Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper starts every morning looking out across the parking lot at the schools and the streets and the many distant buildings, and then marveling at how everybody gets where they need to be in such a fast-paced routine of sharing intersections and …
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Month:April 2026
Kickass and Saving Beagles
Attribution: Photo by David Gomez on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, would be traitorous to his species if he did not encourage the keeper to at least acknowledge the chaotic scene that has been playing out at the dog breeding and research facility in rural Dane County. Hundreds of activists have attempted to “rescue” some …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Sirat”
Road to Nowhere: Movie Review of Sirat ★★★★ By Geoff Carter Illustration by Michael DiMilo The language of cinema is a sophisticated complex of image, words, actions, rhythm, color, and motion. It encompasses the familiar and describes—if not defines—the unknown. From traditional narratives like Citizen Kane, Casablanca, or even One Battle After Another to movies that eschew normal …
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Kickass and the Wisconsin River
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis’s relationships with rivers has been long and varied, and in the keeper’s case fraught with challenge, particularly with the Wisconsin River where ambitious river projects have often turned to minor disasters and embarrassment. An example might be the expedition …
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Kickass and Stormy Daniels Weather
Attribution: US Government, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, cooperates with the keeper and Phyllis as they try to help others deal with the hack that put the Stormy Daniels Weather Service on the net in place of the old National Weather Service, and everything went to “hail” as …
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Dialogues on Confusions of Grandeur: What Would Jesus Do?
Attribution: Artificial intelligence, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Mark M., Dave S., Mark O., Dennis C., John K., Michael D., and Geoff Carter Have you guys seen this? According to multiple news sources, including “The New York Times”, Trump posted this grandiose AI generated image of his Christ-like self on “Truth …
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Kickass and the Hereafter
Attribution: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, noting that dogs have delegated their hereafter administering to humans and they are therefore all going to heaven—the dogs not the humans, the keeper, as he gets ever closer to the head of the big line, notes some …
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Kickass and Having a Book
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper joins Phylis in announcing that the keeper will no longer be working long hours on “Oh, The Women!” his novel about women saving the world from the ravishes of libido-driven men. It is finished, or “abandoned” in a form the …
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Peeling the Orange
Attribution: DonkeyHotey, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Set aside his greed and his corruption. Set aside his complete contempt for the law and the Constitution. Set aside his callous disregard for human life and the suffering of millions—many of them children. Set aside his lust for power. Set aside his incompetence. Set …
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Kickass and Hailstorms
Attribution: Kevain25460, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis puzzling over the reason behind the baseball-sized hail that pounded down at various locations late Tuesday. With most weather phenomenon there is an easily assumed logic as to its benefits—rain and sunshine to make everything grow, …
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Kickass and Seventh Anniversary
Attribution: Photo by Natalie Kinnear on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reminds the keeper that he is a lucky man in that when he forgot it was his and Phyllis’s 7th wedding anniversary until it was too late to really celebrate it, so had Phyllis. Engrossed in a variety of personal projects, the anniversary day slipped …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: The Ten Best Baseball Movies
Play Ball!! Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter I sighted my first robin a few weeks ago. The daffodils and crocuses are starting to peek through the ground. After possibly one of the longest winters in the history of the modern world—at least subjectively speaking–spring has arrived. We can enjoy walks in the sunshine, …
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