Category Archives: Popular culture

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

On my way to work this morning I saw this fragment of litter lying on the ground. Obviously, it’s the outside edge of continuous-feed printer paper. Anyone younger than thirty may not know what that is, so here’s a photo for reference. … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Popular culture | Tagged childhood, continuous feed printer paper, nostalgia, printer paper, roll caps, sprocket holes, sprocket wheels, toy guns | 5 Comments

Resolved: To Be Good Enough

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

You’ve surely seen the motivational posters before. Possibly you’ve also seen the “demotivators” from Despair.com. This one has always been my favorite, mostly because of the contempt I’ve always felt for people who practiced mediocrity. Ha! What’s that saying about … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Popular culture, WPLongform (posts of 1000 words or longer), Writing, blogging | Tagged D is for done, despair.com, kindness, Margaret Edson's Wit, mediocrity, mythology, New Year's resolutions, parable of the talents, perfectionism, personal achievement, personal best, personal growth, Steve Jobs | 8 Comments

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 →

Posted in Art, History, Life, Movies and film, Popular culture | Tagged "One Grecian Urn", dance, Danse Serpentine, Loie Fuller, Lumiere brothers, modern dance, Serpentine Dance, tableau dance, The Music Man | 6 Comments

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 →

Posted in Life, Music, Popular culture | Tagged "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "I lLeft My Heart in San Francisco", "Rudolph, "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", "The Christmas Song", "Winter Wonderland", Christmas, Christmas carols, Christmas season, Christmas song lyrics, Christmas songs, introductory lyrics, introductory verses, song lyrics, the Red-Nosed Raindeer", white christmas | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in History, Music, Popular culture | Tagged "Death of a Salesman", "Piano Man", Arthur Miller, Billy Joel, creativity, Terry Teachout | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in Books and reading, History, Life, Popular culture | Tagged "New York Day by Day", Brandon Stanton, Cosmopolitan Magazine, HONY, Humans of New York, New York, New York City, O.O. McIntyre, The Great Depression | 3 Comments

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).

Posted in Music, Popular culture, Television | Tagged "Downton Abbey", Christmas, Christmas at Downton Abbey, Christmas music | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Life, Milwaukee, News, Popular culture | Tagged Downtown Milwaukee, Hank T. Dog, Hank the Dog, Hank the Dog Christmas ornament, ice skating, Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Brewers mascot, public Christmas trees, Red Arrow Park, Slice of Ice skating rink, Starbucks | 2 Comments

The Northern Soul Project – Streaming 24/7 Northern Soul Radio (Post #4)

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

A quick post to share my latest Northern Soul find: a radio station that streams classic Northern Soul music online, ad free, 24/7. A partnership between San Francisco radio station KALW (91.7FM) and National Public Radio, “The Mix: Northern Soul … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Learning, Milwaukee, Music, Popular culture, Writing, blogging | Tagged blog series, blogging, KALW 91.7FM, lifelong learning, Motown, National Public Radio, Northern soul, Northern Soul music, radio station, San Francisco radio station, streaming online radio, WMSE 91.7FM | 1 Comment

Countdown to Downton Abbey – Cora’s YouTube Music Video

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

Last year I wrote a series of “Countdown” posts in anticipation of Season 4 of Downton Abbey. I had not intended to do the same this year, but yesterday I stumbled across something that was too fun not to share. So, first the … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Popular culture, Television | Tagged "Downton Abbey", "The Little Drummer Boy", Bing Crosby, Christmas, David Bowie, Elizabeth McGovern, John C. Reilly, Lady Grantham, music video, parody, Sadie and the Hotheads, Will Ferrell, YouTube video | 1 Comment