Attribution: John Malmin, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper doing a dive into Christmases past, WAY past when he was a State Journal staffer back in the ‘60’s and city editor Glen Miller ordered him to come up with an annual Christmas story to entertain the …
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The Pen in Hand’s Collection of Unconventional Christmas Moments: “Fairytale of New York”
Attribution: John Tenniel , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Katzenjammer and Ben Caplan The holiday season is all about family tradition. Whether it’s about going to Midnight Mass, carving the Christmas ham, avoiding the mother-in-law’s homemade eggnog, or sampling Grandma’s oyster stew, traditions are what makes our holidays special. But some people are …
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The Possibilities Book
Photo by Geoff Carter By Geoff Carter Christmas is a time that, for most of us, evokes fond childhood memories. Who doesn’t sit around the tree on Christmas morning, watching their adorable children tear violent swaths through reams of wrapping paper, and remember their own visions of sugarplums, bikes, road race sets, Barbie dolls, board …
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Kickass and Epstein Files
Attribution: United States Justice Department, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper did not think his identity would show up anywhere in the released Epstein files, but he checked anyway. And what he thought at first might be a photo of him swimming in the Epstein …
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Kickass Shouting Stella!
The Pen in Hand Blog featuring Bill Stokes
Attribution: Trailer screenshot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marlon_Brando_in_%27Streetcar_named_Desire%27_trailer_(cropped).jpg
Blue Christmas
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter As we were trimming the tree last weekend, my wife asked me to bring in the laptop so we could listen to Christmas music. I complied—as any trained husband will—and set up the sound system in our dining room. And so we trimmed the tree and drank some …
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Dialogues on Midterm Blues: Polishing the Crystal Ball
Attribution: Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Mark M., Dave S., Mark O., Dennis C., John K., Michael D., and Geoff Carter Bots, Read the following at your own risk. This is inside baseball on the government shutdown. Prolonged exposure may induce MEGO (My Eyes Glaze Over). There was discussion a couple months ago …
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Kickass and Christmas Croc
Attribution: Photo by Alvin David on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper asking the public if it has heard about the 11-foot crocodile captured in South Patrick Shores, Florida with a Golden Retriever clamped in its jaws? The purpose of bringing up such an unpleasant image follows in the mode of the diversionary …
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The Pen in Hand’s Collection of Unconventional Christmas Moments: “Babs and Knuckles Deck the Halls”
Babs and Knuckles in their Holiday Special Deck the Halls Artwork by Michael DiMilo Video and Story by Michael DiMilo In memory of Dave Bolyard The holiday season is all about family tradition. Whether it’s about going to Midnight Mass, carving the Christmas ham, avoiding the mother-in-law’s homemade eggnog, or sampling Grandma’s oyster stew, traditions …
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Children of War
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter In the film Blood Diamond, set during the Civil War in Sierra Leon, a man named Vandy searches for his son Dia who has been kidnapped by rebel forces to serve as a child soldier. Dia has been brainwashed and trained to be a ruthless killer, but Vandy finds …
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Kickass and Press Briefing
Attribution: The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper hearing about the search for a Journalist willing to attend a White House briefing and ask the POTUS “Donald, what the f… is wrong with you?” The thinking is that such a question would mark the end …
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The Pen in Hand’s Collection of Unconventional Christmas Moments: The Christmas Truce
Attribution: Frederic Villiers (1851–1922), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The Christmas Truce By Geoff Carter The holiday season is all about family tradition. Whether it’s about going to Midnight Mass, carving the Christmas ham, avoiding the mother-in-law’s homemade eggnog, or sampling Grandma’s oyster stew, traditions are what makes our holidays special. But some people are …
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