“Caravaggio sits there in silence, thoughts lost among the floating notes. War has unbalanced him and he can return to no other world as he is, wearing these false limbs that morphine promises. He is a man of middle age who has never become accustomed to families. All his life he has avoided permanent intimacy.Continue reading “RKS Literature: Unbalanced by War (Michael Ondaatje)”
Author Archives: Robert K Stephen (CSW)
RKS 2025 CANADIAN Documentary: Three Legends: Bateman, Bristol and a Land Rover “Grizzly Torque”
The documentary is both an adventure and biography of legendary Canadian wildlife artist Robert Bateman and Bristol Foster photographer, cinematographer and environmental activist and of course their Land Rover “Grizzly Torque” (GT) that between May 1957 and November 1958 transported them on a 50,000-mile adventure travelling through 19 countries including Ghana, Congo, Uganda, Keyna, India,Continue reading “RKS 2025 CANADIAN Documentary: Three Legends: Bateman, Bristol and a Land Rover “Grizzly Torque””
RKS 2025 Wine: Moving Beyond the Tyranny of Argentinian Malbec: Bonarda!
The El Enemigo 2021 El Barranco Single Vineyard Bonarda is 85% Bonarda and 15% Cabernet Franc aged for 15 months in old French foudres. Aroma: Huge black and red fruit particularly blueberry and blackberry complimented by blueberry pie and a smidge of dark chocolate. Palate: With such mega fruit is the wine jammy? No spinContinue reading “RKS 2025 Wine: Moving Beyond the Tyranny of Argentinian Malbec: Bonarda!”
RKS CANADIAN Literature: What a Love Story is Not About (Michael Ondaatje)
“A love story is not about those who lose their heart but about those who, when it is stumbled upon, means the body can fool no one, can fool nothing-not the wisdom of sleep or the habit of social graces. It is a consuming of oneself and the past.” Michael Ondaatje, “The English Patient”, 1969.
RKS 2025 Film: “Bau: Artist at War”
“Bau: Artist at War” is based on Joseph’s Bau’s autobiographical novel, “Dear God Have You Ever Gone Hungry”. Bau (Emile Hirsch) was deported from the Krakow Ghetto by the German occupiers of Poland and transported from the Krakow Ghetto with his family to the Plaszow Concentration Camp. Franz Gruen (Yan Tual) is a vicious concentrationContinue reading “RKS 2025 Film: “Bau: Artist at War””
RKS 2025 Wine: Janare Q Vino Spumante Brut Falanghina from Italy
Aroma: Green apple, pear, ginger, cinnamon and white peach. Palate: Aggressive bite. A mighty effective palate cleanser. Pear and honeydew melon. Austere. Personality: No so much about the fruit and nothing like you might expect from a Prosecco in that regard. I get the job done so you can start your meal with a scouredContinue reading “RKS 2025 Wine: Janare Q Vino Spumante Brut Falanghina from Italy”
RKS 2025 CANADIAN Wine: Queen Bee 2023 Niagara Peninsula Rosé
Ontario rosé is nothing to sneeze at. But I fear I will be stung by the heavy Muscat component of this Queen Bee rosé as Muscat can be very tiresome in blended dry white and rosé with a very notable exception being the rosé wines by Vokakis Winery on the Greek Island of Samos. AContinue reading “RKS 2025 CANADIAN Wine: Queen Bee 2023 Niagara Peninsula Rosé”
RKS 2025 Film: “Dear Stranger”: Wreckage and Ruin: Emotional, Architectural and Physical
Kenji (Hidetoshi Nishijima) and Jane (Gwei Lun-Mei) live in a New York City borough with their son Kai (Everest Talde). Kenji and Jane are on the precipice of physical and mental collapse. Kenji is desperate to receive tenure as a professor of architecture specializing in ruins. Jane is a director of a puppet theatre andContinue reading “RKS 2025 Film: “Dear Stranger”: Wreckage and Ruin: Emotional, Architectural and Physical”
RKS 2025 CANADIAN Wine: Palatine Hills 2023 Viognier
Viognier is a rare grape in Ontario! So with great interest Viognier from Palatine Hills. Aroma: Apricot, peach, Seville marmalade, mango and talcum powder. Palate: Guava, banana and Orri tangerine. Firm. Dry. Big mouthfeel. Long finish. Personality: Don’t be timid about giving me a try. You will not find much of me as a singleContinue reading “RKS 2025 CANADIAN Wine: Palatine Hills 2023 Viognier”
RKS Vintage Film: Yugoslav Black Wave Films: “Love Affair: or the case of the Missing Switchboard Operator” (1967)
A complex seemingly discombobulated and incomprehensible movie you might think. Initially a few moments into this film had me both enthralled and somewhat confused. But understanding a director of a film has message(s) in the film to be conveyed to a viewer I was drawn in hook line and sinker determined to discover the message(s).Continue reading “RKS Vintage Film: Yugoslav Black Wave Films: “Love Affair: or the case of the Missing Switchboard Operator” (1967)”
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