Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, paused with the keeper and Phyllis yesterday for a memory service for the 34 residents who have died at Vista West during the five years it has been open. Considering a resident population of less than 200, some simple math might produce a death …
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Category:Social Commentary
Kickass and the Frat Boys
Attribution: Rotograph Company, New York City (publisher), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, hands it off to the keeper for his rant on college fraternities. The “frats” have recently been in the news for making Cornell University look like a juvenile fun-house parking lot complete with playpens for the …
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Kickass at the Intersection
Attribution: Photo by Connor Gan on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper spending an hour in a UW campus/hospital parking lot next to one of the incredibly busy intersections. The occasion was a Phyllis medical appointment and the keeper had brought along a book to occupy his waiting time. But he never picked …
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Kickass and the Farm Wagons of Fall
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes, along with the keeper and Phyllis, that it is that wonderful time of year when hay wagons come out of hiding to become featured display platforms for the colorful produce of the season. The flatbed old rural work wagons are suddenly everywhere–in farmyards, …
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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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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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The Longest Day
Attribution: UA_Flight_175_hits_WTC_south_tower_9-11.jpeg: Flickr user TheMachineStops (Robert J. Fisch) derivative work: upstateNYer, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter We all remember where we were that day twenty-five years ago. I was just getting to work. It was a normal day, a beautiful day. The school year was just beginning, and an air of optimism …
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Kickass and Nearby Shots
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper commenting to Phyllis that he probably would have heard the gunshots if the balcony door had been open. As it was, he watched as the fire department vehicles parked over on Tree Lane to wait for the police squads to deal with …
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Kickass Goes Beyond Howling
Attribution: Henry Edward Knobel, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, still working to teach the keeper how to howl effectively, tries to ignore the brutal truth that the required reaction to the POTUS narcissistic cruelty has progressed beyond howling to demand snarling, mad-dog attacks complete with abject resistance and …
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