Attribution: Photo by Nathan Karsgaard on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes the inevitability of the keeper using the first bitter cold winter day to regale Phyllis with the account of his spending the night in a Bad River deer yard when the temperature dropped to 30 below and he could not buckle his snowshoes …
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Month:December 2025
Kickass and Dog in the Manger
Attribution: Harrison Weir, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, noting the keeper and Phyllis’s confusion with some of the seasonal stories now circulating, some using a “manger” setting, suggest that “dog in the manger” is a more appropriate theme this year than baby Jesus “asleep in the hay.” Defined …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to Holiday Movies: An Embarrassment of Scrooges
(Originally published December 17, 2024) Attribution: MGM, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter It’s only a couple weeks until Christmas, and we’re into the full swing of the holiday season. Shopping, decorating, traveling, baking, wrapping, entertaining, and all the other painfully joyous activities are part of the annual hustle and bustle of the …
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Kickass and Santa Letter
Attribution: Photo by Y M on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis receiving the POTUS list of executive facts to help the kids compile this year’s Letter to Santa. 1. Santa’s address has been changed from North Pole to Mar-a-Lago. 2. Santa is still a fat man but he no longer has facial …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to Holiday Movies: Review of “A Disturbance in the Force”
(The Worst TV Christmas Special Ever) Illustration by Michael DiMilo When Worlds Collide: A Review of A Disturbance in the Force (Originally published December 11, 2024) By Geoff Carter Own work based on unknown original creator, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Sitting in a crowded theater watching a movie is in many ways a solitary …
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Kickass and Depression Babies
Attribution: Dorothea Lange, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and thousands of other “Depression babies” would likely not exist had there been an “affordability” consideration to their births. But since there is no immediate cost to the physical act of making babies, even with an …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to Defining the Holiday Movie Genre: The “Die Hard” Question
Originally Published December 19, 2024 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter At this festive time of year, many of us observe the holiday traditions of Christmas like trimming the tree, singing carols, buying the presents, visiting Santa, and on and on and on. Part of our celebration of the holiday includes seeing the myriads …
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Get Off My Cloud
Attribution: Photo by Ava Tyler on Unsplash By Geoff Carter We recently took a week-long trip to Puerto Vallarta, one of our all-time favorite vacation destinations. We booked an early, a very early, an ungodly early, flight. Our Uber driver got us to the airport about 3:30 am—partly because we always try to follow airport guidelines—but partly because …
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“Just Like the Ones I Used to Know”: The Pen in Hand’s Guide to the Ten Best Vintage Christmas Movies
Photo by Geoffrey Carter By Geoff Carter Well, the Christmas season is upon us in full force. The commercials are everywhere. We’ve seen that ad for the car—or Energizer Bunny, wrapped in a bow and sitting in the driveway on Christmas morning at least one hundred times. Sometimes it’s hard to find the spirit of Christmas amongst all …
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Kickass and Illegal Order
Attribution: Hillebrand Steve, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, after getting Phyllis’s approval, is seeking reactivation of his military status so he can see what happens when he refuses to obey an unlawful military order to help murder men in …
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Kickass and Broken Tail
Attribution: T. H. Heard (engraver), Heard, T. H. (engraver, active ca. 1879) (Engraver) Harper’s magazine, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, ever anxious to share his vast store of rural knowledge with innocent citified friends, notes that growing up “country” means being surrounded by critters …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to Spinning Classic Christmas Vinyl
Photo by The Retro Store on Unsplash By Geoff Carter While those of us at The Pen in Hand will always be slavishly devoted to his TV home entertainment center, this week he will be putting down the universal remote in order to turn his focus solely on another entertainment form—music. Part of the reason for this departure …
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