Attribution: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Republican J.D. Vance says it is his love of country that informs his vision of America. When accepting the nomination as Donald Trump’s running mate at the Republican National Convention, he said (referring to himself, his running mate Donald Trump, …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to Hiding Under the Bed: The Spookiest Halloween Movies of All Time
Photo by Skyler Sawyer on Unsplash By Geoff Carter (Originally published on October 31, 2020) I grew up in the sixties and seventies, in what might be called the golden age of the horror movie. Not only were we able to see films The Abominable Dr. Phibes and Scream and Scream Again at the drive-in theater, but every Saturday afternoons we …
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Kickass and the Future
Attribution: Balise42, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes along the keeper’s observation that it is the misfortune of the human race to have the ability to know what is coming, weatherwise, war wise and behaviorally by humans; and to try to plan and act accordingly. Here is how …
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Kickass and Good News
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, does what he can to help the keeper and Phyllis sort through the daily mishmash of bad and infuriating news in search of something positive and uplifting. Those efforts were rewarded big time yesterday with confirmation from Dr. Rose at the UW’s Carbone Cancer center …
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Kickass and the Numbers
Attribution: Alberto Alvim, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that at a recent social gathering of Vista West neighbors, the keeper and Bernard had a little talk about “THE NUMBER,” Bernard’s being 95 and the keeper’s 93. After some discussion as to how those numbers came about—some genetic …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Wolfs”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Bad Buddies: Review of Wolfs ★★★☆☆ There is a lot to like in Jon Watts’ new film Wolfs. In many ways, it’s like curling up in the family room recliner. It’s familiar, comfortable, and reassuring. It features well-known actors in roles we’ve seen them in before; it is a genre we’re familiar …
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Kickass and Badger Ordinance
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and his retired military officer brother Orv, both their lives having been altered in major ways by wars—Korea, Vietnam, visited with Verlyn Mueller, curator at the “Museum of Badger Ammunition” on the grounds of the former Badger Ordinance Works where …
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Kickass and Vehicle Display
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper has floated the idea previously of large numbers being displayed on vehicles indicating the age of the driver but is backing off and suggesting instead that vehicle lettering be required to indicate a driver’s voting record. With an election coming …
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Kickass and Coincidental Lunch
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, ever alert to making meaningful scientific contributions, suggests that the occasion of clan males just happening to gather at a Sauk City lunch venue speaks to a basic evolutionary survival mechanism that warrants further investigation. On a day when the …
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Kickass and Missing Summer
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper and Phyllis will be leading the search to find out just what the hell happened to the summer of 2024. Here we are well into the autumn of 2024 with no clear sense of there ever having been a 2024 …
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The New Normal
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter We once had a dog, a cute little schnoodle named Lucy. We got her as a puppy and raised her as a member of our family. Our daughter grew up alongside her. As Lucy grew older, we noticed normal signs of aging: lower mobility, hearing and sight issues, …
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Kickass and ID Badge
Photo by Bill Stokes By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes that the keeper’s getting-ready-for-winter preparations are particularly challenging in this time of high political drama that reveals how the trickle-down theory of economics is patterned after the dogs’ method of marking territory. As an early October morning temperature reading dances around 50, the …
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