Author: Bambi

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!

She does not know about you, but for Bambi, if this past weekend and today could have a single theme to describe them, it would be “Wild Animals“. Indeed, this post focuses on New Brunswick (NB) wild animals who regularly visit Bambi’s friends, Will and Bonnie. However, while preparing the post, Bambi could not help not to also have a tender thought for a Beiruti street cat who recently gave birth on her parents’ balcony.

The cat mother and her kitten are doing well, thankfully. They now spend most of their time sitting in one of the big plants of Antoine and Robine. Bambi took a couple of screenshots of the live streaming video shared by her dad. Perhaps another forthcoming post can introduce you to this new wild Lebanese family :)?

This being said, let’s ignore Beirut’s street cat’s maternity now to introduce you to some of the fascinating guests of Will and Bonnie in the South-East area of the Canadian maritime province of NB. These wild animals include, but are not limited to, the following species: beautiful birds, including humming birds, blue jays, and other beautiful types of birds, elegant pheasants, a cute squirrel, a nice family of deer, a lovely raccoon, an adorable rabbit, and last but not least a huge yet friendly black bear. As you can see with your own eyes, they all love visiting Bonnie and Will!

Bambi hopes you will enjoy her friends’ fascinating pictures and videos. Many thanks to them for their generosity. This post will end on a musical note with a Safari Bus English song for kids. Long live NB’s wild animals!

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Only a mathematician of Mr. Blaise Pascal’s calibre can both come to the world and die on the 19th day of a month at the age of 39.

Of note, Pascal was more than a French mathematician. He was also a physicist, an inventor, a philosopher, and a writer. He is well known for the invention of the precursor of the calculator, called Pascal’s calculator or a “Pascaline” (shown above).

Since we are June 19, like the day of his birth in 1623, this post will share a few of his quotes and end with a song, by Mr. Nicola Ciconne [subtitled in French, if you wish to try to sing it :)]. This musical choice is Bambi’s attempt to honour Pascal’s first deep saying, which goes like this: “Do not try to add more years to your life. Better add more life to your years“. Indeed, Ciccone’s song is called “Je ne veux pas mourir avant d’être mort” [I do not want to die before dying]. It is about leading a meaningful life, or being full of life. According to the singer-songwriter, it is about living with a sense of urgency, so to speak. This implies making choices and taking decisions, which allow us to fully embrace life and enjoy it (https://shorturl.at/qVW02).

May Pascal’s sayings or calculator, along with Ciconne’s words and music, inspire you to have a meaningful and fun new week ahead!

To Antoine, Bambi’s “baba” or papy, with much love: of course, you are being honoured every day, not just on this Sunday. However, today is all yours. Enjoy it ❤️!

To Robert, Bambi’s father-in-law, with tenderness: today is also your special day, have fun ❤️!

To Bambi’s readers with positive vibes: have a lovely day too. Some of you may be fathers, grandfathers, expectant fathers, and/or aspiring fathers. Some do not wish to have children while for others life did not make paternity possible. Perhaps your own father and/or father of your children are in this place called heaven. May their memory and love legacy be eternal.

To conclude this post on a musical note, Bambi would like to thank her friend Spencer for introducing her to the second lovely (English) song. Happy Father’s Day to his inspiring dad!

Time flies… Already 33 years in Canada!

On this day, year after year, it is impossible for Bambi not to have gratitude in her heart for her parents who brought their children to safety in 1990 ❤️.

Today, Bambi has spent almost twice as much time in Canada as in her birth country. She is lucky to have lived in three beautiful provinces.

Number thirty-three sounds nice to the ears, her now-ready-for-the weekend-mind is thinking, because it is Jesus’ age (when he died), as they commonly say in her birth country :). OK, she is saying so while hoping she will outlive this number to celebrate June 17 again and again!

On June 14, 1965, The Beatles recorded their eternal Yesterday (https://shorturl.at/aBDS6). Fifty-eight years later, Mr. Nicola Ciconne sings it in such a beautiful way. Bravo and thank you, Mr. Ciconne!

Like today, in 2017, the French and international Rock icon, Mr. Johnny Hallyday, died at at age 74. Although he left our world, he remains in the hearts of his fans, including those of Bambi, her family, and many of her friends. May his memory be eternal.

Hallyday’s impressive career lasted for over fifty years (https://shorturl.at/qryEZ). Thank Goodness, his musical legacy will remain immortal.

To honour Mr. Hallyday’s memory, Bambi will share Youtube videos of his performance in both French and English. Some of the chosen French songs are sub-titled in English, for your convenience. You will hear him singing Brel, Ferré, Cossette, Piaf, Bonifay (Souvenirs, souvenirs followed by its English version), and Aznavour with an English duo with this late GREAT singer-songwriter.

To conclude this post, Bambi admits to being selfish. She chose songs she happens to adore, without thinking if they were Hallyday’s own melodies. Indeed, she started with her favourite French love song, Brel’s Ne me Quitte Pas (which later led to the “If you Go Away” song in English). She hopes you will enjoy listening to Hallyday’s unique voice and amazing performance, whether you happen to be his fan too or you are discovering him postmortem.

Bambi is honoured to be one of the scholars on the advisory Committee of the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy, “a new think tank that aims to renew a civil, common-sense approach to public discourse and public policy in Canada” (https://shorturl.at/dvG49).

The vision of the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy is as follows: ” A Canada where the sacrifices and successes of past generations are cherished and built upon; where citizens value each other for their character and merit; and where open inquiry and free expression are prized as the best path to a flourishing future for all” (https://shorturl.at/dvG49).

To learn more about this highly promising think tank, you may wish to read the beautiful message of hope of its President, Dr. Mark Milke, with whom Bambi has been honoured to work over the past few months (https://shorturl.at/dvG49).

If you are interested, you may wish to watch these very informative and interesting videos on why this tank think (Dr. Milke) and why a Calgary Entrepreneur (Mr. Chuma Chukwulozie) is supporting it!

This being said, today is a big day in the short, yet very productive, life of the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy. How could it not be when its firs book, edited by Dr. Milke, has just gone live on Amazon paperback, Kindle e-book, and as a Kobo e-book (https://shorturl.at/eqtCT)!

Bambi invites you to purchase this great book (only CAD $25) and to encourage your friends and acquaintances to do the same, if you like it. Any constructive commentary is welcome on Amazon too.

To encourage you to learn more about this much needed book, Bambi will share excerpts and videos. First, some excerpts can be found in this link (https://shorturl.at/kzIV7) and four of them below, including excerpts from Bambi’s chapter along with those from a Law Professor she is fond of, Dr. Bruce Pardy (she never imagined being an author in the same book as him!). Last but not least, you can find four 2-minute-videos by four book authors, including Bambi.

To conclude, long live the Aristotle Foundation of Canada! Bravo for the new book whose message is about openness, intellectual diversity, and even love for our beautiful Canada. To those of you who are sick and tired of censorship and bullying, like Bambi, this book is for you. Let’s all promote it! 

She does not know about you, but Bambi loves flowers in all their shapes and colours, as you can see in the older posts shared further below.

Yesterday was a lucky day for Bambi as she received beautiful pictures of flowers from her parents as well as from Brittany and Fred, respectively. Her parents’ flowers are in the family of Gardenia Jasminoides [thanks again Nicole for teaching her this lesson]. Brittany’s flower is a Rhododendron canadense while Fred’s is a Petunias [to be on the safe side, Bambi asked them about these names. No, she did not become savvy with flowers all of a sudden : )].

Following the shared pictures, this brief post will end with Dalida’s “Le temps des fleurs” [Flowers Times] performed by a Lebanese singer called Ms. Carla Haddad. Bambi is happy to discover her. She sings in a “floral” fusion of the French, English, and Arabic languages.

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Do flowers, real or virtual, from loved ones make you feel lucky?

Mr. Zaki Nassif: “Lover of flowers” [“Ya Ashikata el Wardi”]

What is your favourite flower?

Cherry blossom season through the eyes of Rita!

Beirut: A new government, a balcony, and a song

This very informative video lasts less than five minutes. It is in French and sub-titled in English. Under the YouTube video, we can read the following:

“ Beirut, a city of refuge in the Arab world for the LGBTQ+ community? If the Lebanese capital has such a positive image, it’s not from nowhere. It’s the result of years of activism.

These few victories should not, however, conceal a much darker reality in Lebanon. The country’s political, social and economic crises are growing and have especially impacted the LGBTQ+ community, according to observers on the ground.

From the economic downfall to the explosion in the port of Beirut, not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic, recent events have destroyed some of this community’s safe havens and reduced an already fragile level of freedom.

This is a step backward in a country that, despite its tolerant image, has always maintained a homophobic legislative framework, and where negative public perceptions of LGBTQ+ people prevail.

For Pride Month, a worldwide celebration held every year in June as a reminder of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, we explain it all to you in just five minutes”.