Attribution: Natasha Jelezkina from Chicago, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that thanks to his father’s “Yankee” genetic handoff he can come up with identity to almost any given ethnicity even including Irish. It was not enough, however, to keep him out of trouble with the Chicago …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Josie and the Pussycats”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★★★ What’s New, Pussycat?: Review of Josie and the Pussycats By Geoff Carter Our favorite theater, The Oriental, is part of Milwaukee Film, a non-profit institution dedicated to (according to their mission statement) “entertaining, educating, and engaging our community through cinematic experiences… where we are committed to high-quality and accessible film programming.” (MKE …
Read
Kickass and Phyllis’s Birthday
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper in wishing Phyllis a very happy birthday and will be doing everything possible to correct the transposition of numbers that assigns Phyllis an inappropriate ridiculous age. Phyllis IS 58! Do not forget that and know that in her 58th year which happened …
Read
Kickass and Coffee Spill
Attribution: Fabrizio Van Marciano, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper is not adverse to a bit of excitement to start off the day and such was provided when his alert level tanked as he sat in front of his computer with a cup of coffee …
Read
Kickass and Dream Job
Attribution: Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, sympathizes with the keeper in his disappointment over missing out on his dream job as advertised by a stable owner in Richford, WI, an area the keeper is very familiar with for its trout fishing and weekend escapades at his former weekend cabin. The …
Read
Kickass and the Orchid
Attribution: WFinch, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis are struggling with the emotional outfall of having house-sat for neighbor Marsha and Jack’s orchid plant while they were off on a west coast visit. Simple instructions were to give the orchid one ice cube …
Read
Get Up! Stand Up!
Attribution: Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash By Geoff Carter No living American has seen anything like it. We’re being invaded. From within. Our government is being dismantled by a gang of billionaires, white supremacists, and radical Christian Nationalists. Veterans, park rangers, teachers, scientists, doctors, federal workers, and many other hard-working Americans are suffering. Because of thoughtless and …
Read
Kickass and Plastic Bags
Attribution: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, sometimes joins the keeper in the morning as he watches the students walk across the parking lot from their parked cars to Memorial High School on the other side of Gammon Road. It is the keeper’s observation that the students …
Read
Dialogues on Robber Barons 2.0: This Land is My Land
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Mark M., Dave S., Mark O., Dennis C., and Geoff Carter Bots, Not a lot has been spewed on this thread regarding Trump’s power grab in Washington. So I’ll launch an opening shot. As I write–and things are changing rapidly–several of Trump’s Executive Orders (EOs) have been …
Read
Kickass and Goats
Attribution: Photo by Nataliya Melnychuk on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is not much help to the keeper as he investigates what is apparently a genetic quirk on his father’s side of the family that manifests itself in a fondness for goats. As a boy growing up out on the North Dakota prairie the keeper’s …
Read
Kickass and Weather Forecast
Attribution: Gus Polly, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis will be filling in from time to time for some of those dedicated experts who are being fired by the Musky Money Monkeys who now infest and manage the WHITE White House. Starting with …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Film Review of “The Apprentice”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo ★★★1/2 The Art of Greed: Film Review of The Apprentice By Geoff Carter One of the timeliest films to come out this year was The Apprentice, a biopic of Donald Trump’s life as a young man and his subsequent career as a ruthless and unscrupulous businessman. Even fans of Donald Trump might find …
Read