RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: Richard Brautigan’s “A Confederate General from Big Sur”

“The dinner we had that evening was not very good. Some salad made from greens and jack mackerel. The fellow who owned the place had brought the jack mackerel for the cats that hung out there, but the cats wouldn’t eat it. The stuff was so bad that they would sooner go hungry. And they did.

Jack mackerel tears your system apart. Almost as soon as it hits your stomach, you begin to rumble and squeal and flap. Sounds like a haunted house during an earthquake tear horizontally across your stomach. Then great farts and belches arriving out of your body. Jack mackerel almost comes through the pores.

After a dinner of jack mackerel you sit around and your subjects of conversation are greatly limited. I have found it impossible to talk about poetry, esthetics or world peace after eating jack mackerel. “

Richard Brautigan “A Confederate General from Big Sur”, 1964

RKS Wine: A Couple of Borsao Wines from Campo de Borja

Robert Parker wrote in 2016, “My favourite value winery not only in Spain, but in the world, is Bodegas Borsao in the up-and-coming appellation of Campo de Borja.” Well that was 6 years ago and no doubt he has found a new favourite value winery since then. Such is the life of wine where nothing is static except perhaps for mass consumer taste that moves at a glacial pace?

In the last year two friends have remarked how they like a Grenache from Campo de Borja called “Tres Picos”. Grenache from Campo de Borja has a reputation of being on the feisty side. Karen MacNeil’s Wine Bible states that the Grenaches of Campo de Borja, “…are not delicate, restrained wines. Black, dense, chewy, and lip-smacking, they have irresistible, big thrusts of Kirsch-berry fruit, minerals and spice. “

The Tres Picos has aromas of black cherry, kirsch, blueberry and a hint of dark chocolate. Spicy and nippy tannins. The acidity and tannins seem to be fighting each other for dominance which makes me uneasy. In my opinion a top red wine should have a harmony of these two components. Lots of spice on the palate with strawberry on steroids.

This is not a sipping wine with its spicy and nippy character. Sausage comes to mind as well as grilled lamb as is a favourite in Ribera del Duero west of Campo de Borja. It would match a bruschetta made with fresh field tomatoes or a simple vegetarian pasta sauce once again made with fresh tomatoes. The acidity of the fresh tomatoes could be a good foil to the nippiness of the wine.

Quite frankly the Tres Picos does not impart Parker euphoria. I have never been a proponent of red wine with noticeable acidity. But pair with the right foods perhaps you won’t be as disappointed. I suppose this is what I get for noticing what Robert Parker says. No I am not being catty. MEOW!

(Tres Picos Garnacha 2019, DO Campo de Borja, Bodegas Borsao, Borja, Spain, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 27348, 750 mL, 14.5%, RKS Wine Rating 88/100).

The white available at the LCBO is called Borsao Selección Blanco 2020 and it has a nose of apple, pear, citrus, pineapple and tangerine. On the palate this wine lacks much character. It is quaffable and would be one of those wines by the glass to sip in the evening in the main square of Bilbao on a hot summer evening as families have some wine and tapas with their children playing nearby. The label refers to the creaminess of the wine. Can’t see any of that here.

Suitable for simply prepared sole, flounder or turbot. Light meets light.

A blend of Chardonnay and Macebo.

(Borsao Selección Branco 2020 DO Campo de Borja, Bodegas Borsao, Borja, Spain, $13.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 25533, 750 mL, 13.5%, RKS Wine Rating 80/100).

RKS Film: “We Are Living Things”: Dazed and Confused

Was “Dazed and Confused” a Led Zeppelin song? It just may describe my mental state after watching “We Are Living Things”. This state could be attributed to a meaty film justly capable of being interpreted in many ways or a poorly made film lacking artistic cohesion. For “We Are Living Things” I go with the former and throw the compliment to co writers Alex Lora and Antonio Tibaldi.

In a nutshell Mysterious Soloman (Jorge Antonio Guerrero) is an illegal Mexican migrant working in a recycling plant in Brooklyn. He claims his mother had abandoned him shortly after his birth in Mexico City and travelled to Arizona where she was abducted by aliens. He believes in aliens as does Chuyao (Xingchen Lyu) who has fled China after her father can’t accept her “ridiculous” belief in aliens and spaceships and her assertion she has been abducted by aliens. Chuyao works in a Brooklyn nail salon with forged identity papers.

Soloman also is a maintenance man for a tenement and when in Chuyao’s apartment repairing a pipe he notices a large picture with an alien craft. Ah he is drawn to Chuyao like a moth to a flame. Chuyao is pimped out by “Uncle Bo” who in addition to his pimping to clients looking for the bizarre runs migrant smuggling operations. After a particularly kinky encounter where Chuyao is drugged into unconsciousness and violated wearing a spacesuit Soloman exacts a horrible revenge on Uncle Bo and as immigration is after Chuyao they flee to Arizona in search of aliens.

So how does one interpret the film in a fashion that holds water?

  1. These are weird alien believers caught up in their alien obsession. Ok that flies in the context of the question of do they connect with aliens in Arizona?
  2. The film is a collection of allegory, parable, simile and metaphor. Solomon and Chuyao are aliens in America not being accepted by mainstream America. Their social isolation and exploitation creates such gross alienation they are in fact aliens although not from another planet.
  3. The film explores the concept of spirituality. While Soloman and Chuyao have no visible religious beliefs there is a shared spirituality with higher beings such as aliens.
  4. The film unapologetically critiques and exposes exploitation of “illegals”.
  5. The film explores the void between those who believe in aliens and those who do not.

Take your choice of any or all of these and you won’t be laughed out of theatre as the film opens in Canada commencing on August 12, 2022.

Directed by Antonio Tibaldi.

You can see the trailer here https://vimeo.com/708307704

There are no weak links in this cast and Lyu and Guerrero shine both with roles that are complex.

RKS Film Rating 90/100.

“Travels to a Different Time” : 9August2000: Epidavros, Greece: On the Flying Dolphin: Partying Until 2 a.m.

Woke up early and left Hotel Stanley in Athens to Piraeus to catch the hydrofoil Flying Dolphin to Epidavros. A very raunchy and decrepit taxi driver ripped me off “accidentally” taking me to the wrong dock. Finally reached the right dock and cursed the crook just making the boat. The boat is more like a passenger train or airplane so different than the many boat trips I have taken in Greece. I thought the Flying Dolphin would skim over the waves but it was like a fast boat. You still feel the swells but far less than in a traditional ship. It is a quarter of the time a bus from Athens would have taken. The trip was about 90 minutes. Arrived and checked into a tiny room at the Hotel Christina with a great view of the harbour. The shower is extremely low pressure! Walked to the ancient amphitheatre with such fantastic acoustics no speakers are required. Epidavros is a small town of about 2,000 people with a good natural harbour surrounded by hills. For such a small town it has so many hotels and restaurants that cater to the many Athenians that come here to holiday or watch ancient Greek plays in the ancient outdoor theatre. The local beach pales in comparison to the beaches of Samos. But a swim is better than no swim. Ate at a local unpretentious restaurant at the edge of town far removed from the touristic centre of town. The grilled chicken was excellent and the wine served in tin cups was the best in Greece so far. In no time a group started sitting all around me to the point there were some 25 people with a few Greeks and mostly German tourists including a retired theology professor and a very soused German olive grower. Summer is a big socialization time for Greeks so they often stay out late drinking wine and eating mezze which are little plates of this and that including very popular fried eggplant. It was 2 a.m. and time to leave before you knew it. In fact the vast array of mezze is more like a cumulative dinner. Most Greeks will have a large lunch and a light supper.

“Travels to a Different Time” : 7August2000: Athens, Greece: Mount Lycabettus and Kolonaki the District to Be In!

Monday is a slow museum day and attraction wise in Athens as many are closed. Got in the mood with a late breakfast. Fried eggs replaced by scrambled eggs and cinnamon buns replaced croissants. The dining room at the Hotel Stanley is huge but as breakfast was late the tour groups from Canada, USA, Spain, Turkey and Hong Kong are long gone for the day. Off to Mount Lycabettus at 277 metres above sea level with a pine forest nestled below. The neighbourhood I passed through to get the funicular to take me to the top is called Kolonaki and it is very snazzy. High priced condos and high-end shops, restaurants and cafés. Tree lined streets. Took the funicular to the top of Mount Lycabettus and visited the St. George Chapel which was very simple. The view of Athens is nothing but spectacular. Lunch at Kolonaki Pizzeria with tables and chairs on a slope as it is located on the slope up to Mount Lycabettus. There are few tourists in Kolonaki and its trees provide welcome shade. Eating my Calzone I could hear classical music drifting through a nearby open window. Passing down through Kolonaki saw a McDonald’s and no there is no McSouvlaki at least yet. Saw some African guys selling fake Louis Vuitton’s they had placed on a shawl then the police came and they wrapped up their goods and tore down the street with the police chasing them.  Headed off to the National Gallery but it was undergoing a 850,000,000 drachma renovation and was closed. Dinner at a taverna in the Plaka was average and half the price of my dinner last night at the Hotel Stanley. Had a drink at the rooftop bar of the Stanley and watched the Acropolis all nicely lit up

RKS Film: “River Road”: Plot Line Uplifted by Supporting Actors…Really Uplifted!

“River Road” presents the viewer with arguably somewhat of a stale storyline but am I corrupted for having been around since the days of Woodstock? Drugs and musical fame and fortune shattered or altered negatively by drugs is nothing new in real life and in film. Gene Kruppa with Mary Jane. Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole with heroin. Hendrix, Joplin, Brian Jones, Elvis, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Prince etc. etc. Mamma Cass with a ham sandwich?

Matters took a twist with “Sid and Nancy” where poor Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols was introduced to heroin by Nancy Spungen not that he would have avoided it without her!

In “River Road” an up-and-coming Canadian musician Travis is fresh off a gruelling three-month tour with his band and he’s been snorting a heck of a lot of blow. So upon returning to Vancouver he decides a break is required so he goes to his aunt’s Delta British Columbia home in the woods to rejuvenate. His aunt is in Mexico for a sabbatical. It is going well as Travis exercises, meditates, downs smoothies and goes to the gym. He reads in the afternoon and works on lyrics He regularly goes to a lookout point and watches the sunset where he “meets” Zoe a cute American girl who is not so innocent as she looks. They fall for each other and in Spungen fashion she introduces Travis to smack. It’s a wonderful first-time trip and their relationship is just humming along. The heroin moves from casual and recreational to habitual. Both Travis and Zoe predicably get very raunchy looking and more dysfunctional. Anything new here? Their desire for smack and lack of funds is a dangerous and destructive combination.

But wait a twist I haven’t seen before in the downward spiral ( “Drugstore Cowboy” excepted) flavored movies is that Travis and Zoe pack a pistol and go on a “Bonny & Clyde” petty crime spree. How low can rock bottom go? Well with smack death! So what do these desperate people do? They rob their dealer Fresno (Steven Roberts). Fresno is an unforgettable character a product of Canadian filmmaking and great natural talent. Canadian film has grit and roughness and it shines with Roberts. He is a very bad man but one with morals and one with morals can become very angry (and amused) when those morals are breached. His brief performance is so compelling it fortifies the plotline if not bolstering it to a “must see” film. Slight memories of “City of Vultures II”. I would compare Roberts’s amazing performance in “River Road” to that of William S. Burroughs’s (Tom the Priest) in “Drugstore Cowboy”.

Then there is a sleazy all-around hood and music producer “Cash Dirty” (Sunee Dhaliwal) who is both terrifying and comedic. In fact he is a comedian off screen! And what a maniacal brief performance he gives. It is riveting and coupled with Roberts’s performance again I will say again this is a “must see” film.

Cody Kearsley as Travis and Lexi Redman as Zoe deliver the goods but Dhaliwal and Roberts deliver it with a big shiny ribbon.

Will “River Road” be a classic in Canadian film?

“River Road” will be available to stream on Apple TV on August 3, 2022 followed by Amazon and Google Play on August 12th.

Written and directed by Rob Willey.

You can watch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UyLVTfjRDs

RKS Film Rating 84/100.

RKS Wine: Portugal’s Delaforce 2015 Touriga Nacional

Exaggerating somewhat the red grape Touriga Nacional for Portugal is the equivalent of what apple pie is for the United States! Unfortunately I mention this grape to non-wine professionals and I receive blank stares except from Port drinkers who are always familiar with this grape of the Holy Grail. From what I have seen and tasted one is more likely to see the grape in a blend but on occasion you find it as a single varietal.

Having met with the producers years ago I just couldn’t resist reinvigorating some memories.

The aromas are heavily steeped in dark fruit particularly blackberry, black currant with a tad of black cherry. Although this is a table wine it evokes what your nose may experience in a more concentrated fashion with Port. The tannins are in the medium range. On the palate there is no doubt this is big wine that has been substantially tamed by a few years in the bottle. It has some spice and pepper with a cutting edge. Mostly blueberry!

The wine is a bit cloudy without any description that it is unfiltered so for me a warning sign the wine is a bit long on the tooth and must be consumed by the end of 2022. I would also note the fruit on the palate seems to have faded. No it is not flawed, at least yet, as it simply is in advanced age and will handle a good slab of grilled beef or Douro roast pork with potatoes and perhaps a bit of cabbage on the side.

Given its declining condition it is overpriced.

(Delaforce Touriga Nacional 2015, DOC Douro, Real Companhia Velha, Villa Nova de Gaia, Portugal, $20.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 324517, 750 mL, 14%, RKS Wine Rating 86/100).

“Virus # 26” : Director’s Cut : “Virus # 26” “Lessons Learnt from the COVIDs: the Medicos”

Thank goodness the medicos did not run the show during COVID times. You must remember their whole moral fabric is to “save lives” or was it to peddle worthless vaccines kissed by “medical respectability”? The medicos were used by the politicos to terrify the population in an effort to stem the tide of COVID cases to underfunded and unprepared medical systems. So they were patsies! Medicos as a general rule are technocrats and many quite frankly are nerds with the personality of a cucumber. But they were valuable resources and a source of excuses in the struggle assisting (hopefully) the politicos in their decision making. And as for propaganda purposes they built the basis of the propaganda machine with their obsession with social distancing, mask wearing and leading the dog and pony show about vaccines. Their daily press conferences were about as exciting as watching paint dry. They largely failed to see or ignored the medical collateral damage caused by the shut down of economies and true to physician form most lacked compassion. It was numbers, numbers, numbers then admonishments and threats to the public if you don’t do this and that you are transformed into a killing machine.

I have a beef against my fellow physicians as they are neither economists nor politicians and in their ignorance they were duped by the politicos. And serving politicians that appointed them was a shortcoming they had a star role in playing. One has to remember they serve the elected politicians but their duty to the public’s health was largely forgotten during COVID. Perhaps the medico’s biggest disgrace was their slavish insistence about vaccines that clearly had low efficacy and when that fact became apparent they switched md stream and chirped they reduce the amount of severe cases despite by the time COVIDs petered out 8 different vaccinations were produced. Herd immunity can do quite fine without vaccines!

“Travels to a Different Time” : 6August2000: Athens, Greece: The Albanian Issue

Greece has been homogenous for quite some time. On this visit I am amazed to see the ethnic diversity that is starting to emerge in Greece. The new groups are starting at the bottom rung so as to speak. Many Greeks are uneasy with the influx of illegal immigrants. The Albanians are treated with suspicion and to some degree with Albanian organized crime rings operating in Greece they may one day be categorized as the New Mafia. For example after a hearty American style buffet headed to Omonia Square which has become an unsavoury area full of shady characters most of whom are Albanian with a fearful look in their eyes like the police will swoop down and expel them back to dirt poor and chaotic Albania. Took a taxi back to the hotel getting a view of the side streets near the Stanley Hotel. The taxi driver pointed out the groups of Albanian young men with disdain. As he said the Albanians are the new Gypsies in Greece. The heat of 40 is difficult to function in. You need a bottle of water every half hour. I make no judgements other than saying the Irish, Greeks and Italians had it very rough when arriving to Canada. In fact at one point in time there was an anti-Greek riot in Toronto.

“Travels to A Different Time” : 5August2000: Athens, Greece: Interesting Hotel in Athens Besieged by Shady Albanians

Last breakfast in Samos at the hotel. Horrible bickering amongst the hotel staff. If it continues that chef is going on a stabbing rampage! The taxi driver with the bum ticker picked me up and off to the airport. A beautiful last glimpse of Samos but the two rusting cars at the side of the road are a bit strange considering the strict municipal building codes in effect to maintain the architectural integrity of the towns on Samos. Yet why are these two rusting cars sitting on the shoulder of the road?

The check in process was disorganized and the Olympic flight (as usual) was delayed for 40 minutes. Allotted a crappy room at the Hotel Stanley but argued up to the top floor. Room 816 with a view of the Acropolis! The area is somewhat in decline with shady looking characters lurking about mostly Albanians. After the 1992 collapse of communism thousands of Albanians streamed in Greece many illegally. They managed to control the narcotics trade in Athens in short order. Petty thievery and cons abound. Break and enter crimes have soared over the past few years and the Albanians are blamed for it by many Greeks. I even had one Albanian guy offer to sell me a fake passport. Hotel Stanley is $150 USD a night half the rate of the Grand Bretagne and is a find but in a depressing district. They have rooftop bar and pool with a stunning view of the Acropolis. Speaking of the Acropolis headed out to see it again as I saw it last in 1970. It is still an amazing sight and the approach to through Plaka is interesting like being in a small Greek village with small winding streets. The view of Athens from the Acropolis is just about as spectacular as the Acropolis itself. Dropped into the Acropolis Museum. Back at the hotel for a rooftop pool swim. Although I try and avoid hotel restaurants given the seediness of the area had a dinner at the rooftop restaurant at the Stanley with a view of the Acropolis. The dinner was excellent and the service very well timed. Cretan white wine was bold and crisp. Complimentary dessert of peaches and watermelon.

The taxi driver that took me to Hotel Stanley from the airport said it was a great hotel in a bad district. At night he would not drive in it.