Attribution: Alan D. Wilson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper calling up his special abilities to communicate with all creatures and passing along comments from some of the birds regarding the recent presidential proclamation making the Bald Eagle the official national bird. *Turkey–“We have Thanksgiving nailed …
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Kickass and Kevin’s Game
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that as part of Xmas entertainment at the keeper and Phyllis’s Vista West place there was a “game” introduced by Phyllis’s son Kevin in which each player antes up $10 with the kitty then triple wrapped and taped and retaped in a cardboard …
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Fear of Flying
Attribution: Suikotei, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter The Christmas holidays are here. Millions of people will be taking to the air, the roads, and even the rail to get home for Christmas, and they will be dealing with all the frustrations, vagaries, and disappointments of travel. Things are changing at the airport—and …
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Kickass and Christmas Memories
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, pauses on this Christmas Day to paw through a few memories with the keeper. The keeper goes first: A cold backseat ride in a rattling old Model A Ford through a brittle, star-lite night from Grandma and Grandma Helgeland’s farmhouse, after lutefisk and lefse …
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Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah from The Pen in Hand Blog!!
Attribution: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Happy Holidays and a Safe and Prosperous New Year to All!!
Kickass and Santa’s Note
Attribution: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper finding the following note in the chimney ashes: “Dear Bill and Phyllis: As you already know I will not be coming down your chimney this year as I have put my name on the transfer portal and …
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The Pen in Hand’s Collection of Unconventional Christmas Moments: Auggie Wren’s Christmas Story
Attribution: Marek Slusarczyk, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 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. We are lucky to be able to celebrate …
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Christmas Card
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Phyllis and Bill pass along their Christmas list to aid family and friends in their gift selection: *TIME! Though they have accumulated generous individual supplies they would still like more. And if you can fill any of it with a visit, they are at Vista West on Madison’s …
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The Pen in Hand’s Collection of Unconventional Christmas Moments: “Christmas on the Border, 1929”
Attribution: YIRO5005, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Christmas on the Border, 1929 by Alberto Rios 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 …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “MaXXXine”
Illustration by Michel DiMilo A Star is Reborn: Film Review of MaXXXine By Geoff Carter ★★★1/2 While MaXXXine, the third and final installment of Ti West’s X Film Series, revisits some characters and situations from X and Pearl, the first chapters of the series, it takes us down a different—and deeper—rabbit hole than its predecessors. Instead of providing a …
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Dialogues on Rebuilding the Canadian Pipeline: Enbridge Too Far
Attribution: USEPA Environmental-Protection-Agency, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Featuring The Fabulous Dadbots: Mark M., Dave S., Mark O., Dennis C., and Geoff Carter Bots, You may have heard of the controversy over Enbridge Line 5. Or not. You may not even be interested! But here goes. Sorry, this is lengthy and the payoff is not …
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Kickass and Polar Plunge
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis did not participate in the Winter solstice activities on the banks of Black Earth Creek in Mazomanie and therefore missed the opportunity to dive into the creek following the great bonfire. Many of the keeper’s family members, however, did …
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