Attribution: A starling murmuration over Baurch Farm by Walter Baxter, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis comfortable with the knowledge that as they slept last night some 301.1 million birds migrated through the night skies on their way to pleasant propagation places. It is one …
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Kickass and Trickle Down
Attribution: Photo: Graeme Main/MOD, OGL v1.0OGL v1.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that as they become more familiar with the orange POTUS’s “trickle down” economic plan patterned after the dogs’ system of marking territory, the keeper and Phyllis try to live less like a fire hydrant or a tree …
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Wellness Check
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter I spent last Saturday night in the emergency room, sitting with a family member who wasn’t in dire shape but still needed immediate treatment. Because it was a Saturday night, things were busy. There were probably about twenty people in various stages of distress waiting for care. A …
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Kickass and the Delaware
Attribution: Emanuel Leutze, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper stuck in a patriotic mode as he climbs down from the North Church tower and pauses at the George Washington Crossing Park on the Delaware River as part of his bicentennial series for the Milwaukee Journal. As he …
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Happy Earth Day from The Pen in Hand
Attribution: Bill Anders, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Be Kind to Our Planet…
Kickass and Earth Day 2025
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper acknowledging this Earth Day with a salute to Phyllis who lives in harmony, helpfulness and respect for the besieged Earth far in excess of the keeper’s slovenly ways. Once on an early Earth Day, the keeper canoed down the Namakagon River …
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Pope Francis: 1936-2025
Attribution: Photo by Ashwin Vaswani on Unsplash Farewell to a great humanitarian and man of the people…
Kickass and Listening
Attribution: Quirinale.it, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, lives with the burden of the keeper’s inclination to talk when he should be listening, and notes that this is one morning for everyone to listen: “We have created new idols. The worship of the ancient golden calf has returned in a …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The White Lotus”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Ugly Americans: Review of The White Lotus ★★★1/2 By Geoff Carter We’ve seen it all before. Privileged Americans come to an exclusive resort and find fun—and murder, jealousy, sex, and decadence—all of which makes for great TV. This, of course, is the formula for the wildly successful MAX show The White Lotus, …
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Kickass and the Easter Pig
Attribution: Becproud, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper awoke on this Easter Sunday anticipating the feast to come–ham by son Mike, Saskatoon berry pie by Phyllis, and appetizers by the keeper and neighbors Hester and Larry. In his aimless salivating and boundless cultural confusion, the …
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Happy Easter from The Pen in Hand
Easter in the City Photos by Geoff Carter
Kickass and Old North Church
Attribution: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes the keeper and Phyllis joining in the 250thanniversary celebration of Paul Revere’s famous ride, and the keeper remembering when he traveled the country in doing a bicentennial series for the Milwaukee Journal and talked a young sexton into …
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