Attribution: Pamela Smith, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, being a senior member of the Willie Nelson age group—Willie having just celebrated his 91st birthday, found it interesting to learn that Willie prefers oatmeal for breakfast. The keeper does not like oatmeal and he wonders if …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Judge”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter It’s a well-known adage—and rightly so—that cinema is a collaborative process. A wide-ranging conglomerate of artists ranging from cinematographers, stuntmen, screenwriters, make-up artists, costume designers, production designers, composers, musicians, actors, producers, and finally—ultimately–the director. And this is only a sampling of the artists and technicians who make movies …
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Kickass and Pony Silver
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper uses “Derby Day” as a reminder that for an amazingly long period in his developing life he was at the mercy of an arrogant, narcissistic member of the horse family, specifically a pony named Silver who may have been named …
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Kickass and Rudy’s Bankruptcy
Attribution: DonkeyHotey, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, in his ceaseless sifting and winnowing, not to mention wasting time, happened across Rudy Giuliani’s report to the bankruptcy court listing his monthly expenses at $43,000 and stating that he owes $153 million to creditors, much of …
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Kickass and Shooting Dogs
Attribution: Flickr user eric gates . Photo uploaded to commons by user ltshears, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, with something of a “dog’s” personal interest, joins the keeper in observing that when the national subject of debate focuses on when or if a human should shoot a dog, …
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Kickass and Cow Manure
Attribution: Wikideas1, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in lauding the efforts of Henry Redman, writer for The Wisconsin Examiner, for his comprehensive story regarding the problems associated with cow manure disposal in the case of a factory farm in St. Croix county that wants to expand …
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Not One of Us
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…” –(The Declaration of Independence) Right. These words were written by a slave owner …
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Kickass and Student Demonstrations
Attribution: uwdigitalcollections, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, indulges the keeper as he recalls a bit of his experiences with student demonstrations, the first being when Willard Gonske climbed up into the country school’s lone pine tree and refused to come down. At issue was Willard’s pending discipline for …
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Kickass and Human Rental
Attribution: LMU Library, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is attempting to curb the keeper’s enthusiasm for his adoption of the Denmark plan of renting a human to hear 30 minutes of their life story. The keeper sees the plan as a modification of his lifelong newspaper column writing …
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Kickass on Morel Stand
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, always ready to assist the keeper in his unfailing efforts to innovate, approves of his adaptation of deer hunting techniques in the seasonal morel mushroom hunt. Hence forth, the keeper will not stumble about the woods wearing his eyes out trying to spot examples …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Surrounded”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo The Middle of Nowhere: Film Review of Surrounded By Geoff Carter The film Surrounded is set in the stunning landscape of New Mexico’s Ghost Ranch, the setting of other notable westerns like The Missing, 3:10 to Yuma, and Wyatt Earp. While Surrounded contains many of the formulaic elements of that genre, including a sociopathic outlaw, the snotty …
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Kickass and a Decent Day
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper’s busy day beginning with a delicious Phyllis produced brunch with her son Keven and family—Colleen, Luca, and granddaughter Taylor at which the Israel/Palestine issue was deftly solved by getting rid of Netanyahu. This was followed by a failed morel stroll in …
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