Attribution: CindyAbout/T/P/C/, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is with the keeper and Phyllis on this 2024 Fourth-of-July as they embrace the day’s fireworks vocabulary and invite everyone to join them in wondering where they might self-identify among the various terms: Here’s a partial list for you to choose …
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Category:Culture
Anticipation
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter There was a time not so long ago when the only mail was snail mail, telephones were attached to the wall, and mail order deliveries took weeks instead of days—or hours. Computers took up entire rooms instead of fitting in your backpack or sitting in your pocket. If …
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Kickass and Lawyer Talk
Attribution: howtostartablogonline.net, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, advises the keeper that he has obviously been over exposed by TV to the methodology of the legal profession as terms like “the defense rests” and “objection sustained” are not useful in furtherance of a personal relationship. It isn’t that Phyllis …
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Kickass and 5/23/24
Attribution: cyclonebill from Copenhagen, Denmark, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis, having weathered the recent storms unscathed and appreciative of that fact, greet this day of May 23, 2024 with the information that it is National Pork Roll Day, the pork roll being …
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The Winding Road
Attribution: http://www.ForestWander.com, CC BY-SA 3.0 US, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter I happened to be running an errand in my old hometown, the village I grew up in the other day, and I barely recognized the place. My middle school was gone; they’d razed it. Most of the businesses, including Falls Music, Sergeant Pepper’s Record …
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The Possibilities Book
Photo by Geoff Carter By Geoff Carter Christmas is a time that, for most of us, evokes fond childhood memories. Who doesn’t sit around the tree on Christmas morning, watching their adorable children tear violent swaths through reams of wrapping paper, and remember their own visions of sugarplums, bikes, road race sets, Barbie dolls, board …
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Dialogues on Mr Jingles: The Highs and the Manilows
Attribution: PhilipRomanoPhoto, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Dave S., Mark M., Mark O., Dennis C., Paul C., and Geoff Carter Listening to Fresh Air again—the dark days of December have arrived. I’ve always cringed, punched the buttons to escape, (back when there were buttons on the car radio), whenever Barry came …
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Food for Thought
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Mexican Street VendorTomascastelazo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Fast food is an institution in our culture. McDonalds, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Subway, Chick-Fil-A, Arby’s, Domino’s, and Taco Ball franchises are everywhere. You can’t drive down a city street or the main drag of a small town without …
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Whistling In the Graveyard
Photo by Geoff Carter Por Dia de Los Muertos and Halloween (Originally posted on October 31, 2019) Photos by Geoff Carter By Geoff Carter While driving around running errands this last Sunday, my wife and I found ourselves in the somewhat unusual position of having some time to kill, a strange situation for us. It …
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Cycling Through
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Every year during the last week of July, the Milwaukee Riverwest neighborhood, an eclectic enclave of artists, musicians, families, and working folks, hosts the Riverwest 24, a twenty-four-hour bicycle race that runs along the neighborhood streets. According to the Riverwest 24 website, the event came about because of efforts by …
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Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter On a recent trip to New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, and as it turns out, the Land of Enlightenment (as a state which recently offered tuition-free college and legalized recreational marijuana), I was invited by my brother to accompany him on a visit to a local marijuana …
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Spirit World
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Last week, my wife and I traveled down to visit my brother and his wife in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It’s a long drive, but after we get past the rolling hills of Iowa and the endless horizons of Nebraska, we were awed by the sight of the …
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