Attribution: Photo by Neda Vidakovic on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis winding up their long relationships with vehicles with a faithful Subaru that rests docilely in basement parking until there is a medical or supply need and the keeper assumes the driver’s seat with Phyllis occupying the “participating passenger position.” …
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Month:April 2026
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Testament of Ann Lee”
Rapture: Film Review of The Testament of Ann Lee ★★★1/2 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter There are films that are not only worlds—cinematic universes—unto themselves, but that immerse the audience into that experience so thoroughly and deeply that when the film ends, it almost seems to the viewer as if he might be …
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Kickass and the Lumber Camps
Attribution: Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis with their lumber camp experiences and remnant exposure, are often awed in contemplating that dramatic brief time in history when brave—foolhardy, men—and a few women took to the big woods with hand tools to bring down the …
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Kickass and Cow Party
Attribution: Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in lamenting the demise of yet one more sign of spring—the “cow party” which was the day the cows, after a winter of standing in cramped stalls, were turned loose in the cow yard or pasture for an exercise opportunity. …
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Kickass and Menopause
Attribution: Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper wondering how he might upgrade the evolutionary status of old men to match that of old women who, after they are no longer able to bear children, are still seen by the one and only evolutionary …
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Kickass Goes to Prom
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, consults with the keeper about just what to do about April being the prom month after Phyllis says she has no interest in going to the prom because it hurts her feet to dance, especially as an inept dancing keeper is likely to step …
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Dialogues on Life During Wartime: The Price of Opportunity Costs
Attribution: Petty Officer 2nd Class Jordan Jennings, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Mark M., Dave S., Mark O., Dennis C., John K., Michael D., and Geoff Carter Bots, Allow me to interrupt your nonstop chanting of “USA! USA! USA!” for a few brief moments, with this unfortunate note of warning. Commandante …
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A Night at the Opera
Photo by Geoff Carter By Geoff Carter Timothee Chalamet is wrong. And he’s right. During a CNN/Vanity Fair town hall with Matthew McConaughey, the young actor said, “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, or, you know, things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive,’ even though no one cares about …
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Kickass and the Sparrow Egg
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes along news from the keeper that the sparrows have made a bid to participate in the egg business conducted by Phyllis as she distributes eggs from the flocks of granddaughter Alexis and cleaning crew leader Lilia. These sources provide a variety of chicken …
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Kickass and Being Somewhere
Attribution: Photo by Pablo Heimplatz on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in noting the many interesting places where people find themselves this morning—looping around the moon, routinely getting the kids to school and then yourself to work, running a mile on an old railroad bed, walking the dog, heading over …
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Kickass and Remembering at Easter
Attribution: Photo by Jerrick Castillo on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis and their Easter dinner guests in a post ham-dinner stupor lingering over dessert and coffee exchanging childhood memories. Some of those recited memories were old enough to have long beards and others from younger Easter eaters were as in-tune …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Perfect Neighbor”
Handling the Truth: Review of The Perfect Neighbor ★★★1/2 Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Ever since the Lumiere Brothers produced “actuality films” (single shot recordings of real-life events like train arrivals and galloping horses), various iterations of cinematic travelogues, and Joseph Flaherty’s groundbreaking 1922 documentary Nanook of the North, documentary filmmakers have sought to …
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