Attribution: USFWS Mountain-Prairie, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, cautions the keeper to remain calm in the face of rumors that the MEGA efforts to rename things includes an attempt to rename WISCONSIN to eliminate the last three letters “sin” in its name. A POTUS staffer told the Fox …
Read
Kickass and Sarah/Boo Visit
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joined the keeper and Phyllis in hosting the keeper’s granddaughter Sarah and Boo, the small schnauzer that once ruled the keeper’s Mazo house where she played her own piano, did an impressive routine of tricks and expressed a barking opinion on all things great …
Read
Kickass and River’s Birthday
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports from the birthday party for the keeper’s great grandson “River” which was held in the house the keeper built 25 years ago on a Mazomanie hilltop and where River now lives with his family. The following is the keeper’s birthday message to River: …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “A Complete Unknown”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★★☆ No Direction Home: Film Review of A Complete Unknown By Geoff Carter Musical biopics never quite seem to hit the right note. While the trials and tribulations of musicians like Johnny Cash, Charlie Parker, and Freddie Mercury might be compelling stories in themselves, the film narratives based on their lives …
Read
Kickass and Deadlines
Attribution: Cbaile19, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, acknowledges the keeper noting that for most of his long column-writing life he has been burdened with coming up with subject matter for a message to readers. There were many close calls when failure seemed inevitable, and then something would occur to …
Read
Kickass and Last POTUS
Attribution: NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper as he tries to claim privilege by noting that given his age, odds are that the recently elected POTUS will be the last one the keeper experiences before his little pile of …
Read
Kickass and Eight-Year-Old Repeat
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Incredibly, Kickass gets the morning off by using a post from eight years ago exactly as it appeared then: Kickass, the doorstop dog, with his fathomless array of information sources recently hacked into an exchange between Russia and the Trump Camp.RUSS: We’re thinking of decriminalizing domestic abuse, do …
Read
Kickass and Billionaires
Attribution: StanCoFair, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports on the keeper’s efforts to identify with the billionaires who recently bought the universe and reinstalled the formerly discredited Pluto at its center. In terms of relating to such things as Elon’s big space rocket exploding and falling into the …
Read
The Disappearing Man
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter As the 46th president, he guided our nation through one of the worst pandemics in history. He revitalized an economy paralyzed by broken supply lines and mass unemployment. He assisted American workers until they were able to get back on their feet and back to work after the extended …
Read
Kickass and Hal’s Coyote
Photo by Hal Bergan By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, while reporting the keeper’s unstinting dedication to truth and veracity, particularly as it pertains to his posts here, feels compelled to respond to a challenge from Hal Bergan as to whether the coyote found cowering some time ago in the freezer section of a …
Read
Kickass and Oligarch Kennels
Attribution: Maarten Honnebier, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, gives the keeper and Phyllis the morning off and files his personal report on activities at OLIGARCH KENNELS following the recent change in ownership from private to corporate. *Under the provisions of the “Citizen-Mutts Sold Out” act, OLIGARCH KENNELS will …
Read
Happy Martin Luther King Junior Day from The Pen in Hand Blog
Attribution: Nobel Foundation, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.