Category Archives: Life

Mr. Bennet’s Gooseberry Fool

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

This is not Mr. Bennet. It’s Mr. Darcy, as portrayed by Colin Firth. You’re welcome 😄 About 17 years ago I had to read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice for a Great Books event I facilitated at Milwaukee School of Engineering. … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Life, Movies and film | Tagged Benjamin Whitrow, Colin Firth, gooseberries, gooseberry bush, gooseberry fool, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice, pudding | 2 Comments

Tree shadows growing along a wall (à 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 →

Posted in Art, Life, Photography | Tagged early morning light, Edward Hopper, tree shadows | Leave a 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 Artie Shaw, Barry Manilow, Benny Goodman, choosing an instrument, clarinet, Guy Lombardo, Henry Cuesta, Jo Ann Castle, Lawrence Welk, Royal Canadians, Woody Herman | 8 Comments

Wham! Pow! Ooof!

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

Fun article the other day in the Wall Street Journal—or, as they like to style themselves: The Wall Street Journal. (← with a period at the end, I have no idea why)—about all the over-the-top villains in the old “Batman” … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Popular culture, Television | Tagged "Batman" television show, camp | 4 Comments

Melting ice at Red Arrow skating rink

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

Last week Friday the temperature was 0º on our back porch thermometer when I let the dogs out first thing in the morning. Today the high is supposed to hit 63º. Quite a change, (to which my sinuses can attest … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged melting ice, Red Arrow Park, signs of early spring, Slice of Ice skating rink, winter | 3 Comments

Morning Sunlight, à la Brothers Grimm

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

I don’t know why this golden-orange cast of sunrise on trees makes me think of a Grimm Brothers fairy tale. When I walked outside my front door this morning, the gilded bark was the first thing I noticed, and “Grimm … Continue reading →

Posted in Life | Tagged Brothers Grimm, children's book illustrations, Countesss Xaveria Amalia Franziska Pocci, fairy tales, Grimm Brothers, Grohmann Museum, morning sunlight | 6 Comments

Buddha mummy proves truth about statues

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

Last April I wrote a short post titled “The Truth About Statues” about my childhood belief that statues were made by pouring concrete over dead people—or maybe not dead until AFTER the concrete casing went on! Possibly you’ve seen this photograph and story today? … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Life, News, Science | Tagged art, art history, Buddha mummy, history, mummies, statues | 2 Comments

The Grohmann Museum’s “Milwaukee Road” Exhibit

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

My office at Milwaukee School of Engineering is in the Grohmann Museum, which houses the world’s largest collection of art depicting the subject of “Man at Work.” In 2008 The Wall Street Journal published a wonderful article about Eckhart Grohmann and … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Life, Milwaukee, Popular culture, Technology, Travel | Tagged Amtrak, Eckhart Grohmann, Grohmann Museum, Milwaukee Road, Milwaukee School of Engineering, railroads, The Milwaukee Road, train travel, urban renewal | 1 Comment

Box Elder Gold on Ice

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

This is the junkiest, ugliest tree in the neighborhood—a female box elder. Not only does it drop seed pods constantly throughout the year, but it also harbors box elder bugs. Most of the time these red bugs stick close to … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Milwaukee, Nature, Photography, Science | Tagged Box elder, box elder bugs, Box Elder tree, tree, twig encased in ice | Leave a comment

Brian Williams, Jonah Lehrer, and kleptomania

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

By now, who hasn’t heard the news about NBC anchor Brian Williams? That he lied multiple times, over a period of many years, about his helicopter being hit by ground fire in Iraq. That he apparently lied about many other … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and reading, Life, News, Popular culture, Television, Writing, blogging | Tagged Brian Williams, compulsive disorders, Jonah Lehrer, kleptomania, pathological lying, plagiarism | 2 Comments