Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper is awed by the “VOTE” postcard efforts of Phyllis and her Vista West friends. Tomorrow is mailing day for 800 hand-written postcards headed for registered voters in North Carolina and other locations with the message that who you vote for …
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Month:October 2024
Kickass Goes to the Wizard
Attribution: Author Lyman Frank Baum Illustrator William Wallace Denslow, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis, on recently driving Wisconsin roads, were forced to conclude that based on the many political signs promoting a demented “wizard,” they had somehow entered the Land of Oz …
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Kickass and Hooked-up Dogs
Attribution: Hhoefling, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is on another recycled, long-ago grouse hunt with the keeper, this one up in the northwest where the keeper and the other hunters, all carrying shotguns, stood in the farmyard with their new farmer friend who planned to join the hunt. The …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Tuesday”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Death Be Not Proud: Review of Tuesday ★★★★☆ By Geoff Carter There is no greater mystery than death. Its inevitability, its ubiquitousness, its power, and the question of life afterwards are awe-inspiring and fearsome questions. It is the last great unknown, and conversely, the one final certainty. The depiction of Death …
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Kickass and Phyllis’s Family
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis are freshly returned from a weekend get-together with Phyllis’s family at a weekend rental on the shore of Lake Sinissippi near Hustisford where good food was feast-like, the conversation was punctuated by frequent laughter and a good time was …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to Horror Films: The Next Generation
Damian Gadal, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter (Revised October 17, 2024) The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting longer, and there’s a chill in the air. Frost is on the pumpkin. The leaves are turning color. All this means one thing—Halloween is just around the corner. And that means horror …
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Kickass and Grouse Hunting
Attribution: Henry Thomas Alken , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper using this bright Oct. 18, 2024, to jerk his memory machinery back 50 years or so to the days when he and John Lawton wallowed in the glory years of ruffed grouse populations across the state. …
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Kickass and Helping Kamala
Attribution: Jessie Willcox Smith (1863 – 1935), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, ever anxious to be relevant, is volunteering to assist Kamala as she does her best to refute the outrageous fairy tale claims that will obviously be forth coming from the Orange leader …
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Kicking the Dog
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter The American Southeast has recently been ravaged by not one, but two, monstrous hurricanes. Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia were first slammed by Helene which brought record storm surges and rainfall to the area. Up to twenty-four and thirty inches of rain fell in …
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Kickass and Posting Priorities
Illustration by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, advises the keeper on how best to share the ever-deteriorating planet with those who lose everything in a hurricane or must bury the pieces of their bomb-victim children or who worship at the altar of the “Rod of Iron” church where a crown of …
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Dialogues on the Art of Political Fiction: Return to Hollywood Square One
Illustration by Michael Dimilo Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Mark M., Dave S., Mark O., Dennis C., and Geoff Carter Every Presidential election season has its unforgettable moments, indelibly etched in the collective voter memory. As of June, it might have been Biden’s debate declaration that “We beat Medicare”. Then it looked as it might …
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Kickass and the Apple Phone
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is happy that dogs do not have phones as they would never put up with the incredible treatment that the keeper and Phyllis endured as they tried to follow the APPLE procedure for repairing Phyllis’s “broken” –almost new, phone. There were FOUR trips to …
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