Attribution: Willy Stöwer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, will be attending the keeper and Phyllis’s yard sale at which they will be offering the following unused writing analogies and other slightly used composition tools. *Waiting for the courts to solve the current political outrage is like being on …
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Month:June 2025
Dead to Me
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Republicans have not had very good luck talking to their constituents lately. Senators and House Representatives have been shouted down or booed at town hall meetings, mostly because of their refusal to challenge President Trump’s attack on everything from the Veterans Administration to the Department of Education to …
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Kickass and the Hex Hatch
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper reminded by son Larry of the days when this time of year meant “chasing the hex hatch” which translates to the two of them often driving at breakneck speed to get to the Mecan River in time for the nightfall hatch …
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Kickass and ICE
Attribution: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, naps through most of the keeper’s poetry excesses but not this one: WHEN ICE APPEARS “How do you act when ICE appears “Do you shake with dread and untold fears? “When did we cross that commenting line …
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Kickass and Posse Comitatus
Attribution: The National Guard, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, allows the keeper the useless remembering of his reporter days when he was on the hit list of the Posse Comitatus at a couple of locations. One was a road where he was warned never to drive if he …
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Kickass at the Winery with Trumper
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis at Bailey’s Winery in the beautiful New Glarus hills sharing the music, the scenery, the wine and food and a table with Jeff and Dena from Idaho who are in the state for Dena’s traveling medical work. It was …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Phoenician Scheme”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★★☆ The Grand Scheme of Things: Review of The Phoenician Scheme By Geoff Carter There are certain filmmakers whose work could never be mistaken for another’s. Scorsese, Tarantino, or Spielberg films all bear the obvious fingerprints of their creators, but the stylistic quirks of no auteur is more obvious—or enjoyable—than those …
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Kickass and Hi-Tech
Attribution: Grj23, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, observes how Phyllis struggles to maintain the keeper’s tentative grip on technology, showing him on a daily basis how to do the simplest things, like retrieve messages or save images. There has been discussion as to whether the keeper’s need to be …
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Kickass and DOGE Fights
Attribution: – Credit to Gopal Aggarwal with link http://gopal1035.blogspot.com (thanks!), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, under the mistaken impression that “DOGE” was “Dogs Out Going Everywhere,” mistakenly agreed to serve as the local DOGE enforcer at Vista West where the keeper and Phyllis reside, the primary DOGE duty being …
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Remembering D-Day
Attribution: SHAEF [Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces] Public Relations Division., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons A heartfelt thank you to those who risked–and gave–their lives in order to rid the world of fascism. Their courage should stand as an example to all of us. From the Pen in Hand Blog
Kickass and D-Day
Attribution: National Archives and Records Administration , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, stands with the keeper and Phyllis in trying to imagine how the world was focused on this day—June 6, in 1944, to repel the one-man cruelty crusade of unspeakable narcissistic horrors with its “Super Race” and concentration …
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Kickass and Last Day of School
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, prompted by fellow poster Scott MW, acknowledges the significance of this time of year as it marks the last day of the school term and what that means to young minds. Was there ever a time so important to a …
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