RKS Films: “On the Fringe of Wild”: The Viciousness of Homophobia

“On the Fringe of Wild” is nothing but a masterful take on the pain and suffering caused by homophobia. Quite frankly it is a vicious movie and take that as a compliment.

The film was shot in North Bay, Ontario.

Peter (Harrison Brown) is a quiet and sensitive young man finishing off high school. He is struggling to determine if he is gay.

Jack (Cameron Stewart) is probably the same as Peter.

Miles (Michael Melo) is a nasty homophobic gay.

Peter and Jack’s father are homophobic. The kind that think manly activities will transform their children into “real men”. Their crude form of conversion therapy only prolongs their misery and that of Peter and Jack.

I won’t delve into the plot other than saying it should be a wake-up call for those that think their homophobia is harmless. It can strike deep with tragic consequences. The film refrains from being a sermon but instead offers a refreshing look into the agonies of “coming out” for gay men. The main characters do a good job of acting but the parents seem a bit stilted.

This is not a happy story but one that is told with insight and honesty. It illustrates that acceptance by oneself and their community of being gay is a process. Unfortunately in this case it took a tragedy to move the acceptance process. Director Emma Catalfamo sums up the film appropriately. “I was particularly interested in also exploring the societal and generational effect of gender role indoctrination in familial relationships, how this intersects and is often exacerbated by homophobia, as well as the severe mental health implications these destructive forces usually have on people.”

Breaking Glass Pictures will release the film on October 12th and will be available on Tunes/Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, DirecTv and through some satellite and cable providers and on DVD.

You can see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzfCuMK4vDs

” Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog” : President Biden and His Wife Come to Visit Us

We have all become friends with Joe and Jill. They were to be up in Canada visiting Prime Minister Trudeau on an official basis. Bob called President Biden and asked if he and Jill would like to stay with us for a night and he agreed after his official business was over in Ottawa he and Jill would come for Canadian Thanksgiving dinner.

Surrounded by heavy security Joe and Jill arrived at our Bridle Path home. A virtual army of Secret Service and RCMP types surrounded our house. Bob had been slaving away all day getting a late Thanksgiving lunch ready.

It was wonderful to see Joe and Jill again. President Biden is a gracious and kind man. He brought us some squeaky toys and he picked up Dillie the Westie and I and gave us a pat on the head. Jill gave us a mincemeat pie baked by the White House kitchen staff.

We had invited Drake and Mr. Gordon Lightfoot to join us. The humans had a few glasses of wine from a British Columbia winery called Crescent Hill. President Biden loved their Mad Medusa Merlot and Jill liked their sparkling wine called Frizzante. As President Biden said this Canadian wine is going to give California a run for the money! President Biden liked the Mad Medusa so much he was going to order several cases for the White House wine cellar.

Mr. Gordon Lightfoot brought his guitar which delighted President Biden as he was a huge fan of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. Drake rapped out a song as well. I could never have imagined such a crowd would be in our house. Happy conversation, laughing, the clinking of glasses and THE SMELL OF TURKEY!

President Biden said grace and it was moving as he thanked God for us all being together safe and sound. We all tucked in and everyone had seconds! Joe looks thin but boy he put a lot of turkey away. Dillie, Bosco and I had a special meal of white turkey meat, mashed potatoes and carrots. Our tummies were so full of this wonderful food we fell asleep. WE DOGS LOVE TURKEY! President Biden told a very funny story of how on American Thanksgiving he had to pardon a turkey and save its life. Americans can be so funny but I like them.

We had dessert of pumpkin pie and mincemeat pie with some wine from the island of Samos in Greece which was made with Muscat grapes. Again Joe and Jill said they never heard of this sweet wine but Bob said it had been famous for a very long time.

So Mr. Gordon Lightfoot kept us entertained and in a strange but wonderful combination Drake and Mr. Gordon Lightfoot sang a couple of songs! We wrapped up this long and exciting day at 11 when President Biden said he had to go to bed as he was off to Washington early in the morning.

I was in a deep sleep when President Biden said good-bye early in the morning saying to Dillie and I that we were always welcome to visit. He said we were SUCH GOOD DOGS. Oh my I suddenly thought of Karim and Anwar in the place beyond as President Biden shook my paw and Dillie’s saying what a good time he had. Politics just flew out my head for a day he said. Imagine an Egyptian rescue dog a good friend with an American President!

“Mutantism on the March” :Chapter 99 Quebec Occupied by English Canada (Again)

René Hecklevesque (aka Jiber) launched a whirlwind speaking tour of Quebec criticizing everyone but himself and the MSQ. How convenient the communiques of the FLQ demanded immediate elections in Quebec. In the turmoiled times the MSQ was becoming a hot political commodity. Public opinion polls gave it the edge over the Poorassa Liberal government. Get elected and create a galactical conquering army of zombified Quebecers. Jiber’s dream was inching closer to reality!

Once in power Jiber could launch a huge propaganda machine inculcating the public with an anti-America spirit. Destroy some American factories operating in Quebec and rough up some American tourists and senior executives of American corporations operating in Quebec. Jiber’s crew in Washington was successfully selling the idea that Quebec was being taken over by Marxists with possible ties to Cuba. The Jiber had signed an agreement with the big Kahuna himself President Richard Affliction. Affliction was to place pressure directly on the Poorassa Liberal government bypassing Ottawa and the proper diplomatic circles. Quebecers were to perceive themselves encircled by hostile Americans and English Canada and gather under the separatist banner of the MSQ. This vision of hostile encirclement was exactly what the Jiber required to surge into power and lead the province to the mercies of his conquering plans and to the Americans. Once installed into power a vitriolic campaign against Americans would be commenced. Once he had the Yanks believing their citizens and beloved McDonalds were under Marxist attack that would be sufficient to send the Marines in! Affliction receives his minerals and Jiber his army! Not bad at all!

If Jiber’s situation was optimistic it was made all the more favourable by the nervous federal government in Ottawa. Canadian Prime Mister Fauxdo was growing restless with the strife in his native province of Quebec. If he did not take action, and the Quebec provincial government certainly wasn’t going to, the country would consider him a weakling.

The Americans were very subdued in Ottawa diplomatic circles and that worried Fauxdo. The boys from Ontario were yelling for federal action to stem the communist hordes from gobbling up Quebec. The Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal stock exchanges were plummeting. Wealth was being whisked out of Canada to safe havens. It was time for drastic action. As Fauxdo had said to reporters, “Just watch me!”.

Speechwriters and comedians were given several hours to justify a rotten idea, the passing of the “War Pretension Act” which would permit the Canadian army to occupy Quebec and restore it to order. The law was quickly passed in Canadian Parliament and the troops were sent into La Belle Province.

Fauxdo’s address to the nation was long and impassioned justifying the passage of the War Pretensions Act as guaranteeing safety of free enterprise and democracy

“Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog : “Off To See Our Friend President Biden at Camp David!

Bless the power of Allah and modern medicine as Dillie the Westie recovered so quickly and in a few days he is back with us and good enough to attend our weekly tea with Mr. Gordon Lightfoot. He is a bit slow and has stitches on his head but our animal doctor, Doctor Murray, says he will soon be fit as a fiddle.

Our friend Joe…ooops, President Biden, has invited us to Camp David for a week where a navy veterinarian will give Dillie powerful restorative medicinal cocktails and we are going camping?

We fly into Dulles Airport in Washington and the Presidential helicopter takes us to Camp David in Maryland. But it is no campground but a luxury retreat. We are walked to a suite once occupied by Anwar Sadat, an assassinated President of Egypt!

We are told there will be a special dinner with an award given to Dillie and I for the fight against international terrorism and crime.

Bob and Fay gussy up and the Navy staff give Dillie the Westie and I a bath. We are smelling so good. A golf cart comes and picks us up and we go to the main lodge to have dinner with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Kamala sounds Egyptian! But no she is an American. President Bidden is in the room and his German Shepherds try and assert their power over me but my Rat Pack growl sends them cringing. NEVER MESS WITH AN EYGYTIAN STREET DOG!

Joe picks me up and gives me a hug and says to me where was I when Trump tried to overrun the Capitol Building! Then Vice President Kamala Harris asks me to jump up on her lap where I stay while the adults have some Schramsberg California bubbly wine.

We dogs have a dinner of Maryland organic chicken with mashed potatoes from the garden of the wife of President Biden called Jill. The humans have oysters, filet of sole and some dessert called Baked Alaska. There is coffee and Bob and Joe have a cigar with a glass of Pappy van Winkle American Bourbon.

Then we are all assembled for a presentation where I will receive a canine Presidential Medal of Honour for Bravery and International Furtherance. Dillie receives a medal of honour for bravery. We have great pictures of the presentation which sit on our fireplace mantle in our Toronto home.

We are all invited to visit Kamala tomorrow to visit her two stepchildren Cole and Emma. Such nice children and we watch “Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog” while Dillie and I sit on the laps of Cole and Emma and doze off.

We have a barbeque after and more rice and crumbled burgers and green beans for us. We are all taken home. The Canadian newspapers say Dillie the Westie and Reggie have done so much for Canadian American relations?

The rest of the week flies by and we go for long walks with Joe and Jill and eat like kings. We are all so good friends with President Biden and Vice-President Harris.

Joe says he will be visiting Prime Minister Trudeau in October in Ottawa and after that would like to stay with us for a couple of days. This is unprecedented with an American President staying with a Canadian citizen. We look forward to a visit and Bob says this will be Canadian Thanksgiving. He has plans that will make Joe and Jill Happy.

We fly back to Toronto and the media mobs us. Dillie the Westie and Reggie have suddenly become international diplomats.

Bob says to us when we return home that we all need to press the stop button and relax for two months. This sounds good to us dogs! I look forward to daily long walks and lots of cold water and chicken kibble. However we have received an invitation to a show hosted by Dr. Phil that Disney insists we attend. Bob says yes but after that we relax and wait for the visit by President Biden and his wife Jill.

Poetry Corner “The Blindness of the Shame”

The Blindness of the Shame

Attending a dinner party with the double vaccinated (of course)
they are pontificating at the ignorance and stupidity of the unvaccinated
they’ve swallowed the party line hook line and sinker
well educated but blinded to civil rights all the more shameful as they are lawyers

Oh so terrible they say these Haitians being whipped and lassoed by red necked Texan cowboy border agents!
Excuse me how is this different from the politico medico elite “ENCOURAGING”
vaccination and the poor unvaccinated denied entry into cinemas, restaurants and entertainment venues?

The ENCOURAGEMENT is but a whip and the politico medico elite are no better than the red necked
Texan border agents

ECOURAGEMENT is but a masked term for repression, bullying and behaviour that Nelson Mandela
spent so many years in prison for

The Unvaccinated destined for “Unvaccinated Only” seats at Vaccinated diners
make the Selma analogy unless you are blinded by the ENCOURAGEMENT
I tell you this as a doubly vaccinated poet who is not afraid you to challenge you to see the light
Rosa Parks could see the light but you’ve been blinded by the obsequious media

Robert K. Stephen

RKS Wine: A Low-Cost Bordeaux with the Highest Pedigree

Mention the name Mestreguilhem in Bordeaux ears will perk up as they have been in the wine trade for many years and own Château Pipeau a solid red wine producing excellent and highly ageable red wine. They also own Chateau Joinin which produces a red Château Joinin. Can their skills and reputation be reflected in a $14.95 Bordeaux?

On the nose a creamy message of violets, herbs, black cherry, cassis and raspberry galette. On the palate penetrating black cherry, sweet date, licorice and a dusting of white pepper. Mild tannins with a moderately long finish. Age up to 2025. 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc.

I may have mentioned to you every once in awhile you can find a gem for a song in Bordeaux and although this is a simple AC Bordeaux it performs way above its price point. Really flawless. Worthy of a case purchase particularly if you are starting your cellar or if you are a veteran collector. Well suited for a Devil’s Kiss Pasta which you can find described here   https://www.thekitchn.com/devils-kiss-pasta-review-23182032?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=managed&fbclid=IwAR16Fgt8LzFdj7hLKrZLAJOFjVHXbvWp5Mq7Lc9h2XUMLf0lg_Ui_E_k_aM

(Château Joinin 2018 Bordeaux, AC Bordeaux, B. Mestreguilhem, Jugazan, France, $14.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 356873, 750 mL, $16.95, 14.5%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 94/100).

You have just hit the jackpot on the slot machine. Run and don’t walk to pick this up.

RKS Wine: Do You Have Good Kharma? Flat Rock Cellars “Good Kharma Chardonnay”

Perhaps your kharma is dictated to you by a higher power based on your actions in this world? You know last weekend I was going to COSTCO to pick up some great Canadian Feta cheese and beside me some rather thuggish looking man in unlaced work boots, shorts and shaved head opened his door in heavy traffic and got out of his Ford 150 truck and bashed on the window and tore off the rear-view mirror of the car beside him. The kind of fellow you might see at the Capitol Riot in Washington. I wonder what his kharma was? In his last life he was an asshole and, in this life, an even bigger one.

When you try the 2020 Flat Rock Cellars Good Kharma Chardonnay perhaps you might reflect on your kharma? Or like me you might focus on the kharma of the wine? The fact that proceeds of the sale of the wine go to “Feed Ontario” an organization that has a vision of ending poverty and hunger in Ontario points to good kharma for all who drink it? Over 150,000 meals have been provided from the sale of this wine. Perhaps that thug I described above might be best served by abandoning his malt liquor and being more polite and drinking some Good Kharma. He had so much hatred in him in his next life perhaps he will be a flea?

Avoiding too much of a philosophical nature what about the wine?

It has a light gold colour. On the nose some intense peach and apricot and tangerine. There is no oak in this wine. It is lean and crisp with some measure of acidity making it a great foodie wine. On the palate some further apricot and peach. Could it be the wine has picked up the aroma of peaches growing nearby? There is enough acidity in the wine to make it a great pairing with seafood. It just might have the guts to stand up to November Malpeque oysters. It would also suit a range of grilled ocean fish like spiogola, orata and porgie served with a lemon, EVO and oregano with a big bowl of Swiss Chard doused with the same sauce you douse the fish with.

Spigola (sea bass) at Postigo Restaurant in Porto ; Photo: Robert K. Stephen

I think the wine’s acidity gives it a unique Niagara character. I can’t say there are many Niagara Chardonnays I would recommend with ocean water fish. Now would it suit freshwater perch, pickerel, bass and pike? I think so if simply prepared.

All said and done Chardonnay in Ontario seems so rarely suited for the fish I like but I think this is one of them. It is no oak sodden monster for sure but perhaps representative of a true unadulterated Chardonnay.

An odd but utilitarian Chardonnay with its own proud characteristics.

(Good Kharma 2020 Flat Rock Cellars Chardonnay, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Flat Rock Cellars, Jordan , Ontario, $ 16.95,. LCBO # 356873, 750 mL, 12,5%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 89/100).

“Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog” :The Second Liberation of Reggie!

My first liberation was brought by a Toronto rescue organization called Snookies Rescue Society in Toronto liberating me from the bad streets of Cairo into the happier and more loving streets of Hog Town which I know now is the nickname for Toronto. Yes as a dog I love pea meal bacon!

I wake up in a cage in a dark room that stinks of vodka and cigarettes and dirt. Living with Fay, Bob and Dillie the smell of dirt is something I can only recall from Cairo. But the dirt in this room smells like evil dirt. The men are speaking a language I do not understand but it is not Arabic. They tell me in broken English I am dirty dog but I am worth millions to them. They kick my cage and spit at me and that does not frighten me. If I could escape my cage and attack them they WOULD BE FRIGHTENED OF ME! Never mess with an Egyptian street dog! NEVER EVER!

They have a pile of guns and grenades on a table and a bank of computers. I hear them speaking to each other in broken English about a “ransom note”. It means we will return Reggie if you pay us $50,000,000 into a Panamanian secret bank account. You have 48 hours to do so or we will send you Reggie’s head.

I am hungry and thirsty and they feed me leftover takeout food of hamburgers and fries. They give me water in a dirty bowl. I have to go pee and they never take me out so I can go pee. What a bunch of low life scoundrels I say as I try and aim my pee out the cage door. These low life’s are soaked with vodka so they will not smell my urine.

Bob and Fay receive the ransom note and a team of Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the FBI operative President Biden has sent read it. With the help of the Mossad (The Israeli Secret Police) and the Central Intelligence Agency in Washington the location of the computer is revealed. The computer was supposedly protected by a Russian anti-detection programme that the Mossad had cracked two weeks ago. The computer is located in an Russian Gun Club building on a street called Murray Ross in North Toronto. Little did these Bulgarian criminals know they were going to get their rear ends kicked in.

Bob answers the ransom note saying the money needs to be raised and it will take him 24 hours to raise it.

The FBI, CIA, RCMP and Mossad would dearly like to get these men in their cages they call jails. They have been blackmailing, extorting, kidnapping and money laundering all over the world. They all want these criminals in jails very badly as they have ruined lives and done so many illegal things. The American, Canadian and Israelis will be assembling an attack force of commandos that simply can’t fail.

Their leader Igor cracks open yet another bottle of vodka and his gang drink it like it is water. They fall asleep in a drunken stupor confident the money will be in their bank account very soon.

In any case in the early morning the door is battered down and the sleeping Bulgarians are captured without a shot fired. A RCMP officer opens the door and says “Reggie you are free”. I am liberated again and before I go I sink my teeth very deep into Igor’s ankle and he screams and says words in Bulgarian that if they were alive they would kill me! I am picked up and taken to Fay who sits in an armoured car. I am smothered in hugs by Fay. Dr. Murray my animal doctor is there and says after a physical examination I am a bit dehydrated but otherwise “Fit as a fiddle”.

We go home or at least close to home. You know that rapper Drake had opened up his private gym to all the attack force’s representatives and established a command centre. As Fay and I enter there are cheers. Mr. Gordon Lightfoot and Bosco are there. Drake orders a middle eastern feast from Paramount restaurants and all the teams converge for a dinner and leave.

I hear that Igor, the naughty Bulgarian needed twenty stitches to close my bite. Didn’t I tell you NEVER MESS WITH EGYPTIAN STREET DOGS! I hear that Bob will be coming home from hospital soon but Dillie the Westie is still battling for his life. I hear we will go and visit him tomorrow after we visit Bob.

Bob gives me a big hug and I give him a few kisses and nibble his ear at the same time which means he is part of my pack! Our next visit is to the brave Dillie the Westie who was injured badly with a cracked skull and fighting for his life. As far as I am concerned, I know the last trick in my book. It is growl Karim, Dillie and I used to use when we were the Rat Pack before Karim went to the world beyond. I come up to Dillie The Westie, the brave Scottish warrior dog and put my face close to his ear and give him the Rat Pack growl. Nothing happens. I close my eyes and pray to Allah for a miracle. I growl again and Dillie opens his eyes and gives a weak moan! He is out of a coma! THANK YOU ALLAH! The animal doctors can’t understand what happened but I know that a power greater than any dog or man has lent us a helping hand. Call him Allah, God or Buddha if you wish but whatever this power is it this there if you honour it.

“Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog” :The Brother’s of Egypt Cause Havoc: Reggie is Kidnapped!

Very tired from our flight from the Nobel Prize festivities in Stockholm we land in our private jet in Toronto and clear customs and Bob orders a limo to take us home. Sweet home and a bowl of clean and cold Canadian water with a simple chicken kibble and of course the occasional treats we find in our bowls. Dillie and I love watermelon particularly sweet yellow Ontario watermelon. Of course we love cheese and the morning is not simply a morning without a piece of toast or a bit of bagel,,,,sesame of course.

Do you remember that sense of dread I had in Stockholm? It sits in my stomach as we enter the limo to take us home. Bob has forgotten to arrange a security detail But we are in Toronto scooting home. Do not forget I am a street dog. I can sense danger miles away or I would not be alive to tell you this story!

We drive on the 401 Highway and take the Bayview exit to our Bridle Path home. Why is that Mercedes minivan following us? As we pass by the Edward ‘s Botanical Gardens and are a few minutes away from our home the Mercedes van cuts us off and three heavily armed men approach the limo and shoot our driver in the head. There is blood all over the seat. I am not afraid nor is Dillie the Westie. We have no guns but we have Scottish and Egyptian bravery in our blood. It is do or die time! Pay the price of our strength and bravery you low life’s. We’ll rip you to shreds! You dare touch Bob and Fay you’ll regret it….forever!

The door opens and Dillie and I take our victims. I jump out and lunge at the neck of one of the attackers. He collapses in a pool of blood. Dillie can’t jump like me so he attacks biting the ankle of another thug who falls screaming in pain but gets up and smashes Dillie the Westie in the head with the butt of his Browning pistol. Bob is in a rage and runs toward the evil man who hit Dillie. Bob is shot in the shoulder and spins to the ground. Fay has fainted. Oh Allah, God or Jesus please help. PLEASE HELP REGGIE! HELP DILLIE BOB AND FAY. A wet rag with some horrible smelling chemical is put over my snout and I remember no more.

Dillie is in the best animal hospital in Toronto with a cracked skull and an inflamed brain. He has a 50% chance of living. Bob is in hospital having lost a lot of blood but he will be OK.

This is an international incident and it is no surprise the Brother’s of Egypt claim responsibility and demand a ransom be paid for my release. There is no religious overtones to the demands as these thugs simply want money. But do they know who they are dealing with!

$50 million for my release. These cowards. If I could only get out of the cage they put me in I would show them NEVER MESS WITH A CAIRO STREET DOG!

Our friend in Washington Joe, oops, President Biden, phoned Bob in the hospital and he is so very angry that two brave dogs have been put in peril. His Federal Bureau of Investigation know much about these Brother’s of Egypt whom he says are Bulgarian extortionists and criminals who launder money for radical fundamentalists in Egypt. President Biden will send a top FBI operative with a very thick file to help the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Pope in the Vatican has said a special mass for Dillie the Westie and me. Our friends Drake and Mr. Gordon Lightfoot have offered whatever help they can give.

Is this all my fault? Would it have been better if that Rottenwhiler had killed me in Cairo? Pardon me for my foul language but these Bulgarian criminals are going to get their ass kicked in. Joe and the RCMP and FBI are ready to go.

Poetry Corner: “The Coyote and The Mouse”

The Coyote and The Mouse

When not a poet of great renown
perhaps I should tell you a story with a frown
as a golf course Marshall my job is somewhat akin to being a diplomat
keeping the pace of play
that makes impatient golfers happy and gay
I have a numbing early morning shift on Saturday
believe you me I might rather be sleeping away
but being mostly alone on this early morning shift
natural beauty is not to be missed
deer, rabbits, foxes, falcons and increasingly lean and hungry coyotes
and I see in front of me a coyote joyfully playing

Oh my isn’t that nice creature cute
he is dancing and prancing and tossing something up in the air
my goodness it is a mouse and he is part of the coyote’s deadly game
the brave mouse rises on his hind legs for a final defence
but he is no Repicheep from the Chronicles of Narnia
and is gobbled up
the coyote smiles as he witnesses my horror and fascination
and trots away
just another hunting day
and blissfully ignorant to what I have seen
the golfers continue to play their game

Robert K. Stephen