Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper who never aspires to “Good boy!” status, was gratified recently with proof that some of his communication efforts are succeeding in reaching readers. Fellow Vista West residents B and C were among those who took the trouble to respond to …
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The Pen in Hand’s Guide to the Movies: The Legacy of Gene Hackman
(In Memorian: January 30, 1930 to February 27, 2025) Trish Overton, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter During his long and storied career, spanning back to his breakthrough role as Buck Barrow in 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde, Gene Hackman has excelled at portraying tough gritty characters as both a leading man and a character …
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Taken for Granted
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter “Don’t it always seem to go/ That you don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone/” –“Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell Humans have a peculiar tendency to become quickly accustomed to surrounding circumstances—particularly good circumstances—and then to subsequently take them for granted. The excitement of getting a …
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Kickass and VA Eye Visit
Attribution: Photo by v2osk on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, lends this space to the keeper to update his continuing saga with the VA eye clinic as it treats his advancing macular deterioration–AMD. A three-hour session of examination and consultation with top professionals answered all of the keeper and Phyllis’s questions and assured them that …
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Kickass and VA Eye Clinic
Attribution: Marianne O’Leary Creative Commons Attribution 2.0, Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, stays home this morning as the keeper and Phyllis trot off to the VA eye clinic to learn more about the recent changes in the keeper’s AMD–Age relatd Macro Degeneration. After years of careful monitoring and treatment by the …
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Kickass and Grandmothers and Granddaughters
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes that in his many years of observing human behavior the keeper identifies one of those special relationships between clan members that is a joy to witness: It is the one between grandmothers and granddaughters and it was on full display Sunday as Alexis …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Nickel Boys”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes ★★★★☆ Collective Memories : Film Review of Nickel Boys By Geoff Carter Memories come in flashes, snippets of sound, images, smells, sensations, or any combination of these. An assemblage of these recollections, like old snapshots, can recreate a life, a childhood, or a tragedy. Film is physically, in …
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Kickass and Kennedy Center
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, says the keeper and Phyllis regret to inform their fans that they are withdrawing from their non-scheduled Kennedy Center appearance along with other great artists who find it unacceptable to have anything to do with a venue in which the center’s management attic has …
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Kickass and Obedience Commands
Attribution: Elf at the English-language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, assists the keeper and Phyllis in passing along the suggested responses to the standard “Obedience Class” commands as they have been revised by Musk the Insufferable and his trusty Tin Man sidekick. *SIT!: Place your hindquarters as …
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Kickass and Political Money
Photo by Geoff Carter By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper and Phyllis in passing along survival tips in the money-dominated political circus which currently has Elon-the-Insufferable attempting to buy a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat for a guy who wants control of all female Badger bodies so he can dress them in …
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Kickass and the Spoon Player
Attribution: Wolfgang H. Wögerer, Wien, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis were hosted by neighbors Marsha and Jack to sit in on a zoom session with their friends, one of whom did a six-song performance of playing the spoons. It was a remarkable show, …
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Coup D’uhtat
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Donald Trump came swaggering into the Oval Office on the first day of his second term like a sailor on his first night of shore leave—and he behaved pretty much like a drunken sailor, too, signing executive orders like bad checks and—figuratively—standing on the bar proclaiming he was …
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