Photo by Alex Martinez on Unsplash By Geoff Carter A couple of weeks ago, we went up to the family cabin in Northern Wisconsin for a short vacation. Our family has had the place there for years, since I was a boy. It’s an area that has been slowly changing, turning older and more politically conservative as more …
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Month:July 2023
Kickass and Summer Sounds
Photo by Robert Collins on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis have a new appreciation for the summer sounds that come in through the screen door: *The non-stop chirping of sparrows. *The clang and bang of construction at the school across the street. *The laughter and shouting of children from …
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Kickass and Satch All-Stars
Bowman Gum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in celebrating yet one more All-Star game day by remembering the one 70 years ago in Cincinnati when he and a friend, both just back from Korea, became impromptu members of an RKO Movie News crew with pre-game …
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Kickass and Oppenheimer
By Bill Stokes United States Army, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Kickass, the doorstop dog, joined the keeper and Phyllis to stay up much past their bedtime to watch the MSNBC documentary “Oppenheimer” which showed the life of the man responsible for the atom bomb and how it was subsequently used to kill thousands of …
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The Same Old Story
By Geoff Carter Chris Favero from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons A segment of the film industry has been stuck in a self-induced rut for the past twenty years or so—which is not atypical. Once they find a successful formula, the big studios hang onto it, producing film after film after film based on …
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Kickass and Exercise Value
Jessica Hines, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports on the scene in the exercise room at Vista West: Dorothy at 90 on one stationary bike, the keeper at older- than-that, on another, Phyllis only in her early 80’s, on the treadmill. They pedal and pump and pace, and if …
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Kickass and Shooting Flowers
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes along the following note from the keeper and Phyllis’s visit to the spectacular flower displays now in explosive blooming at the UW West Madison Agricultural Research Station next to the cemetery just off Mineral Point Road. Oh what to do about flowers? See …
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Kickass and All-Star Trade
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, with his unique lines of communication, has intercepted the following press message: “In a major trade prior to the annual All-Stupid Washington DC Allstar game–next Tuesday, the Dem Wokes will …
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Kickass and Dash Veto
Lisacheese, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in celebrating the “dash” that Gov. Evers vetoed in the state budget to save public school funding for the next 400 years. By changing “2024-25” to “2425” the former educator did something decent for Wisconsin kids on into an uncertain …
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All Too Real
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter I’ve never had the experience of attending a Comic-Con, and I’ve never—except maybe for Halloween—engaged in cosplay, dressing up like a character from a movie or novel, but it is amazing to see the detail and craftmanship that goes into some of the cosplay costumes and accessories at …
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Kickass Talks to Blackhawk
Charles Bird King , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that as the keeper and Phyllis drove across the beautiful rolling hills and river valleys of southwest Wisconsin on the 4th of July on their way to a unique and pricey tourist lunch in Galena, the keeper felt compelled to …
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Independence Day
(Originally published July 8th, 2021, but–unfortunately, still as timely now as it was then) Artwork by Michael DiMilo Article by Geoff Carter Our nation just celebrated The Fourth of July. Any American can—hopefully—tell you what this holiday is all about. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, severing all …
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