The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Jack Nicholson

AP Wire press photo – from eBay auction ebay (auction archive), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter He is a Hollywood icon whose career stretches back to the early days of American International Pictures, where he appeared in the original version of Roger Corman’s Little Shop of Horrors. Cinematic milestones like Easy Rider, Tim Burton’s Batman, The …
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Dialogues on a Wake-Up Call: The Epiphany Letters

Photo by Raphael Schaller on Unsplash By Dave S., Mark Mamerow, Dennis Curley, and Geoff Carter To Mark, Dennis, and Geoff Remember that Sunday times column by William Safire? Well, the link below is all about the word woke…. thought for sure the author would indict Aaron Rodgers for his recent vacuous deployment of it.  The New York Times: The War …
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Kickass and National Guard Justice

1st Lt. Michael Lovas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper notes the presence of the National Guard in Kenosha in anticipation of a jury decision Monday in the case of the stupid Illinois teen who used HIS military assault weapon to kill and injure demonstrators. …
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Kickass and First Snow

\Chris j wood, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the first swirling snowflakes of the season were immediately politicized when the Repubs said that they—the snowflakes, represented the Dems’ start of a six-month long snow job to sell snow, ice, freezing wind and blizzards as the charms …
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Trial by Proxy

Artwork by Michael DiMIlo By Geoff Carter The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse is underway. He is charged with killing two men and wounding another during the violent protests that began in Kenosha after the police shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man. Sound familiar? Where else have we seen this? Minneapolis, Philadelphia, New York …
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Kickass and Veterans Day

Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper on this Day to celebrate Veteran obsolescence; and to recognize the brutal truth that there is apparently no way to make heroes out of those who might somehow defend the country against internal ignorance and rampant misinformation. It is one thing …
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Kickass in the Zoo

Photo by Jorge Salvador on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis recently found themselves as virtually the only customers in a nearby JC Penny’s department store, and left finally when it became obvious that, not only were there no customers, there were no sales clerks either. The keeper compared it …
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Kickass Rolls Down Hill

Photo by Jordan Whitt on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, aware that the keeper’s old eyes are prone to mischief, witnessed him—the keeper, puzzling over a distant scene of hillside activity that he could not identify until he used binoculars to see a dozen or so small children rolling down a grassy slope under the …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Steve McQueen

Ryangrigg, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter In the early 1960s, in the age of cool, he was the “King of Cool”. He was sexy, handsome, smart, fearless, bold, and unflappable. He played heroes and anti-heroes alike: gunfighters, soldiers, cops, criminals, convicts, and even the occasional sophisticate. Being a motorcycle and car enthusiast, …
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