Crime and Punishment

Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter When Bernie Madoff, the notorious architect of one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in American history, was found guilty and sentenced to over one hundred and fifty years in prison for swindling his clients out of billions of dollars, Americans breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed as …
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Kickass and Outrageous Poetry

Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper has again reached that outrage level whereby all forms of expression fail him, except what he outrageously claims to be poetry: I think that I shall never see          How the Secret Service works for me.          A Service that loses its …
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Kickass and All-Star Pitchers

SD Dirk on Flickr, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper was impressed with the interaction of star pitcher Clayton Kershaw and the boy who visited him yesterday at the Allstar game press conference on behalf of a deceased grandfather who, the boy said, was a …
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Dialogues on a Bad Hair Day: Letters of Quiet Desperation

The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Dave S., Mark M., Mark O., Paul C., Dennis Curley, and Geoff Carter Half full: Ahem: History will tell that the tenure of these narcissistic, isolationist, populism puppeteers was brutal, but thankfully short. The 2nd brick in the wall falls, is the wall next? …
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Kickass and Pigs and Chickens

Jdbunod at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper agrees with the heart-felt public pleas to be considerate of various wild creatures; but he wonders just where pigs and chickens fit into the human conscience of coexisting compassionately with the lesser-brained. First the pigs …
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New Wave Cinema 2.0: The Films of Stanley Kubrick

English: “Copyright by Warner Bros. Inc.”, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter In The New Wave 2.0 series, The Pen in Hand Blog will be examining the work of this era’s most provocative and influential filmmakers, artists whose filmic stylings and compelling narratives have stretched the boundaries of modern cinema. Referencing Francois Truffaut’s …
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Kickass and Cemetery Golf Course

Attribution: kevin higgins / Graveyard and golf course Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, in skirting some area golf courses to entertain Phyllis’s visiting golfer brother-in-law Bill, did not push his-the keeper’s plan for converting tomb-stone covered cemeteries into golf courses in the interest of updating the …
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Kickass and Wine-Tasting Tea Parties

Lou Stejskal, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in observing that while the taverns, and their predominantly male occupants, have historically been the main places of both outrageousness and mayhem in the area of social imbibing, there has been a shift from taverns to wineries, with …
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Kickass and Moving to Canada

Lorie Shaull, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, wonders if the visit of Phyllis’s Canadian sister Joan and husband Bill has recruiting connotations: Are they trying to entice Phyllis back to her Saskatchewan birthplace to save her from the ravages of a collapsing, money-driven US government? If that is …
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Helping Hands

Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Since the recent—but not unexpected—Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe -v- Wade, American citizens have been scrambling to come to terms with the consequences and implications of this new and deeply disturbing ruling. The nation is reeling in shock. After all, it’s the first time that the highest …
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