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.

Stream of YouTube Consciousness: Fred Astaire, Bob Hope, and Elmer Bernstein at the 1970 Oscars (plus Ellen DeGeneres’s selfie; Janis Joplin’s riveting Monterey Pop Festival performance; and the themes from “Ironside” and The Magnificent Seven)

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

Long title, but bear with me 🙂  I came across this clip of Fred Astaire dancing at the 1970 Academy Awards ceremony the other day—and marveled that one could have watched the Oscars broadcast that year and witnessed such entertainment. (If you … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Movies and film, Music, Popular culture, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Update on that ship in my last post

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

After I put up my Saturday photo of Lake Michigan, my friend Jo, who lives on the lakefront downtown, told me that ship in the picture had been anchored there all week. Apparently the ship has been the topic of much conversation the past several … Continue reading →

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Lake Michigan, on a blustery end-of-May day

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

I had lunch today with my writing group at one member’s residence on Prospect Avenue overlooking Lake Michigan. In January I took a photo from the bluff, braving bitterly cold wind without gloves for the few seconds it took to snap … Continue reading →

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

Tree shadows growing along a wall (Ă  la Edward Hopper)

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

Somehow these slanted early-morning shadows remind me of Edward Hopper’s “Early Sunday Morning,” which you can see here in the Whitney Museum of Art collection.  That sweep of light washing swiftly down a street, stretching everything in its path into spindly … Continue reading →

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Sixth Street Viaduct

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

I took this photo of the Sixth Street Viaduct over Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley while waiting to cross the street after dropping my younger daughter off at the train station this morning.  She caught the 8:05 Amtrak Hiawatha for a field trip with her art history classmates … Continue reading →

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

Val. Blatz Brewing Company – 1901 / 1946 / 2015

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

It was the lines that got me.  I’ve passed this way so many times, but for some reason the strongly oppositional vertical and horizontal lines had never presented themselves so starkly before.  So I had to get out my phone … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, History, Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Milwaukee Grayscale

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

I noticed this bird atop a light pole as I left campus tonight. Downtown Milwaukee has been partially shrouded by mist/fog today, most likely caused by the difference between air and Lake Michigan temperatures.  Away from the lake it was warm and sunny. Below … Continue reading →

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Geometric Reflections on Spring

Posted on May 2, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

Trees are sprouting leaves and it feels like spring is finally here!  Took this photo on MSOE’s campus in downtown Milwaukee as I walked from one meeting to another yesterday around noon.

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A Slice of Milwaukee’s City Hall

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

Took this photo this morning just because I found the view of City Hall from this perspective kind of arresting. After I took the picture, I noticed that the flag is at half mast today and wondered why.  Not that terrible … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, Milwaukee | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Choosing the Clarinet

Posted on April 18, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

When it came time for my kids to join the band in elementary school, selecting an instrument prompted great angst.  As they ruminated on each possibility’s merits, they asked why I had decided on the clarinet.  How had I known that it was “the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments