Robert K Stephen (CSW)

RKS Literature: The Ethical Suicide Parlor Wants You (Kurt Vonnegut)

“The average citizen moped about around home and watched television, which was the government. Every fifteen minutes his television would urge him to vote intelligently or consume intelligently, or worship in the church of his choice, or love his fellowmen, or obey the laws-or pay a call to the nearest Ethical Suicide Parlor and findContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Ethical Suicide Parlor Wants You (Kurt Vonnegut)”

RKS Literature: Brain Control in the Name of Equality (Kurt Vonnegut)

“Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn’t think about anything except in short bursts, and George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter. Every twentyContinue reading “RKS Literature: Brain Control in the Name of Equality (Kurt Vonnegut)”

The 4th Greek International Film Festival Tour (Canada): “Smuggling Hendrix”: Absurdist Expose of a Divided Cyprus

The 4th Greek International Film Festival Tour (Canada) will be in 11 Canadian cities 1-31October2024 presenting films theatrically and, in some cases, on-line. After the 1974 invasion and occupation of Northern Cyprus by Turkey a buffer zone was created between Northern Cyprus and Southern Cyprus and patrolled by United Nations “peacekeepers”. Like the old EastContinue reading “The 4th Greek International Film Festival Tour (Canada): “Smuggling Hendrix”: Absurdist Expose of a Divided Cyprus”

RKS 2024 Wine: Château Saint Cyrgues from Costières de Nîmes

The wine is a blend of 60% Syrah, 30% Grenache and 10% Marselan which is cross between Grenache and Syrah. Aroma: Blackberry, black cherry with some raspberry and licorice. Palate: Moderate and broad-based tannins. A bit gravelly but even given that it is smooth with a bit of a peppery finish. The acids hover inContinue reading “RKS 2024 Wine: Château Saint Cyrgues from Costières de Nîmes”

RKS Literature: Finally Equality in the United States in 2081 (Kurt Vonnegut)

“The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anyone else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anyone else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th and 213th Amendments to the Constitution and toContinue reading “RKS Literature: Finally Equality in the United States in 2081 (Kurt Vonnegut)”

RKS Literature: The Repetitive History of Earth (Kurt Vonnegut)

“If our descendants don’t study our times closely, they will find that they have again exhausted the planet’s fossil fuels, that they have again died by the millions of influenza and the Green Death, that the sky again has again been turned yellow by the propellants for underarm deodorants, that they have elected a senileContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Repetitive History of Earth (Kurt Vonnegut)”

RKS 2024 Wine: A Red Cuvée from Cox Creek Cellars: Can They Manage a Heartbreak Grape?

Pinot Noir is often referred to as the heartbreak grape due to its thin-skinned delicate nature. In my opinion Baco Noir is also a heartbreak grape perhaps not in the field but in converting its juice into a good wine. In Ontario I am mostly disappointed with Baco Noir that tricks the nose into thinkingContinue reading “RKS 2024 Wine: A Red Cuvée from Cox Creek Cellars: Can They Manage a Heartbreak Grape?”

RKS Literature: Powerless Old Poops and Young Psychopaths (Kurt Vonnegut)

“Captain O’Hare and I entered the palace between two lines of soldiers. They were an honor guard of some sort, I suppose. Each one held aloft a banner, which was embroidered with the totem of his artificial extended family – an apple, an alligator, the chemical symbol for lithium, and so on. It was suchContinue reading “RKS Literature: Powerless Old Poops and Young Psychopaths (Kurt Vonnegut)”

RKS Literature: Diplomatic Relations with the United States and China (Kurt Vonnegut)

“The miniaturization of human beings in China had progressed so far at that point, that their ambassador was only 60 centimeters tall. His farewell was polite and friendly. He said his country was severing relations simply because there was nothing going on in the United States which was of any interest to the Chinese atContinue reading “RKS Literature: Diplomatic Relations with the United States and China (Kurt Vonnegut)”

The 4th Annual Greek International Film Festival Tour (Canada): “Kristos the Last Child”

In 1971 I spent 4 months in the Greek islands and then in 1972 another month. I managed to witness Greece as most will never see it. We took a fishing boat to an island I forget the name of, as there was no ferry service. We stopped for the fisherman to haul in hisContinue reading “The 4th Annual Greek International Film Festival Tour (Canada): “Kristos the Last Child””