Robert K Stephen (CSW)

“Travels to a Different Time” : 17/18 May 1975: New York City: Off to Vienna!

Again on the midnight bus from Montreal to New York City. Sitting next to a tubby guy with bad body odour who tried to strike up a conversation to no avail. Through customs was quick and at the Saratoga Springs rest stop I have never seen the restaurant so busy at 3 in the morning.Continue reading ““Travels to a Different Time” : 17/18 May 1975: New York City: Off to Vienna!”

RKS Film: “Holy Boom”: Intergenerational and Ethnic Explosion in Athens!

The Hellenic Film Society USA continues with its Greek Films on Demand programme where for the first ten days of the month two Greek films are available for streaming at a nominal cost. One of the April films “Holy Boom” is a 2018 production that weaves together ethnic and intergenerational conflicts facing Greece. On PalmContinue reading “RKS Film: “Holy Boom”: Intergenerational and Ethnic Explosion in Athens!”

RKS Film: “Tabija” (The White Fortress): Hoodlum Meets Girl from a “Good” Family

Faruk (Pavle Čemerkić) lives with his grandmother in one of those socialist tenements from the old Yugoslavian communist days in the infamous city of Sarajevo. He has a day job collecting scrap metal with his uncle. He also runs girls for the big boss Cedo who amongst his other businesses is a pimp. Faruk hasContinue reading “RKS Film: “Tabija” (The White Fortress): Hoodlum Meets Girl from a “Good” Family”

“Travels To a Different Time”: 19August1974: Frankfurt, New York and Montreal: Wrapping up 1974

Woke up at 6:30 suffering from airport grunge and not feeling that well again. I went to the supermarket at the lower level and bought a roll, orange juice and milk. At 09:30 the line up for the 12:15 flight to New York began. There were 7 non-revenue passengers and only two spots so itContinue reading ““Travels To a Different Time”: 19August1974: Frankfurt, New York and Montreal: Wrapping up 1974″

RKS Wine: An Organic Côtes-du-Rhônes-Villages; Clean, Vibrant and Pure

Perhaps I get thrown by the word “organic” but organic wines seem to have a clean streak running through them. They seem sharper. Am I imagining this? So we try a 2019 Château Maucoil Côtes-du-Rhônes-Villages. The scent of super ripe strawberries is courtesy of the Grenache in the blend. A big blast of blueberries alsoContinue reading “RKS Wine: An Organic Côtes-du-Rhônes-Villages; Clean, Vibrant and Pure”

RKS Film: “Good Life”: One Strange Film

Unfortunately for this film I have been travelling about Greece since the early 1970’s. So when I sat down and watched “Good Life” I was looking forward to a great film as after all what could be wrong about the dear protagonist Olive going to her mother’s ancestral home in Greece after a break upContinue reading “RKS Film: “Good Life”: One Strange Film”

“Travels to a Different Time” : 17August1974: Wuppertal, West Germany: Beer in the Morning?

Up at 08:00 for the usual breakfast of brot, schinken und kaise (bread, ham and cheese). I must have eaten an entire field of wheat on this trip! We took the Schwebebahn and then a bus out to countryside to a big pool. Beer started upon arrival. Little 4-ounce glasses of alt beer sort ofContinue reading ““Travels to a Different Time” : 17August1974: Wuppertal, West Germany: Beer in the Morning?”

RKS Wine: A Sparkler from Chile: Low on the Totem Pole?

For sparkling wine the kings of the castles are supposedly those made by the Traditional Method which involves secondary fermentation in the bottle. Sometimes the Traditional Method is referred to as the Champagne Method as that is how Champagne is made. The Charmat Method is far cheaper as it involves placing the wine in largeContinue reading “RKS Wine: A Sparkler from Chile: Low on the Totem Pole?”

RKS Wine: Côtes du Rhône: Wines Above the Maddening Crowd:

There is a plenitude of wines on the market that are good but over the past years they are beginning to taste similar. Could it be they are made to please the marketplace? Predictability? Homogenization? Hegemony of blender consultants? With many reds and whites from Côtes du Rhône you’ll get the impression they have notContinue reading “RKS Wine: Côtes du Rhône: Wines Above the Maddening Crowd:”

“Travels to a Different Time” : 16August1974: Dusseldorf & Wuppertal, West Germany: Beer at the Englishman’s Pub in Germany? Running on Empty

A decent sleep but woke up feeling crappy. I packed up and split to the train station and took a train to Wuppertal which was a 30-minute trip. I tried to call Alex who I had met in Skopje and who had invited me to visit him in Wuppertal. No answer so I headed toContinue reading ““Travels to a Different Time” : 16August1974: Dusseldorf & Wuppertal, West Germany: Beer at the Englishman’s Pub in Germany? Running on Empty”