Attribution: DonkeyHotey, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, agrees with the keeper and Phyllis that the longest State of the Union speech in history warrants the shortest Kickass response in history: “BULL—-!” See more at… The Bill Stokes Author Page
Kickass and Relating to Chickens
Attribution: Roy E. Plotnick, Jessica M. Theodor & Thomas R. Holtz Jr., CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper has concluded his research on which came first the chicken or the human and in keeping with the benevolence of great scientists before him is ready to …
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Kickass and “My Dead Friend Zoe”
Attribution: Photo by Chris Murray on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, does not do movies, which he regrets after listening to the keeper and Phyllis rave about the recently released “My Dead Friend Zoe” which was created, written and produced by the keeper’s grandnephew Kyle Hausman Stokes and is currently in local theaters. It is …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Sing Sing”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Hard Time: Film Review of Sing Sing ★★★★1/2 By Geoff Carter Prison films have been a Hollywood staple for years. I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, The Birdman of Alcatraz, The Green Mile, Cool Hand Luke, The Shawshank Redemption, and many, many more have all tried to depict the struggles, …
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Kickass and Perpetual Motion
The Pen in Hand Blog featuring Bill Stokes
Photo by Phyllis
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: An Oscar Rubric
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter . In sports, winners and losers are determined by how many points they score. Some measure success by the size of a bank account or fame, but there are other more subtle metrics. When I taught English, it was a requirement of the job to develop a rubric, …
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Kickass and April Fool
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, defers to the keeper and Phyllis this day in the midst of the calendar confusion that occurs between February and March and which is supposedly corrected by a “Leap year.” This year the February-March confusion was further complicated by the unexpected appearance of the …
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Kickass and Dad’s Wagon Rides
Attribution: Photo by Luismi Sánchez on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, turns it over to the keeper on this very windy day to remember a story his dear old dad told of his own boyhood in North Dakota when he hooked his coaster wagon to big tumbleweeds and let the wind pull him across the …
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Kickass and Complaints
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper who never aspires to “Good boy!” status, was gratified recently with proof that some of his communication efforts are succeeding in reaching readers. Fellow Vista West residents B and C were among those who took the trouble to respond to …
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The Pen in Hand’s Guide to the Movies: The Legacy of Gene Hackman
(In Memorian: January 30, 1930 to February 27, 2025) Trish Overton, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter During his long and storied career, spanning back to his breakthrough role as Buck Barrow in 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde, Gene Hackman has excelled at portraying tough gritty characters as both a leading man and a character …
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Taken for Granted
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter “Don’t it always seem to go/ That you don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone/” –“Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell Humans have a peculiar tendency to become quickly accustomed to surrounding circumstances—particularly good circumstances—and then to subsequently take them for granted. The excitement of getting a …
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Kickass and VA Eye Visit
Attribution: Photo by v2osk on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, lends this space to the keeper to update his continuing saga with the VA eye clinic as it treats his advancing macular deterioration–AMD. A three-hour session of examination and consultation with top professionals answered all of the keeper and Phyllis’s questions and assured them that …
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