Photo courtesy of Bill Stokes By Geoff Carter Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper stumbling across a faded newspaper clipping that detailed one of the tragedies that came to determine the course of his life. And as always the clipping found the keeper and Phyllis reviewing the early tragedy in her life, and how …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Mayday”
From Russia With Love: Film Review of Mayday ★★★☆ Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Top Gun was an incredibly popular film and, some may argue, a significant cultural phenomenon. It even spawned a sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, thirty-six years after the original. With incredibly well-staged battle scenes, state-of-the-art military technology, and the independent audacity of …
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Kickass and the Farm Wagons of Fall
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes, along with the keeper and Phyllis, that it is that wonderful time of year when hay wagons come out of hiding to become featured display platforms for the colorful produce of the season. The flatbed old rural work wagons are suddenly everywhere–in farmyards, …
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Kickass and Old Press Credentials
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper will be offering his faded press credentials from the 1973 Democrat convention in New York for use in today’s protest gathering of the Silver Badgers and friends at Gammon Road and Tree Lane. The keeper offered the ancient credentials to Phyllis …
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Kickass and Birthday Model T
Photo courtesy of Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper’s delight with a belated birthday present from Phyllis’s son Kevin in the form of a 3-hour tour on central Wisconsin’s beautiful back roads in a Model-T Ford that was five years older than the keeper, making it close to 100. …
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Tipping Point
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Last week, Florida Representative Maria Elvira Salazar broke ranks with the Republican ranks by airing a television ad critical of Trump’s deportation policies. Speaking directly to the camera, she said “Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far,” warning him that Hispanic voters who …
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Kickass and Getting Shots
Attribution: Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, noted that the keeper and Phyllis got their “shots” yesterday at the drug store where a friendly young man said he did about 50 every day and his future schedules were full. As he waited, the keeper experienced a daytime dream of sorts: …
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Kickass and the Press Pool
Photo courtesy of Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, hears the keeper out on his account of experiencing the Washington press corps’ wrath for using different strokes while swimming in the press pool aboard the Delta Queen as it floated down the Mississippi with President Jimmy Carter and Rosalyn aboard. Here’s the …
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Kickass and 73-Year-Old Notes
Attribution: Photo by Olya P on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper suffering through the unexpected discovery of notes he wrote 73 years ago as he was waiting for his Army discharge and enrollment at the UW “J” School. He will not be sharing the notes with Phyllis as they would demand excessive …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Mother Mary”
Connective Tissue: Film Review of Mother Mary ★★★☆ Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter The Hollywood buddy film is a time-tested audience favorite. Movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, The Odd Couple, and Lethal Weapon have been immensely popular, spawning endless sequels and spinoffs. Of course, the concept of two guys teaming up …
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Kickass and Gut Punch Memories
Attribution: Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, turns it over to the keeper on the cool, rainy morning of 9/20/26 with advice on dealing with the gut punches of memory that sometimes knock the wind out of innocent reminiscing. Nobody goes through life without unpleasant experiences of their own making and …
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Kickass and the Profane Monarch Butterfly
Attribution: Photo By/CreditMeg Hedeen/USFWS By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper claims to have overheard a Monarch butterfly use profanity as it was grabbed by UW scientists who burdened it with a navigation reporting device just as the Monarch was about to head south for the winter. The exact wording is …
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