Thanks and happy lobster season to NB fishermen!

The spring lobster fishing season is officially open in New Brunswick (NB)!

Yes, the lobster season usually opens in early May and lasts until the end of the month of June. Some days, like perhaps today, fishermen can get up to 800lb of lobster.

Bambi is grateful for her friend Gina for: (1) sharing the superb pictures shown below; and (2) for taking the time, early in the morning, to chat with the kind fishermen of Anse Bleue. The latter is a small community near Caraquet in the northern part of our beautiful province. If she may, to thank Gina and honour our fishermen’s tough and dangerous job, Bambi would like to offer them two Acadian songs, shown at the end of this post!

A picture taken by Gina showing our beautiful NB beaches in the
area of Four Roads beach toward Inkerman wharf.
A picture taken by Gina. Happy lobster fishing season, NB!
A superb picture taken by Gina!
Another beautiful picture taken by Gina yesterday morning!
A picture taken by Gina today very early in the morning!
A picture taken by Gina.
Welcome back… with the delicious NB lobsters :)!
A picture taken by Gina.
Hello Fishermen :)!
A picture taken by Gina.
Thank you fishermen!
A picture taken by Gina.
Mmm! Yes, this picture will make many readers, not from the Maritimes, salivate :).
“Yalla” come to discover our beautiful province!
A picture taken by Gina making Bambi salivate now :)!
The last picture taken by and generously shared by Gina.

To conclude this post meant to feature the lobster fishing season in our province, once again, thank you Gina and bravo/”merci” to our fishermen. Here are the two French-Acadian songs Bambi promised to offer you :)!

Mazeej [blend]: “For the Love of Lebanese Zaatar” [wild thyme]

Man’ousheh … Mmm!

Serendipity is the phenomenon where we find a wonderful discovery or an agreeable item (not sought for) when searching for another one.

Well, Bambi took a little break and searched for any new musical piece by “Mazeej” of Mr. Lucas Sakr (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNFytpbt4_lHBYKxJ1bQAXg/featured). This is how she came across another type of blend : ), not musical. What a lovely and very brief United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) video (subtitled in English) related to the agro-food sector. We learn from the YouTube comment below this video that Mazeej is “funded by Italy and implemented by UNIDO in partnership with the Ministry of Industry in Lebanon and in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture“.

Bambi knows nothing about this initiative. All what she knows is that the video moved her heart bringing back childhood memories of MANY “manakish” [plurar of man’ousheh] eaten on the way to school with her friend Nayla! Bambi used to purchase three of those delicious Lebanese manakish (yes, she was a pig in the body of a deer!). She used to eat two of them while walking… and wisely keep the third one for the recess :).

Lebanon is a mess that cannot even afford to issue passports to its citizens to escape it!

Bambi would like to thank you Louis for sharing the following article entitled “Lebanese govt says it has no funds to issue passports” (https://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2022/04/29/lebanese-govt-says-it-has-no-funds-to-issue-passports_74f11833-c675-42b8-ba1a-142566258b9c.html).

From the ANSAmed article cited above, we learn the following: “According to Arab Barometer, some 48% of Lebanese interviewed said that they intended to leave the country, where – according to the UN – over half the population is under the poverty line“.

Since there are no words that can be said about this dramatic situation, Bambi will let music say its final word in this brief post. With much love, she would like to dedicate Mr. Enrico Macias’ famous song “J’ai quitté mon pays” [I left my country], subtitled in English, to all those who have left the Land of Cedars and to those who dream to do so… without being able to even realize their dream of a dignified life abroad.

Happy Eid from Bambi to ALL her family and friends in Germany, Romania, Canada, Lebanon, and… everywhere!

The sunshine of love and peace is the best friend of the moon of spirituality and goodness!

Ramadan has been tough in Lebanon this year. However, Eid is here, even if it does not feel like a “eid” or feast. It is still a blessed and hopeful Eid.

May Eid el Fitr, which highlights the end of the Ramadan holy month, bring family and friends together. May the Eid bring love and unity among people and nations. May this Eid also rhythm with the generosity of the hearts and peace of the mind for all.

Most importantly, may everyone be safe, sound, and… merry.

To be optimally merry, one needs music. How about “La fête” [The party] by Mr. Michel Fugain and “Yalla Nifrah” [Let’s rejoice] of Mr. Hisham el Hajj? Bambi would like to offer these two songs to all those celebrating el Eid… with much love ❤️!

To what extent are our unions still relevant?

On this May 1st, the International Workers’ Day, Bambi cannot help but to wonder if, and to what extent, our unions are still relevant?

How could they still be relevant in our collectively insane times?

To begin with, let’s stop and think of the head of the elite (woke) pyramid in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The latter and his cabinet have sometimes good policies/programs. However, with the truck convoy, Mr. Trudeau failed not only the truckers and farmers, but also all of us. Indeed, he refused to listen to them. He even made fun of them. The icing on the cake was that he declared the unjustified Emergencies Act. In other terms, he did not prevent – or perhaps even endorsed – the arrest and/or de-funding of those peaceful demonstrators by our banks and even by an American company like GoFundMe, just because they drove from all over Canada to demonstrate in our national capital.

Was this demonstration the most optimal one with its horns sounding and parties on the streets? Many Ottawa residents Bambi spoke to reported not being bothered at all; some even supported the movement. They also denounced some restrictive, and not too efficient, public health measures. Of course, some other residents may have had migraines. Bambi feels for them. Yet others, including some of Bambi’s dear friends, acted as counter-protesters.

Related to Mr. Trudeau’s attitude, Bambi was also disappointed by the New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP). The latter has betrayed its historic mission, as a Left-wing party, that cares for and defends the rights of the working class. This party, at least under the leadership of Mr. Singh (political ally of Mr. Trudeau) is also into woke elitism. How sad.

Thus, given all the above and once again, to what extent are our unions at large still relevant? In other terms, do they still know how to defend the rights of ALL their members, including the “non-woke” ones? If we take the example of university unions, many cases of attacks on academic freedom sadly make us question the relevance of unions. A famous example is Dr. Frances Widdowson’s shocking case, briefly described in her fundraising campaign (https://fundrazr.com/wokeacademy.info?ref=em_7BCTof_ab_7jjtE7HXL957jjtE7HXL95). Best of luck to her in “her” battle (“her” means “our battle all of us”).

Last but not least, a related question, which is valid across cases of attacks on academic freedom, involves the mindset underlying woke ideologies: Why do our unions at large embrace international ideological causes that have nothing to do with the employees’ working conditions (e.g., BLM, etc.)?

To conclude this post, why do our politicians, journalists, and institutions’ administrations and unions only seem to care for the point of view of the radical left-elite that fell into the trap of woke (i.e., sectarian) ideologies? Why are we tolerating discrimination against non-woke individuals instead of accepting that they are simply part of an institution or of society, even if they were truly “a fringe minority” of it, to borrow Mr. Trudeau’s own famous words?  

Ms. Talia Lahoud: “So This Is Love” (From “Cinderella”) in Standard Arabic, French, and the original English

Without being gushy, Bambi cannot help not to wonder:

Is there anything more beautiful in life than love?

Love in all its forms and shapes is the essence of life.

Thank you Ms. Talia Lahoud for sharing your talent on YouTube. Clearly, from their comments, your fans seem to love you. Please count Bambi among them :). Please keep spoiling us with your songs!

Mr. Marc Hatem: Isn’t his voice beautiful?

Especially coming out a country that has failed its citizens (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/29/thousands-stuck-lebanese-authorities-suspend-passport-renewals), it is always refreshing to hear the beautiful voices and music of talented artists.

Collectively, the moving voices of Lebanese artists remind Bambi that her historically pluralistic birth country, even when destroyed or paralyzed by sectarianism, is MUCH broader AND richer than any ruling mafia (or militia) bankrupting it. It is also hopefully more resistant to any external force, regardless of the source, wanting a piece of it, indifferent to it, or even engaged in sacrificing or selling it.

With such thoughts in mind, in the middle of the critical times Lebanon is going through, Bambi recently discovered the talent of Mr. Marc Hatem. If she may, she would like to share with you some of his performances in English, French, and Arabic.

Thank you Mr. Marc Hatem. Bravo… and please keep singing!

“Teaching just happened to me”: An inspiring chat with Ora Itkin, pianist and music professor!

MANY thanks Ora (Itkin) for our inspiring conversation on teaching!

Before sharing the link of our interview with you, Bambi would like to begin with a few examples of student testimonials (https://www.oraitkin.com/home ). Bravo Ora!

“I’ve had the opportunity to take individual piano lessons from Ora, as well as be coached by her in a trio. I had played piano for many years before I ever knew Ora, but I never realized how many ways I could still grow as a piano player until studying under her now as an adult. Ora has pointed out techniques to improve my playing that no one else has in the past. She helps me find music that not only suits my own style but broadens my abilities. Thanks to Ora’s teaching and coaching, I have grown so much as a musician! —Tim Jacobson

Ora’s lessons are always energizing and empowering! She puts her soul into every lesson, choosing pieces that are both accessible and challenging, and taking care that the skills developed in each build intimately on one another. As an adult beginner, it can be hard to let go of inhibitions and self-criticism, but Ora breaks through this with her contagious energy and encouragement. She’s a fantastic teacher! —Ioana Vartolomei Pribiag

I had great interest in the piano when I was a little kid but my family could not afford to buy one. When I came to college, I received a scholarship that covered the costs of my piano lessons. When I started lessons with Ora, I was 19 year olds and had no music background. 9 months later, I was playing Chopin and Schubert for my first piano recital, which was beyond my imagination. Ora taught me to pay attention to not only technical detail but also to the emotion that each piece expresses. What I love the most about her is that she pushed me to play pieces that I thought were impossible. I will forever be grateful to her for having faith in me when no one else did and for teaching me that everything is possible. —Anh Do, PhD student, Duke University (Skype student)

At the very end of this post, and if you wish, you can find the two older posts of Bambi featuring Ms. Ora Itkin as an interviewer. One of them shows one of Ora’s artistic performance. Of note, Ms. Itkin is not only a highly talented pianist. She is also a generous one with her public. Indeed, Bambi’s mother-in-law became a fan. The latter emailed Professor Itkin and inquired about a piece of Rachmaninov. Despite her busy schedule, very generously and kindly, Ora surprised Bambi’s mother-in-law by mailing her one of her CDs.

To conclude this post, thank you Ora for inspiring Bambi. It is always a pleasure and a source of inspiration to chat with you, whether you are wearing your hat of interviewee or interviewer. Please keep up your great and much needed work!