusive” of others’ different traditions to the point of denying your own family heritage (cultural, historical, religious, etc.).

To conclude this brief musical post, please remember to be safe and let your hearts smile, not just during the holidays but throughout the year. Indeed, in addition to being enriching, life is more fun with smiles and/or laughter 🙂 ❤️!

Is there anything more moving than the lyrics of this prayer? Here is a quick English translation from Arabic for you. Mmm, what would have Bambi done without you, dear Mr. Google Translate? If she may, Bambi would like to dedicate this song to a reader who knows how to appreciate it. Yes, she is thinking of you, Achim, if you happen to be reading. She hopes you will enjoy this brief version. As for you Ms. Chantal Bitar, THANK you; Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!

“When we give a cup of water to a thirsty person, we are in Christmas.

When we clothe the naked in the garment of love, we are in Christmas.

When we hold back tears from our eyes, we are in Christmas.

When we brush hearts with hope, we are in Christmas.

Christmas night nullifies war.

Christmas night love grows.

Christmas night erases hatred.

Christmas eve buries war.

Christmas eve the earth blooms.

On Christmas eve, love grows”.

Thank you, Dr. Joseph Facal for your thoughtful article published yesterday in the Journal de Montréal (https://bit.ly/3jokwgj).

Below is a quick translation for you, thanks to Bambi’s faithful online friend, Mr. Google Translate.

Do you also see the increasing nonsense in Canada’s universities and, by extension, society?

If so, what can we collectively do about all this, in your opinion?

And if not, are your truly convinced of the added value of such ideologically-based positions? Or are you too politically correct to dare to question them like Dr. Facal?

—

“Being ridiculed full-time does not hold back the University of Ottawa’s leaders.

The institution wants to hire an Assistant Professor in “Anti-racist Education”.

The contest ended yesterday.

“The research program would focus on anti-oppressive and inclusive education, anti-colonial perspectives, diasporas, critical theory, human rights and racialized perspectives […]. ».

Science?

A university professor is supposed to teach and do research.

Both teaching and research must aim for objectivity, which does not prohibit – it is the nature of trial and error that characterizes discoveries – speculation.

It is pure and simple hoaxes to claim “anti-racist” scientific research.

By definition, there is no “scientific” research if the answers are known in advance, or if you are only looking for what will reinforce a predetermined conclusion.

It is essentially militant discourse, more or less sophisticated catechism, spiced up with pseudo-scholarly expressions, conveyed by people who want academic positions.

And it works, as illustrated by the job advertisement mentioned above: positions, scholarships, public subsidies, etc.

It has come so far that hundreds of academics in Québec are currently mobilizing against the new criteria for awarding FRSQ research grants, which require candidates to explain how their project advances this ideological program.

Let’s get this straight: of course there is racism and racists, here as everywhere.

But these pseudo-researchers do not wish to clearly define the phenomenon.

They build and brandish a symbolic weapon, whose three sharp points could be expressed thus.

First, all of “white” society is racist.

Second, anti-white racism is marginal, if not non-existent, since only the white majority has the power to impose its racism on non-whites.

Third, the White who does not see how he is racist is a prisoner of his unconscious biases.

He is necessarily guilty and must ask for forgiveness.

Many of these academic pseudo-researchers are extraordinarily aggressive.

It’s not just because they’re fanatical.

It is also because they know that their academic production is so weak that it would hardly resist an evaluation according to the usual scientific criteria, that this examination must be prevented by violently attacking those who would like to look at it closely.

To justify their nonsense, they will invoke their “academic freedom”, the one they are so quick to want to suppress in others.

The cleverest have even found a way to make money with this new “anti-racism”: small companies of consultants moving full speed ahead to offer their services to sell training in EDI (equity, diversity and inclusion) in order to bring your employees in the luminous path of virtue.

React!

Many academics do not like that we denounce the abuses in academia.

It is true that such nonsense offends those who do serious work.

But it is precisely the fact of looking away instead of reacting that allows evil to spread”.

Bambi will always be grateful for her cousin Joumana for making her discover Mr. Omar Kamal, as per one of the older posts shown further below. Since that time, Bambi’s friend, Jacinthe, became a fan as well. Who knows? Perhaps you are also fond of Mr. Kamal’s talent [like you, Fatma :)]?

In case you do not know this incredibly talented musician and singer yet, below you can watch a brief five-year-old France24 English-speaking interview with him. From it, Bambi learned that he studied engineering in England. He chose a musical career instead. Thank goodness for us!

Anyhow, if she may, Bambi would like to end this brief post by thanking Mr. Omar Kamal for singing for Christmas from East to West in both Arabic and English!

—

“Windmills of your mind”: Isn’t this song beautiful, regardless of its language?

They all “did it” in their own “way”… and languages!

Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut Elias Aude: Bambi thanks you for standing up for Beirut on the 16th anniversary of Mr. Gibran Tueni’s assassination

Beirut port investigation saga: For how long can a judge resist political interference?

“Helwa ya baladi” [My beautiful country]: Thank you Mr. Omar Kamal for your moving interpretation of Dalida’s song

The magic and power of love and hope in two beautiful songs

Mr. Omar Kamal: Thank you Joumana for making your cousin Bambi discover this TALENTED singer!

Did you know that the name of the winter season comes from an old Germanic term, which means “time of water”? Yes, it does and it refers to both rain and snow in middle and high latitudes (https://bit.ly/3BR8bYf).

Well, today is not just the first day of the winter season. It also happens to be the birthdays of President Macron and Ms. Jane Fonda. Happy birthday to all those celebrating their birthdays on this day, including them! Best wishes to all the pregnant women about to give birth on December 21st!

To celebrate the new season, Bambi will share meaningful songs about the winter in French, with the first having English and Spanish translation. The second Vigneault’s song is entitled “Mon pays c’est l’hiver” [My country is the winter]. It is interpreted by Mr. Mathieu Bellemare. The third video is in French, subtitled in English, in which some of you may recognize the famous and hilarious Têtes à Claque (https://bit.ly/3WfVtdO). Bambi thought of them this morning when she cleaned the car from a mixture of snow and rain :).

As for the last Lebanese song by Fairouz, which is sub-titled in English, it is meant to remind us that, even if the seasons or cycles of life change, some important matters like love remain constant in their depth. As the song goes, we remain in love with someone across the seasons (i.e., “in the summer as well as in the winter“). By extension, this song can be a celebration of another continuity, in an ever changing world, including values, ideas, drive, and/or spirituality or faith in humanity. The latter may seem like a stretch to Fairouz‘ song, which is strictly about romantic love. However, if LOVE with a big L (not just romance) is the glue among all this, what Bambi is trying to say may perhaps make more sense. Indeed, regardless of the season, it can result in the following beautiful outcomes: Loving life, living to love, welcoming affection in and between our hearts, leading an enriched life where the power and warmth of love transcend death.

Without much further philosophy, welcome to winter among us! Be safe everyone on the roads!

There is something comforting in the lights and in the melodies of our childhood. This post is about one of these melodies.

Yes, it is again selfishly about Bambi’s favourite song of all times since her early childhood. She already asked this question. Do you remember or can you still take a guess what she is talking about? Yes, once again, you got it right: it is “Petit Papa Noël” [Little Santa Claus]. Who knows? If you did not get it right, you may perhaps still have another test opportunity before this coming Christmas. If not, there is always next year :).

Below, Bambi will share with you an original French version by our most talented Mr. Maxime Landry. This will be followed by Ms. Mirelle Mathieu’s German version of Petit Papa Noël” and by two versions in Lebanese-Arabic.

For her own fun before sleep, Bambi will conclude this musical post with Baby Lilly kids’ version of the same song and with two different Arabic Santa-related songs from out of Beirut, Lebanon, one of them sub-titled in English.

Thank you Santa for the magic in our lives, regardless of our chronological age ❤️!

In an earlier post devoted to violin, Bambi wrote the following: “Think of anything you like or not, there is an international day for it! Sometimes a single day of the year has been declared to be devoted to two or more events or objects at once; by we do not know whom…“. Bearing this in mind, imagine that today is the National Hard Candy Day (https://bit.ly/3PAB2Wm)!

With all due respect to the diversity of candies of the world, in all their shapes, colours, and taste, those who know Bambi well know that she is guilty of having a favourite candy. It is called Stoptou and it can always be found in her purse. It is made in France; yes this same beautiful country that lost to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup yesterday; bravo to the latter and sorry for Les Bleus, even if a second place deserves celebrations, despite the disappointment!

Anyhow, to come back to Stoptou, this candy reminds Bambi of her childhood in Beirut. Hence the emotional component of her attachment to it. The other part of this attachment to Stoptou may be explained by her love of sweet, despite her age, and her appreciation of licorice. Another advantage of these apparently addictive candies is that they allow you to talk for over three hours without feeling a need to cough or drink water (hence the clever name: Stoptou, which literally means stop the cough).

This being said, if you think that Bambi is being paid to advertise this candy, you are wrong. She is “selling” it to you because she is convinced it is a great product, provided you do not have diabetes and you like licorice. If not, it is surely not for you. She recently learned from her competent dentist and dental hygienist that eating candies is fine still, even in middle-age, as long as it is done in one setting only, not non-stop, to limit the risk of cavities. Phew!

In addition to the picture featured above, here is what the smallest bag of Stoptou looks like. Bambi loves those candies so much that it is her traditional wish for birthday or Christmas gifts [if Santa or anyone asks :)]. They can be found of course in France, also in Lebanon, likely in other countries too… and more recently, they can be purchased online from not just Europe, but also Canada, imagine.

And look what Bambi just discovered while preparing this post! How come she did not know about this product? Maybe it is new. Maybe it did not exist in Lebanon back then or maybe she forgot about it as she is too old to eat candies :).

If you are interested, now is the time to share with you a video about Stoptou.

OK, enough of serious marketing! Time for a note of French humour, along with two songs celebrating candies; one is romantic and the other is a kids’ dancing melody.

As per older tweets by a French TV show, you can read a funny message that can be translated into English as follows: “No, President Macron did not have a Stoptou on his desk while giving his speech. It was the Medal of the French Resistance”.

To come back to the songs mentioned above, the first is “Les bonbons” [The Candies] of Mr. Jacques Brel. Bambi loves this song. Like its lyrics (subtitled in English), she may prefer to receive “a bouquet” of candies instead of flowers; despite her great appreciation of the latter, of course. This sarcastically romantic song reminds Bambi of her high school teacher of French Literature. If she may, Bambi would like to pause to say: “bonjour Madame Khalifé” :). As for the second dancing melody, it has a Christmas touch and it is meant to bring a smile to your faces in this forthcoming holiday season.

To conclude this post, Happy International Hard Candy Day to everyone. Long live all the candies of the world, including Bambi’s beloved Stoptou!

—

Do you love violin?

Today, Bambi read the following tweets by Ms. Roula Douglas. She will translate them for you, below the original French:

First tweet:

“I hate who steals my solitude, without really offer me in exchange company”. Friedrich Nietzsche

Second tweet:

“I think of all those who suffer from solitude, whether they are accompanied, victims of the indifference of those who are supposed to surround them, or whether they are completely alone.

We do not realize to what extent moral violence can be cruel and devastating”.

Many thanks Roula; or journalist and author Azar-Douglas. Nietzsche’ saying is thoughtful. So are your words filled with compassion and elegantly written, as usual.

When either desired or tamed, so to speak, solitude may be different from loneliness. Indeed, loneliness can overwhelm us with emptiness or sadness, at times, whether we are in an involuntary solitude, isolated, or feeling lonely even in our relationships or in highly crowded places.

However, a desired or well tamed solitude gives us the opportunity, both in terms of space and time, to discover oneself, listen to oneself, be creative, do what we want at the moment we want, and at times to simply do NOTHING. Just to be in the present moment, absorb the latter, that is without thinking about neither the past seconds or the forthcoming ones.

Perhaps the above pleasant experience of solitude is like when we are meditating or praying or commuting between cities or continents on a train or on an airplane. The latter is a present moment par excellence where we are being transported by someone else. No need to worry about traffic, whether on the ground or in the air. We can reflect on what we left behind (whether it is work, loved ones, or troubles) and we can dream of what is ahead (whether it is vacation, loved ones at home, or an exciting work destination).

To conclude this post on a musical note, one song comes to Bambi’s mind. It is “Ma solitude” [My solitude] of the late and unique Mr. Georges Moustaki, which has partly inspired the title of this post. The video is sub-titled in English for you convenience.

Bambi wishes her fellow deer and humans, especially this blog’s readers , who highlight Hannukah a Happy season! May the candle lights shine, not just over the next eight days, but also in everyone’s hearts all year long ❤️!