Category: Sackville’s Memorial park

This post is dedicated to Michael from Toronto. He knows why :). Of note, another “Michael”, a dear friend of Bambi and her spouse is now a resident of Montreal in the Canadian province of Québec. Their joint advice for him was to order a delivery of a Coq Lala flat grilled chicken, pre-soacked in lemon. Mmm (https://shorturl.at/jsCX8)!

Bambi is aware that this post sounds like an advertisement. Yet, she is NOT paid by the Lala Restaurant, neither of Canada, nor of Lebanon :). Indeed, when she believes in an idea, like its amazing chicken, she cannot help not to sell it to you on her Afkar‘s blog.

To introduce you to the original Farouj (or Chicken) Lala, she will now share a screenshot, which comes from an older post published from out of Beirut on December 19, 2019:

If you are curious about this restaurant’s history and art of preparing chicken, here is an English sub-titled video, which was found by Louis (thank you!), entitled “Lala Chicken. A secret Recipe to Success“. In addition to feeling hungry, Bambi was moved to watch it, as she recalled her childhood. She felt homesick, all of a sudden, for both Montreal and Beirut. Actually, this old business of the LaLa family is a monument of Saint-Louis Street just a few meters away from her dad’s store, Azar Electric, another monument, which was once featured in an older post (please see below, if you are interested).

In conclusion, bon appétit or “Sahtein” with a silly yet funny chicken song, hoping it will make you smile. Who knows? Maybe you happen to be vegan. Maybe chicken is not for you. As far as Bambi is concerned, she will end with the following thought: it would be amazing if a branch of this restaurant comes to New Brunswick one day (for those of you/us who live in the Maritimes or for our future guests). What are your thoughts?

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In pictures: Beirut today

Azar Electric: An inspiring story of a store in Beirut…

Bambi just asked her spouse the following question: “for you, what is happiness?” His answer was: “Wow, this is complicated. Can I take the time to think about it and get back to you later?” “Sure!”, was Bambi’s reply, hoping he will provide an answer by midnight to enrich this post :).

Well, maybe happiness is hard to define. This, even if many philosophers and scientists tried to define it, throughout history, and we can measure it too. A bit like stress or (romantic) love, even if we can tell if we are stressed, joyful or feeling blessed, and in love. Regardless of personal definitions, luckily there are many songs, and sometimes different versions of a famous song, to remind us of the value of happiness in life.

In conclusion, if you feel like sharing your insights about your own meaning of happiness, please feel free to post a comment. If you wish, you can also tell Bambi, and this blog’s readers, which version of Mr. Gérard Lenorman’s “Happy People” song [or “La ballade des gens heureux“, in the original French], you prefer? Of note, these versions are in English, French, Dutch, and German (some with sub-titles in English and Spanish). Alternatively, at all times, you can share your opinion more privately.

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P.S: by the time Bambi was about to publish this post on her blog, she had her spouse’s answer, which he kindly accepted to share with you: for him, “happiness is a blend of liberty (or freedom), love, and not many worries“. Interesting insights! Indeed, for Bambi too, freedom is a key ingredient of happiness. Thankfully, freedom begins in our own mind; from there, it extends to underlie our way of being (authentic self) and of loving (i.e., respecting and loving ourselves first, before others). Stated differently, (true) love is rooted in liberty. As for the worries, which are part of life, they could be a question of quantity, frequency in time, lucidity, and attitude. An attitude, which stems from lucidity while being enriched by creativity and courage, results in decisions and actions, contributing to our happiness. An example may be to make a certain critical change in our lives like becoming active or improving our diet following a certain health crisis. In facing our worries, when the room for manoeuvre is too limited, we adjust our attitude (mindset), with the help of lucidity, courage, and creativity (with faith, for some). In turn, this would contribute to our happiness too. An example of the latter may consist of accepting what we cannot change in our lives, including the death of a loved one or an unwanted breakup. Despite such most stressful journeys of grief, one day at a time, we can learn to turn this into a life learning experience and even grow through this tough process.

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Singing for happiness

Mr. Alexis Carlier: Thanks Aline for making Bambi discover his talent!

Troy Media: https://shorturl.at/zJPY4 ; this published article appears below. It is followed by a French-Arabic fusion song (Macias-Fairuz) about migration, which is performed by a HIGHLY impressive young singer-songwriter and pianist called Ms. Christa Maria Abu Akl (Québec, Canada).

& Camrose Voice: https://shorturl.at/aftT8

Bambi (or Rima Azar)’ s earlier articles submitted to Troy Media: https://shorturl.at/nEGLO

Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy: https://shorturl.at/tzDJM

The above think tank had the following message today: “If you’ve not yet viewed this insightful two-minute video on the destructiveness of identity politics–assuming ethnicity, race, and gender explain much and treating people differently as a result–see Rima Azar explain how Lebanon’s dive into identity politics was a disaster”. It’s a warning for Canada”. Watch Rima’s video: I know what identity politics does to a nation–I’m from Lebanon. 

“The 1867 Project now has 132 reviews on Amazon! Click here to see what readers are saying and why it continues to be a bestseller“. 

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How identity politics played a key role in the downfall of Lebanon

In Gibran Khalil Gibran’s Garden of the Prophet, the author wrote of how we should “Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.”

The nation described by Gibran was neither his adopted country – the United States, nor mine, Canada – but the birth country of both of us:  Lebanon, divided by religion. Gibran’s and my birthplace is a 20th-century example of the destructive power of identity politics.

To grasp the danger of modern identity politics, we must realize that this movement sees all of us not as individuals but as an extension only of our colour, gender, ethnicity, etc. In other words, we are defined and trapped by our identity. It thus helps to remember that dividing people in such ways is not new. However, history teaches us it is also dangerous.

The State of Greater Lebanon was officially declared on Sept. 1, 1920, and later, under the French mandate of 1926, Lebanon’s constitution implemented a republic in which political power was divided among the country’s 18 religious sects according to their share of the country’s population. In essence, Lebanon’s parliament and its power were divided by religious identity.

This French-designed “hodgepodge” of various peoples and religious traditions seems to have worked for a while. After its independence from France in 1943, Lebanon even served as a refuge for those fleeing other regional conflicts. When peace prevailed, Beirut, the Lebanese capital, became a vibrant centre of commerce, banking, and trade. It also became both an intellectual and tourism hub.

However, Lebanon has also been in the middle of both geographic and religious conflicts, which, along with being used as a proxy by other states, exacerbated the identity divisions within Lebanon itself.

The result of all such fault lines led to a 15-year-long civil war (1975 to 1990), with 100,000 to 150,000 people killed, between 800,000 and one million displaced residents, and several billion dollars worth of destruction to infrastructure and private property. The Lebanese civil war intensified the danger of belonging to the “wrong” tribe. Eventually, when kidnapped or stopped at militia checkpoints, Lebanese citizens could be killed just for being the “wrong” identity (i.e., the “wrong” religion).

In short, and tragically, identity- or sectarian-based politics fuelled civil war in Lebanon.

The tragedy of Lebanon and the danger and tragedy of identity politics have been on my mind in recent years because of my own immigration story. I landed in Montreal in 1990 at the age of 17 and soon felt that I was Canadian.

Fifteen years later, when I moved to Toronto, it took me all of two weeks to feel Torontonian, to feel at home. Later, when I left “Hogtown” after four years, I deliberately took the time to say goodbye to all those familiar faces whom I used to see daily, including those in the stores in the subway and on my street.

After I left Toronto to accept a tenure-track position at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, it took me two days to feel “Sackvillian” and a proud New Brunswicker. Ever the bad cook, I nevertheless managed to create a seafood chowder that led to my friends telling me I was officially a Maritimer.

The ease I had identifying and integrating with local communities was made possible because Canada was founded on the notion that individuals should be treated as equal before the law, with neither favouritism nor prejudice shown based on irrelevant characteristics.

Even though this ideal wasn’t fully realized at Canada’s birth, by the 1960s and definitely by 1990, when I arrived, it was against the law to discriminate based on someone’s ethnicity or similar reasons. This belief in individual rights is a fundamental part of what makes Canada, Canada and should not be forgotten.

My family, along with many other immigrants, both old and new, always dreamed of coming to Canada, despite its imperfections and history. They love their adoptive country.

My advice to “newcomers”: Don’t let others who claim to speak on your behalf upend Canada’s focus on the rights of the individual. Some people act like they know what’s best for the rest of us while forcing their narrow sectarian ideology on everyone while obsessing about diversity.

That’s also why I don’t support politicians and other influential people playing with identity politics. It’s a risky game that can hurt all of us.

Is it not simpler, wiser, and safer for us as newcomers to celebrate our love for our adoptive country and love it back? Embracing extreme ideologies may risk weakening, paralyzing, or potentially destroying the country we came to for a better life, making it more like the troubled places we left.

Rima Azar, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Health Psychology at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. This excerpt is from the Aristotle Foundation’s new book, The 1867 Project: Why Canada Should be Cherished—Not Cancelled, edited by Mark Milke.

For interview requests, click here.

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The opinions expressed by our columnists and contributors are theirs alone and do not inherently or expressly reflect the views of our publication.

What could be said about the late and great Mr. Félix Leclerc? If we listen to his music, poems, and songs, it is all there. No need to add anything else.

Still, for those who may not know him, Bambi will share the following: He was an inspiring French-Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, playwright, writer, actor…. and, of course, a tireless patriot and musical ambassador of Québec (https://shorturl.at/jqPZ9). Mr. Leclerc was born on August 2, 1914. He died on August 8, 1988. May his memory be eternal.

Mr. Félix Leclerc was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1968 (https://shorturl.at/jqPZ9). Of note, he was inducted postmortem into the Canadian Songwriters of Fame for his three beautiful songs: “Le P’tit Bonheur“, “Le Tour de l’île“, “Moi et mes souliers” (https://shorturl.at/jqPZ9). Bravo!

If you happen to be either nostalgic or curious to discover this Canadian talent, here are a few songs for you. Leclerc’s talent is expressed in both the universal language of music and the most beautiful French language.

In conclusion, “Merci, Monsieur Félix Leclerc” for ALL your great songs, including “Le p’tit bonheur” [“The little happiness“] (subtitled in English, in addition to Spanish), “La complainte du phoque en Alaska” [“The lament of the seal in Alaska“], Gaspésie, and Île d’Orléans. The latter are two charming regions of Québec, Canada, with welcoming people [and deer :)]. Highly recommended, as touristic destinations!

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!“