a few weeks back, we had a very intense windstorm which not only pruned branches off trees (leaving them strewn along the roads) but also pruned the sign off our beloved Baha’i centre :( thankfully, nobody was hurt when it fell - it fell over into one of the parking spots, and no one was parked there at the time. in fact, no one was at the centre at all, and most of us only realized the change on the weekend. I went through an entire children’s class without having noticed that the sign was gone. and then I was sad :(
Today is Martin Luther King Day, an American national holiday that celebrates the birthday—and the life and times—of Martin Luther King Jr., a Christian minister who championed the Civil Rights movement in America in the 1960s.
[English below the first video.] Voilà une perle rare! Il s’agit d’un film documentaire archi passionnant qui montre le premier essai d’un projet collectif d’enseignement centré sur les pré-jeunes—c’est à dire les jeunes ayant de 11 à 14 ans—dans un groupement près de Paris, en France. Passionnant parce qu’il s’agit de l’apprentissage en temps réel—la première fois que les Baha’is de cette région ont tenté de prendre leur élan de façon tellement systématique. Passionnant aussi parce qu’il s’agit d’un projet très semblable aux projets collectifs lancés à Ottawa l’été passé—et en plus de ça, certaines personnes qu’on voit dans le vidéo avaient aussi participé dans les projets à Ottawa! Ils chantent même des chansons écrites durant le projet “Fire and Snow” à Toronto! Le monde est petit non? Allez voir les vidéos sur Youtube: Parties 1 et 2.
Now here’s a special treat: an amazing documentary about the first attempt at a collective teaching project centred around junior youth—youth from 11 to 14 years old—in an area near Paris, France. Amazing because it documents real-time learning—the first time the Baha’is of this region took on such a systematic project. Amazing also because the project is very similar to the projects launched in Ottawa last summer—and not only that; some of the folks seen in the video actually participated in the Ottawa projects! They even sing songs that were written for the Fire and Snow project in Toronto! Small world huh? Go check out the videos on Youtube: Parts 1 and 2.
the Gregorian calendar year came and went without much of a fuss this year—much like last year, when I was holed up in Winnipeg watching movies, I spent the fateful moment with friends (Tassnim, Basim and Rhetta) watching DVDs and eating pie and ice cream.
After a short visit with brother Gabriel and his family to bring them soup and good cheer, my parents dropped me off at Catherine’s place to feed her cat while she’s away in Vancouver. No sooner had I broken out the kibble than the windows began to rattle, resounding with the clatter of an early-evening fireworks show. I dashed downstairs, across a church courtyard and into the streets of downtown, following the noise and the lights into the back lot of the Supreme Court building, which offers a most beautiful view of the Ottawa River and was the perfect place to see the entire display of fire and light. It was a very impressive display, put together to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Ottawa’s designation as the capital city of Canada back in 1857. Several people remarked—to my agreement—that the fireworks display was more impressive than most Canada Day fireworks, what with the entire span of the Alexandra Bridge outfitted with fireworks shooting left, right and centre, reminiscent of the millennial fireworks in Sydney, Australia I remember seeing on television back on New Year’s Eve 1999.
01.28.08 
ottawa, baha'i 
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