Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis recognize the importance of surprise and novelty in maintaining a relationship, but as Phyllis got ready to trim her Christmas tree over in the corner of the living-room, she posted someone’s version of a toilet-paper trimmed tree, and for …
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Category:Holidays
The Couch Potato’s Guide to a Vintage TV Christmas
“Oscar the Elf” Photo by Geoff Carter
Blackish Friday
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Black Friday, that orgy of rabid consumerism—a stampede sometimes as dangerous as the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona—was a bit of a disappointment this year. A number of stores did not open at four a.m. for shoppers to rampage through their aisles like a legion of Vikings; …
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Kickass and 11/25/21
Frances Brundage , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, offers the following On the gray morning of Nov. 25, 2021: Thanksgiving Day! Snow. Thanks, For Nov. 25, 2021. Nice to be part of it. See more at… The Bill Stokes Author Page
Hospitality
Jean Leon Gerome Ferris , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter “This piece was originally written in 2018 during the controversial time when the caravans from South and Central America were approaching our borders. Although that particular bit of hysteria has faded, xenophobia has not. We need to remember to appreciate, value, and take …
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Kickass and Phyllis Treatment
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis have begun an intense five session radiation treatment procedure at the UW Carbone Cancer Center for Phyllis that will see them traveling to various Madison locations and then in a virtual quarantine through Dec. 7. While this circumstance …
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Kickass and Veterans Day
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper on this Day to celebrate Veteran obsolescence; and to recognize the brutal truth that there is apparently no way to make heroes out of those who might somehow defend the country against internal ignorance and rampant misinformation. It is one thing …
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Kickass and Halloween Disappointment
Peachyeung316, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, once again tries to console the keeper in his post-Halloween disappointment at not having the imagination to convert his outhouse-dated Halloween history into something equally stupid, like tipping over a bathroom. Since a brief attempt at trick-or-treating with a shot glass back …
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Kickass and Alien 4th of July
Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper is in receipt of a decoded message from outer space that reads as follows: “The entire population of that Earth country claiming to be among the most enlightened, once again gathered in the first darkness of an …
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Kickass and Fireworks Downside
Photo by Kristian Løvstad on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper recalls the 4th of July when, as a Trib columnist, he wrote that fireworks had a downside and were maybe not the greatest symbol of independence celebrating. Chicago readers reacted predictably with nasty letters to the editor demanding that the keeper be run …
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Happy Father’s Day
From The Pen in Hand Blog To all you fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, grandchildren, and more… Enjoy this treat…. “A Little Tooth” a poem by Thomas Lux, from poets.org Have a great Father’s Day!!
Kickass and Memorial Day Memories
Photo by P. Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass the doorstop dog, will be assisting the Keeper and Phyllis as they recuperate from a Family-filled Memorial Day weekend which proved the following: *Visiting Sate Street and UW environs makes you feel both young and old. *Watching toddlers play on the river beach sand causes you to …
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