RKS 2023 Wine: No Need to be Spooked by Bordeaux! The Branson Burger!

Yes, wines from Bordeaux can be enormously expensive beyond the purse strings of those who have to count their pesos. And they can be enormously complicated with classification, left bank, right bank, first growths and on and on. But there are many small producers offering wines at yes “bargain prices”. The EU is drowning in wine this year with EU per capita consumption down. Are we consumers benefitting from this oversupply? Theoretically as we live in a capitalist system in North America and most of the EU the law of supply and demand dictates we should be seeing lower prices. Dream on!

So for $ 25 (CDN) we can pretend to be wine snobs and quaff a Château Pierre de Montignac 2020. For what it is worth it is from the Médoc which is a Left Bank wine i.e. the left bank of the Gironde River. Visit the Château and they have 5 modern but somewhat tiny rooms and also a motorcoach area.

The wine is a blend of 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot.

Aroma: Black currant, black cherry with a dusting of cocoa.

Palate: I can’t say I agree with the label describing this a “powerful” wine. It makes its presence known for sure with moderate tannins. Sour cherry, spice and dates to be enjoyed with a long finish with a bit of prune and milk chocolate.

Personality: I am perhaps from a vineyard off the motorhome area and there is no 5-star restaurant on site but I punch way over my weight. Quite frankly I am a damn good Bordeaux. Perhaps not as good as a first growth but they clock in close to $1,000 and me at $25! I welcome penniless pensioners and screw off social media barons and those who rocket around in space in their little toys. Geez in the nearest town to the winery you can find a Richard Branson Burger in a special black truffle sauce which I can assure you goes well with a Grand Vin de Chateau Latour! Zut Alors!

Food Match: Of course, you will serve slightly chilled. Stuffed field red peppers Greek style or RKS 2023 Wine Burgers (secret recipe). Branson wanted my recipe and offered me a ride in his space toy but I declined!

Price: $25.

RKS 2023 Wine Review Rating: 91/100. Jamessuckling.com 90.

(Château Pierre de Montignac 2020, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur, Médoc Earl de Montignac, Médoc, France, 750 mL, 13%).

RKS Literature: A Swindler of a Man on the Run (Dickens)

“Shame, disappointment, and discomfiture gnawed at his heart: a constant apprehension of being overtaken or met – for he was groundlessly afraid even of travellers, who came towards him by the way he was going – oppressed him heavily. The same intolerable awe and dread that had come upon him in the night, returned unweakened in the day. The monotonous ringing of the bells and tramping of the horses; the monotony of his anxiety, and useless rage; the monotonous wheel of fear, regret and passion, he kept turning round and round; made the journey like a vision, in which nothing was quire real but his own torment.”

Charles Dickens, “Dombey and Son”

RKS Literature: A Hollow Woman in a Hollow World (Charles Dickens)

‘I am a woman.’ she said confronting him steadfastly, ‘who from her very childhood has been shamed and steeled. I have been offered and rejected, put up and appraised, until my very soul has sickened. I have not had an accomplishment or grace that might have been a resource to me, but it has been paraded and vended to enhance my value, as if the common crier had called it through the streets. My poor, proud friends have looked on and approved; and every tie between us has been hardened in my breast. There is not one of them for whom I care, as I would care for a pet dog. I stand alone in the world, remembering well what a hollow world it has been to me, and what a hollow part of it I have been myself. You know this, and you know my fame with it is worthless to me.’

Charles Dickens, “Dombey and Son”

RKS 2023 Film: “Jules”: Of Ageism and Aliens

Who doesn’t like a good film about aliens arriving on earth and interacting with humans? “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”? “ET”?  or Donald Trump running for President?

We have a great one here with seniors in the lead roles and with ageism in our society what I think just might be the movie of the summer perhaps will quickly fade off the big screen and into VOD land. Shame if that happens!

Milton (Ben Kingsley) lives in a small Western rural Pennsylvanian town and he is gradually showing some early signs of serious mental decline putting cans of food in the medicine cabinet instead of the kitchen cupboard and the like. He shows up at town hall meetings time and time again saying his piece but it is always the same. Groundhog Day dementia? His daughter insists on some neurological testing with a recommendation being made after the test he should consider assisted living.

One night an alien craft crashes into his garden destroying his bird bath and prized azaleas. A banged-up alien emerges and Milton welcomes him into his house. The alien, a non speaker, loves apples and enjoys human companionship. Milton tells a few locals about the alien but as he is an old man with a weakening mind not much attention is paid to him. A couple of his friends of equal age Sandy (Harriet Harris) and Joyce (Jane Curtin) are let in on the secret and all three realize the existence of the alien must be a secret or the U.S. government will have Jules, as they name him, on the table for scientific dissection. The National Security Agency is a serious threat to aliens and to civil liberties of humans and aliens alike.

All the three humans are lonely due to family rifts and facts of life. Jules hears their sad stories which I suppose are more understandable to the viewer than to Jules.

Jules is peaceful but has certain powers that protect his three friends as you’ll see with the exploding head of a very bad thief! Jules repairs his spacecraft with very odd if not catty supplies and takes off with the three seniors just as the National Security Agency agents move in. Milton is given the choice to fly home to Jules’ planet and as he can’t bear the thought of his daughter Denise watching his mental decline will he accept the offer from Jules making a sequel a la Billy Pilgrim of “Slaughterhouse 5” fame?

Entertaining, didactic in a gentle way and loads of fun. Will the moviegoers of this planet give these old geezers and an alien the pleasure in being in the movie of the summer?

The film is directed by Marc Turtletaub and has a theatrical release in Canada on August 18th.

You can see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nrYm9Shbcs

RKS 2023 Film Rating 93/100.

RKS 2023 Wine: Another Try of Pinot Noir from Ontario

Hoping not to be stoned to death by Ontario Pinot Noir fundamentalists as far as Canadian Pinot Noir goes it takes a back seat to British Columbia, particularly the Okanagan. But refusing to shut doors we venture on to a Magnotta 2017 Limited Edition Pinot Noir from Niagara.

Aroma: Not one of those light, elegant and sensual Pinot Noirs. More of a heavy and brooding type. Instead of readily apparent strawberry and raspberry we have some heavy-set black cherry with a tinge or two of milk chocolate.

Palate: First impressions are that the aroma of the wine does not really do justice to the wine. Although it is not a light and elegant Pinot Noir it has its own personality. Smooth with notes of black currant, cactus pear and some black cherry. Moderately long finish with a bit of heat.

Personality: Ok if you are looking for a stereotypical Pinot Noir you are handcuffed by a lack of creativity. Expand your mind or at least let me try to have you think differently and positively about an Ontario Pinot Noir. Who says a Pinot Noir must be this or that? Damn wine writers…..

Food Match: This is no salmon wine! Chicken Cacciatore or Beef Bourguignon. Vegheads think about a Mushroom Bourguignon.

Cellarbility: I sense a wine that can benefit from ageing to loosen it up a bit. At its price point it might be justified to age it over the next three years so it can be consumed prior to 2026-year end.

Price: $18.95 CDN.

RKS 2023 Wine Rating: 88/100.

(Magnotta 2017 Limited Edition Pinot Noir, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Magnotta Wines, Ontario, 750 mL, 13%)

Pet Ownership: That Nasty Contractual Clause You Don’t Want to Read

Yes, as a lawyer I am familiar with contractual provisions. There are many clauses one encounters in a commercial contract: limitation of liability, indemnification, no liability for special and consequential damages and literally hundreds more. In fact, when we picked our West Highland Terrier Dylan from the breeder some 15 years ago there was a lengthy contract covering a variety of terms including the right to return a “defective” dog. But there was no clause in that pet contract dealing with “consequences” of your pet not outliving you.

Well, no pet contract has such a stated clause. It is what lawyers refer to as an “implied term”. We all wish our pets to die peacefully in their sleep but if all wishes came true pigs would fly. You may very well have to deal with a terminal illness or simply debilitation due to advanced age. Advanced age may depend on the breed. For example, a Great Dane has a life expectancy between 5 to 8 years but a West Highland Terrier between 13 and 16 years.

How you deal with terminal illness of a pet may vary but it may involve making “that decision” which may be one of the most painful and grief inflicting decisions you make in your life.

Many of the pet owners I have encountered give thought to the clause and it frightens some of them. Some simply prefer to ignore it “until the time comes”.

However unpleasant “that decision” as a pet owner bear in mind many conscientious owners willingly accept this term as part of the cycle of life. All humans and pets die. Humans can avoid taxes but never death unless of course Walt Disney successfully thaws out sometime in the future. 

Next…….when to execute “that decision”.

RKS Literature: Hatred of the Boss (Charles Dickens)

‘I tell you all’, said the manager, ‘that your hypocrisy and meekness – that all the hypocrisy and meekness of this place – is not worth that to me,’ snapping his thumb and finger, ‘and that I see through it as if it were air! There is not a man employed here, standing between myself and the lowest in place (of whom you are very considerate, and with reason, for he is not far off), who wouldn’t be glad at heart to see his master humbled: who does not hate him secretly: who does not wish him evil rather than good: and who would not turn upon him, if he had the power and boldness. The nearer to his favour, the nearer to his insolence; the closer to him the farther from him. That’s the creed here!”

Charles Dickens, “Dombey and Son”

Memories of Dylan Stephen: A Westie Now in The Land Beyond: Time to Leave Earth and Back to The Land Beyond

OK I have had my forty days on earth after I died and at midnight I am off to The Land Beyond. I was on earth to try and help those who mourn me by the little mind control I was given for my short stay on earth. It has been most difficult. I see now the huge impact my death has caused to many people.

It is time to go as there is no more I can do here.

And what about how I feel? As The Stephen Family is devastated Dylan the West Highland Terrier is equally devastated. Give them time to heal. Give me time to heal.

My time was short but rich and I learnt how to be a true West Highland Terrier. Brave, loyal, independent and trustworthy. I am going to The Land Beyond for good until my reincarnation assignment to “a higher life form”. What can be a higher life form than a West Highland Terrier!

So let me end my memoirs with a big West Highland Terrier bark. Did you just hear that! Good-bye.

RKS 2023 Film: “The Battle for Chile”: Part 3 “Popular Power”

This is the third and last part of the seminal and historic Chilean documentary from Patricio Guzmán. Salvador Allende was elected as the President of Chile in 1970 and died in a coup in 1973 which was actively supported and financed by the United States government.

“The Battle for Chile” offers viewers a front row seat into the Allende ascension to power in 1970 culminating with his coup death in 1973. In fact, it is as if you have paid top dollar for seats to a sporting event but this is not a soccer match.

In Part 3 of “Battle for Chile: Popular Power” the concept of popular power supporting Allende is examined. The working class of Chile is poised to seize power to build a socialist state and, in this documentary, the Marxist playbook is evident. But Chile was a capitalist state and a transition to a socialist state was going to be a battle.

Imagine how a capitalist state would react to its copper, iron, coal and nitrate mines being nationalized! Not well. A counterattack of a transport strike in 1972 almost toppled Allende but bringing the military in his cabinet in 1972 looked as if it was a solution to civil war whereas it might have been his execution warrant.

The term “popular power” became a slogan for Allende supporters and consisted of creating “industrial belts” a sort of worker seizure of manufacturing and mining industries, a community commander corps and distribution co-ops.

Right wing opposition supported by the American government hacked away at popular reforms and the great Chilean socialist state was extinguished with Allende’s death in a 1973 coup.

“Battle of Chile” is a masterful documentary as leftist centric as it may be but as a viewer you have a front row seat listening to participants in the struggle including the right wing Christian Democratic party spokesmen. Patricio Guzman as director has offered you a seat amidst the Battle for Chile.

The immaturity of the mass leftist movement was no match for the capitalist backlash of the Chilean ruling classes and the United States government. At points the revolutionary zeal of Allende’s supporters precipitated his downfall?

An elected President and legislative assembly may for some equate with power but realities of a backlash financed by the United States government cause one to query the values of democracy that can be chipped away and destroyed by foreign intervention.

Part Three “Popular Power” will be screening at Anthology in New York from 8-15 September.

The “Battle of Chile” is a new 2K restoration.

Memories of Dylan Stephen: A Westie Now in The Land Beyond: The Greatest Power of West Highland Terriers: Love and Affection

My time on earth before my spirit goes to The Land Beyond is just about upon me. So without pontificating you may ask what my greatest achievement is? Is it defending Mistress Fotini and Master Andrew from a vicious Black Lab attack or doing battle with that demented maniac Sheppard Layla? No, it is winning over Mistress Fotini to the West Highland Terrier camp. Master Robert was an easy sell as he had prior smooth sailing with two other dogs Suzy and Ginny. But Mistress Fotini never had a dog in her family and in fact had one of those bad dog childhood experiences. But it was not long after I arrived from my breeder in Mt. Forest, Ontario in The Stephen Family house that my cute mug and eyes that could melt the heart of anyone captured the soul of Mistress Fotini.  She had a different outlook and philosophy than Master Robert but became a pal and always someone I could rely on. Geez how else could a West Highland Terrier like the Brit show Coronation Street. I wouldn’t miss it for the world if Mistress Fotini was watching it with me!

When you read about my next Memory it will be my last before I leave earth to The Land Beyond. I am so very frightened.