Robert K. Stephen – Page 191 – A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity

RKS Literature: A Dog and His Absolute Master: (Thomas Mann)

It is a deep-lying patriarchal instinct in the dog that leads him-at least in the more manly, outdoor breeds-to recognize and honour in the man of then house and the head of the family his absolute master and overlord, protector of the hearth: and to find in relation of vassalage to him the basis andContinue reading “RKS Literature: A Dog and His Absolute Master: (Thomas Mann)”

RKS Literature: History Professors Not Liking History! (Thomas Mann)

“He knows that history professors do not love history because it is something that comes to pass, but only because it is something that has come to pass: that they hate a revolution like the present one because they feel it lawless, incoherent, irrelevant- in a word unhistoric: that their hearts belong to the coherent,Continue reading “RKS Literature: History Professors Not Liking History! (Thomas Mann)”

RKS Literature: The Misleading Moment (Thomas Mann)

“For a human being tends to believe that the mood of the moment, be it troubled or blithe, peaceful or stormy, is the true, native, and permanent tenor of his existence: and in particular he likes to exalt every happy chance into an inviolable rule and to regard it as the benign order of hisContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Misleading Moment (Thomas Mann)”

RKS 2023 Wines: Chilean Pinot Noir from the Casablanca Valley

We move to a Chilensis 2017 Signature Series Pinot Noir from Chile’s Casablanca Valley. The Casablanca Valley is Chile’s premier cool climate wine region with its gentle Pacific Ocean breezes, early morning fog and old granitic soils that create a rich tapestry of terroirs and make it one of Chile’s top white wine producers. SoContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wines: Chilean Pinot Noir from the Casablanca Valley”

RKS Poetry: Horny With Stormy!

Did Someone Allegedly Get Regrettably Horny with Stormy? Someone I know well once said that all men think with their dickWhat a sexist prick! Like Adam and Eve those private parts must be covered upor better said “settled” to supress the muck Politicians in particular must be careful with the dalliances they pickas getting hornyContinue reading “RKS Poetry: Horny With Stormy!”

RKS 2023 Wine: Cool Climate Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile’s Maule Valley

We move to another Chilean red wine a Rucahue Gran Reserva Cool Climate Cabernet Sauvignon from the Maule Valley in Chile. The Maule Valley is Chile’s largest viticultural region which is one of the most geographically and climatically diverse encompassing the Andes to the east, the sunny plains through the central corridor and the rollingContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Cool Climate Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile’s Maule Valley”

RKS 2023 Wine: Miguel Torres Andica Gran Reserva 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile

This is an organic wine. It is from the Itata Valley which is Chile’s oldest viticultural region producing wine for over 450 years and Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are leading the new wave charge. Aroma: Big pulses of blueberry with lesser notes of raspberry with Obidos Licor Ginja (sour cherry liqueur from Obidos in Portugal).Continue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Miguel Torres Andica Gran Reserva 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile”

RKS Literature: A Spirit of the Times? (Thomas Mann/Death in Venice)

“And after all, what kind could be truer to the spirit of the times? Gustave Aschenbach was the poet-spokesman of all those who labour at the edge of exhaustion; of the overburdened, of those who are already worn out but still hold themselves upright; of all our modern moralizers of accomplishment, with stunted growth andContinue reading “RKS Literature: A Spirit of the Times? (Thomas Mann/Death in Venice)”

RKS 2023 Hot Docs Films: “Aitamaako’tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun”: I Can’t Believe I Am Saying This!

As a reviewer of films prior to taking up this all-consuming habit I often laughed years ago with a review or two of a film that trumpeted, “You’ll Stand Up and Cheer!”. I laugh no more as with this documentary I found myself standing up and cheering not physically but mentally. Why? Firstly, as aContinue reading “RKS 2023 Hot Docs Films: “Aitamaako’tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun”: I Can’t Believe I Am Saying This!”

RKS 2023 Wine: Yet Another Excellent Chilean Carmenère: Morandé 2020 Gran Reserva Carmenère

At $16.95 this wine is a steal. How long can Chilean red wine competitors stand in the face of such reasonable prices for full bodied red wine? The wine has spent 18 months in French oak foudres. Aroma: Freshly picked raspberries and raspberry jam shine through. Also blackberries and a bit of mocha. Palate: RelaxedContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Yet Another Excellent Chilean Carmenère: Morandé 2020 Gran Reserva Carmenère”