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.

“You’re alone.” (Further thoughts on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine)

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

Just saw breaking news that Moldova and Georgia have filed applications to join the European Union. This coming just a few days after Ukraine made its own urgent application to join. Not to mention on the heels of an ever-lengthening … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies and film, Political Analysis, Popular culture | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Charlie Behrens, Midwest Storyteller Extraordinaire

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

Check it out! Charlie Behrens filmed his “2 Types of People in the Parking Lot” video at the grocery store where I often shop. Did you notice the yellow-green awnings from these photos I took a few months ago. Behrens … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Milwaukee, Popular culture | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Linking to an old (2017) but freshly updated post about SCTV’s “CCCP 1” episode and today’s crisis in Ukraine

Posted on March 1, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

I noticed that this old post was getting lots of views tonight, so I decided to go in and check on whether the embedded video was still live. Nope. So I found some new clips and also added some commentary … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Analysis, Popular culture, Television | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Some insights on Ukraine from social media activity

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

It’s very interesting to see the roles played by social media in this Ukraine crisis. We see protests occurring in Moscow and St. Petersburg. We see English-language TikTok video messages of support for Ukraine from Russian citizens. We get instantaneous … Continue reading →

Posted in Media studies, Political Analysis | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Ice Storm!

Posted on February 23, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

I know states to our south frequently get ice storms, but they are rare in Wisconsin. We usually get snow instead. However, we had a significant ice storm this week Monday through Tuesday evenings. Which, ironically, came exactly 100 years … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Milwaukee, Nature | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Some thoughts on Ukraine

Posted on February 22, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

This post is so old now (2014), but I just saw this news on Twitter from The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex): BREAKING: Russian parliamentarian says Syria has expressed willingness to recognize Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states It seems so odd … Continue reading →

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Groovy Butter

Posted on February 16, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

I was making toast for breakfast and liked the look of grooves left behind when I sliced through the butter. Wondered how it would look if all you could see were the grooves. A little fuzzy in terms of resolution, … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Photography | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Purple Swirls

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

This is what I saw as I was drinking water from a colorful old Tupperware glass in the kitchen one recent night with the light above the sink shining through. This glass was part of a set my kids used … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Photography | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Charles Manson – Dennis (“Beach Boys”) Wilson Connection

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

Well. Here is something I’d never heard about before, never once in all the years since I first read the grisly details of Sharon Tate’s murder in the Sunday newspaper’s Parade magazine when I was just a kid under ten … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and reading, History | Tagged , | 18 Comments

Self-portrait in red bathrobe among dirty dishes

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Katherine Wikoff

I’ve been sick the past week and a half with what I assume is Omicron, despite being double-vaxxed, boosted, and perpetually masked. Drugstores have been sold out of Covid tests, and lines at drive-up test sites are several blocks long. … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Photography | Tagged , | 13 Comments