In Niagara-on-the-Lake this week we had a dinner on the patio of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Course. A bit of a hidden secret. What a view of Lake Ontario and Toronto 135 kilometres in the distance. Yes and even Fort Niagara in Youngstown New York. A very good burger and coconut shrimp but the Reif EstateContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Hot Pinot Noir and a Blank Stare from the Waiter”
Author Archives: Robert K Stephen (CSW)
RKS 2023 Wine: 2018 Barrel Aged Chardonnay from Niagara’s Locust Lane: Escaping the Plague of Over Oaked Chards
Locusts and agriculture do not mix. The last thing winemakers in the Niagara region of Ontario want are swarms of locusts devouring their grapes. God may have been angry with Egypt but with Niagara, Ontario? Bad enough they have to deal with swarms of grape loving birds and waterlogged peaches! Is my negative focused mindContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: 2018 Barrel Aged Chardonnay from Niagara’s Locust Lane: Escaping the Plague of Over Oaked Chards”
Toronto International Film Festival: “Seagrass”: A Downward Spiral in A Self Development Retreat
Judith and her husband Steve attend a self development camp off the British Columbia mainland at Gabriola Island. They bring their young daughters Stephanie and Emmy with them as other couples also do. Judith (Ally Maki) is a Japanese Canadian. Her mother recently died and she pathetically, like Pig Pen in Snoopy, clings to herContinue reading “Toronto International Film Festival: “Seagrass”: A Downward Spiral in A Self Development Retreat”
RKS 2023 Film: “Bloom”: Toronto International Film Festival
The Canadian short “Bloom” screens as part of the TIFF Short Cuts Programme. It scores big points in 11 minutes and may have you guessing what it is all about. No Greta Thunberg inflicting didactic misery but rather an almost no dialogue short. Here is my take. Poor Laurel walks home to find her partnerContinue reading “RKS 2023 Film: “Bloom”: Toronto International Film Festival”
Dylan the Westie from the Land Beyond: On the Concept of Closure: Dylan Has a Good Chuckle!
Hello. You may remember me. I am a West Highland Terrier who died on July 13 just short of 15 years of age. I spent 40 days on earth before my soul or whatever you want to call it went to The Land Beyond. You humans talk about “closure” after the death of a pet.Continue reading “Dylan the Westie from the Land Beyond: On the Concept of Closure: Dylan Has a Good Chuckle!”
RKS 2023 Film: Toronto International Film Festival: “Summer Qamp”
The Canadian documentary “Summer Qamp” delves into a summer camp for LGBTQ youth. Camp fYrefly in Alberta, Canada. Here is a comforting and safe space for the bullied, insecure, confused and unsure seeking to establish their queer identity in this Alberta camp. This is no “Meatballs” and diametrically opposed to the conversion camp in theContinue reading “RKS 2023 Film: Toronto International Film Festival: “Summer Qamp””
RKS 2023 Wine: The Man with the Big Head Releases Big Head Red # 8
The Big Red at Big Head Wines, about 15 minutes from St Davids, Ontario (on 823 Line 6 Road) in the Niagara-on-the-Lake region was sold out of Big Red # 7 when I last visited the winery in November 2022 but they had a half bottle left and poured a glass for me. It leftContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: The Man with the Big Head Releases Big Head Red # 8”
RKS 2023 Wine: Tiring of Argentinian Malbec Yet?
How long has Argentinian Malbec been a darling of the wine drinking masses? When you have a good thing going well then keep it going! But on occasion when there is “too much of a good thing” selling so well there is overproduction and cutting corners sacrificing quality for profit. Pinot Grigio, Chianti, Lambrusco andContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Tiring of Argentinian Malbec Yet?”
RKS 2023 Film: “Once Upon a Time in Uganda”: Hollywood, Bollywood and Now Wakaliwood!
A documentary about an African country that very well may put a smile on your face instead of a sigh. The last documentary I watched on Uganda, “Theatre of Violence” was about a civil war and child soldiers. Not exactly cheerful. “Once Upon a Time in Uganda” follows the struggle of Ugandan director Issac NabwanaContinue reading “RKS 2023 Film: “Once Upon a Time in Uganda”: Hollywood, Bollywood and Now Wakaliwood!”
RKS Literature: Snubbed by the Parisian Aristocracy (Balzac)
“It was one thing to be despised by the country families of Angoulême, quite another by the aristocracy of Paris; by going out of their way on insult Lucien, the booby-squires had admitted his importance and treated him as a man: but for Mme d’Espard he simply did not exist. This was not a sentence,Continue reading “RKS Literature: Snubbed by the Parisian Aristocracy (Balzac)”
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 