Attribution: USDAgov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, rarely needs to see a veterinarian but is interested in the keeper’s news that the UW Vet School is working on a program to ease the looming big-animal veterinarian shortage across the rural environs. With the inflated economics of the vet school …
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Kickass and the Haircut
Attribution: Mostafameraji, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper is under the questionable impression that as long as he has some connection with a “school” he must be learning something, hence his trek across the parking lot to the “Aveda” beauty “school” for a haircut. The school …
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Kickass and Grandma’s Sewing Maching
Attribution: Panjigally, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, sympathizes with the keeper’s family as it struggles with the problem of what to do with grandma’s old sewing machine. The dilemma is as common as weeds, and has generated multiple businesses to help with recycling “junk.” There are, of course, …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Disclosure Day”
★★★ 1/2 Handling the Truth: Film Review of Disclosure Day Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Steven Spielberg has had a long and storied relationship with aliens in his canon of cinematic masterpieces. From the adorable E.T. to the wondrously communicative and benevolent aliens in 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind to the horrors of the malignant …
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Kickass Sues the POTUS
Attribution: G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, overheard the keeper tell Phyllis that he is suing the POTUS. The keeper’s basic case will be based on the verity that while he accepts that he is frequently dumb, he is not consistently as dumb as the daily …
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Trump and a Political Fantasy
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper’s inside sources have learned that there are White House plans to knock down the Washington Monument obelisk and us the material to fill in the reflecting pool. Since the obelisk is only 555 feet tall and the reflecting pool is 2029 …
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Kickass and Laila’s Bobcat
Attribution: Photo by Omar Ramadan on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis were invited by Bonnie and Ed to visit with one of their granddaughters–Laila, who had expressed an interest in writing. Ever willing to talk about himself, the keeper told his story of how Ed Gein, the Plainfield grave-robbing …
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Dialogues on Our National Embarrassment: The Presidential Brain Drain
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Dave S., Mark M., Mark O., Dennis C., John K., Michael D., and Geoff Carter Hey bots, I’m thinking we all must be kicking back in a major way this summer. Between the weather, the Brewers, and retirement, things seem good—if we ignore the news …
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Kickass and Brain Protection
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes the keeper’s advice to not assume that simply because your brain is kicked around like a deflated soccer ball by out-of-bounds White House scrubs that it is ready to process the likes of the recent legislative hearing conducted by Senator Paul and his …
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Flying the Friendly Skies
Photo by Ross Murphy By Geoff Carter Summer is season of sun, surf, festivals, picnics, family reunions, baseball, and barbecues—and the Experimental Aircraft Association Fly-in. This convention includes air shows, pilots, historical reenactments, vintage aircraft displays, and demonstrations of the latest in state-of-the-art military technology. This one-of-a-kind event takes place annually in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. According …
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Kickass Runs for Dogcatcher
Attribution: Morning Oregonian, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, napped as the keeper and Phyllis listened to the televised debate among the five candidates competing to represent the Democrats in the coming gubernatorial election. As he napped, Kickass dreamed that he was a candidate for dog catcher and was …
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Kickass and Surviving the Tornado
Attribution: Quincy Gordon, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons