….I want you to clearly understand that there was nothing exactly profitable in these heads being there. They only showed that Mr Kurtz’s lacked the restraint in the gratification of his various lusts, that there was something wanting in him-some small matter which when the pressing need arose could not be found under his magnificentContinue reading “RKS Literature: Human Heads on a Pole in Kurtz’s Enclave (Joseph Conrad)”
Tag Archives: Robert K. Stephen
RKS Chinese Literature: The Wheel and the Hoof Have Flowed One Another in Such Quick Succession (Shen Fu)
I have travelled about working in government offices for thirty years now, and the only places in the world I have never been too are Szechuan, Kueichou and Yunnan. The pity is that the wheel and the hoof have followed one another in such quick succession. Everywhere I have gone I have been accompanying others,Continue reading “RKS Chinese Literature: The Wheel and the Hoof Have Flowed One Another in Such Quick Succession (Shen Fu)”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:13September2026: Thessaloniki and Samos: The Rapidly Ageing Doryssa Seaside Resort
After a long flight transporting you to different time zones one thinks of sleeping like a baby but for me that is rarely the case. I had a restless sleep waking up at 03:30 and tossing, turning and dozing thereafter. That afternoon nap might have backfired on me. Down to a wonderful breakfast at 10:00.Continue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version:13September2026: Thessaloniki and Samos: The Rapidly Ageing Doryssa Seaside Resort”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version: 12September2026: Thessaloniki: Of Old Farts, Second Rate Seafood and Rain
Returning from MOMUS and the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography we discovered at last the construction of the Holocaust Museum of Greece has started. There has been talk of constructing the Holocaust Museum of Greece for a decade and finally construction is underway with an opening expected in 2028. Germany has pledged ten million Euros forContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version: 12September2026: Thessaloniki: Of Old Farts, Second Rate Seafood and Rain”
RKS Literature: Kurtz’s Background and the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs (Joseph Conrad)
The original Kurtz had been educated partly in England, and-as he was good enough to say himself-his sympathies were in the right place. His mother was half-English, his father was half-French. All Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz; and by and bye I learned that, most appropriately, the International Society for the Suppression ofContinue reading “RKS Literature: Kurtz’s Background and the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs (Joseph Conrad)”
RKS Korean Film: “The World Before”: Anything Here Deeper Than a South Korean Teen Romance Flick?
For most of the film one may be left with an impression it is yet another “teen romance” movie with puppy love oozing ubiquitously over the screen. Yes, there is a strong puerile streak to the film but it contains a message that the world today is not what it was yesterday. But is thatContinue reading “RKS Korean Film: “The World Before”: Anything Here Deeper Than a South Korean Teen Romance Flick?”
RKS Literature: The Hungry Cannibals (Joseph Conrad)
Yes; I looked at them as you would on any human being, with a curiosity of their impulses, motives, capacities, weaknesses, when brought to the test of an inexorable physical necessity. Restraint! What possible restraint? Was it superstition, disgust, patience, fear-or some kind of primitive honour? No fear can stand up to hunger, no patienceContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Hungry Cannibals (Joseph Conrad)”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version: 12September2026:Thessaloniki. Greece: Thessaloniki Museum of Photography: Laszlo Moholy-Nagy: “Light Play”
Always a mandatory stop when I am in Thessaloniki is the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography. Intimate and never crowded. A relaxing café and bar overlooking the ocean if you are in the mood. Hungarian László Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946) has been a prominent figure of the modernism that exploded in the visual arts in the first decadesContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE: Short Attention Span Version: 12September2026:Thessaloniki. Greece: Thessaloniki Museum of Photography: Laszlo Moholy-Nagy: “Light Play””
RKS Ontario Wine: Big Head Red #14
Having scored 91 for Big Head Red #8 and 94 for Big Head Red # 11 I have high expectations for Big Head Red # 14. There are enough grapes in this blend to encourage dizziness; 49% 2024 Cabernet Franc 21% 2024 Cabernet Franc (appassimento) 10% 2024 Syrah (appassimento) 10% 2024 &2025 Dornfelder (appassimento) 5%Continue reading “RKS Ontario Wine: Big Head Red #14”
2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE : Short Attention Span Version
12September2026: Thessaloniki, Greece: Nothing better (not really) than a good sleep and a great breakfast Slept seven and a half hours and woke up a tad groggy. Jet lag causes physical fatigue but it also befuddles the mind making simple decisions a bit more complicated than they deserve to be. A pleasant morning brought cloudsContinue reading “2026 GREEK TRAVEL ADVENTURE : Short Attention Span Version”
