Author: Bambi

Bambi has more than one post on flowers. The latest one, shown at the end of this one, featured the beautiful flowers of Halifax’ public gardens. Today’s post is a follow-up to it, with a floral beauty located in one of Halifax’ community gardens. Both posts were made possible, thanks to Khaldie’ generosity.

To begin with, let’s start by acknowledging Khaldie’s multiple talents, including but not limited to photography, cooking, baking, gardening, and having raised her great children in addition to nurturing friendships. Thanks to her for sharing Halifax’ beauty. In addition, Bambi is grateful to her other readers/friends for privately and regularly sending pictures of flowers, along with kind words ❤️. Bambi will name (sorry if she is forgetting anyone): Rose from Toronto, the most beautiful flower in the garden of friendship and humanity (Bambi will forever remember her incredible support); Greta from Montreal for her inspiring creativity, kindness, wisdom, and sense of perspective, in addition to humour; and last but not least, Fred from Ottawa for his support, contributions to this blog, and for being not too bad as a faithful friend to both her (21 years!) and her spouse (30 years!).

Bearing the above in mind, Khaldie’s pictures will be followed by the French, German, and English versions of an old Russian romance song (1924). The French song, performed by the late and UNIQUE Dalida (written by Mr. Eddy Marnay), reminds us of the time of flowers [“Le temps des fleurs”] whereas the English version, by Ms. Mary Hopkin (1968), is about friendship-related memories. Same for the beautiful German version, entitled “An jenem Tag mein Freund“, which is also performed by Dalida. Of note, the original superb Russian melody has been translated into many other languages, including Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, Persian, and, more recently, into Arabic.

In conclusion, Bambi would like to: (1) offer Ms Hopkin’s English version to her friend Jane. She knows why ❤️ :); and (2) end with a quote by Mr. Victor Hugo, which goes like this: “La vie est une fleur dont l’amour est le miel”. In English, it means: “Life is a flower of which love is the honey“. To what extent do you agree/disagree?

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Halifax Public Gardens: If flowers could talk, what would they tell us?

It is a long weekend where Bambi resides. Yes, today is New Brunswick (NB) Day, which has been celebrated since 1979 (https://shorturl.at/vCHK1). For those who do not know it, this Atlantic Canadian province “has been named for the German county of Brunswick, a duchy of King George III” (https://shorturl.at/opIT5).

To highlight this day, there is nothing more timely than an UPLIFTING song, which celebrates the beauty of our welcoming province. The chosen melody, which is entitled “The New Brunswick Song“, was composed by Mr. Ethan Ash and Mr. James Mullinger (2022). Interestingly, their video clip (directed by Mr. Tyler Warren Ellis) shows some of NB peaceful landscapes. Of note, if you wish, you can purchase their digital song for CAD$2.50 (or more, at your discretion), as described on YouTube (https://shorturl.at/lnAE1). Bravo to these highly creative artists.

In conclusion, Bambi wishes her fellow New Brunswickers, human beings and wild animals, a lovely New Brunswick Day!

Mr. Daniel Lévi was an amazing French singer-songwriter and pianist. Sadly, he only lived from August 26, 1961 to August 6, 2022 (https://shorturl.at/aeoOY). Indeed, like today, a year ago, Mr. Lévi left our world too soon. May his memory be eternal.

Despite the sadness of discovering Mr. Daniel Lévi’s death only today, Bambi’s heart is filled with gratitude for this singer’s talent and big heart. Indeed, believe it or not, she was planning a post about him… for his birthday. In her mind, she has confused the 26th of August (his birth) with the 6th (today and sadly his death anniversary). Well, it turned out that this post will have to be a postmortem tribute, along with positive vibes for continuous healing for his wife as well as former spouses (mothers), four children, extended family, friends, colleagues, and fans (https://shorturl.at/anoyJ).

While doing some reading about his life, death, and accomplishments, Bambi discovered that Mr. Daniel Lévi held Lebanon close to his heart. She did not know that. This country was indeed one of the several causes he was passionate about. He even offered artistic performances to support Beirut after its surrealistic port explosion (https://shorturl.at/kqrvQ; https://shorturl.at/flPY5; https://shorturl.at/wxCW1).. Merci cher Monsieur Lévi!

Among Lévi’s impressive and most known accomplishments, are his song L’Envie d’Aimer [The Desire to Love] and his role as Moses in the “The Ten Commandments” musical.

In addition to the above, a Journal de Montréal obituary-article (https://shorturl.at/wxCW1), originally by the Agence France Presse (AFP), informed us of the following: “After several prestigious collaborations, such as those with Gloria Gaynor, who hired him in the first part of his European tour, or with Michel Legrand, who offered him to record songs from the soundtrack of the film Parking (1985) by Jacques Demy, Daniel Lévi participated in his first musical in 1991. He played the roles of Frédéric Chopin and Alfred de Musset in the show Sand and the Romantics, which was composed by Catherine Lara and Luc Plamondon. In 1993, he recorded This Blue Dream, the song from Disney’s Aladdin cartoon. This duet with the singer Karine Costa, which makes him better known to the general public, will mark a generation.…”.

Last but not least, as reported in the article cited above (https://shorturl.at/wxCW1), “Daniel Lévi was a singular, powerful voice. Fights too: climate, caregivers, fight against racism, support for Lebanon, he never hesitated to commit himself to making the world a little better. All my condolences to his family and loved ones, ”reacted the Minister of Culture of France, Rima Abdul Malak, on Twitter“.

What can Bambi add to all this? Luckily for us, music is eternal. In addition, memories linked to emotions are known to be powerful. Indeed, according to researchers from the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC, 2020), “multiple neurons in the brain must fire in synchrony to create strong ’emotional‘ memories” (https://shorturl.at/oquxZ). Thank you, Mr. Daniel Lévi, for ALL the emotions, and their beautiful memories, which you made us experience through your heartfelt songs. Once again, may your memory be eternal…

It is midnight now at Bambi’s end. A new day is about to officially begin, thankfully.

Who knows? Maybe like those of you with an emotional connection to Beirut, Bambi’s August 4 was not like any other working day of the year. How could it be? Indeed, it was a day of emotional solidarity, along with grief. The latter was not silent all the time. Yes, tears can be noisy, especially when listening to an interview with the grieving parents of a little one. Of course, Bambi’s collective grief was mixed with more personal gratitude to God for having miraculously protected or healed her loved ones (some of them, who may be reading now, went through a LONG ride from hell; hello to Maya, Bambi’s hero ❤️!).

So, did the spirit of the day make Bambi lack a topic for this new post? Regardless, she still had that daily urge to connect with you, dear readers. To overcome her lack of inspiration, she decided to be randomly creative in coming up with a theme for today’s post.

This is how she googled the terms “random word generator” (or something like it) and convinced herself that she will let the whichever word generated on her screen to be the focus of today’s post. To her amusing surprise, this word happened to be “blank“, just like her blog’s “empty new post page“. Needless to repeat that it is also like her Beirut-related psyche today. What an ironic coincidence!

Now, to begin with, what is the meaning of “blank”? Well, as you likely know better than Bambi, especially if English is your first language, “blank” literally means “empty” or “void“.

First of all, and indeed, “empty” may feel like a white page where nothing is written yet.

Second, “blank” or, rather “empty“, could feel like a house or an apartment we come back to, at the end of a working day, when we either live on our own or we are by ourselves for a while.

Third, and related to food, the “emptiness” could be similar to our fridge prior to a trip to the grocery store. In extreme cases, our “empty stomach” may even start craving any food while producing an unwanted, and likely graceless, music.

Fourth, “blank” or, rather, “empty” may remind us of a temporary yet unpleasant feeling, which we can experience if we are lacking sleep, exhausted, mourning or experiencing loneliness following a break-up (https://shorturl.at/cfpQ6). Sadly, we can chronically feel empty, at least for an extended period of time, in depression, burnout, other mental health conditions, or even in some personality disorders (https://shorturl.at/cfpQ6).

Fifth, one must also bear in mind the financially-based meaning of “a blank cheque” (or “chèque en blanc”, in French). As a reminder, the latter has no monetary value written on it, although it is already signed. By extension, and in a figurative or more symbolic sense, the chèque en blanc expression can also mean a “carte blanche” (or a “white card”) situation. The latter refers to an open-ended agreement (too vague), which is potentially vulnerable to an eventual abuse by one of the signing parties (https://shorturl.at/rsBMV).

Last but not least, the term “blank” can be related to the discipline of psychology, which is rooted in both philosophy and biology, in which the concept “blank slate” refers to the earlier following philosophical belief: at birth, human beings are born with the potential to become anything later in life. According to this view, their mind is “a tabula rasa” (a blank slate), which will be filled with ideas, as they grow up and navigate the world. Of course, the alternative view is the increased role of genetics and biology.

Bearing the above in mind, Bambi will end with questions and a new musical discovery: (1) in general, what does the word “blank” evoke in you in terms of memories? Or of any aspirations or fears?; and (2) have you heard of, and if so, do you like M. Ray LaMontagne? Being a true dinosaur, instead of an up-to-date deer, when it comes to music and movies [as well as top clothing brands :)], Bambi was delighted to discover this award-winning American singer-songwriter and musician JUST NOW (https://shorturl.at/jouL4) while searching for a matching melody. Thankfully, it is never too late in life. In addition to his captivating voice, Mr. LaMontagne has a timely and deep song, which is entitled “Empty”.

May the memory of all the victims of August 4 (2020) be eternal.

May Beirutis continue to heal and may their city remember, rise, and shine again.

May peace and love prevail, even if truth and justice are still pending.

To begin with, Bambi would like to thank her friend Gabi for attracting her attention to a National Post article about an absurd union-related story from out of Québec, Canada. This article, by Mr. Jacob Serebrin, is entitled “Truck driver who drank nine beers before crash had alcoholism disability and must be rehired: arbitrator” (https://t.ly/3Ccpx).

The current post addresses the same surreal topic. Indeed, thanks to Mr. Richard Martineau who, with his usual accuracy and sarcasm, nailed the analysis of this worrisome story for individual responsibility that could endanger the public safety.

Clearly in Bambi’s mind, Martineau’s column, which was published yesterday in the Journal de Montréal (https://t.ly/e91lh), is of high importance, like the National Post piece. This is why she decided to translate it for you. She did it with gratitude for her friend’s prompt assistance. Of course, she is talking about the tireless, Mr. Google Translate.

After reading Mr. Martineau’s article below, what will be your thoughts? Please feel free to share any comment to generate an enriching, and hopefully useful, public discussion.

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“Another unreasonable accommodation

A truck driver drives a drunk 18-wheeler? It’s his employer’s fault!

Yesterday, I was talking about the rigidity of the system.

Its lack of flexibility.

Stupid logic that says “the rules are the rules”.

Well, unions suffer from the same disease.

They apply their regulations to the letter, without any discernment.

“Regulation 2.01-5B says that? So that’s what we’re going to apply!”

It’s very simple, robots would be more circumspect!

JUDGMENT WITHOUT JUDGMENT

The day before yesterday, La Presse published a story about a Québec truck driver who – hic! – got caught driving – hic! – its heavyweight with – hic! – 12 beers in the body.

Of course, her employer fired her. But the truck driver and her union filed a complaint with the arbitration tribunal… which ruled in their favour!

Believe it or not, but the referee in question ruled that given that alcoholism – hic! – is an illness, the employer should have “accommodated” the driver by installing a breathalyzer in her vehicle!!!!

“This is a great victory for workers and disabled workers in particular. We are very happy with the decision, given that it is a striking example of employers’ duty to accommodate, ”said his lawyer, Mr. Dominique Goudreault. “This is a situation where the employer had not taken its responsibilities.”

You read that right: it’s not the lady who didn’t take responsibility by driving dead drunk, no.

It is rather her employer!!!!

Who failed to accommodate its “disabled” employee!!!

Insane.

Anybody with an intelligence quotient, which is above the intelligence level of gravel (or a little stone) reads that and says, “Are you kidding me, for Christ’s sake?”

PRIVATE CLUBS

So folks, if you get caught by the police while driving with enough alcohol in your body to blow up a hot air balloon, tell the cop you’re “disabled”, you have “a serious illness” and that you are not responsible for what happens to you!

And after that, the unions say they have the well-being of the people at heart, unlike the bad bosses!!!!

Are you serious?

All you care about is protecting YOUR members who bring you money!

You operate like a private club.

Let me go with the “people”! You don’t give a damn about the “people”! The latter can get hit by an 18-wheeler driven by a woman filled to the brim with beer. Yes, the “people”!

It doesn’t give you a crease in the navel.

Unions that think like that are not part of the solution, they are part of the problem.

This is why it is so difficult to change things in Québec.

Because we are struggling with bureaucrats, civil servants, corporations and unions who DO NOT WANT TO CHANGE ANYTHING!

And who only think of themselves!

The machine I was talking about yesterday has one and only goal: to protect itself.

POOR AGGRESSORS!

And after that, one wonders why citizens are so cynical and suspicious of authority figures.

Duh!

Soon, if this continues, employers will have to “accommodate” their employees who grab the buttocks of their clients under the pretext that these “poor wretches” suffer from a “serious illness” that they cannot control!“

Two days ahead of the third anniversary of the surrealistic, yet still (perhaps forever?) unaccountable, Beirut port double blast, Mr. Mike Massy and Ms. Majda El Roumi both dedicated a new artistic production to the families of the victims.

To begin with, Bambi will introduce the GRANDIOSE El Roumi’s “When Beirut will come back” in Standard-Arabic. The lyrics are a powerful poem by the late and great Mr. Nizzar Qabbanii. May his memory be as eternal as his incredible talent. What an amazing video clip, including but not limited to its artistic delivery with its singing, musical performance, music distribution, dancing, acting, clip direction, and final production. Although you may not understand any word, luckily music and emotions are universal. Bravo to this Lebanese diva and all the skilled team of musicians and other artists.

Last but not least, El Roumi’s song is followed by a HEARTBREAKING AND A HUMANLY AS WELL AS ARTISTICALLY CLEVER brief movie, which was also produced a few hours ago. Thanks to the most talented Lebanese singer-song writer and international actor, Mr. Mike Massy. His movie, which is sub-titled in English, is called “Are you still there?” Its description on YouTube (that Mr. Google Translate turned from French into English for you) reads as follows: “the film offers a casual exchange between a person residing in Lebanon and a friend residing abroad. On the other side of the phone, Ré-Mi is an old friend of Mike’s who also grew up in the period of the destructive civil war and sang for peace in the 1980s as a child. In the film, we indiscreetly listen to an impromptu telephone conversation between the two friends, where Mike awaits the return of Ré-Mi, while the latter asks Mike to immigrate to the country where she has settled. In this uncensored outspokenness, viewers follow this back-and-forth and loop that consists of attenuating the feeling of being a foreigner in one’s own country by projecting hopes of belonging in a foreign land”.

Needless to repeat that Bambi’s heart goes to Beirut as well to all the families of the blast innocent victims. Of course, you can expect that there will be another post on this blog, likely musical too, which will be devoted to the Lebanese capital. Stay tuned on August 4.

This being said, to end with joy, not just sorrow, Bambi will leave you all with warm wishes to her friend Carla. Yes, if “Carcour” is reading, happy birthday to her with MUCH love! ❤️

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If you are interested, you can listen to this new song by using the following platforms, as written on Youtube: ” https://bfan.link/indama-tarjeaa-beirut Subscribe to the official channel of Magida Roumi : https://bit.ly/43PjKua Follow Magida Roumi: Facebook : https://bit.ly/43SMBh0 Twitter : https://bit.ly/3YfpoEG Instagram: https://bit.ly/45brGa2 Keep listening to Magida Roumi on : Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3OjY8Ae Deezer: https://bit.ly/3qa0EkL Apple Music: https://apple.co/3DBzPc3 Anghami : https://bit.ly/3KmikAm Amazon: https://amzn.to/3rTAIKE “.

With this VERY brief post, it is Bambi’s hope that your day will be as uplifting as the superb melody, entitled”Belle“, from the Notre Dame de Paris musical. For your convenience, an earlier post about Garou is shared below because it includes English sub-titles.

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Garou: Happy Birthday!

Today, Bambi came across a beautiful song about time. It is performed by Les Enfantastiques [The Fantastikids; Los Fantaschicos; Die Fantastikinder; Xing Ji Shao Nü; as per the official linguistic variants of its name, https://shorturl.at/dgh57).

First, who are those Fantastikids? They are children who are members of choirs that perform songs, in six languages, all composed by Mr. Nô, in creative collaboration with students and their teachers in France’s elementary schools (https://shorturl.at/dgh57).

Second, why does Bambi want to share a song by the Fantastikids with you? To begin with, with or without music, this blog’s readers are daily on her mind. Indeed, you are in her thoughts with each “passing” day, namely when she starts her morning, not knowing in which direction the day’s post will take her. Of note, by “taking her”, she means “taking you with her”. As you know, each daily post stands on its own. The chosen theme depends on what is making Bambi reflect about then. This means the following: Most of the times, the theme may seem like a reaction to an event or a comment to a mainstream media article (where unfortunately readers’ comments are closed). At other times, a theme may be personal, perhaps coming more out of her heart, like on birthdays, in tributes to loved ones, and/or to share a song with you. Of course, regardless of the posts’ focus, the “passage of time” is a central component of Bambi’s adventures while blogging.

Third, it remains possible that the deep yet lovely Fantastikids song attracted Bambi’s attention today because it was “timely”. Yes, she happened to have “taken the time” over the weekend, not only to “enjoy her time”, but also to reflect on it. Indeed, she thought about “the passage of time”, or its flow. Of course, she thought of the days, which usually go by fast. Perhaps this is precisely why she tries to capture, and even archive, them.

Specifically, Bambi thought about the ending month of July. Where did “the time” fly, even if in her mind she made the best out of each of its days, especially her birthday, thanks to her loved ones :)? In addition, the continuing summer season was on her mind. Same for “the fall and winter times”, which need to be planned (due to the nature of her work). Of course, she dreams of beautiful forthcoming familial events. Like anyone else, some of Bambi’s own projects, or dreams, came to an end, naturally yet abruptly. Life has its own ways of reminding us that nothing would happen if it is not meant to be. Thankfully, different amazing projects followed. They have forever enriched her/her spouses’ lives.

Fourth, regardless of our life experiences, perhaps two facts can never be altered: (1). the finality of life. We are all going to die eventually, in one way or another; an (2) even if there is much subjectivity in the “perceived time”, the latter keeps moving forward. Within its movement, there is a “time frame” for everything. As Bambi wrote once on her blog, life will always go on, even upon the death of our loved ones and following our own finality. For Bambi, there is a soothing comfort in “this time”, which keeps its linear progress, unlike us in our own grief journeys. Along with any perceived comfort, perhaps there is also a sense of acceptance. Indeed, the latter may have been well captured in the following part of the song’s lyrics: “we cannot do anything about it no matter what”.

Fifth and last, the “passage of time” changes throughout our lifespan. In other terms, time seems to go faster as we age (https://t.ly/4qe0g). Related to this reality, perhaps Bambi’s preferred lyrics, even if she likes the entire song, is the reference to “the time we have left and which makes us modest” [“Le temps qu’il nous reste et qui nous rend modeste”].

As a conclusion, Bambi hopes you will enjoy the song, with its shared lyrics (English in bold). Regardless of what is going on in your own lives right now, thank you for “your time” while reading this post. May you have “good times”, today and in the week ahead!

LYRICS

 (taken from: Musixmatch; the English translated lyrics are in bold)

There is time and then also time
Il y a le temps et puis aussi le temps

The weather and the time that passes
Le temps qu’il fait et le temps qui passe

Whatever the time since the dawn of time
Quelque soit le temps depuis la nuit des temps

Whether it changes or it passes away
Qu’il change ou qu’il passe

We can’t do anything about it no matter what
On n’y peut rien quoi qu’on fasse

The time of seasons and conjugations
Le temps des saisons et des conjugaisons

Childhood time, holiday memories
Le temps de l’enfance, des souvenirs de vacances

The snow time, a little carousel ride
Le temps de la neige, d’un ptit tour de manège

School time, take flight
Le temps de l’école, de prendre son envole

Time for friends, rants, helping hands
Le temps des copains, des coups de gueule, des coups de mains

The time of love, they say it lasts forever
Le temps de l’amour, on dit qu’il dure toujours

The time of life, dreams and desires
Le temps de la vie, des rêves et des envies

When the sun shines, the time it amazes
Quand brille le soleil, le temps qu’il émerveille

There is time and then also time
Il y a le temps et puis aussi le temps

The weather and the time that passes
Le temps qu’il fait et le temps qui passe

Whatever the time since the dawn of time
Quelque soit le temps depuis la nuit des temps

Whether it changes or it passes away
Qu’il change ou qu’il passe

We can’t do anything about it no matter what
On n’y peut rien quoi qu’on fasse

The time of pleasures, sorrows and laughter
Le temps des plaisir, des chagrins et des rires

The time of the secrets of the farewells of the regrets
Le temps des secrets des adieux des regrets

The time of mistakes, doubts and happiness
Le temps des erreurs, des doutes et du bonheur

The time of the pouring and escaping rain
Le temps de la pluie qui coule et qui s’enfuit

The time of the storm, of wars and of courage
Le temps de l’orage, des guerres et du courage

The time of a song, of a revolution
Le temps d’une chanson, d’une révolution

The time of cherries, of glory, of mousse
Le temps des cerises, de la gloire, de la mouise

The time we have left and which makes us modest
Le temps qu’il nous reste et qui nous rend modeste

There is time and then also time
Il y a le temps et puis aussi le temps

The weather and the time that passes
Le temps qu’il fait et le temps qui passe

Whatever the time since the dawn of time
Quelque soit le temps depuis la nuit des temps

Whether it changes or it passes away
Qu’il change ou qu’il passe

We can’t do anything about it no matter what
On n’y peut rien quoi qu’on fasse

There is time and then also time
Il y a le temps et puis aussi le temps

The weather and the time that passes
Le temps qu’il fait et le temps qui passe

The most important thing is to take the time
Le plus important, c’est de prendre le temps

Whether it changes or it passes away
Qu’il change ou qu’il passe

We can’t do anything about it no matter what
On n’y peut rien quoi qu’on fasse

Whether it changes or it passes away
Qu’il change ou qu’il passe

We can’t do anything about it no matter what
On n’y peut rien quoi qu’on fasse

Whether it changes or it passes away
Qu’il change ou qu’il passe

We can’t do anything about it no matter what
On n’y peut rien quoi qu’on fasse

There is time
Il y a le temps

And then also the time
Et puis aussi le temps

There is time
Il y a le temps

And then also the time
Et puis aussi le temps

There is time
Il y a le temps

And then also the time
Et puis aussi le temps

There is time
Il y a le temps”.

To begin with, some of this blog’s readers may be consulting this post from North America or from another location, including Lebanon or even Iran. If you happen to be Muslim, perhaps namely of Shiite Muslim faith, Bambi wishes you a Happy Ashoura. For those who may not know it, Ashoura is significant because it commemorates the sacrifices of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Mr. Hussain Ibn Ali.

This being said, Bambi came across a picture in L’Orient Le Jour (https://tinyurl.com/35azzsc3), which is shown below. It shows Lebanese women in the Hermel area, carrying the picture of Mr. Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran. The latter who served as the former President of Iran (1981-89) is a prominent religious leader since 1989 (https://tinyurl.com/2p8ya8tp). Please make no mistake, these young women are all from Lebanon. They most likely do not have any connection with Iran, except for the spiritual and ideological levels. Yet, they are carrying the picture of an Iranian politician and cleric (https://tinyurl.com/2p8ya8tp). Why, Bambi is wondering?

Before or following their walk in the streets, did any of these women pause, for at least one second, to think about the meaning of the gesture of carrying such picture? Of course, in life and in democratic countries, anyone is free to carry any picture. The issue is not about this. Indeed, Bambi’s question is strictly related to patriotic loyalty: why do these young women allow themselves to appear as being more loyal to Iran than to their own country? Is their choice wise and viable for Lebanon, which has been struggling with its multiple crises, and perhaps even for its existence? As a reminder, the latter is, once again, without a president of the republic and without a government. All this is happening within a devastating economic crisis, which is most likely among the world’s worst ones in 150 years, according to the World Bank (https://tinyurl.com/rbx4se6e). Last but not least, the gesture of carrying the picture of Mr. Khamenei sadly does not help Iranian women who have been recently fighting for their freedom.

To conclude this post, with all due respect to all, when will the Lebanese people put their own nation first, that is before any other foreign country and above any related ideology or interests? When will ideologies, religious or not, be under the banner of Lebanon?