In this Canadian documentary we follow the life of Vancouver chef Hidekazu Tojo from his humble and poor beginning in Kagoshima, Japan to his rise to prominence as owner chef of one of Vancouver’s premier Japanese restaurants TOJO’s frequented by the monied classes of the world. A celebrity chef followed like a rock star byContinue reading “RKS 2025 Documentary Film: “The Chef and the Daruma”: The Mind of a Great Chef of Original Japanese Cuisine”
Author Archives: Robert K Stephen (CSW)
RKS Literature: The Never-Ending Prison Sentences in Stalinist Soviet Union
“Shukov stared at the ceiling and said nothing. He no longer knew whether he wanted to be free or not. To begin with, he’d wanted it very much and counted up every evening how many days he still had to serve. Then he’d gotten fed up with it. And still later it had gradually dawnedContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Never-Ending Prison Sentences in Stalinist Soviet Union”
RKS Literature: Freedom of Speech in the Gulag (Solzhenitsyn)
“The good thing about hard-labor camps is that you have all the freedom in the world to sound off. In Ust-Izhma you’d only have to whisper that people couldn’t buy matches outside and they’d clap another 10 on you. Here you could shout anything you liked from a top bunk and the stoolies wouldn’t reportContinue reading “RKS Literature: Freedom of Speech in the Gulag (Solzhenitsyn)”
RKS 2025 Wine: A Chianti Classico: Bring on the Transylvanian Bear Stew!
Aroma: Virtually screaming “Cherry”. Blackberry, milk chocolate and Coachella Valley date. Palate: Serious stuffing to this wine. Well built in tannins and tight structure suggesting some ageability. The fruit is busting to escape but not just yet fellow. Chery again but kirsch as well. Long ponderous finish with a hint of sour cherry. Personality: DoContinue reading “RKS 2025 Wine: A Chianti Classico: Bring on the Transylvanian Bear Stew!”
RKS 2025 Documentary Film: “Death Without Mercy”: Your Trip to Hell
It was a quiet early 2024 November evening in Thessaloniki, Greece and I was holed up writing reviews for films I had watched at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. Thessaloniki has survived many aftershocks but in 1978 the city suffered aftershocks from a 6.5 Richter scale earthquake killing an estimated 49 people. Greece is noContinue reading “RKS 2025 Documentary Film: “Death Without Mercy”: Your Trip to Hell”
RKS Literature: Paying Attention to the Gulag Hierarchy (Solzhenitsyn)
“The foreman matters more than anything else in a prison camp: a new one gives you a new lease of life, a bad one can land you six feet under. Shukov had known Andrei Profofyevich Tyurin back in Ust-Izhma. He hadn’t worked under him there, but when all the “traitors” had been shunted from theContinue reading “RKS Literature: Paying Attention to the Gulag Hierarchy (Solzhenitsyn)”
Press Release: Caravans of Migrant Americans Head to Canadian Border Crossings
2February2025: Spoof News Services: Toronto Thousands of Americans are flooding to the Canadian border waving state flags and chanting, “Gotta get out now or we’ll be a POW!” Unlike Central American caravans that have lately been repelled by tear gas and machine gun bullets at the United States- Mexican border by patriots Canadians have metContinue reading “Press Release: Caravans of Migrant Americans Head to Canadian Border Crossings”
(Trumpian Tariff War): Department of Finance of Canada Lists Various Types of American Beer, Wine, Spirits and Alcoholic Beverages Subject to 4February2025 Tariff of 25%
The 25% tariff is effective 4February2025 and will remain in effect until Trump tariffs end. The Department of Finance product list and backgrounder can be accessed below. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2025/02/list-of-products-from-the-united-states-subject-to-25-per-cent-tariffs-effective-february-4-2025.html
(Trump Tariff Wars) News Release – Manitoba- Sales of United States Alcohol in the Province of Manitoba
February 2, 2025 Manitoba Government to Pull American Alcohol Products Off Shelves In response to United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the Manitoba government is issuing a directive to Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries (MBLL) to stop the sale of American products in the province, Premier Wab Kinew announced today. “Trump’s tariff tax is an attackContinue reading “(Trump Tariff Wars) News Release – Manitoba- Sales of United States Alcohol in the Province of Manitoba”
RKS Trumpian Tariff War: The Province of Nova Scotia Removes All United States Liquor from Its Stores
The Premier of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, Tim Huston, announced he will direct the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation to remove all United States alcohol from its shelves effective 4February2025.
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 