The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Josie and the Pussycats”

Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★★★ What’s New, Pussycat?: Review of Josie and the Pussycats By Geoff Carter Our favorite theater, The Oriental, is part of Milwaukee Film, a non-profit institution dedicated to (according to their mission statement) “entertaining, educating, and engaging our community through cinematic experiences… where we are committed to high-quality and accessible film programming.” (MKE …
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Kickass and 4th of July, 2024

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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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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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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