Robert K Stephen (CSW)

RKS Poetry: “We the Nothing”

We The Nothing We the nothing make our febrile donations to the noble causesnot receiving any notable media recognition pauses Our dollars and euros fall into the bottomless charitable pitbut those charitable foundations governed by the “foundation board of directors” kneel in front of the capitalist big buck…Branson…Musk…crypto kings..entertainment idols (not fleeced by their accountants)ForContinue reading “RKS Poetry: “We the Nothing””

RKS 2023 Wine: My 25 Cent Spanish Cava Memory?

I recall being in Torremolinos, Spain in 1972 and Spanish Cava at the Supermercado was 25 cents a bottle. I was too young to consume alcohol then but for some reason I remember the price perhaps I was travelling my late mother and we had rented a fully equipped apartment for a couple of weeksContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: My 25 Cent Spanish Cava Memory?”

RKS Literature: The Warm Glow of Paris (Balzac)

“I will pick you up in my carriage, and we shall soon be in Paris. There, my dear, is the only life for superior people. We are only at ease among our peers; in any other society one suffers. Besides, Paris is the intellectual capital of the world, the stage of your success: cover quicklyContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Warm Glow of Paris (Balzac)”

RKS Literature: The Peculiarities of Society (Balzac)

“Among the peculiarities of society, have you not noted the capriciousness of its judgements and the inconsistency of its demands? There are people to whom everything is permitted. They can be guilty of the most outrageous things, and nothing they do is wrong; people hasten to find excuses for their conduct. But there are othersContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Peculiarities of Society (Balzac)”

RKS Literature: Poets and the Mocking Laughter of Hell (Balzac)

“If poetry is to be spoken aloud in such a way as to be understood, absolute concentration is necessary. There must be complete sympathy between the reader and the audience, in the absence of which no electrical communication of emotion can take place. If this sympathetic atmosphere is lacking, the poet finds himself in theContinue reading “RKS Literature: Poets and the Mocking Laughter of Hell (Balzac)”

RKS 2023 Film: “King of Killers”: Daddy is a Killer!

Marcus Garan (Alain Moussi) from Chicago is a former hitman for The Company that kills domestically and internationally “bad guys”. A hitman with morals? Garan has a wife and his darling little daughter Kimberly. Unfortunately his wife is set up to be killed in the “crossfire” at a messy hit Garan has accepted as anContinue reading “RKS 2023 Film: “King of Killers”: Daddy is a Killer!”

RKS Literature: Squashing Your Rival: Balzac’s “Lost Illusions”

“Baron Sixte du Châtelet was of the opinion that the little rhymer would succumb, sooner or later, in the hot house atmosphere of applause, or perhaps that, intoxicated with the prospect of future glory, he would commit some impertinence that would consign him again to his original obscurity. While awaiting the decease of the youngContinue reading “RKS Literature: Squashing Your Rival: Balzac’s “Lost Illusions””

RKS Literature: Infatuation: Balzac’s “Lost Illusions”

“He did not notice her faded cheeks, or the brick red blotches on her cheek-bones, the result of boredom and a certain amount of ill-health. His imagination seized, first of all, on those ardent eyes, those elegant curls that caught the candlelight, that dazzling whiteness – so many points of light that drew him likeContinue reading “RKS Literature: Infatuation: Balzac’s “Lost Illusions””

RKS 2023 Wine: A Cab Franc from Quai du Vin in St. Thomas Ontario

Cabernet Franc is Ontario’s top red wine. Putting my mouth where my money is or is it putting my money where my mouth is? The Sparta Moraine isn’t exactly crammed with wineries just cornfields and a lonely Quai du Vin. What can Quai du Vin do with Cab Franc? Aroma: Ah yes those bright andContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: A Cab Franc from Quai du Vin in St. Thomas Ontario”

RKS Literature: The Misfortune of a Great Intelligence (Balzac)

“One of the misfortunes to which great intelligence is subject is that of understanding everything too well. The standards by which these two men judged society were all the higher, because they themselves were low on the social scale, for unknown men are apt to revenge themselves by their lofty outlook. But their despair wasContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Misfortune of a Great Intelligence (Balzac)”