Author Archives: Katherine Wikoff

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About Katherine Wikoff

I am a college professor (PhD in English, concentration rhetoric) at Milwaukee School of Engineering, where I teach film and media studies, political science, digital society, digital storytelling, writing for digital media, and communication. While fragments of my teaching and scholarship interests may quite naturally meander over to my blog, this space is intended to function as a creative outlet, not as part of my professional practice. Opinions are my own, etc.

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 , , , , , , , , , , | 11 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

One final allusion in O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Posted on March 11, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

I’ve never seen anyone comment on this before, but doesn’t the series of arches in the final moments of O Brother, Where Art Thou? remind you of the series of axe heads (the ring holes) that Odysseus (aka Ulysses, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies and film, Popular culture | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Live feed of a California bald eagle nest

Posted on March 6, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

One year when my kids were younger, a local television station (PBS?) carried a live feed of a bald eagle nest in northern Wisconsin. One of our favorite things that spring was checking on the nest before heading out the … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Nature | Tagged , | 7 Comments