RKS Literature:  Treating Life as a Practical Joke (Herman Melville)

 “There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody’s expense but his own. However, nothing dispirits, nothing seems worthContinue reading “RKS Literature:  Treating Life as a Practical Joke (Herman Melville)”

RKS Literature:  Emotions of the Whale Pursuit (Herman Melville)

 “Not the raw recruit, marching from the bosom of his wife into the fever heat of his first battle; not the dead man’s ghost encountering the first phantom in the other world;-neither of these can feel stranger and stronger emotions than that man does, who for the first time finds himself pulling into the charmed,Continue reading “RKS Literature:  Emotions of the Whale Pursuit (Herman Melville)”

RKS 2026 EURO WINE: A Cabernet Sauvignon from the Ukraine on the Wine Critic Police Line Up

Aroma: Blackberry, cherry and black currant. Palate: Cherry nectar, pepper, diffuse blackberry, chalky cherry and limp wristed licorice. Lacklustre finish. Moderate tannins and controlled acidity. Short finish. Personality: There can be many faces of Cabernet Sauvignon, but this wine does not seem to be one of those faces I recognize but where a wine isContinue reading “RKS 2026 EURO WINE: A Cabernet Sauvignon from the Ukraine on the Wine Critic Police Line Up”

RKS Literature: The Virtue of Pickled Cucumber (Shen Fu)

“There is dung in every house. The only question is whether one eats it. I don’t like garlic, but I still eat it because you like it. I would never ask you to eat stinking bean curd; but as for pickled cucumber, if you would only hold your nose and eat some you would realizeContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Virtue of Pickled Cucumber (Shen Fu)”

RKS Literature: An Insult to Stinking Bean Curd and Those Who Eat it (Shen Fu)

“Every day Yun would mix her rice with tea. She liked to eat a spicy, salty kind of bean curd that Soochow people call “stinking bean curd”. She also liked pickled cucumber. These last two things I hated all my life, so one day I said to her, ‘Dogs have no stomach, and eat dungContinue reading “RKS Literature: An Insult to Stinking Bean Curd and Those Who Eat it (Shen Fu)”

RKS Literature: Married Couples Gazing at the Sunset Will Not be Talking About it (Shen Fu)

“Yun said, ‘The world is so vast, but still everyone looks up at the same moon. I wonder if there is another couple in the world as much in love as we are.’ ‘Naturally there are people everywhere who like to enjoy the night air and gaze at the moon,’ I said, “and there areContinue reading “RKS Literature: Married Couples Gazing at the Sunset Will Not be Talking About it (Shen Fu)”

“Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom”: I SENSE A NEW CHAPTER? A DAMN FINE DAY!

I SENSE A NEW CHAPTER? A DAMN FINE DAY! We all woke up to an inch of snow on the on the way greening grass this morning. This is 6April! We are too weary in Toronto to give a damn anymore as after all Iran is to be decimated a few hours ago. Was it?Continue reading ““Lost in Puppydom: Rory Dylan Stephen’s Puppydom”: I SENSE A NEW CHAPTER? A DAMN FINE DAY!”

RKS WINES OF PORTUGAL: Lagar da Ravasqueira from Alentejano

A blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet and Syrah. Spent 8 months in American oak barrels. Aroma: I am soon to watch James Dean’s last movie released in 1955, “Giant”. Speaking about giant there is giant blackberry in this. Secondary notes of blueberry and dark chocolate. Palate: On the juicy side withContinue reading “RKS WINES OF PORTUGAL: Lagar da Ravasqueira from Alentejano”

RKS CANADIAN Film: “The Thing Inside Her”: Who to Believe? Where is the Real Horror”

Harriet (Jacki Gunn) visits Doctor October (Jennifer Koenig) to have her IUD removed. In response to Dr. October’s questions Harriet explains she is experiencing nausea, insomnia, anxiety, low libido, depression and at times thoughts of suicide. Perhaps it is all just attributable to hormonal changes? Her boyfriend Matt (Matthew Graham) in slug like fashion eatsContinue reading “RKS CANADIAN Film: “The Thing Inside Her”: Who to Believe? Where is the Real Horror””

RKS CANADIAN Film: “Gone Viral”: Never Take Candy from a Stranger

Didn’t your mother ever warn you never take candy from a stranger? How about phishing warnings that if it’s too good to be true walk away? Have you read the children’s story “Pied Piper”? I wonder if in the beginning of the film if seemingly shallow minded influencer Nikki (Lilian Doucet-Roche) purveyor of anything andContinue reading “RKS CANADIAN Film: “Gone Viral”: Never Take Candy from a Stranger”