Author Archives: Robert K Stephen (CSW)

RKS Literature: Australian Blackbirder Slavers (Pat Barker)

“He’d started as a “blackbirder” as so many of the older traders had, kidnapping natives to work on the Queensland plantations, and he was frank about his methods too. Make friends with them, invite them on board ship, get them drunk and Bob’s your uncle, By the time they come around they’re out at seaContinue reading “RKS Literature: Australian Blackbirder Slavers (Pat Barker)”

RKS 2025 Travel: Destination Southeast Asia (Short Attention Span Version)

GETTING THERE Not brimming with excitement facing a 15 ½ hour flight from Toronto to Hong Kong with a two-hour layover waiting for a 3 ½ hour flight to Singapore. The outboard flight and connecting flights to Singapore on Cathay Pacific one of the three best airlines in world as awarded in by Skytrax inContinue reading “RKS 2025 Travel: Destination Southeast Asia (Short Attention Span Version)”

RKS 2025 CANADIAN Film: “Dream Eater”: Bereft of Terror

Poor Alex (Alex Lee Williams) is suffering from parasomnia clear at the beginning of the film he is a danger to himself and as the movie progresses a danger to his sweetheart, unsuccessful documentary filmmaker Mallory (Mallory Drumm). As appropriate, given his self destructive bent he is receiving medical care. Off Mallory and Alex travelContinue reading “RKS 2025 CANADIAN Film: “Dream Eater”: Bereft of Terror”

RKS Literature: Murderous Missionary Ships (Pat Barker)

“Rivers was used to missionary islands where canoes paddled out to meet the oncoming steamer, brown faces, white eyes, flashing smiles, while others gathered at the landing stage, ready to carry bags up to the mission station for a few sticks of tobacco or even sheer Christian goodwill. A cheerful picture, as long as youContinue reading “RKS Literature: Murderous Missionary Ships (Pat Barker)”

RKS Literature:  Supressed Memory and a Smack on the Leg (Pat Barker)

“Was this the supressed memory? He didn’t know. Was it trivial? Well, yes, in a way, compared with Prior’s lurid imaginings. A smack on the leg, a lesson in manliness from an over conscientious but loving father. It’s a long way from sadistic beatings, And yet it wasn’t as trivial as it seemed at first.”Continue reading “RKS Literature:  Supressed Memory and a Smack on the Leg (Pat Barker)”

RKS 2025 Wine: Montes Alpha 2021 Special Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon

Chile has a leg up when the subject is quality and affordable wine many of which are under $20 CDN. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Carmenére. It has rested 16 months in French oak. Montes Alpha 2021 Special Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon is running in the quality pack! Aroma: Richer than Jeff Bezos. MassiveContinue reading “RKS 2025 Wine: Montes Alpha 2021 Special Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon”

RKS Literature: Death and Cartography (Michael Ondaatje)

“We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into and swum up as if rivers of wisdom, characters we have climbed into as if trees, fears we have hidden as if in caves. I wish for all of this to be marked on my body whenContinue reading “RKS Literature: Death and Cartography (Michael Ondaatje)”

RKS Literature: The Human Element and Burglary (Michael Ondaatje)

“Caravaggio was constantly diverted by the human element during burglaries. Breaking into a house during Christmas, he would become annoyed if he noted the Advent calendar had not been opened up to the date to which it should have been. He often had conversations with the various pets left alone in houses, rhetorically discussing mealsContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Human Element and Burglary (Michael Ondaatje)”

RKS 2025 CANADIAN Film: “Clan of the Painted Lady”: Back to Your Roots

Why do some search to find their “roots” while others don’t give a damn? Director/writer of “Clan of the Painted Lady” Jennifer Chiu, a British Columbian, delves into her Hakka culture and her own family history to determine where it originated and where it is travelling to. Like the Painted Lady butterfly that embarks onContinue reading “RKS 2025 CANADIAN Film: “Clan of the Painted Lady”: Back to Your Roots”