Surprise, Jessy! For your birthday and to honour our childhood friendship, Bambi has a few songs for you today.
First and foremost, she will reassure you that your first personalized Happy Birthday melody is meant for a “Jessy“, not for a “Djéjé” [chicken in the Lebanese-Arabic dialect, which would be “Dajaja” in Standard Arabic]. She hopes you are smiling now :). Seriously, please consider this joke as Bambi’s way of publicly ask for your forgiveness for all her childhood and youth silly moments where she indulged in teasing to the point that chicken became like a slightly annoying habit and a contagious familial tradition.
Jessy, Bambi loves you so much ❤️. Her dream is to feature your superb, impressive jewellery creations on her blog one of these days. For now, she will just focus on thanking you for being her wonderful, and loyal, friend for the past 48 years . Long live le “Petit Jardin” where we met when we started our school journey together.
Despite being busy with your lovely family, inspiring teaching career, and extended familial responsibilities, you have always taken the time to check on Bambi’s parents. You have done it in times of peace as well as Lebanon’s historical drama. Indeed, over the past three decades, you have called or visited them, making them feel cared for and loved. As you know, they also love you a lot, like their daughter.
May you have a wonderful birthday, Jessy. Have fun and get spoiled too. God knows how much you deserve it!
Bravo and thanks to all the inspirational, real and fictional, characters in history!
Each day, around the world, so many people die and so many others are born.
Like today, June 9 but in 1870, eternally famous English writer and social critic Mr. Charles Dickens died (https://t.ly/tJ_Z).
Similarly, on this same day of June 9, but in 2011, Canadian singer, pianist, and actor Claude Léveillée died in Québec in Saint-Benoit-de-Mirabel. Of note, he was born on October 16, 1932 in Montréal [interestingly, one of Bambi’s nephews was also on the same day and in the same city. “Coucou” Nicolas :)].
To honour the three characters feautured in this post, Bambi will first start with some of Dickens’ inspirational quotes. The last one tells us how much this author appreciated humour and laughter, which will bring us straight to a little musical tribute to the uniquely cute Mr. Donald Duck. Guess why? Well, he happens to have been born on June 9, precisely 89 years ago (https://t.ly/da9o). Happy Birthday to him! Last but not least, this post will end by sharing two of Léveillée’s songs. The first one is called “Mon Pays” [My Country] and it is subtitled in English. The second one is a superb love song called Frédéric followed by an English translation of its lyrics (https://t.ly/76nHm).
Have a lovely June 9 (or evening) everyone!
Charles Dickens
“The most important thing in life is to stop saying, ‘I wish’ and start
saying, ‘I will’. Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as
probabilities”.
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year”.
“There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts”.
“The pain of parting is nothing
to the joy of meeting again”.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times”.
“Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me
to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I
hope -into a better shape”.
“Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a
touch that never hurts”.
“I cannot stop some dreadful things I try to stop, but I go on in the hope and trust that the time will come.”
“The kindness of people is enough to break one’s heart”.
“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour”.
Below is a thoughtful article by Dr. Mathieu Bock-Côté published today in the Journal de Montréal (https://t.ly/X2_r) that Bambi quickly translated for you with the always appreciated assistance of Mr. Google Translate.
The article informs us about a story of discrimination against a candidate for a tenure-track academic position at the McGill University School of Music (Montreal, PQ). Of course, the story could have happened in any of our Canadian institutions of higher education. Indeed, the late Dr. Frédéric Bastien submitted a complaint against Université Laval (Québec City, PQ) concerning a similar issue with regard to a Research Chair in History.
Before leaving you with the translated article below, along with one comment by Bambi, let’s bear in mind that McGill University is the same place that used to discriminate against Jews in the 1950s with its quota system. The irony of our collectively insane times is that Jews are now considered “white” folks.
However, to cite Dr. Bock-Côté’s own words: “Racism is always odious. It is to be condemned when it targets Blacks, Asians, Latinos, Arabs, Aboriginals. It should also be so when it targets Whites”.
"The Journal de Montréal" informed us yesterday that Jonathan Dagenais, who had submitted his application as a professor at the School of Music at McGill University, was rejected because of his sex and his skin colour.In a word, he did not get the position for which he had applied and especially, for which the university selection committee had formally recommended him, because he is a white man.McGillThe dean of the school decided to ignore the recommendations of the committee to hire the second candidate in the running instead, however he lacked two advantages: she is a woman from “diversity” background – in this particular case, c She is an Aboriginal from Manitoba.In other words, even if he came first in the competition, Jonathan Dagenais did not get the job, and even if his rival came second, she got it.
For this injustice, Jonathan Dagenais is suing McGill for $300,000.
This revolting story is, however, terribly commonplace.
Because we are here at the heart of the scandal of positive pseudo-discrimination.Positive discrimination is based on a simple principle: to fill a position, we will no longer rely on the competence of the candidates, but on their racial or sexual characteristics.
If you are a white man, you will be at a serious disadvantage. It is even possible that you have no chance of being hired. Because you would already be too present in society. It's time for him to fade away.
If you come from “diversity”, you leave with an undeniable advantage. Because apparently you would be systemically disadvantaged.
To fix past discrimination of which you may have been the victim, we will put in place reverse discrimination, which will systematically benefit you.
In this logic, the individual disappears. And minority people are turned into quota flesh.
It is a sexist and racist logic. But since it targets the white man, it does not shock anyone. It is even encouraged. Worse still: anti-white racism presents itself to us as a new anti-racism. This intellectual fraud must be denounced.
I would add that the funding of several institutions today depends on their adherence to positive discrimination.
The only new element in the story of Jonathan Dagenais is that the discriminated white man did not take his hole and did not let it go.
This is reminiscent of Frédéric Bastien, who had rightly and courageously denounced Laval University for opening a position to which white men, formally, could not apply.
To condemn all racism
But these brave people are too rare.
Racism is always odious. It is to be condemned when it targets Blacks, Asians, Latinos, Arabs, Aboriginals. It should also be so when it targets Whites.
Whatever the fanatical weirdos we occasionally meet say, who decree that anti-white racism does not exist and who suggest that it is a far right idea to prevent us from denouncing it [isn't this what has also been said about Bambi's blog on social media while the mainstream media called her Conservative? Although the latter is not an insult in life, especially in our collectively insane times, she is far from being a conservative].
Is there anything more meaningful in life than love? “Aimons-nous” [Let’s Love Each Other], what a beautiful song originally by Mr. Yvon Deschamps and Mr. Jacques Perron. It is performed in this post by the talented Mr. Nicola Ciccone. For those who do not know it, this song was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019 (https://tinyurl.com/mrxbm3d8).
Bambi took the time to attempt to translate the lyrics of Aimons-nous for you to the best of her capacity, of course with the help of her friend Mr. Google Translate. Since this post is all about love, she will thank the latter or his online existence and tell him that she loves working with him :).
Let’s love each other anyway
Let’s love each other day by
day
Let’s love each other anyway
Let’s love each other in spite
of love
Let’s love each other with
wrath
Let’s love each other but
without pity
Let’s love each other even in
a cage
Let’s love each other without friendship
Two thousand years of hate
Haven’t changed anything about
love
To break our chains
Cannons’ and drums’ sound
It’s love that rumbles
Love is moving fast
For the love of the fight
I love you, you love me, he
loves her
We love you
you love us
They love me, they love you,
they love
Do we still love
Death unites without return
Let’s love each other, I love
you
I will kill you, my love
Love preserves us
From remorse for our killings
One’s kills without reserve
For the love of his country
We live in history
When you live without loving
love is glory
power and friendship
Let’s love without constraint
Let’s love each other like we
should
Let’s tighten the embrace
Who will suffocate us with joy
I love myself, you love
yourself, he loves himself
A picture taken from the website of the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick, which is the highest court in our province. “It is the last avenue of appeal, except in a few cases where a further appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada is possible”, as per its website: https://t.ly/K_Oi
Bambi has continuously supported biologist and Professor Cumberland, as you can see in the earlier posts shown further below. He is one of the most decent scientists of our beautiful province. All what he did was to speak his mind and share his scientific expertise and findings related to the glyphosate use in NB forests.
For those who do not know it, our province is 85% forested. Thus, the hot issue of glyphosate use is critical, regardless of the point of view about glyphosate use or abuse. In a place truly free of moral or even intellectual corruption, such an issue is supposed to be considered a scientific opinion. No more, no less. Sadly this was not the case in this story in which we forgot that Professor Cumberland is a scientist with integrity who was simply doing his job. We now know that he is also a man of courage, given his incredible ordeal and his spine. What an inspiration!
Anyhow, one thing was clear in Bambi’s mind last month was that Professor Cumberland deserves full justice as well as a MUCH higher compensation than what he got at the end of his trial ($48,645 in severance and $6,700 from his former College toward his legal costs).
Thus, Bambi is happy to have learned this evening, from a public platform of support for his case (https://bit.ly/3U32tbX), the following update: on June 1st 2023, Lawyer Paul Champ who represents Cumberland, appealed his case (https://t.ly/K_Oi). May they succeed in rectifying “some of the remaining injustices that have been ignored“!
Of note, because Professor Cumberland’s former position of instructor at the Maritime College of Forest Technology (Fredericton, NB, Canada) is not unionized, all Court documents are and will be a matter of public record, unless there is a provision/order prohibiting public access.
This being said, Bambi just paused her typing to cross her fingers for Professor Cumberland (and his lawyer)! To end on a musical note of hope, Bambi will offer him (and his family) two songs: one meant to celebrate the value of integrity and the second a song about courage. With his deep faith and love of youth, she hopes he will enjoy the latter as much as she did when she discovered the song.
Bambi does not want the weekend to end without sharing her latest musical discovery with you. It is called “The Silver Swan“.
According to its YouTube page, The Silver Swan is a group of creative and highly dynamic musicians, singer, and technicians all based in a beautiful region of France, the Drôme-Ardèche. This professional group offers musical performances to social events. It is enriched by a wide range of musical influences, both French and international (soul, rock, folk, funk, jazz, and instrumental music).
Because the Ardèche was the beautiful place of residence of the late and uniquely talented Singer Jean Ferrat (originally “Jean Tenenbaum”, https://shorturl.at/CDF17) for many decades, Bambi will use this post to honour his legacy with his unforgettable and moving songs, most subtitled in English. May his memory be eternal.
The above being said, Bambi hopes you all had a beautiful Sunday. May the week ahead be enriching for each one of you!
Rania is Bambi’s sister. Michael is her nephew. Both of them share the same date for their birthday celebrations. Isn’t it amazing when the aunt and her nephew highlight their birthday together? This very brief post will be strictly musical. In addition to their personalized Happy Birthday songs embedded below, each of them will be offered a dance-related song or music: the first song (subtitled in English), which is for Rania, is all about enjoying oneself at a party. It is performed by Ms. Nancy Ajram in the Lebanese dialect of the Arabic language. The second instrumental piece, which is meant for Michael, is the Zorba’s Greek Dance and it is performed by Mr. André Rieu et al. May Rania and Michael have much fun today in Beirut and Dubai respectively. Bambi loves them both beyond words ❤️❤️!
Think positive, be kind to yourself and others, and make the best out of each day!
Thank you journalist and sister Roula Douglas for spreading positive thinking and kindness on Twitter. Planting the seeds of a positive mindset, for ourselves and for others, is part of daily life’s simple pleasures. Indeed, this can create a contagious sense of beauty and hopefully of personal, familial, and social well-being. Examples of the calendar shared by Roula include the following: “being grateful, writing a gratitude letter to thank someone, appreciating green spaces around you, doing something healthy that will make you feel good about yourself, and/or sharing a friendly smile with people you see…”.
May you all have a lovely month of June where we will officially welcome the summer season. During this month, some of us will celebrate our birthdays [remember to become wiser Rania and Michael :)!]. Some may go on vacation or have guests over. Others will be busy with work or with other life projects and hobbies. Of course, there will be stress and maybe sadly even distress for some. Of note, it is in chronic stress times that we need to be even kinder with ourselves while taking good care (e.g., more consciously eating healthy food, getting the sleep we need following a stressful encounter, listening to our body, respecting our limits, reaching out to a good supportive friend or family member if we need it, and remembering to include pleasure in our daily life, etc.).
To conclude this brief post, following Ms. Azar-Douglas’ public message on her social media, Bambi will leave you with an English kids’ song about being positive (sub-titled in English), hoping you will enjoy it as much as she did.
Today is June 1st. Bambi does not need a chronological date on a calendar to think of and honour her uncle. However, today, she would like to pause, reflect, send her virtual yet concrete love to Fatma (aunt) and Laila (cousin), and dedicate this brief post to her maternal uncle Nicolas… May his memory be eternal.
It is no secret to anyone that Bambi loves Germany and the German language. She has all the reasons of the world for that. Partly thanks to her dad, partly to her uncle (of course, without forgetting soccer). She grew up in Beirut with the “German dream“, which may have sustained her during the fifteen years of civil war. Her family and her used to travel after heavy rounds of shelling to visit her “German” uncle [or “Khallo”] who left his birth country at age 18. They would escape to a peaceful place in the old continent, spend a few weeks, and come back filled with energy and ready for the next rounds of violence.
Khallo Nicolas was an inspiring man filled with intelligence, work ethics, incredible skills and multi-talent, along with a big heart. He was a fantastic German teacher to Bambi too; her own dad was her first teacher in the shelter, motivating her to run to the Goethe Institute of Beirut immediately following the ceasefire to register herself in her first course. She was 15 years old at that time. To come back to her Khallo Nicolas, whenever she would ask about the meaning of a word. He used to ask: “Bambi, do you want a short or long answer?” Bambi would always reply” “both, please“. The short answer was helpful. The long answer made her understand the etymology and rich histories of those beautiful German words. Interesting stories about the context of each word. Is there a better way to learn and remember foreign words?
In addition to the above, there are so many ways to describe her uncle to you. An open-minded man who travelled the world and embraced different cultures, languages, and religions. He lived in different places like Beirut, München, Cairo, Bejing, etc. In addition to a solid career, he was (and is from wherever he may be) a WONDERFUL dad and a spouse (in addition to his uncle’s hat). Of course, he was also a great baker of rhubarb cakes. Up until now, every time Bambi eats this desert in Canada, she thinks of her uncle.
Bambi is aware that this post cannot pay justice to the richness of her uncle’s character, his legacy, and all what he represented to her over the years, along with his beloved adoptive country. It is just a little pause, a little wink, her way of showing his (and her) family and the world that he is vividly present in her mind and heart. Thanks to him for having opened his house and heart to Bambi’s family when escaping war, for the wonderful times visiting them in Montreal, and for the continuous inspiration to her as well as to the rest of his nephews/nieces. Even if life was cruel when he died, his talented and lovely daughter could not have a better father than him (in so many regards, she has a lot of him in her. Bless her brain and heart ❤️; bravo also to her devoted and talented mom ❤️). As for Bambi, she sometimes wonders what her uncle would have thought about the narrow mindedness of our collectively insane times (with the past saga of her blog), had he still been with us . Given his free spirit, critical thinking, and open-mindedness, he would have surely not been impressed.
