Attribution: Photo by Adam Gritco on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis enjoying a usual great breakfast at the Pancake Café near Gammon and Watts–interesting menu, lots of room, excellent service and a low noise level that encourages conversation. So, there was a warm visit with the very efficient waitress who …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Wuthering Heights”
Domination Nation: Film Review of Wuthering Heights ★★1/2 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, the romantic epic spanning generations has been made, remade, reimagined, mounted onstage, and has even been transformed into a musical, an opera, and a graphic novel. It is a narrative whose thematic threads have been co-opted by elements …
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Kickass and Grandpa’s Long Underwear
Attribution: Photo by Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper making the switch from winter to summer shirts, which means short sleeves and bare arms for the next four months or so. The move equates to the critters shedding their winter coats and the birds showing …
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Kickass and Old Friend Roger
Photo courtesy of Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper received a 95th birthday notice from OLD friend Roger Locke, a fellow member of the Barron WI. High School class of 1949. The class was close to 100 in 1949 and may now be represented only by Roger and the …
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Dialogues on Wisconsin Surplus: Let My Money Go!!
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Mark M., Dave S., Mark O., Dennis C., John K., Michael D., and Geoff Carter Bots, In his final big act as governor, Tony Evers has struck a deal with Republicans to spend down Wisconsin’s $2.5B surplus. These appear to the main elements: * $300 refund to …
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Kickass and Staying in the Game
Attribution: Photo by Matheus Protzen on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in sorting through the constant flow of advice on how to live–and die, and they are currently hung up on the issue of how the need for challenges in this age of comfort and safety is essential, especially with …
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Kickass and the Chinese Screw
Attribution: Movidi, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports on the keeper’s efforts to establish an international relationship with the Chinese individual who put the wrong size screw in an unassembled drink holder package. Since package labeling showed that a California company was involved with a warning that too much …
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By Hook or By Crook
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Say what you will about him, one thing Donald Trump has been able to do is to surprise us —usually with his audacity. From his brazen looting of the National Treasury to his unwarranted and appalling destruction of the East Wing of the White House disgusting, and somewhat …
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Kickass and Ultimate Fighting
Attribution: Bad intentionz, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis barely able to contain their excitement over the POTUS plans to spend millions celebrating his birthday with people beating the living hell out of each other on the White House lawn. Great stretches of that …
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Kickass and Vacuum Cleaner Sales
Attribution: Photo by rc.xyz NFT gallery on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that 70-plus years may not be enough time for the keeper to recall some of the details of his very brief career as a vacuum cleaner salesman. It was to be a “lucrative” parttime job while he was a UW journalism student, …
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Kickass Remembers Michigan Platoon Mates
Photo courtesy of Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis participating with everyone in painful remembering on this day set aside just for that purpose with special ceremonies, followed by picnics in the parks, brats and beer, and baseball games. The keeper, as usual, remembers the two Michigan …
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Full Measure
Artwork by Michael DiMilo (Originally posted on May 31, 2019 in Honor of our Veterans. Addendum posted on May 25, 2026.) By Geoff Carter Ah, Memorial Day: the harbinger of summer, the first family picnic, and the grill master’s opening day. Memorial Day also happens to be the holiday recognizing and honoring those who have …
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