Photo by Skyler Sawyer on Unsplash By Geoff Carter (Originally published on October 31, 2020) I grew up in the sixties and seventies, in what might be called the golden age of the horror movie. Not only were we able to see films The Abominable Dr. Phibes and Scream and Scream Again at the drive-in theater, but every Saturday afternoons we …
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Kickass and Being a Brewers Fan
Attribution: Photo provided by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes the keeper’s acknowledgement of important events as baseball’s World Series produced a seven-run spectacular “hitters’ inning” that put the Milwaukee Brewers on the cusp of winning it all. As a casual fan, the keeper was impressed along with those fans who …
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Kickass and Election Preparations
Attribution: Lorie Shaull from St Paul, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, senses the emotional intensity building up with the keeper and Phyllis as the November 3 election looms. The keeper has no clear recollection of serious political discussion during their brief courtship. But as it turned …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “It Ends”
Road Trip: Film Review of It Ends ★★★☆ Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter In the film Groundhog Day, protagonist Phil (Bill Murray) is caught in some sort of metaphysical time loop and forced to relive one particular day—Groundhog Day—over and over again. Trying everything from larceny to suicide as ways to find release from …
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Kickass and Buying a House
Attribution: Gogerr, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes that the most irritating of the keeper’s recent “Back in my day” stories may be the one of his having once bought a new four-bedroom house on Madison’s west side for $25,000. The reaction of listeners to the …
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Kickass and Baby-Banking
Attribution: Ernest F, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, looks over the keeper’s shoulder as he appears to be enjoying the latest Fux News. “The male-dominated Republican Senate Committee in charge of women’s bodies is proposing a ‘womb rental’ fee to be levied on infants at the time of …
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Whistling In the Graveyard
Photo by Geoff Carter (Originally posted on October 31, 2019) All photos by Geoff Carter By Geoff Carter While driving around running errands this last Sunday, my wife and I found ourselves in the somewhat unusual position of having some time to kill, a strange situation for us. It was a beautiful October afternoon, sunny …
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Kickass and Shouting Children
Attribution: Photo by Vitolda Klein on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, loafed with the keeper and Phyllis in front of the wide-open door as the waning daylight lost its sun-stored warmth and its luminating powers. Somewhere out there, invisible in the evolving late October night, a lighted playground full of children produced a joyous non-stop …
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Kickass Does NOT Go to the Game
Attribution: Ryan Dickey from Evanston, IL / Chicago, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, watched as the keeper decided not to go to one of the upcoming World Series games in Milwaukee after noting single game tickets were priced at more than $5,000, and one for standing-room-only …
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The Elephant Graveyard
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter The latest No Kings rally occurred this past weekend. It was a beautiful autumn day, (in the words of Tom Robbins in his novel Another Roadside Attraction) “…one of those mellow October days that seem concocted from a mixture of sage, polished brass and peach brandy.” Hundreds of people gathered …
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Kickass and the Best City
Attribution: HarvestLife, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, acts with some ambiguity with the keeper and Phyllis as they absorb the National Geographic announcement that Madison has been named one of the “best cities in the world” to spend 2027. On the one hand there will be an increase …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to Elevated Horror Films: The Next Generation
Attribution: Photo by Daniel on Unsplash By Geoff Carter (Revised October 22, 2026) The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting longer, and there’s a chill in the air. Frost is on the pumpkin. The leaves are turning color. All this means one thing—Halloween is just around the corner. And that means horror movies. Lots of them. …
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