RKS Film: “End of The Line”: New York City Transportation System Teeters on Dysfunctionality

The documentary “End of The Line” presents the City of New York’s transportation system under the control of the MTA. The subway system is teetering on the edge unable to complete capital spending projects, political infighting and suffering from huge COVID ridership decline.

Having visited so many times over the past 5 decades the subway and to a lesser extent the bus system in New York walking and public transport are the way to get around although certain subway stations are crumbling and most are rather dingy to the extent they make Toronto’s subway stations look pristine. What a joy to be in the MTA subway stations when it is a hot and humid above ground and twice as bad below! The New York City experience!

But you can’t deny that New York City (NYC) subways are a jugular vein running through the city. Who needs a car in NYC?

NYC subways carry 6 million passengers a day and when you add bus ridership it is 9 million. There is lack of maintenance of equipment and stations. Its signal system is state of the art for the 1930’s. On time performance began to plummet frustrating riders. And then there is political infighting over transportation in NYC between the mayor and governor.

Then things begin to look hopeful with the appointment of Andy Byford the whiz kid behind the Toronto Transit Commission as President of the MTA in 2017. He launches a Fast Forward Plan to modernize the MTA but he is undercut if not back stabbed by then Governor Cuomo to the point he saw no option but to resign. And just after that COVID sweeps into NYC killing 131 MTA workers and decimating ridership.

Obama, Trump and now Biden pump up ambitious plans to hike American infrastructure spending to little avail or benefit to the MTA. Then Trump delays Congestion Tolls (used in London and Singapore) cutting off projected revenue to the MTA. At the end of 2019 more than 2/3 of projects in the MTA’s 2015-19 capital programme were not completed.

An interesting study that highlights the necessity to properly fund urban transportation systems before they crumble. It is all rather unglamourous but to avoid a collapse and an economic disaster a necessity.

“End of the Line” is already a bit outdated as Cuomo has resigned, there is new NYC mayor and Biden has replaced Trump. But still a canary in the coalmine documentary. If China has created 25 subway systems since 1990 why on earth is NYC’s subway system is in danger of obsolescence? Watch this documentary and hopefully you walk away with some insight.

“End of the Line” will be available in the United States on June 14 including Apple/iTunes, Amazon, GooglePlay, VUDU and Microsoft.

You can see the trailer here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR0VSSWQX04

Directed, produced and edited by Emmet Adler.

RKS Film Rating 87/100.

RKS Wine: Memories of Pilfered Gewurztraminer

Back in my rebel rebel period my pal would come over for a couple of glasses of wine before we headed out to our hangout in Montreal “The Rainbow Bar and Grill” on Stanley Street where my friend used to drink Tequila Sunrises like they were water and pine over a beautiful waitress Liz who, despite enormous tips he left her, paid no attention to him. Back to the wine. He smuggled Gewurztraminer for our pre downtown Montreal visit which he pilfered from his father’s wine cellar. It was rebel rebel behavior because so few people our age consumed wine. And it was good Alsatian Gewurtz so I have a soft spot in my heart for Gewurtz. Problem these days is that so few dare to drink this strange sounding wine. Alsace makes great Gewurtz but Ontario can match Alsace e.g. Cave Spring or Colchester Ridge Estate Winery and British Columbia too e.g. Mayhem Wines and Meyer Family Vineyards. Gewurtz has a definite taste profile that doesn’t beat around the bush with notes of apricot, peach, rose petal Turkish Delight and mango and it flirts between dry and off dry. It suits Asian food well particularly curries.

Going back to my roots mon we try an old reliable Alsatian Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer. Aromas of freshly cut peach, apricot, mango, guava and Turkish delight. As far the palate this is a full-bodied white that hides its acidity so very well and it borders up to the off dry frontier. The finish is medium length which then takes a controlled skid into a bit of spicy brackishness. Lots of mango and pineapple swilling about. And yes curry is calling or Pad Thai with shrimp or tofu. An excellent sipping wine. If your mind is thinking barbeque halibut skewers marinated in a peanut sauce.

I don’t want to eat my shirt but if you don’t like this Gewurtz but I am tempted.

Fondest Gewurtz experience post rebel rebel was pre COVID on the patio of Cave Spring Vineyard in Niagara, Ontario having some cheese and superb herbed fries and Cave Spring Gewurtz on a patio on a glorious fall afternoon.

(Pierre Sparr Grand Réserve 2020 Gewurztraminer, AC Alsace, Pierre Sparr Bebleheim, France, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 747600, 750 mL, 14%, RKS Wine Rating 92/100).

“Travels to a Different Time” : 8September1983: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: Will That Texan be Found in a Back Alley with a Knife in His Back? The Corruptive Force of Tourism

More delicious eggs Mexicana for breakfast. Had a swim at the pool and watched the hawkers on the beach selling blankets, carvings, dresses and jewelry. Hotel security watches them like a hawk to give the gringos some unmolested time lest they be swarmed. They are not permitted on hotel property. Does the hotel own the beach or have they greased the palms of local officials to deprive the locals access to public property? If you venture outside of this protective custody they do swarm you saying “ Hey Meester…you wanna buy?” Some are skillfully funny asking you as a big spender if you want to buy some of the best junk on the beach. Dinner was another snapper filet but I noticed a couple of young Mexican guys very raunchy and sleazy looking fawning over a very drunk Texan saying “Don’t worry. We’ll get you back to the Sheraton”. He was so far gone I wonder if they had drugged his drink. He was so out of it he couldn’t lift the coffee cup to his mouth. Hopefully this poor Texan will not be found robbed next morning in a back alley with a knife in his back. Tourists in Puerto Vallarta seem to be fair game. Tourism in a dirt-poor country corrupts both locals and gringos absolutely.

“Travels to a Different Time” : 7September1983: Puerto Vallarta and Yelapa Beach, Mexico: Vomiting Californians and Texans!

After drifting off to the sounds of a pseudo-Santana band up at 07:30 for the trip to the exotic Yelapa Beach. Mango juice and some strange sugared pastry for breakfast. Took a taxi to Pier Maritima where in Mexican fashion the boat was an hour late. The taxi driver “claimed” he could not change a 1,000 peso note so I had to hunt down a shop that would change a 1,000 peso note. I have the feeling I am being scammed as the driver gave me change for a 500 peso note and he had a wad of pesos under his floor mat. In Mexico one is left with the impression locals are hellbent on ripping off the “rich gringos”. Taxis are plentiful and used by gringos whereas the locals will take a communal taxi, usually VW buses, for a fraction of what they would pay for a private taxi. The passengers on this rough crossing were Texans and Californians. Canadians are rare here. Well 40 or so of the gringos were puking up a storm. The beach is beautiful and sparsely populated and surrounded by tropically vegetated hills with clouds lazily rolling over their summits. The muddy river nearby full of bark clouds up the water on what could be a spectacular beach. There are many shacks with no roof just a hammock. Beach vendors thankfully are few just a couple of children selling coconuts and bananas. The Yankees loved the parasailing. At the boat for the return trip children were charging for photos with parrots or iguanas and the Yankees loved it! Thank goodness the return trip was smooth and was accompanied for part of the trip by jumping dolphins.

RKS Poetry “Canadian Media Toadies”

Canadian Media Toadies

We saw the Canadian media play toadies in the COVID manipulation playbook
Rush and get your lifesaving vaccine as your patriotic duty trying to inveigle the masses by line, sinker and hook!
What happened to reporting the news which instead was propping up the politico-medico elite
sucking on the profitable Big Pharma teat
And again impartiality with the old bird’s Platinum Jubilee
Eager newscasters try to whip up excitement for the “head” of  our nation
an event “we are all looking forward to”
for “our queen”
what the Canadian media won’t do for a Covid-Royal dream team!
all between commercial breaks for a hand cream

Robert K. Stephen

“Travels to a Different Time” : 6September1983: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: More Adventures with Hotel Night Clerk

Before going to bed that odd hotel night clerk phoned me at 23:30 to say today I would have to vacate the room for reasons which were not clearly stated. I asked the reception in the morning what the night clerk was babbling about. They had no idea. Is this typical Mexican confusion? Walked into town in a cloud of diesel fumes with more than a few vehicles requiring a new muffler. Even when you reach a sidewalk it is being torn up. In fact all of Puerto Vallarta seems torn up. Are they preparing for a huge tourist boom? Tomorrow off to the exotic Yelapa beach.

RKS FILM: “The Story Won’t Die”: The Maturing of the Syrian Artistic Refugee Community

Since 2011 over a half a million people have been killed in the Syrian conflict and 6 million out of 13 million Syrians  have become refugees. Assad the Syrian tyrant teamed up with the Butcher of Bucha before he was slaughtering Ukrainians so he could learn how to slaughter Syrians with chorine gas and cluster bombs with hospitals a favourite target. Butcher in training.

This documentary focuses on many of the younger members of the artistic community who fled Syria after being targeted for repression or fearing imminent repression by the Assad regime or the friendship of Mother Russia’s bombing.

These are bright and talented dancers, visual artists and musicians who headed to Europe many through hazardous trips to the Greek islands of Samos and Lesvos. Initially they display an anger and sadness about the destruction of Syria but eventually the realization of some is that whatever they have done in protest has accomplished little as tyrant Assad remains in power. There appears to be a shift in this community based in Berlin, Paris and Amsterdam that their continuing stress is becoming self destructive so there is a focus to find joy in their new lives.

Have they abandoned Syria? Not really as many have families trapped there so the link to Syria is there but like most immigrants ties to the homeland slowly weaken over the years as they integrate into their new world. An effort from David Henry Gerson. It will be released in Los Angeles on June 10th and in New York on June 17th. VOD platforms will have the film ready for distribution on June 21. You can watch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdfdS_Z-lLg

RKS Film Rating 80/100.

RKS Wine: Mayhem’s 2021 Riesling

No I am not going to kvetch about Niagara Rieslings this time. Enough negative vibes in a world that has enough negativity in it. So can Mayhem take it up a notch and introduce some positivity into the Canadian wine world with its British Columbia Riesling?

It has some aromatics that get my positive Riesling meter clicking not with radiation poisoning but with an aroma that is laid back yet assertive enough with apple, pear, lemon meringue pie, icing sugar and slate. This is no doubt a dry wine but absent a vicious acidic streak like Riesling in the Ontario Ford Nation. The palate is discrete interwoven shyly with apricot, peach, tangerine and a gentle acidity. More in the Germanic style than a Niagara Riesling. I am taken aback by the 15.2 grams of residual sugar per litre. Riesling has an uncanny ability to hide its sugar. As it stands in the bottle I think it is a food centric wine with a pork schnitzel with some pig knuckles on the side. Dry enough for lake fish and if you are in Ontario with a Lake Erie fish fry. If in British Columbia perhaps with some grilled Snapper filet.

The grapes were picked from the Garagan vineyard in Naramata from 18-year-old vines. The grapes were whole bunch pressed and fermented in stainless steel then aged on its lees for 6 months before bottling in neutral French puncheons (36%) and stainless steel (64%).

I have noted the residual sugar and as the wine warms up and you concentrate you will note some faint sugar. The winery suggests pairing with pulled pork sandwiches, mulligatawny soup or fish and chips. I’ll agree with that.

As only 161 cases produced best to contact the winery for shipping at www.mayhemwines.com

(Mayhem 2021 Riesling, Naramata Bench Okanagan Valley, BC VQA, Mayhem Wines, Okanagan Falls, British Columbia, $20.87, 12.60%, 750 mL, RKS Wine Rating 89/100).

“Travels to a Different Time” : 5September1983: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: The Great Mexican Gringo Divide

Woke up to a spectacular view from the 16th floor. Tropical vegetation with an abundance of palm trees. The hotel is about 15 yards from the Pacific Ocean. In the Bay of Banderas with mountains on both sides of the bay. The water is rough and is fed by two muddy rivers. A very different breakfast of scrambled eggs, refried black beans and salsa. $4.50. Walked along gringo gulch into town. For half the 2 km walk there were no sidewalks so it is walk on the edge of the road and hope the good graces of drivers protect you. Our end of town seems poverty stricken and raunchy. The tail end of rural squatters? What a dichotomy between gringos and locals. There is no such thing as a local restaurant a tourist would feel comfortable eating at. There are no Mexicans at tourist restaurants except for staff. How could a local eat at such expensive restaurants? Took a rest along gringo gulch and sat on a bench where two rivers flow on either side. Had a snack of shrimp, guacamole and a beer. Back home and out to dinner to the reputable and highly recommended “Moby Dick” a name only a gringo could appreciate. And the gringos, mostly “Yankees” were lined up. Avocado stuffed with shrimp, seafood soup, red snapper filet and a glass of overly sweet “Hidalgo” wine. A whopping $12!

Michigan’s Attempt to Control Invasive Species

MDARD asks public to help prevent spread of invasive pests, protect plant health during national gardening week

LANSING – Summer weather has finally made its appearance, and many Michiganders are stocking up on new plants for their garden or landscape. With people headed to their local greenhouse or nursery, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is asking the public to help be on the lookout for invasive plants, pests, and diseases.  

When selecting plants and flowers, homeowners and gardeners should keep in mind the impact those plants may have on other plants cultivated around their landscape or garden.  Invasive, non-native plants have few or no natural predators in their non-native environments and can quickly spread—disrupting ecosystems by pushing out native species and reducing biological diversity.

Invasive plants are not the only problem. Many plants and flowers, including those native to Michigan, can be hosts to invasive plant pests and diseases. These invasives can hitch a ride on plants and be transported to homeowners’ yards and then quickly spread to the surrounding area. Warmer weather can magnify their impact, increasing the level of plant pest infestations and disease infections, allowing pests to produce more generations each year, and extending the suitable habitat for plant pests.

“People can unintentionally move pests around the state,” said Robin Rosenbaum, Plant Health Section Manager of MDARD’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division. “Many of the pests we are most concerned about can hide in or on untreated firewood, soil, seeds, and plants. Some pests such as spotted lanternfly can lay eggs on conveyances in an infested region and then be transported into Michigan.” 

To help combat the spread of invasives pests and diseases, MDARD has implemented several plant pest quarantines. These legal documents issued by the department limit the movement of specific plant material within, into or out of the state of Michigan. The United States Department of Agriculture and other state’s quarantines help combat the movement of invasives such as spongy moth (formerly known as gypsy moth), Asian longhorned beetle and others. MDARD’s plant heath inspectors work throughout the summer months inspecting plant material and ensuring compliance with state and federal quarantines.

“Quarantines are a useful tool to control the spread of invasives, but we need help from the public to stop the spread of pests we’re most concerned about,” added Rosenbaum.

Michiganders interested in buying plant material online should also be aware that many websites and social media groups lack adequate information about state and federal quarantines and concerns about pest movement.is. Buying locally from an MDARD-licensed nursery is a great way to minimize risk as these firms are inspected annually and are aware of Michigan-specific laws, regulations, and pests.

Here are some simple steps you should take to help limit the spread of invasive species:

  • Visit the Michigan Invasive Species website to learn how to spot invasive pests posing a threat to plants and agriculture in your area.
  • Don’t move untreated firewood. Buy certified, heat-treated firewood or buy wood where you burn it and burn it all before you go home to avoid unintentionally spreading species that hide inside untreated firewood.
  • When returning from international travel, declare food, plants and other agricultural items to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to ensure these items are pest-free.
  • Make sure seeds and plants you buy online are not invasive to your region.
  • Report signs of invasive plant pests and diseases to MDARD through the Michigan Invasive Species website or at 800-292-3939.

For additional information about MDARD’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division, visit www.michigan.gov/mdard/plant-pest.