Kickass and All-Star Pitchers

SD Dirk on Flickr, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper was impressed with the interaction of star pitcher Clayton Kershaw and the boy who visited him yesterday at the Allstar game press conference on behalf of a deceased grandfather who, the boy said, was a …
Read

Dialogues on a Bad Hair Day: Letters of Quiet Desperation

The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Dave S., Mark M., Mark O., Paul C., Dennis Curley, and Geoff Carter Half full: Ahem: History will tell that the tenure of these narcissistic, isolationist, populism puppeteers was brutal, but thankfully short. The 2nd brick in the wall falls, is the wall next? …
Read

Kickass and Pigs and Chickens

Jdbunod at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper agrees with the heart-felt public pleas to be considerate of various wild creatures; but he wonders just where pigs and chickens fit into the human conscience of coexisting compassionately with the lesser-brained. First the pigs …
Read

New Wave Cinema 2.0: The Films of Stanley Kubrick

English: “Copyright by Warner Bros. Inc.”, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter In The New Wave 2.0 series, The Pen in Hand Blog will be examining the work of this era’s most provocative and influential filmmakers, artists whose filmic stylings and compelling narratives have stretched the boundaries of modern cinema. Referencing Francois Truffaut’s …
Read

Kickass and Cemetery Golf Course

Attribution: kevin higgins / Graveyard and golf course Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, in skirting some area golf courses to entertain Phyllis’s visiting golfer brother-in-law Bill, did not push his-the keeper’s plan for converting tomb-stone covered cemeteries into golf courses in the interest of updating the …
Read

Kickass and Wine-Tasting Tea Parties

Lou Stejskal, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in observing that while the taverns, and their predominantly male occupants, have historically been the main places of both outrageousness and mayhem in the area of social imbibing, there has been a shift from taverns to wineries, with …
Read

Kickass and Moving to Canada

Lorie Shaull, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, wonders if the visit of Phyllis’s Canadian sister Joan and husband Bill has recruiting connotations: Are they trying to entice Phyllis back to her Saskatchewan birthplace to save her from the ravages of a collapsing, money-driven US government? If that is …
Read

Helping Hands

Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Since the recent—but not unexpected—Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe -v- Wade, American citizens have been scrambling to come to terms with the consequences and implications of this new and deeply disturbing ruling. The nation is reeling in shock. After all, it’s the first time that the highest …
Read

Kickass and Life Expectancy

Max Roser, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, concedes that the keeper has qualified to be an authority on “life expectancy” simply by living a long time; and therefor has a right—the audacity– to seek expansion of “life expectations” beyond simply counting time but to also include acceptance of …
Read

Kickass and Wisconsin Absurdity Contest

Colorado State University Libraries , CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, will be assisting the keeper in reviving the Wisconsin absurdity competition, with first prize to be a free ticket to the 2022 Sauk City cow chip throwing festival scheduled for Sept 2. *Now in the otherwise peaceful north woods, …
Read