“Monterey is also a great place for cock–fighting, gambling of all sorts, fandangos, and every kind of amusement and knavery. Trappers and hunters, who occasionally arrive here from over the Rocky mountains, with their valuable skins and furs, are often entertained with every sort of amusement and dissipation, until they have wasted their time andContinue reading “RKS Literature: Monterey in the 1830’s”
Author Archives: Robert K Stephen (CSW)
RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: Seasick Passengers
“Our four passengers were dreadfully sick, so that we saw little or nothing of them for five days. On the sixth day it cleared off, and the sun came out bright, but the wind and sea were still very high. It was quite like being at sea again: no land for hundreds of miles, andContinue reading “RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: Seasick Passengers”
RKS 2023 Wine: Carolina Gran Reserva Chardonnay from Chile; Chernobyl Meltdown!
Red wines from Chile predominate on the shelves of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. White wines from Chile are in the shadows. You are more likely to see Chardonnay as the most prominent Chilean white. Chilean whites continue to disappoint in 2023. So let’s try the 2020 Santa Carolina Gran Reserva Chardonnay. Aromatics: Pear,Continue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Carolina Gran Reserva Chardonnay from Chile; Chernobyl Meltdown!”
RKS 2023 Film: “Nostalgia”: The Hard Edge of Nostalgia
Nostalgia has a warm and positive feeling right? Pleasant memories you want to revisit. When it is a question of Naples I am nostalgic about that crumbling and rough town. Why not being whizzed around on EU money for a wine and tourism event and then a week at my leisure to explore the greaterContinue reading “RKS 2023 Film: “Nostalgia”: The Hard Edge of Nostalgia”
RKS Literature: “Two Years Before the Mast”: Man Overboard!
“Death at all times is solemn, but never so much so at sea. A man dies on shore: his body remains with friends, and ‘the mourners go about the streets’; ‘but when a man falls overboard at sea and is lost, there is a suddenness to the event, and a difficulty in realising it, whichContinue reading “RKS Literature: “Two Years Before the Mast”: Man Overboard!”
RKS Literature: “Two Years Before the Mast”: The Captain Speaks!
“Now my men, we have begun a long voyage. If we get along well together, we shall have a comfortable time; if we don’t, we shall have hell afloat. All you’ve got to do is obey your orders and do your duty like men-then you’ll fare well enough;-if you don’t, you’ll fare hard enough,-I canContinue reading “RKS Literature: “Two Years Before the Mast”: The Captain Speaks!”
RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: God as the Big Wolf
“The trap-door is open, the evil spirits are coming out. You wanted to see and hear them! ‘Where do we come from?’ you asked. Up and out of the earth, Captain Séfakas. ’Where are we going to?’ you asked. Under the earth Captain Séfakas. What is your duty? To eat if you are a wolf;Continue reading “RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: God as the Big Wolf”
RKS 2023 Wine: Does Washington Power on with Powers?
In my humble opinion you get more bang for the buck with Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington State than you get from California. For some reason Washington wineries are very skillful with their use of oak. So why not try a Powers 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Columbia Valley. It has been blended with small amountsContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Does Washington Power on with Powers?”
RKS 2023 Film: “The Elephant Whisperers”: 2023 Academy Award Nominee
“The Elephant Whisperers”, an Indian documentary short film, has been nominated as the best documentary short film at the 2023 Oscars. The documentary breaks the chain of depressing documentaries about elephants. Instead we encounter Bellie and Bomman at the Theppakadu Elephant Camp in India which is the largest contiguous wild space for Asian elephants. BellieContinue reading “RKS 2023 Film: “The Elephant Whisperers”: 2023 Academy Award Nominee”
RKS 2023 Film: Expectation of Yet Another American Mass Murder: “Stranger at the Gate”
For much of the world the United States is the epicentre of the mass murder. Most likely well earned but we have seen them in Canada, Sweden and France amongst other countries. Watching “Stranger at the Gate” sigh and expect yet another documentary on an American mass murder? Richard McKinney has the credentials of aContinue reading “RKS 2023 Film: Expectation of Yet Another American Mass Murder: “Stranger at the Gate””
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