Presented you by The Real Donnie Demos and her sidekick Sab
This week, Sab will tell her who is her new NBA favorite team or maybe not. The Educated Fool will talk about Jim Brown and his legacy and the duo will talk about some of their favorite Denzel’s moments in a film.
Written by Sabine Demosthenes
MONTREAL- For a few months, this question has been haunting me in a way I couldn’t have imagined. Right now, in this world we are living in, is still normal that some governments or regimes consider journalism to be a crime?
In Canada, we don’t have this problem, but in the Raymar, this is what seems to be the case. Wa Lone, (32) and Kyaw So Oo, (28), who could have been my little brothers because they are only a few years younger, were arrested in December 2017 simply because they were doing their jobs – being journalists. They were sentenced to seven years in prison last September after reporting the atrocities and the killing of Rohingya Muslims in the Raymar.
Their human rights lawyer, Amal Clooney, gave a speech this last September at the UN Headquarters kindly asking if Aung San Suu Kyi, one of the famous Nobel Peace Prize honoraries and the Myanmar State Counsellor, could pardon the two journalists. By the way in early 2000, every time I have been to a U2 concert, I have seen a message of her telling us to be pacific and hope for a better world for the next generation.
So far, Aung San Suu Kyi is doing so little. With her inaction, you may question, damn, of all the people, does she truly think those journalists are criminals?? In my dictionary, The SAB Illustrated Dictionary 2018, being a journalist is not a crime. A journalist shouldn’t be in jail for doing their job. Criminals have done bad things like killing, stealing … Oh! Speaking of stealing, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were accused of breaching a secret act when they obtained confidential documents. Those documents would have been useful for terrorist organizations and enemies of the state. But those journalists were tricked. Clear and simple. Let’s try to find something to put them in jail so they won’t cover a very important story.
Even Amal said and I’m quoting: ”She (Aung San Suu Kyi) knows that mass murder is not a state secret and that exposing it doesn’t turn a journalist into a spy… History will judge her on her response”.
More and more, my conviction of not putting my trust in the government is growing. When I was young (I’m still young at heart), Aung San Suu Kyi was this really sweet and fragile, but feisty and courageous woman who wanted a better future for the country where she was born and raised. I saw her as a very gentle, pacific and kind-hearted person. Now, I have taken off my rose-coloured sunglasses, and I don’t find what I am reading about Myanmar in the news beautiful.
Those two journalists are apart from their young families. I can’t imagine the anguish and the kind of stress they are experiencing in their situation. I have the luxury of writing this post without fear of being thrown in jail or killed. I do take this for granted and I am ashamed of admitting it. But I won’t be ashamed to stand by those men.
Being a journalist is not a crime.
Never!
Rédigé par Sabine Démosthènes
MONTRÉAL – En un beau vendredi en fin d’après-midi, j’ai rencontré un homme intriguant. Et oui, vous avez bien lu. Ce fut le meilleur 5 à 7 que j’ai eu de ma vie. Il dégageait une authenticité quand il s’exprimait autour d’une très bonne bouteille de rouge.
Sa voix m’était pas inconnue car, il a la même voix que son papa qui fut un mentor pour mon homme. J’ai dû me ressaisir un peu car, cette voix et cette ressemblance m’a troublé pendant quelques minutes mais je ne voulais rien laisser paraître.
Ce que j’ai adoré avec ma rencontre avec Charles, et vous commencez à reconnaître mon style d’entrevue, c’est qu’elle a été conduite dans une simplicité et que ça ressemblait beaucoup plus à une conversation entre amis qu’une entrevue.
J’espère que vous allez vous laisser emporter dans l’univers assez rock n’roll (dans le bon sens du mot) de Charles Goyer.
Ensemble, nous allons découvrir son univers à sa façon.
Un grand merci à Charles Goyer et nous devrons refaire une autre entrevue en parlant que de George Harrison!
Written by Sabine Demosthenes
MONTREAL – Back in the winter of 2001, my brother came home from work and told me that he came face to face with Sheldon Souray. He was like in awe, literally! I was listening to every word he said – from him being one of the most dominating players of the Habs, to damn, the guy has that movie star ” it factor”.
I was still a Habs fan, but during that period, I was more into watching the Premiership League of Soccer over the NHL. So, I googled the name “Sheldon Souray” and I clearly saw what my brother had described to me. This guy is the absolute total package! He will rock this world on and off the ice.
Suddenly, I was back into watching hockey and when Saku Koivu came back from his cancer treatment, I was even more proud to be a Habs girl!
The years have passed and Sheldon continued to be a star in the NHL until a wrist injury ended his career.
The guy who seemed to have it all, a nice career, good looks, charisma, fame, money and two young children in awe of him, but no one prepares you for how to deal when the one thing that defines you (in his case, being a hockey player) is no longer part of your day to day life. The music has stopped and you are now a young retired athlete. Athletes work so hard to be the best of the best in their chosen field but are not prepared for the life after their athletic career.
They have to deal with the sudden sound of silence (no more autographs, no more practice, no more games). Boredom settles in and you have to redefine yourself. The struggle to find new meaning in your life is hard and can be a real challenge.
Sheldon’s life was becoming more chaotic and unfortunately, he became addicted to painkillers. Before it was too late, he looked up to his hero’s accomplishments, his father, Richard Souray.
His father made one of the best decisions of his life two decades ago when he decided to stop drinking and overcome alcoholism. Richard has always been a hero to Sheldon.
Two years ago, when Richard passed away, stricken with grief, Sheldon was at his lowest. His addictions almost got the best of him, but he remembered his hero’s determination to be sober for his son and his family and to enjoy life.
Richard saved Sheldon life.
There is a really nice interview that Sheldon did with Stu Cowan in The Gazette and I will gladly put the link below. What I admire most about Sheldon is he desire to be an authentic human being. He never pretended to be perfect, but he wanted to be a good man. I remember when John Kennedy Jr said he wanted to be remembered too for being a good man, instead of a great man.
Sheldon shared his brave story and he is on a mission with the help of his family and his friends.
The sky will be the limit for Sheldon. I’m pretty sure the best is yet to come.
Written by Sabine Demosthenes
MONTREAL – Once upon a time, there was a young, vibrant little girl named Sab. She was the typical happy girl, teased by her hero – her big brother, Don. She was born prematurely at 6 months, but since she grabbed her first breath, she was a warrior… She was a happy warrior.
Her first friend was her cousin, Sand. Sand was one year younger than Sab. The two of them were inseparable and constantly mimicked each other.
Around the age of three, Sab made new friends since her family moved to a new neighborhood. Mimi, Reg, Jackie, Ronnie, and Freddie, along with her cousin Sand and big brother Don were her crew. She felt so complete. When she left her crew to start kindergarten, she thought she would find the same kind of friends she had already made, but that wasn’t the case. It was the total opposite. This was the first time she encountered rejection and bullying. She didn’t say anything to her parents or to her brother about it because she didn’t want to dwell. She just couldn’t wait to play with her crew, lovingly called Pigeon’s Crew. For her, solace was in her crew.
Three years later, her world changed. Her family moved from one street to the next, but Sab lost her soulmate, Mimi. Even though they were just one street apart, the friendship would never be the same. They were not going to the same elementary school for grade one and faced this new chapter of their lives apart.
This vibrant little girl slowly started to lose her spark.
Why?
She was constantly bullied by the mean girl of the school she went to. This went on up until her sixth grade. The mean Nad was a total nightmare! For no particular reason, she just hated the sweet Sab. Sab was really sad about it and even afraid to go to school, but she kept it to herself.
When starting high school, she thought she would get a break, but she encountered a new version of the Mean Nad and this one wasn’t alone. Mean Mel was a total bitch (sorry for the language). With her crew, they vandalized Sab’s locker, they stole the precious pens that she cherished, they pulled at her long, thick hair in the bathroom thinking it was a wig. The leader of the crew was a mean boy, Mean Kenny E. Sab was totally unhappy and suicidal. She wanted badly to end her life, but she always thought about her hero at times like this, her big brother Donald and her parents. Wrestling was a refuge for Sab. Ever since she was a little girl, she wrestled her brother and wrestling was a religion in her home, for the whole family.
Her idol was Bret, The Hitman, Hart. In him, she saw someone courageous and very bright. He wasn’t the tallest one, but he was the smartest one! He was fearless. Sab held on to his character and his determination to get through each day, every day.
At the end of her second year in high school, oh I forgot to note – she went to a private school – she did the unthinkable…
She managed to register herself at the local high school, one that had the worst reputation. It was an act of survival for her and probably the best decision she made. The bullying she suffered at the previous schools was because she wasn’t like the other kids. She didn’t fit their definition of normal. She was curious about the world, about other cultures and she didn’t speak with the particular accent attributing to the Haitian community. So, she was bullied. When she finally started going to her new school, Calixa, she was finally able to breathe again. She rekindled her friendship with Mimi, who ended up at Calixa too. She met new friends and they were so sweet.
She even grew a strong friendship with Grace, a sweet Italian kid that was living in front of her when she moved at the age of 6.
Her confidence grew back, little by little, and her new crew was a remix of the old one with a few new faces.
She stayed the sweet girl, wanting to do good and be kind to everyone. She was broken for a while, but with the help of her friends and her family, she was able to rebuild again. In her adult life, she encountered challenges, but she is grateful to be alive.
This sweet Sab is me.
Writing this post was not easy, but I had to do it. This month is a special month. It is Bullying Prevention Month. I’m collaborating with the Children Mending Hearts (yeah!) to bring awareness to the issue of bullying. Since 2008, The Children Mending Hearts (CMH) Foundation has provided free art education programs to more than 25,000 children in the county of Los Angeles.
I always said to myself when I was younger that if I’m still alive when I grew up, I want to help children that suffer like me and to tell them, please stay as kind as you are and don’t change yourself. Better days are on the horizon.
The founder of The CMH, filmmaker Lysa Heslov (one of my heroes), had the vision to create a foundation that will inspire children to grow up to be compassionate and socially-conscious adults. For me, that is truly a beautiful mission. In the 80s and 90s, we didn’t talk about bullying at all in school. Some TV shows navigated the subject, but not like today. Lisa and the rest of the CMH team’s mission are to change the culture of bullying into one of empathy and action.
My 35-year-old heart is happy to learn about this beautiful mission.
During this month, let’s make something cool and artsy to send a message. By painting our nails blue (come on boys, it’s 2018, you can do it!) and post a picture on social media with the hashtag #bluenailsbullyfree and tag @childrenmendinghearts. I
went to get my nails done! For the whole month, I will be sporting fifty shades of blue nails. Hm, maybe not THAT many! In two weeks, I will post my nails in a new kind of blue to show my support for a cause really close to my heart.
So, let’s do it! Let’s encourage the next generation to continue being kind, being fearless, and to remember to be compassionate human beings. I sure will continue to do it. With Children Mending Hearts, I can’t wait to be part of their team and witness the legacy they will leave for the future generation.
https://www.childrenmendinghearts.org
No 8 (No Hate)! Let’s Erase Bullying.
Written by Sabine Demosthenes
MONTREAL – Once upon a time, there was a young, vibrant little girl named Sab. She was the typical happy girl, teased by her hero – her big brother, Don. She was born prematurely at 6 months, but since she grabbed her first breath, she was a warrior… She was a happy warrior.
Her first friend was her cousin, Sand. Sand was one year younger than Sab. The two of them were inseparable and constantly mimicked each other. Around the age of three, Sab made new friends since her family moved to a new neighbourhood. Mimi, Reg, Jackie, Ronnie and Freddie, along with her cousin Sand and big brother Don were her crew. She felt so complete. When she left her crew to start kindergarten, she thought she would find the same kind of friends she had already made, but that wasn’t the case. It was the total opposite. This was the first time she encountered rejection and bullying. She didn’t say anything to her parents or to her brother about it because she didn’t want to dwell. She just couldn’t wait to play with her crew, lovingly calledThe Pigeon’s Crew. For her, solace was in her crew.
Three years later, her world changed. Her family moved from one street to the next, but Sab lost her soulmate, Mimi. Even though they were just one street apart, the friendship would never be the same. They were not going to the same elementary school for grade one and faced this new chapter of their lives apart.
This vibrant little girl slowly started to loose her spark.
Why?
She was constantly bullied by the mean girl of the school she went to. This went on up until her sixth grade. The mean Nad was a total nightmare! For no particular reason, she just hated the sweet Sab. Sab was really sad about it and even afraid to go to school, but she kept it to herself.
When starting high school, she thought she would get a break, but she encountered a new version of the Mean Nad and this one wasn’t alone. Mean Mel was a total bitch (sorry for the language). With her crew, they vandalized Sab’s locker, they stole her precious pens that she cherished, they pulled at her long, thick hair in the bathroom thinking it was a wig. The leader of the crew was a mean boy, Mean Kenny E. Sab was totally unhappy and suicidal. She wanted badly to end her life, but she always thought about her hero at times like this, her big brother Donald and her parents. Wrestling was a refuge for Sab. Ever since she was a little girl, she wrestled her brother and wrestling was a religion in her home, for the whole family. Her idol was Bret, The Hitman, Hart. In him, she saw someone courageous and very bright. He wasn’t the tallest one, but he was the smartest one! He was fearless. Sab held on to his character and his determination to get through each day, everyday.
At the end of her second year in high school, oh I forgot to note – she went to a private school – she did the unthinkable…
She managed to register herself at the local high school, one that had the baddest reputation. It was an act of survival for her and probably the best decision she made. The bullying she suffered at the previous schools was because she wasn’t like the other kids. She didn’t fit their definition of normal. She was curious about the world, about other cultures and she didn’t speak with the particular accent attributing to the Haitian community. So, she was bullied. When she finally started going to her new school, Calixa, she was finally able to breathe again. She rekindled her friendship with Mimi, who ended up at Calixa too. She met new friends and they were so sweet. She even grew a strong friendship with Grace, a sweet Italian kid that was living in front of her when she moved at the age of 6.
Her confidence grew back, little by little, and her new crew were a remix of the old one with a few new faces. She stayed the sweet girl, wanting to do good and be kind to everyone. She was broken for a while, but with the help of her friends and her family, she was able to rebuild again. In her adult life, she encountered challenges, but she is grateful to be alive.
This sweet Sab is me.
Writing this post was not easy, but I had to do it. This month is a special month. It is Bullying Prevention Month. I’m collaborating with the Children Mending Hearts (yeah!) to bring awareness to the issue of bullying. Since 2008, The Children Mending Hearts (CMH) Foundation has provided free art education programs to more than 25,000 children in the county of Los Angeles.
I always said to myself when I was younger that if I’m still alive when I grown up, I want to help children that suffer like me and to tell them, please stay as kind as you are and don’t change yourself. Better days are on the horizon.
The founder of The CMH, filmmaker Lisa Heslov (one of my heroes), had a vision to create a foundation that will inspire children to grow up to be compassionate and socially-conscious adults. For me, that is truly a beautiful mission. In the 80s and 90s, we didn’t talk about bullying at all in school. Some TV shows navigatedthe subject, but not like today. Lisa and the rest of the CMH team’s mission is to change the culture of bullying into one of empathy and action.
My 35 year old heart is happy to learn about this beautiful mission.
During this month, let’s make something cool and artsy to send a message. By painting our nails (come on boys, it’s 2018, you can do it!) and post a picture on social media with the hashtag #bluenailsbullyfree and tag @childrenmendinghearts. I went to get my nails done! For the whole month, I will be sporting fifty shades of blue nails. Hm maybe not THAT many! In two weeks, I will post my nails in a new kind of blue to show my support for a cause really close to my heart.
So, let’s do it! Let’s encourage the next generation to continue being kind, being fearless, and to remember to be compassionate human beings. I sure will continue to do it. With Children Mending Hearts, I can’t wait to be part of their team and witness the legacy they will leave for the future generation.
MONTRÉAL – J’ai eu la chance de m’entretenir avec un artiste qui a su nous émerveiller durant ses 35 années de carrière. Durant notre entrevue, son sourire est contagieux et son optimiste pour la vie m’a donné un peu plus d’espoir même quand la vie ou la société semble être un peu plus sombre que d’habitude.
Widemir Normil est un géant du monde artistique québécois (je vous le confirme car, je me sentais toute petite moi qui mesure 5pi9).
Je ferme la parenthèse.
La petite fille à l’intérieur de moi est tellement contente que Widemir va incarner le rôle de l’homme qui a fait que je mange tous les jours mes légumes… Non, ce n’est pas le rôle de mon papa mais plutôt du grand Fardoche dans Passe-Partout. Pour les nostalgiques qui se rappellent très bien de Fardoche 1.0 avec sa chemise rouge et son panier de pommes de terre qui nous chantait la chanson des légumes, ahh, que diriez-vous si Widemir ferait un remix de ce classique des chansons pour enfants?
Je déraille encore du sujet.
Sans plus tarder, écoutons le Grand Widemir (pour une raison x, je sens que mon introduction ressemble trop à celle que faisait Claire Lamarche lors de son émission… Bon, un peu de sérieux de ma part):
It’s showtime!
