The Pen in Hand Movie Guide: The Many Faces of Russell Crowe

Eva Rinaldi , CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Russell Crowe burst onto the American movie scene with his riveting performance as police detective Bud White in the box-office smash L.A. Confidential. His magnetic screen presence and rugged good looks are reminiscent of leading men from an earlier period in Hollywood film. He is, in many …
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Kickass and Opening Morning

Photo by Laura College on Unsplash By Bil Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, indulges the keeper this “opening morning” as he–the keeper joins the multitudes out there in the woods watching the day come sneaking in on little gray feet. If the old hunters are there only figuratively, it is no less an emotional experience–this exercise of predatory …
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Kickass and the New Shelf

Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, having flunked out of obedience school with the keeper, is trying to make a comeback and therefore supports the keeper’s compliance with requests that he display a photo of the shelving he claims to have recently constructed in the Vista West woodworking shop. While …
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Dialogues on Gazing Into the Crystal Ball: The Morning After

Tim Evanson from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Dave S., Mark M., Mark O., Dennis C., Paul C., and Geoff Carter Predict-o-Bots, I have to say, not a bad effort by this team of wizened political observers.  To a man, we predicted that Tony Evers would squeak …
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Kickass and Women Shelf Movers

National Museum of American History , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports a happy ending to the account of the keeper retreating to the Vista West woodworking shop and allowing a shelf-building project to continue until the lumber supply was exhausted with the result that placing the weighty and …
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Back to Basics

Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter One of the main purposes of public education is to help mold conscientious, thoughtful, and responsible citizens. While most public-school curriculum emphasizes the core curriculum subjects of Math, Science, Social Studies, and English, our schools are mainly taxed with producing good and decent people—and they are still doing …
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