Attribution: Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, turns it over to the keeper on the cool, rainy morning of 9/20/26 with advice on dealing with the gut punches of memory that sometimes knock the wind out of innocent reminiscing. Nobody goes through life without unpleasant experiences of their own making and …
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Month:September 2026
Kickass and the Profane Monarch Butterfly
Attribution: Photo By/CreditMeg Hedeen/USFWS By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper claims to have overheard a Monarch butterfly use profanity as it was grabbed by UW scientists who burdened it with a navigation reporting device just as the Monarch was about to head south for the winter. The exact wording is …
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Kickass and Fixing the Toaster
Attribution: Photo by Oktomi Jaya on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, has known the keeper forever as a “fixer.” Raised in an era when if something stopped working you “fixed” it and life went on. Add to that the fact that the keeper grew up in a family of talented “fixers” undaunted by any broken …
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Kickass and a White House Animal
Attribution:After Paul de Vos, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper aware of the Repub’s efforts to bring an animal into the White House as part of their efforts to warm up the pre-election image of the dreary leader. Since dogs have steadfastly refused to go anywhere …
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The Elephant in the Room
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter We try to keep an eye on the news at our house, particularly the political news. We watch CNN, network news, some of the other more partisan cable shows, and listen to various podcasts and reading independent sources like Heather Cox Richardson. Lately—in the last two months or …
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Kickass and Campfire Companions
Attribution: Photo by Honza Reznik on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, poses the keeper’s question of the day: Why DON’T people eat dogs and cats, as has been hinted at by our outrageous demented leaders. It began with the keeper wondering how the dogs and cats came to make such self-serving evolutionary deals as they cozied …
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Dialogues on Welcome to the Machine: AI Think, Therefore AI am
Attribution: Photo by Luke Jones on Unsplash Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Dave S., Mark M., Mark O., Dennis C., John K., Michael D., and Geoff Carter Sundry sharing. My love/hate with ai took a step in the hate direction after getting taken for a ride. Once bitten twice shy…, fool me once… Both leap to mind. So first that …
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Kickass and Being Average
Attribution: Mario Purisic mariopurisic, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is with the keeper in sensing that dwelling on the downside of getting old is a boring subject and tends to be overdone by anyone over the age of 60. In the extreme upper levels of aging, dwelling on it …
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Kickass and the Book Promo
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, having chewed the covers off several copies of the keeper’s recent novel Ah, the Women! finds the book palatable in that it made the point that if a woman instead of a man is on the other end of your leash you are one lucky …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Normal”
The New Normal: Film Review of Normal ★★☆☆ Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter It’s a familiar story; a stalwart lawman comes to a wild town and tames it. We’ve seen John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart, and many other Hollywood sheriffs do it. It’s a time-honored and somewhat worn cinematic trope, as are …
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Kickass and THE Birthday Party
Photo courtesy of Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper surviving the assembly of his clan to mark his 95th birthday. By all measures it was a rousing success and the keeper thanks all those who had a role in it. And that is it for Kickass today as he tiptoes …
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Kickass and Old Age Demonstrations
Attribution: NASA/Carla Thomas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, will be attending the family gathering today to mark the keeper’s 95th birthday, and suggests that maybe too much is being made of one number in a series that the keeper plans to keep going until decency returns to the White …
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