Attribution: The original uploader was DrL at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper rising on this Friday the 13th to the bad luck of not being able to find his glasses. After he had rubbed the “luck stone” he carries with his lucky Swiss army …
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The Possibilities Book
Photo by Geoff Carter By Geoff Carter Christmas is a time that, for most of us, evokes fond childhood memories. Who doesn’t sit around the tree on Christmas morning, watching their adorable children tear violent swaths through reams of wrapping paper, and remember their own visions of sugarplums, bikes, road race sets, Barbie dolls, board …
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Kickass and Wind Chill
Attribution: Oregon Department of Transportation, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis will be –in military terms, “confined to quarters” until the temperature and the wind speed produce a wind chill factor that would not freeze the ba….. (The complete metaphor uses the words …
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A Day with the Whales
Photo by Geoff Carter By Geoff Carter Last week, we had the opportunity to go on a whale watching expedition and photo shoot in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Banderas Bay, on which Vallarta is located, is a favored breeding ground for the great humpbacked whales. These magnificent creatures come from as far away as the waters …
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“Just Like the Ones I Used to Know”: The Pen in Hand’s Guide to Vintage Christmas Movies
Photo by Geoffrey Carter By Geoff Carter Well, the Christmas season is upon us in full force. The commercials are everywhere. We’ve seen that ad for the car—or Energizer Bunny, wrapped in a bow and sitting in the driveway on Christmas morning at least one hundred times. Sometimes it’s hard to find the spirit of Christmas amongst all …
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Kickass and Cookies
Attribution: Ruth Hartnup from Vancouver, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, will be sleeping in to avoid being stepped on by the keeper as he–the keeper steps on and off the bathroom scale following cookie day at the weekly Vista West social hour: “Oh, Christmas cookie we love …
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Kickass and Polio
Attribution: National Archives at College Park – Still Pictures , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper’s two best boyhood pals came down with polio during the epidemic of the early 50’s. Both cousin Rob and neighbor Darold suffered lifetime crippling effects, with Rob henceforth walking only …
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Kickass and Finance
Attributiion: Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper peaked out at understanding financial matters with the $2 bill, and thinks of bitcoin as loose change chewed by the dog. This leaves him standing on the corner as the financial parade becomes so outrageous that it takes up the entire …
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The Pen in Hand’s Guide to a Vintage TV Christmas
“Oscar the Elf” Photo by Geoff Carter
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “X”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Young at Heart: Film Review of X ★★★1/2 By Geoff Carter The A24 production group has almost singlehandedly revitalized the horror film genre. With elevated horror epics like The Witch, Hereditary, or Midsommar this company has taken psychological terror to new spellbinding levels. Now, with Ti West’s The Film X Series, A24 has initiated …
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Kickass and Help from Phyllis
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports the keeper in a state of some distress as Phyllis takes on yet another project to go along with her many noteworthy artistic accomplishments. The keeper’s main concern, of course, is that the time Phyllis spends with her new paint and brushes will …
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Kickass Remembers December 7th
Photo by Phyllis Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that on this day that “will live in infamy” in FDR’s famous words, it lives on in the keeper’s memory as a ride in the family Model A Ford to stop at Riven Clark’s Standard Oil gas station on Highway 8 to hear …
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