Robert K Stephen (CSW)

RKS 2024 Film: “Alice On and Off”: Misery Justified by the Selfishness of “Trauma”: Sympathy For the Devil?

In this Romanian documentary we follow the life of Alice, her husband Dorian and their child Aristo. Alice married Dorian aged 53 at 18 years of age due to her pregnancy. Alice has had a traumatic and unloved existence abandoned by her parents and raised by a tyrant grandmother blocking all parental access to AliceContinue reading “RKS 2024 Film: “Alice On and Off”: Misery Justified by the Selfishness of “Trauma”: Sympathy For the Devil?”

RKS 2024 Wine: Ontario’s Bachelder Bator 2021 Gamay Noir: Bachelder’s Gentle Giant

Aroma: All held in a smoky frame. There is blackberry, black cherry and a bit of sandalwood. Rich, evident, pure and lighthearted. Palate: Gentle and soft but not lacking in taste. Can I say, “Gentle Giant?”. Replete with raspberry and almost juicy. Broad based tannins. Short finish. Personality: I think I have a bit ofContinue reading “RKS 2024 Wine: Ontario’s Bachelder Bator 2021 Gamay Noir: Bachelder’s Gentle Giant”

RKS Literature: Tarus Bulba on Women and Vodka (Nikolai Gogol)

“Enough! Enough whining, old woman. Cossacks aren’t Cossacks so they can hobnob with women! Given half a chance you’d hide them under your skirt and sit on them like a hen. Off with you, quick, and get the table ready. Lay out everything we have. No need for fritters and poppyseed cakes, or any otherContinue reading “RKS Literature: Tarus Bulba on Women and Vodka (Nikolai Gogol)”

RKS Literature: Tarus Bulba’s Thoughts on a Seminary Education (Nikolai Gogol)

“You’re a milksop, I see!” Bulba said. “Don’t listen to your mother, my boy. She’s a woman, she knows nothing! What do you need sweetness for? An open field and a good horse, that’s all the sweetness that you need. You see this saber. This saber is your mother! They’ve been filling your heads withContinue reading “RKS Literature: Tarus Bulba’s Thoughts on a Seminary Education (Nikolai Gogol)”

RKS 2024 Wine: Canadian Pinot Gris From Niagara

Aroma: This platinum-coloured wine has aromas of mango, peach, white grapefruit, pear and wet stone. Palate: Rather full bodied with some power. It is zippy and a bit cutting but underneath the acidity there is peach, grapefruit and a hint of lychee. Moderate finish. Personality: More cutting and sharper than Italian Pinot Grigio. Food Match:Continue reading “RKS 2024 Wine: Canadian Pinot Gris From Niagara”

RKS 2024 Film: A Freebie from the Visual Communications Archives: “w(HO)”

“w(HO)” is a 2022 American 5-minute mixed media animated short film. Director Candace Ho relates certain incidents caused by her last name whether it was “Ho.Ho” as a laugh or the insertion of “izza” between Candice and Ho! But aside from the snickering humour playing on Ho it is also a chronicle of her sexualContinue reading “RKS 2024 Film: A Freebie from the Visual Communications Archives: “w(HO)””

RKS 2024 Wine: Louis Aîné & Fils Beaujolais-Villages 2022: Riding on the Zip-Line

A friendly juicy and warm Gamay? Aroma: Raspberry rules but there is black cherry, blackberry. None of that excessive alcohol plaguing so many red wines. Inviting. Palate: Blackberry but more acidity than expected but is fine yet still worrisome as one expects something softer and fruitier from a Burgundian Gamay. Not much fruit on theContinue reading “RKS 2024 Wine: Louis Aîné & Fils Beaujolais-Villages 2022: Riding on the Zip-Line”

RKS 2024 Film: A Freebie from the Visual Communications Archives: “Gio: A Man Wonderfully Created”

“Gio: A Man Wonderfully Created” is a 2015 American 7.5-minute short film. Gio Carneal, the son of a southern Baptist minister experienced a hostile and bully ridden 1970’s childhood. Self medication with alcohol and drugs leads to his turning to a gay bar where his newfound sense of community and his desire for full acceptanceContinue reading “RKS 2024 Film: A Freebie from the Visual Communications Archives: “Gio: A Man Wonderfully Created””

RKS 2024 Film: A Freebie from the Visual Communications Archives: “And God Loves Gays Too”

“And God Loves Gays Too” is a 10-minute short 2009 film directed by Michi Tanioka. The narrator intervenes two parishioners of an Asian American church located in California about how their church views homosexuality. Parishioner Marian Sunabe explains how a “conversation” occurred between the pastor, herself and a gay man named Gary. Marian had beenContinue reading “RKS 2024 Film: A Freebie from the Visual Communications Archives: “And God Loves Gays Too””

RKS 2024 Film: A Freebie from the Visual Communications Archives: “Comfort Girls”

“Comfort Girls” is a 5-minute short film. The “Comfort Girls” initially appear in a Japanese garden in traditional Korean garb and sing before military officers of nations that have shaped the fate of a divided Korea. The officers sit at a table to a feast ravenously and disgustingly devouring food. The traditional quickly disappears andContinue reading “RKS 2024 Film: A Freebie from the Visual Communications Archives: “Comfort Girls””