Author Archives: Robert K Stephen (CSW)

RKS Literature: The Northern vs. Southern Temperament (Thomas Mann)

“My father, you know, had the temperament of the north; solid, reflective, puritanically correct, with a tendency to melancholia. My mother, of indeterminate foreign blood, was beautiful, sensuous, naïve, passionate, and careless at once, and, I think, irregular by instinct. The mixture was no doubt extraordinary and bore with it extraordinary dangers. The issue ofContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Northern vs. Southern Temperament (Thomas Mann)”

RKS 2023 Wine: Miguel Torres Andica Gran Reserva 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile

This is an organic wine. It is from the Itata Valley which is Chile’s oldest viticultural region producing wine for over 450 years and Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are leading the new wave charge. Aroma: Big pulses of blueberry with lesser notes of raspberry with Obidos Licor Ginja (sour cherry liqueur from Obidos in Portugal).Continue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Miguel Torres Andica Gran Reserva 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile”

RKS Literature: A Spirit of the Times? (Thomas Mann/Death in Venice)

“And after all, what kind could be truer to the spirit of the times? Gustave Aschenbach was the poet-spokesman of all those who labour at the edge of exhaustion; of the overburdened, of those who are already worn out but still hold themselves upright; of all our modern moralizers of accomplishment, with stunted growth andContinue reading “RKS Literature: A Spirit of the Times? (Thomas Mann/Death in Venice)”

RKS 2023 Hot Docs Films: “Aitamaako’tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun”: I Can’t Believe I Am Saying This!

As a reviewer of films prior to taking up this all-consuming habit I often laughed years ago with a review or two of a film that trumpeted, “You’ll Stand Up and Cheer!”. I laugh no more as with this documentary I found myself standing up and cheering not physically but mentally. Why? Firstly, as aContinue reading “RKS 2023 Hot Docs Films: “Aitamaako’tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun”: I Can’t Believe I Am Saying This!”

RKS 2023 Wine: Yet Another Excellent Chilean Carmenère: Morandé 2020 Gran Reserva Carmenère

At $16.95 this wine is a steal. How long can Chilean red wine competitors stand in the face of such reasonable prices for full bodied red wine? The wine has spent 18 months in French oak foudres. Aroma: Freshly picked raspberries and raspberry jam shine through. Also blackberries and a bit of mocha. Palate: RelaxedContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Yet Another Excellent Chilean Carmenère: Morandé 2020 Gran Reserva Carmenère”

RKS 2023 Wine: More Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile: Aconcagua Alto Cabernet Sauvignon from Errazuriz

There is no mistaking Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon has upped its game over the past decade producing some very worthy examples. Fair to say they have not reached cult status as many Californian Cabernet Sauvignons have. Why is that? Could it be “over fascination” with those Cali Cabernet Sauvignons? Could it be the length of timeContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: More Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile: Aconcagua Alto Cabernet Sauvignon from Errazuriz”

RKS 2023 Films: “Living with Chucky”

I have lived all my years without Chucky. I am uncertain what thrill there is in these slasher films. Ooops sorry wrong horror genre! Slash and hacker doll genre? Sounding like a preacher and a geezer but how depraved to watch the murder of human beings and get a thrill out of it. Sorry IContinue reading “RKS 2023 Films: “Living with Chucky””

RKS Literature: The Duel and Manhood

“The duel my friend, is not just any ‘arrangement’. It is the final arrangement, a return to the primal state of nature, only slightly moderated by certain chivalrous, but purely superficial rules. The essence of the situation remains what it has been since the beginning, a physical struggle, and it is each man’s duty, howeverContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Duel and Manhood”

RKS Literature: Individualism a Word for All Seasons

“Individualism was romantically medieval in its belief in the infinite, cosmic importance of each single creature, from which came the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, the theory of geocentrism and astrology. On the other hand, individualism was a matter of liberal humanism, which tended toward anarchy and wanted at all costs to protectContinue reading “RKS Literature: Individualism a Word for All Seasons”

RKS Literature: Both God and Nature Unjust (Thomas Mann)

“God and nature were both unjust, they had their favourites, chose to be gracious at random, adorned one man with precarious honours and the next with an easy, but ordinary fate. And for the man that would act? For him justice was, on the one hand, a paralyzing weakness, the very essence of doubt, andContinue reading “RKS Literature: Both God and Nature Unjust (Thomas Mann)”