Attributon: SecretName101, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper’s observation that within his and Phyllis’s time zone and age group there is serious fallout from three days of sleep deprivation caused by the DNC Chicago celebration. To hear the major speakers of the evening, it was necessary …
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Month:August 2024
Kickass and Speeding Ticket
Attribution: Metropolitan Transportation Authority, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, listened, along with Phyllis, to the keeper plead his case as the red lights flashed in his rearview mirror: “We had just come off miles of stop and go beltline traffic, officer, and I was in the process of …
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Crybaby
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Who doesn’t remember playing sandlot football, baseball, or soccer during childhood? Enjoying those long afternoons of playing a game or two without the encumbrances of adult supervision? And who doesn’t remember that one kid getting upset and taking his bat or the ball and storming off the field? The …
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Kickass and Going into Different Room
Attribution: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes the keeper and Phyllis’s delight in learning that the issue of going into a room and then forgetting why you went there has a scientific basis relating to the human race evolving from one natural environment to …
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Kickass and DUI
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper shares a common experience with Dem Veep candidate Tim Walz in that both were arrested for DUI earlier in life, were fined and temporarily lost driving privileges. Tim, as a 30-year-old teacher at the time, responded by doing a life-time …
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Kickass at the VA Eye Clinic
Attribution: Gabriel Vanslette, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, accepts the keeper’s excuse for this late offering as being a routine checkup at the VA Eye Clinic where all was found to be in order, thanks to long term monitoring and maintenance by a series of young optometrists from …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Problemista”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Dreamweaver: Film Review of Problemista ★★★★1/2 By Geoff Carter It’s an oft-told tale. A young man has a big dream. He goes to the big city to make his fortune and encounters seemingly insurmountable obstacles but through perseverance, encouragement, determination, and a little bit of luck, he finally succeeds. Take this …
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Kickass Visits Old Places
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes along the following on behalf of the keeper and Phyllis on this Sunday morning of Aug. 18, 2024. Revisiting “We have walked thousands of parks and places, “In the beauty and peace of nature’s magnificent chaos. “We think of the hidden valleys and …
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Kickass and Show Biz
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is assisting the keeper in his show biz debut with “At the Bath,” an illustrated production of just what a bath can be. The subtitles as arranged in the keeper’s script are as follows: 1. Oh, I think I will take a bath. 2. …
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Kickass and Spilled Berries
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, sometimes puzzles over the keeper’s technique for getting the day started, such as his scattering blueberries all over the kitchen floor as he pulls out the bacon and eggs. It turns out that spilling the berries—as opposed to “spilling the beans” has no hidden …
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Kickass and School Opening
The Pen in Hand Blog featuring Bill Stokes
Attribution: Roberto Ciucci, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turkey_Gaziantep_going_to_school_(14166610457).jpg
Too Good to Be True
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter When presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris picked Minnesota governor Tim Walz to be her running mate, a collective sigh (a sigh that sounded suspiciously like the word “who?”) swept over the American landscape—a sigh that was followed by a series of questions. Who is this guy? Why …
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