Attribution: Photo by David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in drawing useful lessons from the love-sick Wisconsin elk that left its comfortable Black River Forest home, stopped briefly in McFarland and then crossed over into Illinois only to be struck and …
Read
Month:December 2023
The Miseducation of America
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter The 1983 study, “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform” sounded major alarms about the American public education system. It maintained that our schools were failing because that, among other things, that SAT scores had dropped drastically, students could no longer write coherent essays, draw inferences, …
Read
Kickass and Iditarod Dogs
Attribution: Frank Kovalchek from USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, allows the keeper to revisit good memories under the heading of why not? It is mid-December 1987 and southern Wis is getting a 17-inch snowfall. But the keeper, on the Chicago Tribune payroll at the time, is not …
Read
Kickass and New Watch Band
Attribution: hypo.physe, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes along the keeper’s experience of applying his peasant mentality to shopping for a band for the wristwatch somebody gave him years ago. First he was conditioned by ads in the NYT that neighbor Jim hands off on a daily basis, …
Read
Kickass says, “No, Virginia”
Attribution: Virginia O’Hanlon , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper is aware of the discomfort that bad news brings, but in the interest of truth and honesty must pass along the results of extensive traditional journalistic research and announce: “No, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus!” …
Read
Kickass Ships a Book
Attribution: © Nevit Dilmen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, admires the keeper’s inclination to confess incompetence bordering on stupidity, his thinking being that such reports are found comforting by those who can say to themselves, “Well, I’ve never done anything that dumb!” It was the keeper’s simple task …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Film Review of “Gueros”
Attribution: Fernando de Sousa from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons A Road to Nowhere: Film Review of Gueros By Geoff Carter Available on Netflix Cinema is the best of all visionary worlds because it incorporates so many elements of all the other artforms. It is a visual art. The frame can be as …
Read
The Pen in Hand Presents a Michael DiMilo Production…
Babs and Knuckles in their Holiday Special Deck the Halls Artwork by Michael DiMilo (Originally published in December, 2020) Video and Story by Michael DiMilo In memory of Dave Bolyard The holiday season is all about family tradition. Whether it’s about going to Midnight Mass, carving the Christmas ham, avoiding the mother-in-law’s homemade eggnog, or …
Read
Kickass and Old Friend
Attribution: Wil Stewart wilstewart3, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, having recently renewed contact with lifelong friend Roger Locke who lives in Michigan near a daughter, is astounded at the fact that the two of them, to the best of their knowledge, are the only survivors …
Read
Kickass and Bar Hamburgers
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper has forever had a weakness for tavern hamburgers—with a slice of raw, a little mustard, fries and served with cold beer, of course. He was thus indulged when he and Phyllis met Phyllis’s son Todd and granddaughter Alexis at the …
Read
Kickass and the Heimlich Maneuver
Attribution: Evolution and evolvability, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes along the frightening experience of the keeper and Phyllis as dinner companion Dorothy suddenly choked and was immediately successfully rescued by the skillful administration of the Heimlich maneuver by her daughter Sigrid. That Sigrid is an experienced nurse …
Read
Dialogues on Regime Rebuilding: All You Need is Love
Attribution: All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia, 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 We need a tag for Jordan Love. J-lo? Taken. J-Love? Long and not subtle, but I guess it’ll do. He throws a gorgeous, and increasingly …
Read