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 little baseball trivia?

Posted on October 26, 2017 by Katherine Wikoff

My husband and I were talking in passing about the World Series last night. Although I no longer really follow baseball, I was a big fan as a kid. When I noticed the game on TV, I wondered aloud if … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Functionality in search of purpose

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Katherine Wikoff

Although I’ve noticed this item in the corner of a classroom I teach in this quarter, I never looked closely at it until today, when it was in a slightly different location. I almost didn’t recognize what it was. That’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher education, History, Life, Milwaukee, Popular culture, Teaching, Technology | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Remember the Berlin Airlift? Why can’t we do that for Puerto Rico?

Posted on October 20, 2017 by Katherine Wikoff

I know it’s probably naive and presumptuous of me to assume that America’s leaders haven’t thought of this already and dismissed it for good reason. But why haven’t we done something like the Berlin Airlift for Puerto Rico? We kept … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Political Analysis | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Knot Art – How one artist developed a daily creative practice

Posted on October 19, 2017 by Katherine Wikoff

I love this article in today’s Co. Design, “How An Apple Alum Found Her True Calling–In Knots.” Windy Chien, a former producer at Apple’s iTunes, is now an artist who creates hanging textile art, jewelry and lights from complex macrame … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Creativity, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Architectural Correspondence

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Katherine Wikoff

A random thought as I looked across the street while waiting for the light. MSOE’s Campus Center was once the Blatz Brewing Bottle House. Doesn’t that row of vertical stone columns rounding the corner look a bit like a string … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Pedestrian Sidewalk Canopy

Posted on October 16, 2017 by Katherine Wikoff

Looks like they’re getting ready to do some repair work on the German-English Academy Building. I was struck this afternoon by the crisscrossed geometry of shadow and scaffolding (hence the pic 🙂 )

Posted in architecture, Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

After Hours – Grohmann Museum

Posted on October 10, 2017 by Katherine Wikoff

Took this photo last night shortly before leaving work. The galleries were closed but were illuminated by the rays of evening sunlight coming through the atrium. I especially liked how the sculpture on the left seemed to float in the … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, Art, Milwaukee | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Love! Love! Love!

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Katherine Wikoff

An article published today at Inc. online (“Self-Made Billionaire Jack Ma Says You’ll Need This 1 Rare Skill to Succeed in the Age of Machines“) argues that IQ (intelligence quotient) and EQ (emotional intelligence, i.e., “soft skills”) are less important … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and reading, Popular culture, Technology | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Shades of Green

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Katherine Wikoff

After a very rainy spring and summer, Milwaukee has been very dry and unseasonably warm for weeks now. I took this photo on my way to Starbucks after my 8:00 class this morning. You don’t even have to guess the … Continue reading →

Posted in Milwaukee, Nature | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Why do Lands’ End and L.L. Bean have the same cover?

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Katherine Wikoff

That weird synchronicity that saw A Bug’s Life and Antz released just a month apart in fall 1998 strikes again. Look at these two catalogs we just received in the mail. (My husband’s eagle eye caught this.) How did this … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Photography, Popular culture, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments