Attribution: Richard Hurd from Green Bay, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Support Our Unions!! King Harvest Has Surely Come by The Band “I work for the Union/’Cause She’s So Good to Me/ –Robbie Robertson
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Guardians of the Galaxy Volume Three”
Summer Hybrid: Film Review of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume Three Attribution: Fernando de Sousa from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter The summer blockbuster season of 2023 has seen some surprising box office hits as well as some equally stunning flops. Barbie and Oppenheimer—released on the same date and fondly nicknamed Barbenheimer—along with …
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Kickass Has a Good Day
Attribution: Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes along with the keeper, the measure of a good day when you are almost as old as the wheel: *Getting out of bed and standing up. *Showering, shaving, dressing and putting on shoes, especially putting on shoes. *Turning on the coffee maker that …
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Kickass and The Black Hawk War
Attribution: Billwhittaker at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper has finally finished his bedtime book: “Blackhawk–The Battle for the Heart of America” by Kerry Trask, history prof emeritus at UW Manitowoc. The book is an incredible work and leaves him–the keeper uniquely conditioned …
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Kickass and Reminiscing Excess
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that in a marathon reminiscing session with Jack and Bonnie Lawton, the keeper may have strained something by trying to be in too many places at the same time: *The Wolf River cabin with the muted roar of Slough Gundy rapids just upstream and the bloody handprints …
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Kickass and Blue Moon
Attribution: gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joined the keeper and Phyllis in opting to ignore last night’s 2023 blue moon and wait for the one in 2037, when the keeper will be 106 and hopes to be less distracted in attending to the …
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A Thousand Words
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter A photograph can record many things—a fond memory, a milestone, a precious moment, or an historical record. Weddings, graduations, reunions, class pictures, and births are some of the momentous occasions traditionally preserved on film. Even casual Polaroids of kids playing or friends hanging out can carry special significance, …
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Kickass and Back to School
Attribution: See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, at this time of school openings, lends a hand/paw to the keeper in authenticating the challenging route that he and his sister and brother faced in getting to the one-room country school they attended in northwest Wisconsin back …
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Kickass and Wisconsin Government
Attribution: Ander107, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in updating the political sideshow that prevails in the gerrymandered, minority-representation Wisconsin government. 1. The Republicans on the state Supreme Court, suddenly finding themselves in the minority, threaten–through their whining leader Ziegler to bring back their vaudeville tactics whereby …
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Kickass Accepts Science
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes that when dogs gather to socialize and bark at things, there is general agreement that the “things” they bark at the most are seen as common threats. It is no different for humans when they gather to socialize and “bark” at perceived threats. …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “She Said”
Attribution: Fernando de Sousa from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons The Sum of Its Parts: Film Review of She Said By Geoff Carter One of the most compelling and shocking news stories of 2017 was the downfall of Harvey Weinstein. This man–to use the term loosely–who was the head of Miramax Studios, and …
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Kickass and Ziggy’s Birthday Party
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper came away with a number of questions after he and Phyllis attended Ziggy’s 3rd birthday party on a sandy Wisconsin River beach where there was a platoon of little ones from diapered on up. 1. Can the parents of a diaper-wearing infant …
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