Shadowmeld Photography, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper has finally finished his before-sleep book—”Those of the Forest” by Wallace Grange, which is an accounting of the symbiotic existence of all things, complete with all the necessary predatory/parasitic violence and transformative extinctions. There are no people …
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Month:January 2022
The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Bette Davis
Alexander Kahle (1886–1968) for RKO Radio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Bette Davis is—still, to this day—the grand dame of American cinema. Her screen presence has been like no other, before, or since. The gravelly and distinctively clipped voice, beautiful eyes, and brimming self-assurance that filled the frame every time the camera …
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Kickass and Gambling
Antoine Taveneaux, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, agrees with the keeper that there are those who marvel at the weekend gatherings of humans in search of spiritual sustenance, but for a more puzzling example of the species “searching” behavior, the keeper suggests visiting the so-called casino …
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Kickass and Banning Books
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is trying to assist the keeper in getting his novel—Margaret’s War banned; and has only succeeded in getting Phyllis to toss it out of the kitchen when the keeper carelessly leaves his ever-present promotional copy too close to a stove burner. Nothing is …
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Kickass and Beginnings
Image by Roy Harryman from Pixabay By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, encourages the keeper to avoid dwelling on endings and to concentrate on beginnings, and so it was most welcome to see a public message welcoming Phyllis’s granddaughter Alexis to the Marshfield Fire Department. Alexis has been building EMT experience with other agencies, …
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The Bright Side
Artwork by Michael DiMilo Over the two years that I’ve been writing my weekly blog posts, it seems that there has very rarely been anything positive to write about. Between the January 6th insurrection, the continuing pandemic, the rising gun violence and reckless driving fatalities in our city, and various other sundry crises—including the rise of …
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Kickass and Problem Solving
Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, supports the keeper in his efforts to accept prevailing thought that the way to deal with a problem is to do things that make the problem so bad that it becomes unsolvable and therefore it is useless to even think about it; …
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Kickass and AJ’s Book Review
Photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports on how the cold January day was warmed beyond belief when great grandson AJ insisted that his parents—Tony and Kristen, contact the keeper with a preview of his—AJ’s, first book, which he produced as a school project. In a rare session of “face” technology, …
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Kickass and Political Posts
Photo by Artem Beliaikin from Pexels By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper was advised by a friendly reader that if he would keep his political views to himself, his writing would be appreciated by more people, which caused the keeper to announce that, in light of the fact that the Repubs wouldn’t …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to the New Hollywood: The Legacy of Anthony Hopkins
John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Anthony Hopkins, one of the finest classical actors of his generation, is a master of depicting the contradictions and dualities of the human condition. Many of his roles demand a carefully refined and civilized exterior (at which he …
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Kickass and the Gray Morning
Famartin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the gray curtain of falling snow on a late January morning is as welcomed by the keeper as would be a flood of frigid winter sunshine. The slowly emerging muted day marks the beginning of yet another week when the …
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Kickass and Winter Car Starting
Riksarkivet (National Archives of Norway) from Oslo, Norway, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, indulges the keeper on another of his—the keeper’s, “good ol’ days” rants, this one comparing present day automatic remote car starters with such things as hand engine cranks and frozen boiled-out radiators and frozen oil …
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