Reggie the Rescue Dog is Back: We Are Proud of Mr. Gordon Lightfoot and Our Bosco!

You may recall that Fay and Bob gave Bosco, my fellow Egyptian Rescue Dog, to our neighbour and very famous Canadian singer Mr. Gordon Lightfoot. We see our comrade Bosco and Mr. Gordon Lightfoot at least a couple of times a week for jasmine tea and cake from our favourite Toronto bakery “The Cake Ladies”. Dylan the Westie and I bark for a song or two and Mr. Gordon Lightfoot knows we howl a few times with delight when we hear him sing “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”.

Bosco tells us he is so very happy living with Mr. Gordon Lightfoot. We see this great musician walking Bosco around the Bridle Path in Toronto and we often run into him there and at Sherwood Park at the off-leash dog trail. We all talk and us dogs check out all the other dogs. We are in heaven and I think Bob, Fay and Mr. Gordon Lightfoot are also in heaven seeing how happy we are. Life can be so good.

So one day Mr. Gordon Lightfoot appears at our door with VIP tickets to his 168th performance at Massey Hall which is opening in Toronto after three years of renovations and he will have its first three performances.

We go in Mr. Gordon Lightfoot’s limousine to Massey Hall and go backstage with him for a light sushi supper for the humans and deluxe chicken kibble and Greek spring water in our own separate bowls. Bob takes me, Bosco and Dylan the Westie out for a walk before the show. Bosco sits at Mr. Gordon Lightfoot’s feet for the performance by a remarkable man in his 80’s. The crowd holds this musician in wonderment. After the last encore the crowd roars in applause and Mr. Gordon Lightfoot motions for Bob, Fay, Dylan the Westie and me Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog to join him on stage with Bosco. We dogs run around in circles and Mr. Gordon Lightfoot pets us and says to the audience that he has a special encore song for all the dogs in the world. It is “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. This song brings down the house. We dogs can’t clap but get some good barks and howls in. Yes, life can be so good. Strangely had I not had that street dog experience in Egypt I wouldn’t have realized how good it can be.

RKS Poetry: “B.11.529: Greedy and Too Late”

B.11.529: Greedy and Too Late

Mutated COVID-19 with apparent origins in South Africa
cases already in Europe
valiant and brave efforts to block the spread
lest the First World descend to yet another lockdown dread
it would have been better to avoid by sharing the vaccine to the Second and Third World instead
the First World Countries got far too greedy jabbing up their folks to no avail as up may go the counts of the dead
just when they became smirky and confident by in effect ignoring the need elsewhere
in their comfortable medico dreams
yet another lockdown may be in sight
oh God the democratic threat only augments
and the midnight fires burn at the offices of Big Pharma
the world is not having very good kharma
for better or worse it’s everywhere
and possibly ready for a fatal tear
or it is just a media scare?

Robert K. Stephen

RKS Films: “La Flamme Rouge”: A Bit Overwhelming the First Time Around!

Occasionally I watch a film that I review twice and several times more than twice. If you watch “La Flamme Rouge” you may need multiple views because it is so full of subplots that it is hard to connect all the dots on one view. However the film, written and directed by the Maze Brothers (Brent and Derek), may be deliberately crafted that way. My experience is that North American audiences are used to being spoon-fed. You will not receive that with this film.

If you like a film with a great soundtrack that matches its emotional roller coaster thread you’ll find it here. I love those “Blade Runner” influenced riffs throughout the film.

If you like great sets and cinematography you’ll find it in abundance here.

You know I can’t give away too much of the plot. In fact I will admit I feel like I am missing “clear linkage” of all the sub-plots and the role the characters play in each. Whether the Maze Brothers did this intentionally to take us off track I am not certain. What I will say if you like colourful characters, double dealing, murder, treachery, psychotic killers, bad ass thugs, gangstas and eccentric characters you’ll find it in the film. One might say the film is jammed with flawed and untrustworthy characters.  

The acting is decent with Rick Van Pelt played by Balthazar Getty, the main character being a bit weak here and there but he has a difficult multidimensional role to play. Detective Morrison played by George Griffith puts on a superb performance as a somewhat seedy and unconventional officer of the law. Charlie McElveen is brilliant as a slimy doped up snake of a man.

As of November 5th, the film was available in theatres and on demand.

You can watch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_Nq14XcI7o

RKS Wines: Frightened by the Unknown Malagousia

My bet is that many wine drinkers are frightened by grapes they rarely encounter. Always sticking to the same wines made with the same grapes dulls the mind. Sameness equals boredom but that’s me and may not be you. Could you imagine having pork chops, mashed potatoes and peas for dinner every night. What would you know about Chinese, Hungarian, Italian or Vietnamese food?

Do not quiver in terror then when I say we are trying a wine made from the Malagousia grape widely thought to be a Greek grape that of late has clawed its way back from near extinction. It has ripe peachy flavours and low acidity.

I picked up a Malagousia on a Liquor Control Board of Ontario’s store manager’s discount which each store manager has the authority to do when space is needed for incoming shipments of wine. Ordinarily this wine is $17.50 but at this particular store it was marked down to $12.10.

As for aromas a luminous combination of peach, apricot, mango, pineapple and a smidge of honey. On the palate the acidity is indeed gentle but it is there! The tropical nose is carried through on the palate with guava, pear, apple and Greaves peach jam. Short finish.

While the wine won’t cause you jump up and down it has some features in common with Viognier, Moschofilero and Gewurztraminer. We might call it reticent but that is simply a characteristic on the wine spectrum. The label says it would pair well with salads and light appetizers and I take no issue with that. I would say take a filet of perch, bass, pickerel or Northern Pike and place it in foil with garlic, onions and a splash of this wine and after adding salt and pepper wrap it up and put on a grill or under the broil. A light freshwater fish deserves a light and fresh wine like this.

You needn’t fear night sweats. This grape does not bite!

(Malagousia 2020, Mylonas Winery, PGI Attiki, $12.10, LCBO # 991850, 750 mL, 12.5%. A little Birdie Told Me So Rating 89/100).

Poetry Corner: “Damn Goat Soap!”

Damn Goat Soap!

Having run out of the usual body wash
using goat soap instead and suddenly a burgeoning rash
the chest is itchy and on fire
I am perplexed and full of ire
I have perhaps eaten to many mussels and oysters in the past few days?
could be some flesh eating bacteria that will cut me down in my old age
but I have done an inventory of food and possible irritants
it is being eliminated to that damn goat soap
readers beware if you have sensitive skin you may suffer from goat soap rash
should I chuck my feta cheese in the trash?
should I go to the derm for a view?
I think not I am putting the blame on goat soap
don’t follow me if you have sensitive skin and be a dope

Robert K. Stephen

RKS Wines: The Inexpensive Greek: Nemea 2016 Reserve; My Brush With Celebrities!

Most of my time in Greece has been spent on the Aegean Island of Samos south of Lesvos and just off the Turkish coast.

Samos produces absolutely world class sweet Muscat wines some of which are fortified. Over the past few years the United Winemaking Agricultural Cooperative of Samos has tried to create a brand of off dry Muscat based whites which are drinkable but hardly memorable. Some newer wineries are taking a stab making at times some very good Rosé. But red wine from the rest of Greece is not easy to find there. We do here in Ontario get a small flow of the dry and tannic Xinomavro but like old style Barolo it needs at least a decade in the bottle. I only wish, as usual, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario could expand its portfolio of Greek wines preferring instead to import loads of California wine. How long this may last with President Biden’s “Buy American” programme who knows as that may cut deeply into the Canadian auto industry and spark some Canadian retaliation.

Putting aside these unpleasant political thoughts of trade wars that few countries win we can delve into the Nemea 2016 Reserve made with Agiorgitiko grapes. On the nose there is a pleasant presence of red cherries with raspberry and strawberry. On the palate the tannins are moderate. The rawness of the wine continues on the palate with cherry and wobbly and febrile notes of raspberry and strawberry. Rough and choppy like the Athenian port of Piraeus years ago before it was gentrified but still home to some remarkable cuisine.

I would not write off the wine as one glorious birthday years ago I went to a grill house of great local repute in Samos at Ano Vathi (Old Vathi) overlooking Vathi below with the mayor of Vathi eating beside us. Yes why do I attract celebrities? I suppose my previous brush with celebrities in Greece was in the 1970’s eating at an island restaurant with Caroline Kennedy at the next table. Oh yes I had delicious grilled lamb on my birthday which this rough and ready wine would suit very well. Which reminds me of the time I was staying at the Ritz-Central Park South in Manhattan and entering the hotel was besieged by photographers thinking I was a powerbroker with Mariah Carey’s party. I could also tell you with my brush with Michael Douglas and Oprah but that will wait.

Ooops…sorry. Now the wine should be consumed in the next two years. Its tannins may evolve into something a bit softer. On the other hand if you like rough and ready now is the time!

(Cavino Nemea Reserve 2016, PDO Nemea, Greece, $15.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 245787, 750 mL, 13%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 88/100).

RKS Film: The Assassination of the American President: Insanity? Brilliance? Time Traveller? “Who is Amos Otis? “

Assume Trump actually successfully stole the election resulting in democracy’s continued erosion, race riots, bounties for journalists, scientists concerned about climate change and all enemies of the demagogue snuffed out with the world heading into a crisis. Then imagine Trump was assassinated with crowds dancing in the streets clashing with “patriots”. Well you have the background for this film with Trump not being named but I think viewers we are intelligent enough to know the assassinated American President is Donald Trump.

The evidence is compelling and the admission by a man calling himself Amos Otis rather seals the guilt. So quickly we are launched into a courtroom drama at which point if you can recall “Perry Mason”, “Street Legal” or “L.A. Law” you might start yawning and say, “Not another one!”.

But rather quickly what could become boring shifts into a riveting cat and mouse game. Amos Otis died two weeks prior to the assassination of a heart attack with a pile of opiates at his side and a big wad of cash which the assassin pockets to rent an apartment facing the airport and buy a very deadly and accurate sniper’s rifle. And from that apartment blows the President’s head off on the tarmac. He is quickly apprehended but there are absolutely no markers that show the assassin exists.

The assassin weaves a fascinating story about being from the future sent to assassinate the President and save the world or at least give it a chance to escape the dictators supported by the President and the President himself. He also claims Lee Harvey Oswald was a time traveller as if Kennedy had not been killed America would have descended into chaos.

The assassin weaves a compelling story that the jury seems to be convinced he may be a time traveller. An open and shut case weakened by a clever time traveler. Josh Katawick as the assassin delivers a convincing story. Is it a story or reality? The film does not answer that question leaving that up to you. A solid cast is a necessity in a film like this dealing with what may be absolutely ludicrous premise as a few bad lines could quite easily ruin the film. But the cast is skilled and very tight and successfully converts the unbelievable into possible reality. A courtroom drama like no other.

The film is directed and written by Cincinnati playwright Greg Newberry and will be released on Digital/VOD by Gravitas Ventures on December 28th. My film choice for New Year’s Eve is the original “Blade Runner”. “Who is Amos Otis?” might be a great holiday flick and perhaps suitable for the homebound on New Year’s Eve?

Newberry has this to say about the film, “My inspiration for Who is Amos Otis? came from the daily barrage of headlines and tweets that fueled the dangerously expanding divide among Americans. We are a nation hurtling toward civil war – divided by race, class, culture and religion not seen since the days of Gettysburg. I wanted to create a story that illustrated the devastation we could cause to our future if we failed to act. The stakes for our country were too high to do nothing.”

You can catch the trailer here https://vimeo.com/643665064/850dd2c3b1

RKS Wines: Quadrus Red 2015 from the Douro

You have some of your usual suspects in the Douro grape department. 55% Touriga Nacional, 30% Tinta Roriz and 15% Sousão.

The colour of the wine verges on purple which may be the result of the dark juiced Sousão. As for aromas there is an overall creaminess to the nose which is brimming with lively blackberry within a vanilla framework with black cherry skirting around the edges. The wine has definitely seen some oak some of it must be new French oak. On the palate there are some mild tannins that are seamlessly integrated into the wine. Big lighthouse beams of blackberry predominate the palate but there are hints of licorice and dark chocolate and even a tad of maple syrup. This is a rich full- bodied wine where pure blackberry champions both the nose and palate. It will improve in the bottle over the next three years. Dare I say simple and delicious? You might want to pour into a decanter an hour prior to serving.

It is so good on its own but with food would suit just about any cut of beef and would go well with a vegetarian pasta sauce with fresh herbs topped with Parmesan cheese.

(Quadrus Douro 2015, Douro DOC, Miravino, Porto, Portugal $ 22.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 440305, 750 ml, 14%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 93/100).

Poetry Corner: “A Curious or Suspicious Omission?”

Is it strange or suspicious
or perhaps even pernicious?
daily new case counts on two television channels I watch have always included those infected who are fully vaccinated
and they account for about half of the new cases
the effectiveness of the vaccine once said to be 96 % effective and heaven sent
seems to be taking a very bad dent
now for the past two days numbers of the infected that are fully vaccinated
are no longer seen on the screen
stupid are those that thought the media was playing on the fairness team
they’d rather play along with their advertising revenue and the Big Pharma dream
looks to me like they are trying to hide something
so their advertising revenue from Big Pharma goes kaching kaching!

Robert K. Stephen

Passage of the Day From “Bleak House” by Charles Dickens (Money and Responsibility)

” I’ll give you a piece of advice that your husband will find useful when you are happily married and have got a family about you. Whenever a person says to you that they are as innocent as can be in all concerning money, look well after your own money for they are dead certain to collar it if they can. Whenever a person proclaims to you. “In worldly matters I am a child,’ you consider that that person is only a-crying off from being held accountable and you have got that person’s number and it’s Number One.”