Attribution: Umbe11, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis took the keeper’s book show on the road to the Wautoma Public Library for a pleasant evening of book talk with librarian Xanthe and others on “Stormy Daniels” court day that was followed by a “stormy damn” night …
Read
Kickass and Phyllis’ Garden
Attribution: Arizcraf, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in lauding Phyllis as she prepares her small, raised garden in the Vista West courtyard, and he apologizes for having missed “Official Naked Gardening Day” which is the first Saturday in May. In an effort to catch up, he …
Read
Kickass and Oatmeal
Attribution: Pamela Smith, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, being a senior member of the Willie Nelson age group—Willie having just celebrated his 91st birthday, found it interesting to learn that Willie prefers oatmeal for breakfast. The keeper does not like oatmeal and he wonders if …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Judge”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter It’s a well-known adage—and rightly so—that cinema is a collaborative process. A wide-ranging conglomerate of artists ranging from cinematographers, stuntmen, screenwriters, make-up artists, costume designers, production designers, composers, musicians, actors, producers, and finally—ultimately–the director. And this is only a sampling of the artists and technicians who make movies …
Read
Kickass and Pony Silver
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper uses “Derby Day” as a reminder that for an amazingly long period in his developing life he was at the mercy of an arrogant, narcissistic member of the horse family, specifically a pony named Silver who may have been named …
Read
Kickass and Rudy’s Bankruptcy
Attribution: DonkeyHotey, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, in his ceaseless sifting and winnowing, not to mention wasting time, happened across Rudy Giuliani’s report to the bankruptcy court listing his monthly expenses at $43,000 and stating that he owes $153 million to creditors, much of …
Read
Kickass and Shooting Dogs
Attribution: Flickr user eric gates . Photo uploaded to commons by user ltshears, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, with something of a “dog’s” personal interest, joins the keeper in observing that when the national subject of debate focuses on when or if a human should shoot a dog, …
Read
Kickass and Cow Manure
Attribution: Wikideas1, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in lauding the efforts of Henry Redman, writer for The Wisconsin Examiner, for his comprehensive story regarding the problems associated with cow manure disposal in the case of a factory farm in St. Croix county that wants to expand …
Read
Not One of Us
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…” –(The Declaration of Independence) Right. These words were written by a slave owner …
Read
Kickass and Student Demonstrations
Attribution: uwdigitalcollections, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, indulges the keeper as he recalls a bit of his experiences with student demonstrations, the first being when Willard Gonske climbed up into the country school’s lone pine tree and refused to come down. At issue was Willard’s pending discipline for …
Read
Kickass and Human Rental
Attribution: LMU Library, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is attempting to curb the keeper’s enthusiasm for his adoption of the Denmark plan of renting a human to hear 30 minutes of their life story. The keeper sees the plan as a modification of his lifelong newspaper column writing …
Read
Kickass on Morel Stand
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, always ready to assist the keeper in his unfailing efforts to innovate, approves of his adaptation of deer hunting techniques in the seasonal morel mushroom hunt. Hence forth, the keeper will not stumble about the woods wearing his eyes out trying to spot examples …
Read