The Pen in Hand Blog
Illustration by Michael DiMilo
Kickass and Old Love
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper is celebrating the 6th anniversary of his traveling to Arizona to kidnap Phyllis in her own car to come and live with him in Wisconsin at a time in their lives when falling can be a hazard unless it is falling in …
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Kickass and Dead Fish Photos
Photo by Geoff Carter By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper is off on a research rampage to determine why it so pleases people—mostly men, to be photographed with a fish, usually a good-sized dead fish and sometimes with a whole string of smaller dead fish? It is a circumstance prominent …
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Kickass and Veterans Day
The Pen in Hand Blog featuring Bill Stokes
Attribution: MC3 Karolina A. Martinez, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Retired_U.S._Navy_Capt._Jack_R._Evans_salutes_an_American_flag_and_recites_the_Pledge_of_Allegiance_during_a_Pearl_Harbor_memorial_ceremony_at_the_Veterans_Museum_and_Memorial_Center_in_San_Diego_121207-N-JN664-033.jpg
The Pen in Hand’s Guide to Going Above and Beyond: The Ten Best War Movies
Capt. Saska Ball, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Originally published in June, 2019) By Geoff Carter “…that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain… –Abraham Lincoln, …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Janet Planet”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Summer Time: Film Review of Janet Planet ★★★★☆ By Geoff Carter We are all familiar with the way that plotlines of traditional mysteries, romances, horror flicks, and comedies play out, but movies that eschew these narrative parameters convey a completely different sort of cinematic experience. When based on subjective impressions and …
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Kickass and Milking the Cows
Attribution: Julien Dupré , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, says the keeper displays his keen sense of staying ahead of the game by noting that recent election results pose a serious problem as to who will milk the Wisconsin cows once the migrant workers are all deported? The answer …
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Kickass and Little Boy Blue
Attribution: Nursery_Rhymes.djvu: Edward Cogger derivative work: Theornamentalist, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis like to remember things from their long-ago childhoods, and the keeper offers the following which he thinks might be appropriate at this time: “Little Boy Blue Come blow your horn …
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Kickass Stands on One Leg
The Pen in Hand Blog featuring Bill Stokes
Attribution: Mathieu Landretti, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sandhill_Crane_Scratching_Head_at_Crex_Meadows.jpg
Kickass and “On Wisconsin”
Attribution: Corey Coyle, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper and Phyllis’s post-election survival as they note that the sun came up and moved in its usual path over Wisconsin’s Capital dome, pausing briefly to shine on the state motto of “Forward,” and lighting up the new …
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National Disgrace
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter I used to be proud to be an American. Now I’m a little bit embarrassed about it. While staying in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, about a year ago, we met a Danish gentleman staying in our building. He was an urbane and sophisticated fellow who was a great conversationalist. …
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Kickass and the Have-Nots
Attribution: Charles Levy , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper is doing his best to adjust to the fact that provisions of the 2010 “Citizens United” Supreme Court decision have born political fruit for the “Haves” as they continue to buy the “Have Nots” vote and …
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