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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Kickass and Fixing the Toaster
Attribution: Photo by Oktomi Jaya on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, has known the keeper forever as a “fixer.” Raised in an era when if something stopped working you “fixed” it and life went on. Add to that the fact that the keeper grew up in a family of talented “fixers” undaunted by any broken …
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Kickass and a White House Animal
Attribution:After Paul de Vos, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper aware of the Repub’s efforts to bring an animal into the White House as part of their efforts to warm up the pre-election image of the dreary leader. Since dogs have steadfastly refused to go anywhere …
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The Elephant in the Room
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter We try to keep an eye on the news at our house, particularly the political news. We watch CNN, network news, some of the other more partisan cable shows, and listen to various podcasts and reading independent sources like Heather Cox Richardson. Lately—in the last two months or …
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Kickass and Campfire Companions
Attribution: Photo by Honza Reznik on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, poses the keeper’s question of the day: Why DON’T people eat dogs and cats, as has been hinted at by our outrageous demented leaders. It began with the keeper wondering how the dogs and cats came to make such self-serving evolutionary deals as they cozied …
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Dialogues on Welcome to the Machine: AI Think, Therefore AI am
Attribution: Photo by Luke Jones on Unsplash Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Dave S., Mark M., Mark O., Dennis C., John K., Michael D., and Geoff Carter Sundry sharing. My love/hate with ai took a step in the hate direction after getting taken for a ride. Once bitten twice shy…, fool me once… Both leap to mind. So first that …
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Kickass and Being Average
Attribution: Mario Purisic mariopurisic, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is with the keeper in sensing that dwelling on the downside of getting old is a boring subject and tends to be overdone by anyone over the age of 60. In the extreme upper levels of aging, dwelling on it …
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