“So you thought you caught us, you damn Poles. Do you think there is a single thing in this world that will frighten a Cossack? Just wait, the time will come when you will understand the meaning of the Russian Orthodox faith. Word has already spread through every nation. A Russian Czar will spring forthContinue reading “RKS Literature: A New Russian Czar Will Spring Forth! (Nikolai Gogol)”
Author Archives: Robert K Stephen (CSW)
RKS Literature: Execution by the Poles of Cossacks: Entertainment (Nikolai Gogol)
“The square on which the execution was to take place was not hard to find: the whole town was streaming there from all directions. In that grim bygone era an execution was considered one of the most engaging spectacles, not only for the masses but also for the aristocracy. Devout old women, matrons and timidContinue reading “RKS Literature: Execution by the Poles of Cossacks: Entertainment (Nikolai Gogol)”
RKS 2024 Travel: Beware of Deer Signage on the Roads: No Joke: Bambi Slaughter!
If you are in Eastern Canada or United States driving on the roadways you see those beware of deer roadside signs but shuffle their significance to the far reaches of the brain. I have never seen a deer on the road in my Canadian travels. In fact the first time I saw any deer nearContinue reading “RKS 2024 Travel: Beware of Deer Signage on the Roads: No Joke: Bambi Slaughter!”
RKS 2024 Wine: Blackboard Merlot from Washington State: A Berlin Wall Merlot?
Many Washington State Merlots are not afraid to have a little bath in oak. It gives Merlot a pleasing to everyone aura. I had a Konstantin Frank Merlot in the Finger Lakes recently and it had a good dose of oak in it. My dining companion, no lover of red wine, enthused about how “approachable”Continue reading “RKS 2024 Wine: Blackboard Merlot from Washington State: A Berlin Wall Merlot?”
RKS Travel: That Unplanned Moment May Be the Best: A Glass of Hosmer Riesling on the Shores of Lake Cayuga, Finger Lakes New York
There are certain travellers that plan each moment of a trip. Itineraries are created and checked off like a shopping list. Good planning? Mechanical and unthinking? Perhaps a bit of both. You might say I recently had one very special unplanned moment on Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes District of New York. Some context.Continue reading “RKS Travel: That Unplanned Moment May Be the Best: A Glass of Hosmer Riesling on the Shores of Lake Cayuga, Finger Lakes New York”
RKS 2024 Film: “Devil Put the Coal in the Ground”: West Virginian Tragedy a la Master and Margarita
If you have watched the seminal 1973 American documentary “Harlan County” about a coal miner’s strike in Harlan County, Kentucky you know coal miners are a tough and proud lot and mine owners are ruthlessly if not murderously driven by profits. In “Devil Put the Coal in the Ground” about coal mining in West VirginaContinue reading “RKS 2024 Film: “Devil Put the Coal in the Ground”: West Virginian Tragedy a la Master and Margarita”
RKS 2024 Wine: Villa Teresa Organic NV Prosecco
Aroma: Lemon, lime, peach, mango and honey. Palate: A gentle fizz to the point it resembles a semi-sparkler. Some cantaloupe and pineapple but one expects more fruit with a prosecco than this? Its 11% alcohol makes it a refreshing hot summer day quaff. Personality: I am not assertive evidenced by my scant bubbles and acidity.Continue reading “RKS 2024 Wine: Villa Teresa Organic NV Prosecco”
RKS 2024 Film: “Alice On and Off”: Misery Justified by the Selfishness of “Trauma”: Sympathy For the Devil?
In this Romanian documentary we follow the life of Alice, her husband Dorian and their child Aristo. Alice married Dorian aged 53 at 18 years of age due to her pregnancy. Alice has had a traumatic and unloved existence abandoned by her parents and raised by a tyrant grandmother blocking all parental access to AliceContinue reading “RKS 2024 Film: “Alice On and Off”: Misery Justified by the Selfishness of “Trauma”: Sympathy For the Devil?”
RKS 2024 Wine: Ontario’s Bachelder Bator 2021 Gamay Noir: Bachelder’s Gentle Giant
Aroma: All held in a smoky frame. There is blackberry, black cherry and a bit of sandalwood. Rich, evident, pure and lighthearted. Palate: Gentle and soft but not lacking in taste. Can I say, “Gentle Giant?”. Replete with raspberry and almost juicy. Broad based tannins. Short finish. Personality: I think I have a bit ofContinue reading “RKS 2024 Wine: Ontario’s Bachelder Bator 2021 Gamay Noir: Bachelder’s Gentle Giant”
RKS Literature: Tarus Bulba on Women and Vodka (Nikolai Gogol)
“Enough! Enough whining, old woman. Cossacks aren’t Cossacks so they can hobnob with women! Given half a chance you’d hide them under your skirt and sit on them like a hen. Off with you, quick, and get the table ready. Lay out everything we have. No need for fritters and poppyseed cakes, or any otherContinue reading “RKS Literature: Tarus Bulba on Women and Vodka (Nikolai Gogol)”
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