The picture of Ms. Hélène Ségara was taken from Public and the source of the delicious cake is unknown
Happy Birthday, Ms. Hélène Ségara!
You have been the Ambassador of Rêves [Dreams in English] whose mission is to fulfill the dreams of very seriously ill French kids and youth (https://bit.ly/3lWxhQg).
With your duos with the late yet eternal Mr. Joe Dassin, you have made both older and younger people, around the world, dream of romance and beautiful North American seasons.
For all the above, in addition to your other artistic and social contributions (https://bit.ly/3ItzIS5), Bambi wants to thank you while wishing you a magical year ahead.
Mr. Amine Maalouf’s picture was taken from L’Express
Born in Beirut on February 25 (1949), Mr. Amin Maalouf is a Franco-Lebanese writer (https://bit.ly/3Zm6VWb) who received the prestigious Prix Goncourt (1993) for his “Le Rocher de Tanios” and was later (2011) elected to the French Academy. What a pride for both Lebanon and France!
Like readers around the world, Bambi is a fan of Mr. Maalouf. Thus, using his own words, her post is a tribute to his incredible talent. The selected citations found online are filled with a much needed wisdom in today’s society, which seems to be too obsessed with identity characteristics (skin colour, gender, religion, etc.). The original French citations appear first, followed by an English translation in bold characters.
To conclude, Bambi will allow herself to offer this inspiring writer Mr. Yves Duteil’s famous song about the beauty of the French language, as spoken all the way from France to North America, in addition to a musical performance of Happy Birthday.
Thank you, dear Mr. Maalouf, for your productivity. Happy Birthday! Joyeux Anniversaire à vous! “Akbel el Mieh” in your and in Bambi’s mother tongue!
—
“Moitié français, donc, et moitié libanais ? Pas du tout! L’identité ne se compartimente pas, elle ne se répartit ni par moitiés, ni par tiers, ni par plages cloisonnées. Je n’ai pas plusieurs identités, j’en ai une seule, faite de tous les éléments qui l’ont façonnée, selon un ‘dosage’ particulier qui n’est jamais le même d’une personne à l’autre”.
“Half French, then, and half Lebanese? No way! Identity is not compartmentalized, it is not divided into halves, thirds, or partitioned areas. I don’t have several identities, I only have one, made up of all the elements that have shaped it, according to a particular ‘dosage’ that is never the same from one person to another”.
“L’identité n’est pas donnée une fois pour toutes, elle se construit et se transforme tout au long de l’existence”.
“Identity
is not given once and for all, it is constructed and transformed throughout
life”.
“N’hésitez jamais à partir loin, au-delà de toutes les mers, toutes les frontières, tous les pays, toutes les croyances”.
“Never hesitate to go far
away, beyond all seas, all frontiers, all countries, all beliefs”.
“Le fait d’être à la fois arabe et chrétien
est une situation fort spécifique, très minoritaire, et pas toujours facile à
assumer.”
“The fact of being both Arab and Christian is
a very specific situation, very minority, and not always easy to assume.”
“Les médias reflètent ce que disent les gens, les gens reflètent ce que disent les médias. Ne va-t-on jamais se lasser de cet abrutissant jeu de miroirs ?”
“The media reflects what people say, people reflect what
the media says.Are we ever
going to get tired of this mind-numbing game of mirrors?”
“C’est notre regard qui enferme souvent les autres dans leurs plus étroites appartenances, et c’est notre regard aussi qui peut les libérer.”
“It is our gaze that often locks others into their narrowest affiliations, and it is our gaze that can also liberate them”.
«L’amour se nourrit de patience autant que de désir».
Bambi is still speechless since yesterday evening.
She sends her grieving heart to Glenn’s family, friends, and colleagues.
Perhaps eventually after finding a picture somewhere, she will try to manage to find words to honour Glenn’s memory and to thank him.
For now, Bambi will just tell him that Mr. Maé’s song makes her think of him because he was one of the kindest people she has met.
Indeed, some people are present in our lives for years in a unique way. We learn something from them. We spend precious times with them, whenever life allows it, and they remotely yet socially keep enriching us.
Excluding recent exchanged Christmas postcards, thanks to Louis’ historic annual tradition, the last email Bambi received from Glenn was in March 2021. Honoured by his gift-surprise to her spouse/her (ie., a mailed book), she wrote to thank him. He kindly replied fast. She felt happiness and pride when she noticed his professional signature, at the end of the email, about his new position. Like all of us, his colleagues must be shocked now. Condolences to everyone, especially those who saw him and paid tribute to him last, without knowing that life would be that cruel (Peter).
Regardless of life cruelty, death reminds us that we are all heading there. It is just a question of timing. May Glenn Brown’s memory be eternal and may his family members find the courage to face their shock and long sorrow journey.
Bambi will stop here, ending this post with the song in question. It is in French. For your convenience, an English translation of its beautiful lyrics follows it.
In this post, Bambi will leave you with a quick English translation of Dr. Bock-Côté’s article, which was published yesterday in the Journal de Montréal (https://bit.ly/3IQ3WQA). Look at the sad, ridiculously absurd, and intellectually impoverished low level of censorship in today’s society… of course in the name of an inclusive society.
In recent years, publishing houses have increasingly hired so-called “sensitivity readers”.
Their function is to revise the texts of the authors to ensure that they do not contain “hurtful” remarks for “minorities”. Or at least, for activists claiming to speak on their behalf.
They are censors whose function is to conform the manuscripts they receive to the standards of multiculturalist and neo-feminist ideology. We will ensure that they become “inclusive”.
Charlie
It was only a matter of time for this logic of censorship to take the next step, looking not only at books to come, but at those from the past.
This is what has just happened to the works of Roald Dahl, the author of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, and of all the universe that we know.
The time had come to reissue his works. But the censorship of our time got involved. And we have thus witnessed their rewriting to erase expressions and words supposed to shock our contemporaries.
Call it a form of literary hygienism.
Feminism takes hold: a woman who, in the first edition, was a cashier or a secretary now becomes a top scientist or business executive. I would like it to become so in a future book, but in this one, such was not the case.
Likewise, in the new version, an obnoxious old woman is no longer said to be “old harpies as they always have itchy bellies”.
This passage is simply crossed out.
A reference to Joseph Conrad, considered too masculine and colonialist, is replaced by a reference to Jane Austen.
But it goes further. Dahl talks for a moment about a little fat boy. In the original version, he wrote that he had to go on a diet.
In the short story, this passage has been erased.
As for the “big brown mouse”, it simply becomes the “brown mouse”. Stop fatphobia!
I could multiply the examples.
The work no longer counts. It needs to be bleached.
As for the author, his book is nothing more than material to be reworked by militant rewriters.
This enterprise of purifying a literary work is part of a purge. But it is also a question of making it lose its own vocation to put it at the service of the dominant ideology.
This destroys literature.
Who will be the next victims of literary correctness? Balzac? Flaubert?
Censorship
In the days of our great-grandparents, we talked about edifying literature, supposed to make us good Christians. Literature was the support of morality. Morally prohibited books were blacklisted.
In the USSR, art was subject to the demands of what was called socialist realism. It was about putting art at the service of revolution and communism. Artists who did not comply with this requirement were perceived as dissidents.
Today, culture must serve the promotion of “diversity”. Nothing will escape the empire of political correctness.
Keep your old editions, my friends. One day they will be worth a lot”.
Bambi loves the month of July. Well, she has all the reasons of the world for that, in addition to the beauty of the summer :). In this brief musical post, on a winter day that smells the spring, with more sunshine, a green grass with little snow, and a warmer weather (compared to yesterday and likely to tomorrow), Ms. Talia Lahoud’s new lovely song about “July days” [“Iyam Tamouz“] is on Bambi’s mind. She hopes you will enjoy it. It is in the (Lebanese) Arabic language, with English sub-titles.
A couple of weeks ago, Bambi came across a brilliant speech by Mr. Kostantin Kisin. Today, her friend Irwin kindly shared with her that same talk. She watched it again. She enjoyed it even more. In turn, she would like to share Mr. Kisin’s talk with you dear readers of this blog, hoping you will also appreciate his talent.
Regardless of your own position about or within the wokeism movement or trend, let’s all take the time to pause. Yes, let’s allow ourselves to listen to and think about his powerful message.
To conclude this brief post, Bambi will first thank Mr. Kisin while congratulating him and his spouse for their newborn! Second, and if she may, she would like to cite “Joxer96” and “Kishore Akaveeti” for their thoughtful respective comments following the YouTube video: “It’s sad (and frightening) that we live in a time when speaking sensibly is considered by many to be hateful. Brilliant speech” and “It is astonishing to see how the comedians became the voice of people whereas the journalists, politicians and the so-called experts became comedians“.
Happy Family Day (in NB)! A picture taken from the internet
If you are reading this post from Canada’s New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia, have a Wonderful Family Day!
If you are reading this post from either Prince Edward Island or Nova Scotia, Happy Islander Day or Happy Heritage Day to you, respectively!
If you happen to be located in Manitoba, Happy Louis Riel Day to you!
Now, if you happen to be anywhere in United States, Happy President’s Day [Hi Rita, Marina, and Charbel among all your fellow citizens :)]!
This being said, this post will feature a family of ducks and… a, yes, a single bird.
First, the family of ducks lives in Zaarour, Lebanon; thanks to Hala for the superb pictures ❤️! For those who have never visited Hala’s Mediterranean country, you may be interested to know that Zaarour is known for its ski resort. The latter is located on the eastern slopes of Mount Sanine (Metn District, Mount Lebanon).
Second, you may perhaps wonder why didn’t Bambi feature a family from her own province? Well, it is because this family of duck cannot stand the economic crisis of Lebanon. It is impatient to migrate to New Brunswick, Canada. However, they have been waiting for their permanent resident visa for about five years [yes more than their age :)]! They are praying for the Canadian bureaucracy to move faster. Yes, this is critical for their fellow ducks and human Lebanese friends who are suffering much. Thankfully, for now, Zaarour’s cold climate is preparing them for Canada’s winter.
Last but not least, now is the time to share the pictures in question and end in music with La vie en Rose; a song performed in French, English, and Arabic by Ms. Talia Lahoud. However, before concluding this post , Bambi would like to clarify the following: she is not discriminating against New Brunswick (NB)’s beautiful species by featuring a family of ducks from abroad. Indeed, below you will also see two pictures of a stunning NB bird, which were taken by her friend Brittany in her own garden.
Happy Family Day to Brittany and her lovely family ❤️, to her Northern Cardinal (or Cardinalis cardinalis) guest, to future newcomers (ducks or humans, from Lebanon or anywhere else), and to all of you dear readers… wherever you are!
A cute family of ducks in Zaarour, Lebanon. A picture shared by Hala!
A cute family of ducks in Zaarour, Lebanon. A picture shared by Hala!
A cute family of ducks in Zaarour, Lebanon. A picture shared by Hala!
A beautiful bird of NB, Canada. A picture taken and shared by Brittany!
A beautiful bird of NB, Canada. A picture taken and shared by Brittany!
GUS1THEGO travels the world (from out of Denmark) and, as an experiment, he asks people the following: “Do you have a country you don’t like? Which and why?”.
His latest “street experiment” took place in Lebanon.
In a world filled with hypocrisy, it is interesting to hear someone asking direct questions. It is also fun to hear people answering with genuine answers, regardless of the latter.
Some of our dreams may be impossible… and we find ourselves “dreaming the impossible dream, to reach the unreachable star” as per Mr. Joe Darion’s lyrics of the The Quest . The later is a famous song composed by Mr. Mitch Leigh. It is from the Broadway musical Man of the Mancha (1965).
When should we stop believing in our impossible dreams and give up on them? The answer will obviously differ based on the dream, dreamer, and the circumstances. Perhaps even the timing or stage of life in some cases. There is no single answer. There is no right or wrong outcome. There is the process inherent in each different learning journey from the dream in question to its outcome. The lessons learned may be life-changing and personal growth incredibly enriching.
Regardless, The Quest or La Quête is a song, which moves Bambi’s soul each time she listens to it because of its depth, beauty, and for personal reasons in her life thus far. One thing is sure in her mind: this song will remain eternal, regardless of the language and the performer. Thanks to all of them!
Bambi has earlier posts about the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and the Deutsche Bank and the obsession with diversity. They are shown below, if you are interested in reading them. Today, she would like to share a positive impression and interaction she had yesterday at a branch of the CIBC in the nearby province of Nova Scotia.
Unfortunately, Bambi does not have a picture of the promotional material in question, which is decorating the wall of this branch. She could not find it online for you. However, all what it shows, if Bambi recalls well, is a senior woman with a cute Golden Retriever. While doing her transaction with the friendly and competent teller, Bambi pointed to the picture at one point. She made a comment about the cute dog. Being a big mouth sometimes, she could not help not to add something like the following: Bravo for this beautiful natural picture. Despite the good intentions, such pictures are much nicer because they are more natural. Not pushing to include in the shot someone with a darker skin or an adult, or even a kid, with a veil to show someone who would be Muslim or Arab or whatever (like in the older post below).
Following the visit to this bank and town, Bambi returned home with hope for more common sense, balance, and authenticity, in our approach to diversity in life. In her mind, anyone of this bank’s customers can be touched by a cute dog, like a Golden Retriever, or that lady in the picture could have been Bambi’s mom or grand-mother [had Bambi been younger : )]. Yes, she related to her as an aging human being. She also identified with her as a woman perhaps at a different stage of her life (Bambi would be there too in a few years, if she lives until then). She also saw in her another fellow customer or Canadian citizen. Bambi did not care to know if that lady had blue or black eyes. Actually, she cannot remember that detail now. Same for her skin colour, white hair, darker or red hair, hat or veil or maybe just a nice hairstyle.
All what Bambi liked was the authenticity of the picture. With the latter, she could relate. With the latter, she also aspires to identify with hopefully until her last breath. Just being whom we are and not being “used” in a picture or in/by a movement, whether to score a point or to silence a different point of view.
To conclude this post, well done CIBC. Please keep it up. Today that lady may or may have not looked like Bambi’s mom. Tomorrow, it may be more like her. Perhaps with a tanned or a black skin. Perhaps with more weight on. Perhaps with a veil or a cross. Perhaps this lady’s spouse will also join her in the picture. He may have a kippah on his head. He may have a “Tarboush” (Lebanese traditional hat for men). He may be totally bald. If he seems authentic, she will also say: Welcome and thank you for this advertising picture!
