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.

London: We Need to talk about Paris

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

Enlightening blog post essay about Paris book shops from The Matilda Project. Had to laugh out loud at the “Cry me a river, Goliath” parenthetical aside.

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One Grecian Urn

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I’m searching for a term that would help me find some sort of documentary evidence, preferably video, of a style of dance that was popular around the start of the twentieth century. Backstory: I encountered a reference to John Keats’s … Continue reading →

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Random thoughts on time, nostalgia and the human experience

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

This photo taken on my way to work doesn’t do it justice. but the sun looked really eerie here, like a science fiction movie.  As you can see, the light was directed upward, while the ground below was in shadows.  And … Continue reading →

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No (Introductory) Christmas Lyric Left Behind

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

“The sun is shining / The grass is green . . .”  Thus begins one of my favorite Christmas songs.  It continues: The orange and palm trees sway There’s never been such a day In Beverly Hills, L.A. If you don’t recognize … Continue reading →

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In Praise of the One-Hit Wonder

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

Driving home today, I was listening to (and, of course, singing along with 🙂 ) Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” on the radio.  My first idle thought was to realize that it is in 3/4 time, like a waltz. Most of his … Continue reading →

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The original HONY – O.O. McIntyre

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

Everyone seems to know and like the extremely popular “Humans of New York” (HONY) blog by Brandon Stanton.  Intriguingly, another man was putting an equally human face on the people of New York City, both celebrities and ordinary folks, nearly 100 years … Continue reading →

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How Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer teaches like a humanities professor

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

As yesterday’s 59–0 Ohio State victory over Wisconsin shows, something is working very well in the Ohio State coaching strategy.  A story in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal provides some insight into what that might be. “Taking the Buckeyes to School” talks about how … Continue reading →

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Christmas at Downton Abbey

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I try to buy a new CD of Christmas music every December, and here’s my choice for this year 🙂 Buying info and the Amazon description are here (with sample audio clips of all songs).

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The Art of the Fire Escape (Milwaukee’s City Hall)

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I had to walk past City Hall to a dentist’s appointment yesterday.  For months (actually, years off and on!) the Market Street shortcut behind City Hall has been blocked off by scaffolding erected to preserve/shore up the nearly 120-year-old structure.  I almost … Continue reading →

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Red Arrow “Slice of Ice” (plus “Hank” the Dog)

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

The “Slice of Ice” skating rink at Red Arrow Park in downtown Milwaukee is nearly ready for skaters.  It opens for the season tomorrow (Thursday, December 4) at 4:00. Yesterday I noticed that the rink’s cement had been covered by … Continue reading →

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