Attribution: Wolfgang H. Wögerer, Wien, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis were hosted by neighbors Marsha and Jack to sit in on a zoom session with their friends, one of whom did a six-song performance of playing the spoons. It was a remarkable show, …
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Coup D’uhtat
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Donald Trump came swaggering into the Oval Office on the first day of his second term like a sailor on his first night of shore leave—and he behaved pretty much like a drunken sailor, too, signing executive orders like bad checks and—figuratively—standing on the bar proclaiming he was …
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Kickass and Dog Shelter
Attribution: Photo by Hermes Rivera on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, in an effort to help the keeper and Phyllis understand what contrary things are occurring in their world encourages them to think of themselves as being stray mutts in a corporate-owned animal shelter that has a contract to provide dog meat to North Korea …
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Kickass and Vision
Attribution: See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, hands it off to the keeper who insists on writing a personal note to his wonderful mother, gone these many years but never forgotten: “Well, Mom, as I am tying my shoes this morning in the manner you …
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Kickass and Going to the Moon
Attribution: NASA / USGS (see PIA04304 catalog page), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, stayed home as the keeper and Phyllis went across the street to the Memorial High School Planetarium for a great “heart”-themed show that refreshed their perspectives that as tiny heaps of casually arranged cells, they …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Film Review of “The Brutalist”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Wretched Refuse: Review of The Brutalist ★★★★☆ By Geoff Carter Brutalism: noun To gain insight into both the immigrant experience and psychological subtleties of Brady Corbet’s monumental epic film The Brutalist, an understanding of the film’s protagonist Laszlo Toth’s (Adrian Brody) obsessions with the brutalist architectural school are helpful. Brutalism is concerned with …
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Kickass and Grandpa TJ
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper’s clan today as it celebrates the birthday of patriarch T. J. Stokes who, if he were still with us, would be 141 years old. Party arrangements and appropriate photo are provided by cousin Pat Turgeson , with fragmentary memories of Grandpa …
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Kickass as a Jackrabbit
Attribution: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, turns it over to the keeper on this wintery Saturday: “They were like the royalty of winter, those big jackrabbits that would spring magically out of nowhere to lope with infinite grace across 40 acres before stopping to reassess the …
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Kickass and Stupid Cupid
Attribution: Photo by Volodymyr Tokar on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper has his application in to replace Cupid with “Stupid” as the Valentines Day symbol in keeping with the current trend for utterly unqualified candidates assuming positions of great responsibility. As the keeper becomes widely known as Valentines Day “Stupid” and …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: The Ten Best Valentine’s Day Movies
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Top Ten Romantic Films By Geoff Carter (Originally published on February 14, 2024) It’s Valentine’s Day. Love is in the air, but those of us who choose to enjoy a warm and cozy evening inside, finding that perfect romantic movie is the perfect way to enjoy that special someone. So, rather …
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Mighty Love
Artwork by Michael DiMilo Originally Published 2/14/2022 By Geoff Carter In her novel Surfacing, Margaret Atwood wrote “The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them, there ought to be as many for love.” She‘s probably right, although what passes for love today might not be as important to us as snow …
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Kickass Stays Inside
Attribution: U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Justin Weaver, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, cautions the keeper to restrain his inclination to smugness over the fact that when winter comes roaring back from its AWOL status with ice and snow and cold wind, the keeper’s “Independent Living” lifestyle at …
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