Photo by Martin Adams on Unsplash Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes along the keeper’s take on the cloud- shrouded January that prevails: It is global politics with Putin and the Russians denying everyone any sunshine, and Xi and the Chinese using the cloud cover to lay personal claim to the moonlight. There has been actual speculation that China …
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Month:January 2023
Kickass Gets a Haircut
Altwngirl – Self Scanned, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is encouraging the keeper to accept the fact that getting a haircut is enough of an accomplishment to consider a day well spent. It is in adjusting to these kinds of vintage-age experiences that the keeper and his age …
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Kickass and Brother Orville
DVIDSHUB, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, listens up as the keeper reports on a visit with his brother Orville during which the accuracy of childhood stories was challenged for both of them. It has, after all, been more than 80 years. One constant is the adjustments that life demands, …
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A Breath of Fresh Air
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Like almost everyone, my wife and I had family come into town come to see us during the holidays. We had a very nice visit, and, on their last day here, we had to decide between going to Milwaukee County Zoo or the Mitchell Park Horticultural Domes. There …
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Kickass and Speaker of the House
DonkeyHotey, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in trying to buoy up his confidence in the intelligent working of government by watching how the Repub reps go about selecting a speaker of the house, while the New York buffoon who reported his mother died twice and …
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The Victimhood Olympics
Stearns, Junius Brutus, 1810-1885, artist, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Reply to The Oppression Olympics Featuring The Fabulous Dadbots: Dave S., Mark M., Mark O., Dennis C., Paul C., and Geoff Carter Mark, You might have titled this bot essay, The Victimhood Olympics. There must have been a theater director mass shaming recently about Native American …
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Kickass Takes on Football
B, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, agrees with the keeper that the saturation of football in American culture is little improvement over the collective coliseum days of Rome, and in some respects is justifiably compared to dog and cock fighting as organized spectator sports. Structured by billionaire overlord …
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Kickass and Young Storytellers
Attribution: קלאופטרה, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes that while the keeper was a professional storyteller for decades, he found himself at a disadvantage recently in a storytelling session with Tyler and Trevor, a couple of very young great grandsons. It was one of those rare and wonderful occasions …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Film Review of The Banshees of Inisherin
Farrell and Gleeson at Film Event Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Friendly Fire: A Film Review of The Banshees of Inisherin By Geoff Carter One of the staples of the movie industry is the “buddy film” in which two friends—usually guys—share adventures, tribulations, and even (in a few rare cases) some emotionality. We can …
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Happy New Year from The Pen in Hand Blog!!
Pavel Ševela, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kickass and TREESON the Book
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, assists the keeper and Phyllis in stepping into 2023 as if they owned it. The daily miracle of their being together at this juncture in their lives is not taken for granted, nor is their plain old presence on this flat earth. The first day …
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