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.

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

“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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