nicolas genin from Paris, France, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter He is a brilliant actor, writer, and producer whose charming manner and boyish good looks have cemented him as one of the most likable actors working in the cinema today, but that engaging smile and affable manner are often the tools this …
Read
Month:March 2022
Kickass and Perfect Spring Day
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis, wondered, with rest of the populace, what they did to deserve Mar. 20, 2022 with its first-day-of-spring perfection. In the warm hours of its sunny brilliance, there was an invitation to do something as participatory and extraneous as the …
Read
Kickass and Stokes Name
Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper is once again lamenting the close association of his name with the villain of the day as in “Putin Stokes Russian Memories,” which was a recent NYT headline on a story about Putin spreading propaganda lies to cause …
Read
Kickass and War Helplessness
Kyiv City State Administration, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes the keeper’s observation that it is impossible to imagine what it is like when an artillery shell lands in your living quarters and kills members of your family. Likewise, even for the keeper’s fellow residents of Vista West, most …
Read
Kickass and Robin Vos
Jongsun Lee, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that once again it has fallen to the keeper to intercept some of the communications from unusual sources, most recently the petition from the robins, now flocking back into the state by the thousands from southern environs, which demands that …
Read
Kickass and St. Pat’s Commentary
Tasha Carl, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, cautions the keeper to be careful with St. Patrick’s Day comments, considering the trouble he once caused by writing in a Chicago Tribune column that he and many others were tired of stumbling over drunken Irishmen passed out on the sidewalks …
Read
My Fellow Travelers
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter As I was driving to work the other day, I stopped for a red light at a fairly busy intersection. As I waited for it to change, a blue Mustang pulled up next to me in the right turn lane. The driver paused, looked both ways, and then …
Read
Kickass and Phyllis’ Birthday
Selena N. B. H. from Fayetteville, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, will be assisting the keeper in helping Phyllis celebrate her birthday today, having already—a day early, served her breakfast in bed and having made a grand speech about an expensive gift that he claims to be …
Read
Kickass and Special Communication Powers
Photo: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, has lent his special communications powers to the keeper as he—the keeper intercepts messages from the Russian oligarch who is buying Wisconsin as a location for his “up-nort” retreat. Obviously heavily influenced by the recent “60-Minutes” portrayal of Wisconsin as helplessly under the control …
Read
Dialogues on Tripping the Lie Fantastic: Letters from Paris
Elvis L., CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots Mark Mamerow, Dave S., Mark O., Dennis Curley, and Geoff Carter Hey Bots, Check this out: Singing Putin: Blueberry Hill Strong and attractive… Mark M. Martial law!! Karaoke!! We must take Blueberry Hill!! –Geoff The Daily Kos: Back in 1982 I was dealing acid at …
Read
Kickass and Kyle’s Movie
Photo by Lê Minh from Pexels By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis got a fascinating exposure to the complexity and difficult of movie making from nephew Kyle Hauseman-Stokes when Kyle and the keeper’s brother Orville visited; and Kyle showed a preliminary version of his movie about the heart-rending relationship between two …
Read
The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Burt Lancaster
Hal Wallis Productions, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Burt Lancaster started his show business career as a young circus performer in the acrobatic duo of Lang and Cravat, but soon graduated to theater and, finally, the movies. His dominating screen presence landed him in tough-guy roles in films like The Killers and Brute Force where his …
Read