Bambi was honoured when she was interviewed by Mr. Kenny Xu on July 28, 2021.
She also read his very thoughtful book entitled “An inconvenient minority” (mentioned in the older post, shown further below), which she highly recommends to her readers. Of note, he now published another book, School of Woke; she looks forward to reading it too.
Mr. Kenny Xu, a second-generation American of Chinese origins and President/Primary Spokesman of “Color us United“, has challenged Harvard University for discrimination against Asian Americans. Bravo to him!
Today, his efforts were fruitful with some common sense coming from the Supreme Court. The latter said no to this prestigious university’s discriminatory admission program, which forgot about the value of merit; assigning a 95% chance of admission for an American with a black skin versus a 25% chance of admission to an American of an Asian background.
Despite any stated so-called noble intention behind the establishment of this program, called affirmative action, it does not bring fairness to anyone. It actually discriminates against students of Asian backgrounds while giving a rather sad message to the African-American student: you made it but only because we forced it, not based on your academic excellence, and thus, merit.
For Bambi, that was a piece of good news from today [yesterday rather, since it is midnight :)]. She wanted to highlight it in this post before going to sleep. Congratulations and thank you, Mr. Xu!
The 1867 Project was reviewed in National Post by Mr. Corcoran
“The 1867 Project is an intellectual eye-opening collection of essays by a group of 20 writers who dig down into mainstream Canadian negativism and expose most of it as the product of twisted ideologies and misunderstandings.”
Bambi [OK Rima Azar :)] is honoured to be mentioned in this book’s positive review by Mr. Corcoran. If you wish, you can read his review of The 1867 Project here: https://tinyurl.com/2hne38nc
Dr. Mark Milke’s chat with YouTuber Aaron Gunn
If you have the time, you may wish to listen to this 16-minute-thoughtful conversation between Gunn and Milke in which the latter shared the vision behind The 1867 Project.
Again, Bambi is proud and delighted to have her chapter, entitled “I know What Identity Politics Does to a Nation: I’m from Lebanon” mentioned during their chat: https://tinyurl.com/2h5ddvnd
To conclude this brief yet exciting post, you may be interested to know that the 1867 Project is now on sale on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/yv49apb3 . More updates about interviews (or reviews) to come. Please stay tuned!
It is usually a lovely and noble idea to celebrate everyone’s cultural heritage, perhaps especially when we have a shared “glue” bringing us together.
However, when it comes to today’s Canada, we do not seem to be simply “Canadians” anymore. Indeed, as Ms. Emmanuelle Latraverse expressed it well in Le Journal de Montréal (https://shorturl.at/cjyA7), a few days ago in an article about New Brunswick specifically and about Canada in general, we are now “Italian-Canadians, Afro-Canadians, Indo-Canadians. We are white, black, female, refugee, disabled, 2SLGBTQI+, as if each label grants extra points in the diversity lottery”.
Ms. Latraverse is referring to what looks like the diversity-obsessed (secular) religion of the official Canada. A religion, not only endorsed by our federal government, but also imposed on us, from the top down, whether we like it or not.
To understand the above in more depth, Dr. Bruce Pardy’s article, published in the National Post, is a very informative reading (https://shorturl.at/vxKQ5), regardless of whether you will agree with it or not. Of course, Pardy’s thoughtful text is meant for those of us who are still interested in thinking (before conforming). Thanks to him for the explanation. Thanks also to all the readers who wrote thoughtful comments (luckily comments were welcome). The latter show us that our collectively insane and intolerant times are no longer funny. Can we just have our unified country back, please?
Instead of unity and reason, we now have to live with, and at times economically, professionally, and socially survive, the excesses of this institutionalized, dogmatized, and highly divisive practice of identity-politics: a form of modern sectarianism called sugar-coated names like diversity, equity, and inclusion. Of course, almost in every sector of society (education, health, federal research funding agencies, banking, politics, unions, legal and other professional, associations arts, private sector, etc.), we claim to celebrate all diversities, that is of this or that group; yet we sadly ignore individual intellectual diversity. Indeed, we seem to only be expected to be trapped (and trap others) into identities and/or sub-identities. Plus, who said we should all repeat the same religious mantra like that? Why do we do it? And where are we heading with all this divisiveness?
In our aspiration to supposedly collectively honour this or that group, how sad it is to “forget” about the richness of each unique individual. Instead, we seem to insist on putting others (and they put us, in return) into boxes with a certain label. Sadly, we seem to be increasingly forgetting about our shared humanity. She does not know about you, but in Bambi’s mind, pluralism that does not welcome intellectual diversity and individual creativity is not a genuine one, despite any noble intentions.
With all the above in mind and into context, The House of Commons of Canada recently adopted a a new act “respecting Lebanese Heritage Month“, which will be the month of November. Indeed, this bill received royal assent on June 20, 2023 (https://shorturl.at/cnDFT). Similar heritage months exist for all groups: Asian, Filipino, Italian, Arab, Jewish, etc.
Bambi is usually not a social kill-joy in life. On the contrary, not only she is for the live and let live, she loves everyone. Yes, she loves to celebrate people’s rich individuality. She adores cultural or other events where she can meet new people, discover new food, dance, chat, etc. As you can guess, from reading this blog, she is VERY proud of her Lebanese heritage while knowing how/when to thank Canada when it supports her birth country. Yet, this time, she wants to say no, thank you, Ottawa. We do NOT need another flag and another month heritage celebration, even if it is the turn of the Lebanese one from now on (every November of every year).
Regardless of our respective group heritage, it is about time to come together, all of us as Canadians, in order to celebrate our shared humanity, shared values, and… shared love for Canada.
Canada is filled with amazing singers. Garou, who is celebrating his 51st birthday, is one of them (https://shorturl.at/bovLZ).
To honour this artist’s talent, this strictly musical post will be brief: the first performance you will hear is Belle from Notre-Dame de Paris. The second performance is A toi [For You], originally by Mr. Joe Dassin. For your convenience, both songs include the lyrics in English (among other languages).
May Garou’s inspiring musical performances keep bringing people together. May the passion in his voice keep entertaining and inspiring all his fans, including Bambi. Happy birthday to him!
It is SO hard to imagine you dead, Mr. Claude Barzotti, even if life goes by too fast and death is an integral part of it (https://t.ly/AibG). In your case, life has ended too soon. Indeed, you were just 69 years old.
To begin with, and if she may, Bambi will send her heart to your grieving family. What a DEEPLY sad loss for the latter… and for the entire world of music, including your career manager, colleagues, partners, and fans around the world. Condolences to everyone impacted by your death and enriched by your life.
Despite the shared sadness in her heart now, Bambi is reassured because a singer with such a warm voice and a generous provider of emotions, like you, is surely eternal in the collective memory of life’s beauty. The man dies, but not the artist. Indeed, your singing voice will forever echo in our ears, moving our hearts and souls.
Mr. Barzotti, thank you for having honoured our large and beautiful country with a lovely song (shared below). As per your own words, you had the blues for Canada, which you actually visited several times over your career. Of note, Bambi and her sisters took their mom (or was it the other way around :)?) to your concerts several time when they were living in Montreal in the 1990s. Merci encore!
Furthermore, you visited Bambi’s birth country, Lebanon, many times as well (https://t.ly/4PKR). Like in Québec/Canada, Lebanese fans adore you. How could they not to? You even wrote a song for Lebanese women entitled Ma Libanaise (also shared below, with English sub-titles)?
This being said, perhaps your most famous song ever is Le Rital? A melody, which moved the hearts of all your fans in Europe, and around the world (especially in North America), because it is about your deep attachment to your Italian roots (as a Belgian singer; https://shorturl.at/pzDFQ).
For those who regularly read this blog and/or listen to its music, they may perhaps recall that Bambi has featured your songs within more recent posts. Among your musical legacy, there are two songs, which remain fresh in Bambi’s memory. One of them is about a break-up and it is Je ne t’écrirai plus[I won’t write to you anymore]. The other song is about a lady you often think of, Mr. Barzotti. Bambi’s spouse has often heard her singing this melody (with her frog’s voice, of course). It is entitled Souvent je pense à vous Madame [I often think of you, Madam]. Since he did not know you as well as she did, almost every time, he asked the same amusing question: “C’est qui cette Madame, Bambi” [Who is this lady, Bambi]?
To conclude your little yet heartfelt tribute, Bambi will end her post with Mr. Andrea Bocelli’s Amazing Grace prayer. MANY thanks for having loved the French language with such passion, Mr. Claude Barzotti. Indeed, you have enriched the francophonie with your unique songs. May your memory be eternal and may God comfort your loved ones, especially your daughters, Vanessa and Sarah et al. Same for your manager, Mr. Roger Comtat (https://t.ly/KTZ0R). You will be missed greatly by your human and deer fans alike, even if your songs will outlive us all ❤️.
Today is not just Québec’s day and Saint John the Baptism Day… it is Sally’s BIG day.
Happy Birthday, dear Sally from not just Bambi and her spouse, but also from her parents from out of Beirut. They just asked her to send you their best wishes for your birthday, along with hugs. Like her, they always remember the good times in Toronto.
Have fun, not just on your birthday, and always take good care : ).
Bambi hopes you will enjoy your songs chosen with much love ❤️ ️!
Tonight is the eve of Saint John the Baptist Day, which is Québec’s national day.
It is also a day for Bambi to celebrate her dear ones, called Jeannot, Jane, and Jean ❤️.
Sadly, this year, the late Dr. Frédéric Bastien cannot be present with his family during the forthcoming long weekend. His columns will be missed by Bambi more than ever. May his memory be eternal… and long live his/our beloved Québec!
First of all, Bambi woke up this morning happy to see the sunshine (finally and on the first day of the summer). Following this joyful moment, she decided to quickly tour the news of her birth country. She read a few articles, here and there, and checked her sister’s twitter account. She was shocked by the following SAD tweet:
Please rest in peace, dearest Chef Ramzi
Chef Ramzi died on June 18, 2023. In the 1-minute-interview by L’Orient Today, you can hear him mentioning his mom who “remains his teacher” and who “is proud of him”. Thanks to her and may God know how to comfort her aching heart! Bambi also sends her love to the rest of his family. She does not know if his dad is still alive, but today happens to be Father’s Day in Lebanon. Bless his grieving heart!
As for Bambi, she wants to tell Chef Ramzi that he will forever remain with us, not just on TV screens or through his books. Yes, he will remain with us in his recipes, in our hearts, and bellies too.
It is no secret to close ones, Bambi’s strength is not in the kitchen. Thankfully, “Chef Luigi” exists in her life, even if he thinks that his incredible talent was born out of necessity. This being said, the great Chef Ramzi inspired Bambi, motivating her to become a better Lebanese spouse for three consecutive weeks. What an achievement! Believe it or not, she cooked his recipes to her spouse after he caught the flu when they were living in Toronto. Back then, she thought that maybe he got sick because she is not a good spouse who cooks well. Chef Ramzi helped her impress him. He gave her confidence to re-cook vegetarian food to his parents when they visited from Montreal. Years later, when she was pregnant, she re-visited his books. She cooked again when Louis was away. She even managed to convince herself that she will become a better cook when they will have children. Well, this skill was never meant to be refined in the end.
Indeed, what a coincidence that, just a few days ago, Bambi’s mom teased her on the phone about her cooking habits. She asked if she is giving her spouse a break from this task :)? She asked her if she still has Chef Ramzi’s book (shown below). His book was a gift from her parents, three decades ago, when she lived on her own for the first time. The book travelled with her across three provinces. Chef Ramzi’s book is almost like a food bible. Almost every Lebanese “expatriate”, or family, has it and many even practice it. Here she is thinking of all her friends in Toronto (some in Montreal now). They will also be sad to know Chef Ramzi left our world. Even the bad cook she is was successful with all his recipes, except maybe the lemon cookies she tried to bake at Christmas once when she was a graduate student in Montreal. For some mysterious reason she cannot scientifically explain, they tasted great until they turned into stones a couple of hours later.
A picture taken by Bambi. Chef Ramzi’s memory will be through his recipes.
Bambi learned from both the Lebanese and international media (https://t.ly/5_ei) about the impressive career milestones of Chef Ramzi. As prominent figure in Lebanese/Middle Eastern gastronomy, he held (still holds!) 4 Guinness World Records for the largest servings of Lebanese food. In addition to being a leading chef, he also acted as the CEO of the Al Kafaat Foundation an inspiring nonprofit Beirut-based organization (founded by his own dad, Mr. Nadim Choueri). It offers both rehabilitation as well as education services to Lebanese people with special needs from a lower socio-economic status.
Chef Ramzi was highly educated and trained. He had a degree in law and economics from the University of Lyon, France. Following his undergraduate training, he studied culinary arts at the University of London, United Kingdom. Later, he received a prestigious honour from the French Association of Bakers-Pastry Chefs [Pâtissiers-Boulangers in French]. He also won several awards and distinctions, including the prestigious international Prix Gourmand award (1997) and the Lebanese Medal of Merit (2003) from a former President of the Republic (https://t.ly/5_e).
In 1994, Chef Ramzi began his TV shows, attracting over 10 million watchers daily, from both Lebanon and the Arab world. Wow. Of note, on TV, he focused on both European and Lebanese cuisines, which was his rich contribution to the field (https://t.ly/5_e).
The great and sadly now late Chef Ramzi also published the book mentioned above in addition to others, including one written in Arabic and entitled in English “The Culinary Heritage of Lebanon” (2006), which includes updated Lebanese recipes. His book was enriched by Chef Ramzi’s visits to all the Lebanese villages and towns to compile regionally-based authentic recipes (https://t.ly/5_e). This book was very successful. It got translated into French and Portuguese as well.
Of note, between 2012 and 2015, the Lebanese Chef Ramzi was appointed Arabic Culinary Ambassador of Qatar Airways. Wow as this allowed him to champion the Lebanese cuisine on all Qatar Airways international flights. Furthermore, in 2009, King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein and Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan appointed Chef Ramzi as the Jordanian Army’s Food Counselor (https://t.ly/5_e).
Bravo and thank you for your legacy, Chef Ramzi. You made your country and its diaspora proud of you!
To conclude this post on a chronological note, Bambi thought that learning about the sudden death of Chef Ramzi, at age 52 only, would be the most tragic news of her day. Sadly, a few hours later on the same day she learned (again through journalist and sister Roula Douglas’ fast tweet) about a gas explosion in Paris (https://t.ly/5_ei). This accidental tragedy resulted in 20 injured people, including several in critical conditions, and massive destruction. Her heart goes to the victims while she is grateful to God because, her niece Stéphanie is safe and sound (even if Stéphanie lives near the explosion). A warm hello again to her and to her friend Aya too ❤️❤️. It is enough for Stéphanie to have been injured in the Beirut explosion, Bambi could not help not to think. Plus, this explosion happened to be her second experience in the beautiful Paris, following the surrealistic yet still unaccountable Beirut blast of August 4, 2020.
Thus, with both gratitude and grief in her heart, Bambi will end this tribute to Chef Ramzi with two spiritual songs: the first French one, originally by Mr. Michel Fugain and performed by talented kids, reminds us that life is too short while the second Arabic one is originally by Fairouz and performed by Ms. Abeer Nehme. This song-prayer asks for God’s support in times of adversity. Good-bye again to Chef Ramzi. Much love to his biological and El Kafaat Foundation families as well as to all his fans around the world. Let’s all pay tribute to him by cooking and eating his good recipes. Yes, Bambi publicly commits to do so, at least once, this summer… Is her spouse reading until now?
Is there anything nicer than “a hello”, along with a smile?
Did you know that yesterday was Mr. Lionel Richie’s birthday (https://shorturl.at/pwDJ5)? Best wishes to him!
Whether you knew the above or not, Bambi bets you are likely more aware that today is the first day of the summer. It is indeed officially summertime now, even if it does not feel like it yet where Bambi lives :). Welcome to this nice season of more outdoor activities, beach visits, and of course more ice cream treats (for those without diabetes or who enjoy this desert)!
Regardless of the seasons around us or in our own life journey, a “hello” or a “bonjour” [OK or a “marhaba” :)] are always nice to hear or say. Imagine when others are addressed genuinely with a smile on the face. Imagine when others truly care about you or are nicely polite with you. Isn’t this heart-warming, not just civilized?
Bambi wishes you to encounter new interesting people over the summer, enjoy your loved ones, and learn to find at least one good thing even in those you are convinced they are too evil or odd for you. All this in addition to keep doing whatever you enjoy spending time on (e.g., working and/or studying, gardening or reading, walking or swimming, travelling, etc.). She also hopes that you will find a job if you are looking for one, keep your current job(s), or enjoy your retirement.
Regardless of your summer projects, may you feel dignified and enriched while making a meaningful difference in the lives of others. This can simply be with more smiles or a little more kindness for others, which brings us back to the hellos.
Bambi will stop here to leave you with the most world-famous “Hello“, which Mr. Lionel Richie performed with Ms. Ginette Reno (what a duo ❤️!), as well with three summer-related songs in English, French, and Lebanese-Arabic. Happy first day of the summer, everyone!
