Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog: Canada My New Home! (A Children’s Story)

Hello. Let me introduce myself. My name is Reggie and I am the luckiest and happiest dog in the world. Please read my story and find out why I am saying this.

There is a big stir at Toronto Pearson Airport. There are television cameras and journalists like my dead master Anwar. I wonder if anyone is watching us in Egypt?

I am very tired and so scared I am shaking. The foster parents are picking us up to take us to their home. Are they kind masters and mistresses? Although I am shivering in fright I am also excited. I am off the street for now. Are foster parents arrested in the middle of the night like Anwar was? I am a bit mixed up and so very tired.

A tall man with a beard and a lady come up to me and softly call my name. They try and pet me but I am afraid of stranger’s hands and feet as I was hit and kicked so many times in Egypt. I move back and give a little growl but they do not try and hit or kick me.

Oh it has been so long since I had a leash and collar! It feels good although it feels a bit strange. I have been a street dog for a few months but this leash and collar remind me of Anwar who is gone and I will never see him until I go to heaven.

The man’s name is Anthony and the lady is called Susan. They give me a treat which tastes so good. They call it dried liver. If I do what they say they are so happy and say, “Good boy Reggie” and sometimes even give me a treat. I think I would do just about anything for these liver treats! We all go to my foster parent’s car and there is a big blanket on the back seat and they put me there saying we will be home soon. I have not had a real home in many months. I wonder if we can watch the BBC news every night like I used to do with Anwar.

I fall asleep in the car and wake up in front of a house so different than the houses in Egypt. They have a green backyard full of plants and thick grass and I have a good roll in it and bark a thank you to these strangers. They show me their house and I have my own bed and blanket and my own bowl for water and food! I have a big drink of cold and clean water and I have some crunchy food they call chicken kibble.

We all go out for a walk and I pull hard on the leash I am so excited to see other dogs being walked and many are happy to see me. They sniff me and wag their tails and some want to play. No one shouts or curses me. I am beginning to like Canada! But suddenly a big dog like the one who attacked me in Cairo barks at me and although I am so frightened I lunge and bark at him furiously. I have never lost my temper like this before. Susan and Anthony calmly pull me back and they know I was attacked as they say that they will protect me from all dangers and what happened to you in Egypt will never happen in Canada.

So we go home and Anthony watches the BBC news and this makes me feel sad and happy at the same time. I fall asleep at Anthony’s feet. Soon it is time for bed and Anthony takes me out for a walk saying I should pee and poo outside. I understand this as this is what Anwar taught me.

I am looking forward to a sleep in my new bed and having clean water to drink anytime I want! As I fall asleep I think about all the dogs that were on the airplane. I am sure they do not speak English and I hope they are having a good time in their new country. I have only been here a few hours but I am finding out what feeling safe is like. But will I be loved? I do not know what foster parents are but I am sure I am going to learn.

Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog: My Master is Dead What Hope Exists for Me?

As I get into better health I pay some attention to the television monitor in the recovery room. I understand English very well and I see with great sorrow, so great I query if you can feel my heart breaking, that Anwar has been executed as a traitor to Egypt. An article or two critical of the current government and he is a seditionist!

I am so sad I want to crawl up and die. My master killed like a street dog.

My friends tell me we are going to a far way land called Canada. I have seen a few BBC documentaries on Canada. I remember snow and terrible cold. But I am so devastated and unhappy about Egypt if I can get out of this murderous nation to both humans and dogs I have hope.

There was a Canadian woman in our hospital and she pointed to me as a refugee for rescue. I am thinking about a new life with people that care and respect me. I do not want to be beaten, kicked and spat on. I have the ancient blood of the Pharaohs in me. I am an honourable badali dog. If I go to this strange land I will bring the Pharaohs spirit with me.

Many of us are excited about this strange land Canada. I tell my dog friends that from what I know about Canada from the BBC news and documentaries I have seen it is a calm country. There are no big demonstrations. These Canadians respect dogs much more than in Egypt.

There is some talk I hear from the Canadian lady at our hospital that there are many Canadian humans waiting to help us. Some dogs ae so frightened by a bad rumour we are going to be made into sausages in Canada. I tell them based on BBC broadcasts this is impossible.

We are selected for transport to Canada. We have been spayed, deloused and undergone parasitic treatment.

The big day has come. We are taken to the airport in Cairo as we await our flight to Toronto. We are given a last walk and have a chance to pee and poo and we are given some chopped goat meat that makes us very sleepy. We are put in cages and placed in what I know as an airplane from the BBC news I have seen.

We are very sleepy and do not pay attention to the dark and cool place we are placed in the airplane. There is  an animal doctor from Canada on the airplane called Dr. Murray who is a veterinarian and sits with us for 12 hours until we arrive in Toronto and makes sure we are let out of our cages so we can do our business.

So we arrive and there are foster parents who will help us get used to this strange country. Many are crying and they try and hug us and tell us we are safe. We are smart street dogs and can’t simply trust humans that have abused us. Being so tied into BBC news I try to bark out that we are safe. We are in CANADA. A country that loves dogs. We have hope. Where are the families that will take care of us?

RKS Wine: Ontario’s Malivoire Winery

Ontario does extremely well with Cabernet Franc and recently I am coming to the same opinion for Gamay which appeared with great popularity 5 or so years ago but seemed to fade from the public view. 3 times more Cabernet Franc is grown in Ontario than Gamay and even the treacherous Baco Noir is produced in more quantities than Gamay. The expression one hears is that Pinot Noir is a heartbreak grape due to its thin skin and susceptibility to disease and rot. But Baco Noir in Ontario is often a rotten mess that only a few wineries can manage like Henry of Pelham.

So Malivoire is one of the first wineries I recall on the wine trail arriving from Toronto. I can’t recall this winery so very well as it has been years ago since I have been there. And Martin Malivoire is married to Moira Saganaki a client I ran into as a lawyer years ago in the financial services industry. Martin is a special effects guru for television and film.

In 2020 Malivoire produced some 27,000 cases. A small winery with a persistent presence at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.

Malivoire’s Farmstead 2019 Gamay is in our glass and is not “estate” grown but rather through grapes purchased from growers in the Niagara Peninsula.

The wine has a light ruby colour. On the nose raspberry, black cherry and blackberry all in a light milk chocolate framework. The tannins are light and the acids subtle. We can say as far as fruit on its palate it is light on its feet and easy going. Gentle bits of cherry, strawberry and raspberry with a short finish. Although the nose is wickedly delicious it simply can’t convert to this high level on the palate where we might hike up its ranking to a Beaujolais Cru if we were in France.

Comparable with French Beaujolais-Villages and highly drinkable on its own. Although the wine has a bit of a bite to it I would defer to a beef or lamb burger with lots of condiments and a slice of fresh Ontario field tomato. I also suggest pairing with light tomato pasta dishes. I’ll go the maxim and pair light wines with light food so although the Vintages description states you can match with grilled beef I don’t think this could stand such a blast of protein.

Make no mistake this is a well-made wine with no flaws or faults. Serve cool.

(Malivoire 2019 Farmstead Gamay, VQA Niagara Peninsula, The Malivoire Wine Company Limited, Beamsville, Ontario, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 591313, 750 mL, 12%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 88/100)

Could I say that Malivoire’s Lady Bug Rosé is an iconic Ontario wine? Or is it simply because one walks into a Liquor Control Board of Ontario store and it seems eternally omnipresent? A more pressing question is what is its quality? I mean one can hardly call Fuzion Malbec iconic because it was once selling like hotcakes griddled up at the Calgary Stampede.

The herd immunity we are all hoping for in the COVID battle is far different from the herd mentality of purchasers at the LCBO.

So how is this Lady Bug Rosé? It is mid intensity pink in colour. On the nose strawberry, cherry, raspberry and pomegranate. And the aromas are strong and forceful. Could this be a power Rosé? On the palate the intensity of the nose translates right through. The strawberry has a nice strawberry sundae twist to it. The wine has a big mouthfeel to it. A tightly knit palate. The wine should not be served too cold or its flavours and aromas will be compromised.

While this is a good quaffing wine it has the structure to compliment a variety of dishes. I would pair it with smoked salmon pasta. Sautee garlic and onions throw in some chopped Ontario field tomatoes, basil, oregano, a cup of this wine, smoked salmon and 35% cream and serve over egg noodle fettucine. You’ll no doubt enjoy this Ontario iconic Rosé.

(Lady Bug 2020 Rosé, VQA Niagara Peninsula, The Malivoire Wine Company Limited, Beamsville, Ontario, $14.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 559088, 750 mL, 12%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 92/100)

Ontario produces a panoply of Chardonnays that compete with the best in the world thought by many to be in France! Malivoire produces a 2019 Estate Grown Chardonnay. It has a light gold colour. As for aromatics there is apple, pear, pineapple a just a tiny bit of banana. 55% of wine was fermented in neutral oak and the rest in stainless steel. It is smooth and initially a bit unassuming but give it a few seconds and it asserts more fullness and character. Some baked pear, guava and apple cake. Moderately long finish. What is unique about this wine is for lack of better words, is its power surge on the palate at the 5 second mark with some minerality making a brief appearance. And its acidity is well under control.

The wine is good for sipping and with pasta primavera, fish and chips or roast turkey says the LCBO Vintage’s description. I have no issue with those suggestions.

(Malivoire 2019 Estate Grown Chardonnay The Malivoire Wine Company Limited, Beamsville, Ontario, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 573147, 750 mL, 12.5%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 90/100)

We conclude with a Vivant Rosé which has a gleamy light pink colour. Is its luminosity because it is a “bon vivant”? On the nose cherry, pomegranate, raspberry and cherry jam. Like a can-can dancer light on its feet palate wise. Its character takes a few seconds to form quite like the Lady Bug Rosé. Delayed flavour technology is a possible invention Malivoire is working on? In terms of intensity on the palate it is not there and with its name one expects something on the light and airy side. Perhaps some apricot, tangerine and cranberry. This certainly is a bon vivant that will accompany your good times. But most importantly not razored by acidity.

What foods would suit this wine? Personally the wine seems more interested in having fun than being matched with food. How about I make you work a bit and say as veggies are ramping up when Ontario eggplants are in full season try a Greek dish called Briam. Try this and smile https://www.mygreekdish.com/recipe/briam-recipe-greek-mixed-roasted-vegetables/

(Malivoire Vivant Rosé 2020, VQA Beamsville Bench, The Malivoire Wine Company Limited, Beamsville, Ontario, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 498535, 750 mL, 12.5%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 89/100).

Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog: My Last Days in Egypt (A Children’s Story)

Hello. Let me introduce myself. My name is Reggie and I am the luckiest and happiest dog in the world. Please read my story and find out why I am saying this.

After I was badly bitten by that big dog guarding the public market in Cairo I only remember running away in a panic and collapsing in pain and crying and then falling asleep.

I woke up in a strange place with wires attached to my chest and funny beeping noises. My leg has a big bandage on it and there are blood stains on it. There are people in white coats nearby and as my Arabic is so weak I don’t understand what they are saying. Anwar and I watched so much English television and he only spoke to me in English I am not sure what these people are saying.

I feel dizzy and want to throw up and have a terrible pounding in my head. I cry out in pain and I cry for my master Anwar. Where are you Anwar! A lady in a Habib comes to me and gently says something I don’t understand but she strokes my head and kisses my forehead and I feel a jab in my leg and the pain goes far away maybe far away as Anwar may be. My crying stops and I drift off to sleep. My mind is back with Anwar as we sit and watch cartoons on the television and he gives me belly rubs and I feel so safe and loved. Anwar must be coming to get me soon. Anwar where are you. Please come and take me home. I do not like this bad dream.

I wake up and there is no Anwar just men and women in white coats who speak to me nicely and pull off the wires from my body. I am a bit dizzy but I feel much better. They speak to me softly and stroke my head. I begin to feel safe but I miss Anwar so much I feel like crying and I start to whimper. But a big man with a beard comes to me and says my name Reggie! He turns me over and gives me a tummy rub. I feel very safe although I do not understand why I am in this place. I think these are good humans trying to help me.

I fall asleep again but wake up with other dogs who are in their own little beds. There are many of them of all sizes. I recognize a couple of my street friends. They tell me I am in a special place called a hospital where these people in white coats help sick dogs. They tell me I will not be kicked or spat on and that I am safe.

Then food comes for all of us and lots of clean water. I eat and drink like I have not done in months. My hair is dirty and full of fleas and tics. I am scrawny and very weak. I am embarrassed and ashamed but another man in a white comes up to me and says, “Reggie let me hug you and tell you we love you here. You are safe. We are going to make you well.”

The man takes me to a big tub of water and I get a special shampoo that kills the bugs crawling over my skin. Another lady gives me a shave down of all my hair. I feel cool and exceptionally clean.

My friends tell me I will be checked very carefully by “vets” who are doctors for pets. They are so kind to me I am beginning to trust humans again. They stick needles in me to take blood for “tests”? They inject medicine with these needles. My friends tell me you are going on a trip with us Reggie and that we will all be safe in a place far away. I do not want to go far away. I want to be with Anwar. Anwar where are you?

So I stay at this home where I feel safe and cared for and my friends tell me we may soon be going to another place far away where humans are waiting to care and love us. As Anwar has not come to take me home I sadly feel he has left me. Why? What did I do wrong?

But I feel good. I feel strong. My stomach is full. The bugs have stopped crawling over me but I want Anwar or someone that will love me and teat me as special as Anwar did.

I see a lady who is not Egyptian come into our place and as I understand English she says to the men and women in white coats she is from a rescue society in Toronto, Canada that will take twenty or so of us to a place called Toronto to families that will love and care for us. What is Canada? Where is Canada? How will we get there? Will there be people there who will kick us, spit on us, try and shoot us dead? I tell the dogs what I understand as I understand English so well. They are confused and frightened but anything should be better than Cairo….I hope.

RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner Accepts His Lot in Life; Some South African Sauvignon Blanc

The Penniless Pensioner could be an angry and bitter man about his fate. Although he claims to be a handy scapegoat for Elvis Mixer a very nasty New York Sate prosecutor looking for cannon fodder and a seat in the New York State Assembly for a crusader against Madoff madness he admits it was his greed in investing vast sums of money with Madoff that brought him to ruin. As for Mixer he calls him a asshole doing his job to be a politician which says a lot about politicians!

What has helped him is his mindfulness which he picked up in his Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course his psychiatrist recommended to him. He claimed he was a flaming mental mess as a result of his financial losses and litigation. But mindfulness has taught him to accept what happened and live in peace with it as the past is the past and there is no sense in agonizing over it if you can’t change it. Mixer did try and uncover the Penniless Pensioner’s South African Bank Accounts at Zuma Bank in Cape Town but he could not trace them fool that he was winks PP! It helps to have a girlfriend at the South Africa Bank Regulatory Authority who likes a case or two of Margaux.

He excitedly called me this week saying there was a budget South African Sauvignon Blanc from Sutherland at $14.95 rated a 17/20 by his former favourite British wine writer Jancis Robinson. He asked me as his favourite, knowledgeable, insightful, brilliant, and modest wine writer to check out this wine to see if it was a gem. Doing the math since I rate on a 100 scale it would need an 85 to match Robinson’s rating.

The wine has a pale gold colour. On the nose there is a bit of South African funk one encounters more with red than white wines. I am somewhat used to it so it does not throw me. Aside from the funk I can say this is far from a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Gooseberry, sweet white grapefruit and guava with a bit of a smoky frame. It has some light tannins on the palate giving it some grip and persistence. It also has a bit of noticeable acidity that pairs well with the faint tannins. Weak notes of white pepper, white grapefruit, vanilla bean and bone dry. Short finish. Built for food. Not having been to South Africa I can’t think of a local food pairing. As the PP lives in a low rent apartment in a heavily Muslim populated suburb of Toronto he has access to frequently discounted Halal chicken and lots of Japanese ready mix curry mixes so I would suggest broiled chicken breast or thighs in a sauce of chicken stock, white wine, tarragon and cream over Basmati rice or curried chicken with an S&B hot curry sauce mix.

As for the Robinson description of the wine our scores may be close but our taste buds are far apart.

(Sutherland 2019 Sauvignon Blanc, WO Elgin, Thelema Mountain Vineyards, Stellenbosch, South Africa, $14.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 203877, 750 mL, 13%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating, 86/100).

“Mutantism on the March” :Chapter 84 “Reseudo and Squid Hook Up”

Wasn’t it interesting that René Hecklevesque rarely delved into the economic consequences of Quebec separating from the rest of Canada? Any realistic talk of separation should have the economics of such a move fully analyzed and explained but Hecklevesque gingerly avoided the topic despite that without the cooperation of the rest of Canada Quebec would wallow and strangle itself in debt. How would it’s currency function? What portion of Canadian debt would it have to assume? The Quebec proletariat would remain oppressed and the Quebec bosses would stuff their wallets as usual. If Canadian businesses left the province there would be a lot less to stuff in their wallets! If Quebec separated the likelihood of closer relations with the United States was far from certain. The dream of independence of Quebec was just that…a dream but there were many dreamers out there ignorant of the facts that Hecklevesque was not willing to share lest he douse the fervor of nationalism.

Garth Reseudo’s strike at the American Industrial Company in Montreal was short lived as the Americans clearly stated no missile base was to be built in Montreal. For his brave intent he was rewarded with high public acclaim even if he called himself a spaceman. The United Mutations wanted him to join their ranks as their first alien but he refused his anarchism not being supportive of joining any organization. But Reseudo did admire the mutants and their strategic actions in Quebec. Self discipline was essential for political gain and they had ample supplies of that. He praised their internationalism which they framed within local political issues. They had a concern for Montrealer’s but it was framed within a global context.

Reseudo was first attracted to Squid after reading a transcript of his famous New York Central Park speech stressing the need for daily individual struggles by each individual mutant. They had condemned rigid individual leadership. Like the passive anarchists they believed spontaneity to be the key, a sort of Sorellian view of struggle. There was no doubt this Squid was a very powerful mutant as after all he had been the founder of the movement. But no mutant cringed in fear if they disagreed with Squid. Some of his proposals were voted against but this did not anger him. In fact he appeared almost pleased when other mutants challenged him.

It wasn’t long before Reseudo and Squid met at a party welcoming the arrival of a Yukon mutant delegation visiting Montreal. They spent a good deal of time discussing the displacement and exploitation caused by oil exploration and the pivotal role Santa Claus was playing in combatting the large American oil corporations. They left the party together to go to Wartz’s Deli for a smoked meat sandwich and black cherry cola with Kosher pickles and fries. As they walked out of the meeting hall a black Lada jeep sped by ripping the air with machine gun fire. Both Reseudo and Squid were hit. Reseudo told him his alien skin structure made him immune to bullets. Only a laser gun could do him in. Squid was also immune but did not know why. Perhaps was Squid was an alien too. He had an odd background being raised by underwater creatures performing in circus freak show. How did he get there? Perhaps Reseudo and Squid shared more in common than being dedicated fighters of injustice?

At Wartz’s over a fatty smoked meat on rye Squid related some of his earlier experiences with the underwater circus mentioning that at one point he had instructed dinosaurs on the fine art of dancing. Reseudo had an equally strange past claiming he was a dissident from a distant planet Zorollia. The two parted steadfast friends. If only they had known how close the bonds between them were.

Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog: My Life in Egypt (A Children’s Story)

Hello. Let me introduce myself. My name is Reggie and I am the luckiest and happiest dog in the world. Please read my story and find out why I am saying this.

Before we start my story I well tell you I am a 15 year old Shih Tzu mix living with Master and Mistress in Toronto, Canada. I am becoming a senior dog. My legs are a bit stiff and I have to bark around 5 every morning so that Mistress and Master can come downstairs and put me out to pee in the backyard. When you become an old dog you have to go the bathroom more often! But I get taken up to their bed and can snuggle under the covers and fall back to a wonderful sleep knowing I am safe and loved. This was not always the case in Egypt.

I was born in an Egyptian city called Cairo. I can’t remember who my parents were or where exactly I was born as that was so long ago. But I do remember that I had an owner called Anwar who lived alone in a small house outside Cairo.

Anwar was a well-known writer for a national newspaper. He was always happy and laughing after he said his morning prayers. He would feed me and then have his breakfast with two cups of tea and after that he would put my leash on and we would go for a walk. I pranced and swaggered being so very proud to be with Anwar. There were many dogs of all sizes who ran wild in the streets. I thought I was better than them as I had a home, food, water and a human who hugged me, played with me and fed me.

I was with Anwar for two years enjoying a happy life. We would watch a lot of television most of which was in English so that is how I learnt to speak and understand English. I would sit on his lap or beside him and if I was lucky I would get my tummy rubbed. That felt so good!

So you may ask how did I get the name Reggie? Anwar used to watch an American cartoon called Archie and his favourite character in that cartoon show was Reggie!

As I am an old dog my memory is not as good as it used to be. I learnt this from some documentaries I used to watch with Anwar. The same happens to humans when they become older.

What I remember was that one evening there was a banging on Anwar’s door with many angry voices outside shouting, “We are the army. Open your door!” Anwar opened the door and heavily armed soldiers stormed into our house. The soldiers told him he was under arrest for sedition because he had written articles in the newspaper criticizing the government. This is the last I saw of Anwar. One of the soldiers kicked me hard and shooed me out of my house saying awfully bad things to me. This soldier pointed his gun at me and said he was going to kill me like the dirty dog he thought I was but another soldier stopped him and I ran off so frightened and confused.

It was in the middle of the night and I had nowhere where I could go. There was no one to feed me and give me water and the tummy rubs that I loved. In my life I never knew that humans could be so mean to dogs. I never hurt them. I never barked at them yet here I was all alone on the streets with many other dogs and cats. I did make a few friends with some of the smaller dogs. The big dogs sometimes growled and barked at me which made me very frightened.

So how did I live? I lived outside hiding in abandoned cardboard boxes. I was near an outdoor market most of the time so I would go and beg for food and sometimes I would get a goat bone but most of the time the merchants would spit and say bad words to me and some tried to kick me.

My dog friends warned me that the life of an unwanted dog was frightening as police and animal control would often shoot or poison stray dogs. Very few people cared about stray animals in Cairo and killing them was a way to control them and not to find them homes with caring masters and mistresses.

One day I was so hungry as there was no food or garbage with food in it I could eat. Inside the gates to the market there was a guard dog who was at least five times my size. I think it was a Rottenwhiler.I was starving so I snuck under the fence and when I thought the big dog was not looking I started to eat food from his bowl but before I knew what happened out of nowhere he bounded up to me and bit my leg. I ran away under the fence and as he was chained he could not catch me. But I had a big cut in my leg and I was bleeding. I was hurting so very much I closed my eyes and cried like I have never cried before. This is where my journey to Canada started.

“All The Streets Are Silent”: Hip Hop and Boarder Treasure Trove New York Style

Nothing could be farther from silence in the streets of New York in this documentary that chronicles the convergence of hip-hop, rap and skateboarding (1987-1997) in New York City. The documentary is full of the roaring streets of New York City with a subculture of boarding and rap and hip-hop music. You know once upon a time New York was a dilapidated and not safe particularly downtown where Mulberry and Prince were down and out and not cool. New York has gentrified with lots of Russian, Iranian and corrupt Third World cash where about as raw as you get is on Canal Street with Italian fake goods is presented as sort of a drama for unsuspecting tourists. I have been visiting New York City from the early 70’’s and those times were a bit dicey and a visit to Harlem unthinkable. But gentrification has spread throughout Manhattan and the poor have been uprooted and moved to Jersey!

But in the last bad days of New York hip hop and boarding rather fused together for a brief rebellious moment with creativity until the Great American Way capitalized on the trend with boarder videos, stores, fashion and a great sell out to the capitalist way. Boarder and hip-hop culture was invaded by posers wearing the latest boarder “fashion” listening to commercial hip hop often played on boarder videos and then all this seemed to collapse and head to California creating a rift between West Coast rappers and hip hop and the New York scene.

What I can say about this eccentric and historical documentary is that it is rather just that…eccentric and historical and perhaps irrelevant in 2021. However is history ever really irrelevant?

What I can say this is a supercharged intensity doc drippingly rich with the rise of rap and hip hop in gritty New York centred downtown which was rough and dangerous. Now it is centre of fashion and hip gentrification. But forget all that and focus who might be interested in this documentary;

  1. Those who love hip-hop and rap
  2. Boarders
  3. Lovers of New York City and its history
  4. Those interested in the process of commercialization of grunge into profitable mainstream cool

You have so many musicians and boarders in this documentary you’ll either be confused or revelling in its depth. I’d say it is richer in music than the boarder culture. But there is so much intensity of characters and themes dealing with boarders and musicians if you are not into that the documentary may be overwhelming which I say it was for me and what held it together for me was the archival footage of rappers and hip-hoppers.

It starts off on July 23rd virtually at Ted Rogers Hot Docs Cinema in Toronto and July 23 virtually and July 30 In-Cinema at The Cinematheque in Vancouver.

This is a 2020 89 minute American documentary is historical and represents a New York of long ago. Musical and boarding buffs will love it. Most others will be confused and overwhelmed by it. You can catch the trailer here https://vimeo.com/ondemand/allthestreetsaresilent/560216445

RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner, Bernie Madoff and Organic Wine.

You know the Penniless Pensioner had an ultra modern wine cellar in his plush “Lonsdale” penthouse condo in Toronto but he had to sell his condo and wine collection to pay his legal bills. Not only did Bernie Madoff swindle him but he also acted as counsel to Madoff and got his ankles wrapped up in litigation something he mumbles about as a “bogus conspiracy case”. Now he has no cellar and his fancy trophy wines are a thing of the past. And he told me he doesn’t miss them being happy with the under $15.00 category. Is he bullshitting me and putting on a brave face?

He asked me to find him an organic wine from Italy and I found a Primitivo at $14.75. Primitivo was brought to California (where it is known as Zinfandel) and southern Italy from Croatia where the grape is known as crljenak kaštelanski. It can range from dry to sweet the dry being more akin to American Zinfandel.

The aroma is full bodied and very clean and pure. Sweet red cherry, blackberry and chocolate covered raisins. On the palate it is dry with spice and laser beams of sweet red cherry and a tad of licorice. It is smooth and clean tasting. Hooray for organic wine. This would suit grilled beef or spicy Hunan Beef served over Soba Noodles. Overall smooth, delightfully simple and as organic wines are new to the Penniless Pensioner I remind him they are free of herbicides and pesticides.

Drink by the end of 2022.

(Salento Agricolo IGP Primitivo 2018, Vino Biologico, Cantine Paololeo, San Donaci, Italy, $14.75, 14%, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 17529, 750 mL, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 89/100).

RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner Goes to Côtes du Roussillon

Many of you ask who the Penniless Pensioner is. Well, he was a very successful corporate lawyer working in New York and Toronto making boatloads of money. He was seen at the right restaurants, clubs and with models and young women offering to curate him on social media. Well then Bernie Madoff came along and invested a huge chunk of the Penniless Pensioner’s money. It was too late to recoup the swindled funds as he was in his late 60’s. He relies on The Canadian Pension Plan and Old Age Supplement and with his remaining savings lives a frugal life in a frugal apartment in Toronto where many women in Burkas walk the streets quite a fall from the swanky Lonsdale condo he used to live in. He used to shop at Pusateris for groceries but now shops at Sunys looking for deals on Halal chicken and beef. But he always had an appreciation of fine wine to suit his image. He wouldn’t hesitate to drop hundreds of dollars for a bottle of wine in a restaurant and over a thousand if he could expense it. I have taken pity on the old chap and he pleads with me please keep the cost down so he can afford it.

The Côtes du Roussillon can be found in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France proximate to Spain. In fact historically it was once part of Spain. It was at one point producing 50% of French wine and much of it was plonk but quality has radically improved. The Penniless Pensioner in his days as a low-income law student liked the wines from the Côtes du Roussillon but as he moved up the legal ladder of fame and fortune he rejected these lower cost wines for Bordeaux first growths.

So I venture into his past and try a Hilario 2019 Côtes du Roussillon at $15.95 which is five cents below his top end. It is a blend of 60% Grenache, 30% Carignan and 10% Mourvèdre. Aromas of big fat ripe strawberries at their prime, blackberries, black cherry and spice. Moderate tannins with a good grip. Although a hearty wine it is nonetheless smooth. The Grenache dominates with a heavy raft of those big fat strawberries. A most agreeable, simple and well-made wine. Given its tannins it just might improve in the bottle over the next 3-5 years. As for food what a delightful match for Putanesca Sauce over pasta. Heavy on the anchovies and spicy sausage please. There is rebel streak in this wine as it stares at expensive Bordeaux with contempt and self assurance. It is a wine of the people and not for the elite which is perhaps a difficult pill to swallow for Penniless but he will no doubt recognize his new station in life and accept it so he can attain some inner peace. And of course, for the elite if they recount their youth and don’t revel in their nouveaux riche wealth they might recognize a good wine for what is in the bottle as opposed to the prestige of a label or region.

(Hilario 2019 , AOP Côtes du Roussillon, Confrerie Des Domains, Fontiès D’Alide, France $15.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 18503, 14%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 90/100).