Author Archives: Katherine Wikoff

About Katherine Wikoff

I am a college professor at Milwaukee School of Engineering, where I teach literature, film studies, political science, and communication. I also volunteer with a Milwaukee homeless sanctuary, Repairers of the Breach, as chair of the Communications and Fund Development Committee.

Tenacity

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

I don’t know what kind of tree this is, but I have to admire the tenacity with which it continually regrows branches/suckers that have been cut off. You can see scarred burls from years of pruning all along the length … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Life, Nature | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

An Ironing man at work in his mobile cart by the street side, Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, India

Posted on May 10, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

An Ironing man at work in his mobile cart by the street side, Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, India An Ironing man at work in his mobile cart by the street side, Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, India I love—absolutely LOVE!—the colors in this … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, “Reblogged” posts from other writers, Creativity, Photography | Tagged | 4 Comments

A podcast series worth listening to

Posted on April 18, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

I stumbled across a page I’d bookmarked months ago and gave a listen. Really enjoyed it and thought I’d share here. The podcast series is by “Team Deakins,” aka legendary Academy Award winning cinematographer Roger Deakins and his wife, James … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Learning, Movies and film | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Geode cake tutorial

Posted on April 16, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

Okay, I’ll probably never make this, but I love rocks, took a year of geology in college, and think this geode cake looks like a lot of fun. How inventive!

Posted in Creativity, Food | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Why this year’s Best Picture award dooms the Oscars to irrelevance

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

The last film that students watch in my film and media studies course is whatever has won the Best Picture Oscar that year. I was a little nervous to see what won this year because some of the nominees were … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Higher education, Media studies, Movies and film, News, Popular culture, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Fifty Years of the Corleone Family Onscreen

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

Tonight is the Academy Awards broadcast. I saw somewhere that there’s going to be a reunion of The Godfather cast tonight, as this year is the 50th anniversary of that film’s release. Fifty years! What a masterpiece. And this movie … Continue reading →

Posted in Media studies, Movies and film, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Oh dear, more Tosa Turkey drama!

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

Here in my old-school Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa the turkey drama continues. Now the flocks are dogging delivery trucks and pestering/threatening delivery drivers. I remember watching aggressive peacocks at the zoo about this time of year when my kids were … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Milwaukee, Nature | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Happy Accident

Posted on March 23, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

An accidental photo I took of a carpet. Not really sure how it happened, and it’s blurry because my hand was moving. (I intended to take a picture of a faraway sign so I could then enlarge the photo and … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Photography | Tagged , | 6 Comments

I can change my life!

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

I woke up before my alarm today. With faint morning light warmly hinted at through closed eyelids and still in that drowsy, relaxed process of awakening, I slowly became aware of a thought running through my consciousness. A thought fully … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Life | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

A chance encounter with “Tubular Bells”

Posted on March 16, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

Heard this old song on the radio driving home today. It has literally been YEARS since I’ve heard it or even thought about it. The song, “Tubular Bells,” was released in 1973 and went on to be used as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, History, Media studies, Movies and film, Music, Popular culture | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment