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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Kickass is Under the Bus
Attribution: Photo by Austin Pacheco on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, presents the following one-act play on behalf of the Keeper and Phylis. “Where are we?” “Under the bus!” “How the hell did we all get under the bus?” “We were thrown there by the driver, the one hired by the escaped billionaire inmates. He …
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Kickass Discovers AI Damage
Attribution: W.carter, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, listens as the keeper explains his important discovery of just how AI will do the great harm predicted by some observers. Having arisen from bed too early, the keeper was positioned in front of his computer when he apparently dozed off …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Coyote -vs- Acme”
Lawyers, Puns, and Bunnies: Film Review of Coyote -vs- Acme ★★★1/2 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter As early as 1919, animation pioneer Max Fleischer was experimenting with combining live-action film with his cartoon creations, culminating in his groundbreaking Koko the Clown films. In the 1920s, Walt Disney produced the Alice Comedies in which Alice, a live actress, …
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Kickass and Pheasant Hunting
Attribution: Photo by Doncoombez on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes his and the keeper’s retirement from hunting as the past weekend marked the opening of the Wisconsin pheasant hunting season, an activity as propped up as a shotgun wedding. The hunt involves a chicken-sized exotic bird with spectacular colorful plumage, raised by the state by …
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Kickass and NO KINGS DAY
Attribution: Photo by Geoff Carter By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, arises on this NO KINGS day ready to join the keeper and Phyllis and the rest of the world in messaging the narcissistic riffraff in the White House that it is time for them to cancel their illusions of becoming royalty as in …
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Kickass and Visitors from Canada
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes, along with the keeper and Phyllis, that visitors from Canada bring reassurance that all is not lost, despite the inane babbling of the pitiful POTUS. Phyllis’s sister Joan and her husband Bill are on their way back to their Saskatchewan home after a …
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Dialogues on the Designated Underdog: A Dadbot History of the Brewers 2026 National League Division Series
Attribution: Photo by Smithsonian on Unsplash Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Dave S., Mark M., Mark O., Dennis C., John K., Michael D., and Geoff Carter (The Beginning: September 27, 2026) Rais’en a toast w/me d-bots to the Milwaukee Brewers. Na zdrowie! Only 11 more to get. A (shifty), baker’s dozen. ( I’ve thanked MO, more than once for …
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Kickass Goes to Church
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phills joining friends Joyce and Maryann and Gary to visit the spectacular Dane County hilltop where the earliest arriving immigrant Norwegians built their first church in 1852. Known as “The Hauge Log Church,” the building still survives in amazing detail, …
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