“Under the Volcano” is a novel by Canadian Malcom Lowry not to be confused with my heading above “Back to the Volcano”. I have had the pleasure of a day of intense fine tasting on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius outside of Naples 5 years ago and in May I am heading to Mount EtnaContinue reading “RKS 2025 Wine: “Back to the Volcano”: Italian Red from ETNA”
Author Archives: Robert K Stephen (CSW)
The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous (The Final Version): Chapter 18: Mind Numbing Law School at the University of Cote St. Luc:
My Bombay relatives were incessantly chattering about what my next step in life should be and it was the same story, MEDICINE, LAW, ACCOUNTING and COMPLIANCE! I could have lived a life of idle luxury with my wealth but the voice of my late father Paneer incessantly advised, if not nagged, me to improve myselfContinue reading “The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous (The Final Version): Chapter 18: Mind Numbing Law School at the University of Cote St. Luc:”
RKS 2025 Film: Scarborough Hits the Big Screen in “Morningside”
I grew up in Montreal and fled as a refugee to Toronto. I encountered incessant references about this neighbourhood called Scarborough and not always in the most positive language. An undertone of poverty, crime and naughtiness. Scarborough seemed so far away from Toronto it earned the derogatory nickname of Scarberia. The only relevance Scarborough heldContinue reading “RKS 2025 Film: Scarborough Hits the Big Screen in “Morningside””
RKS 2025 Wine: A Devilish Bulgarian Wine
We try a pentagram Cabernet Sauvignon from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Pentagram hmmmmm. What the devil’s going on here! The winery sits on a 3.5 km. peninsula on the Southern Black Sea Coast. The area has been under Greek, Byzantine, Roman and Ottoman rule. The grapes were hand picked and sorted and fermentation wasContinue reading “RKS 2025 Wine: A Devilish Bulgarian Wine”
RKS 2025 Wine: Armenian Wine: A Daring Move by The Liquor Control Board of Ontario!
Shame on you who decry the monopolistic Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO)! The “Control” in the corporate name shouts out a paternalistic and profitable heart. The LCBO wants to control what you drink reducing its administrative and business costs as much as possible to maximize profits. No expensive forays into new wine markets onlyContinue reading “RKS 2025 Wine: Armenian Wine: A Daring Move by The Liquor Control Board of Ontario!”
The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous (The Final Version): Chapter 17: A Big Shot with a Bachelor of Arts: What Next? The Panacea of Law
I breezed through my Bachelor of Arts programme at McGill University begging the question what was next? In the midst of my political science studies, I noted hordes of political science students slavishly busting their butts day and night in search of high grades to enable entrance into the hugely competitive law school admissions stream.Continue reading “The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous (The Final Version): Chapter 17: A Big Shot with a Bachelor of Arts: What Next? The Panacea of Law”
RKS 2025 Wine: More Quiet Whites From Bordeaux
White Bordeaux have an understated quietness to them rejecting flash and bang descriptors. Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc is entirely demure in comparison to the raucous New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Blending some Sémillon with the Sauvignon Blanc adds honey and marzipan to the aroma and palate although I refer the cleaner Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc sans blend. Let’sContinue reading “RKS 2025 Wine: More Quiet Whites From Bordeaux”
The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous (The Final Version): Chapter 16: Eastern European Espionage and that Spaghetti Sauce with Ground Horsemeat
My assignment for the Central Intelligence Agency caused me no moral dilemma. My assignment was simply to be somewhat of an academic traveller. I was a student of Eastern European politics so I had every “valid” reason to be visiting Eastern Europe hanging out in various universities in Eastern Europe and gauge the sentiment ofContinue reading “The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous (The Final Version): Chapter 16: Eastern European Espionage and that Spaghetti Sauce with Ground Horsemeat”
The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous (The Final Version): Chapter 15: Fishing with the Central Intelligence Agency on Lake Champlain: Operation Berlin Wall Humpty Dumpty
You have read that I had been approached at McGill University by The Royal Canadian Mounted Police to act as an informant to turn in and rat on “student revolutionaries”. I walked away from that “opportunity”. I was an Eastern European political scholar and of course I made summer plans to visit Yugoslavia, Bulgaria andContinue reading “The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous (The Final Version): Chapter 15: Fishing with the Central Intelligence Agency on Lake Champlain: Operation Berlin Wall Humpty Dumpty”
RKS 2025 Literature: A Physician Unable to Establish a True Relationship
“This silly notion served to help me overcome my emotions and see him for what he was-a man relying on his social status as the sagacious doctor to add effect to his words. It was the insensitivity of the physician telling his patient he is going to die under the mistaken belief that being bluntContinue reading “RKS 2025 Literature: A Physician Unable to Establish a True Relationship”
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 