Category Archives: Popular culture

Black Friday – Spreading Like Retail Ebola

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I am both mystified and appalled to discover that the Black Friday phenomenon is fast becoming a new international “holiday.” In scrolling through my Twitter feed last night, I came across a BBC News article describing how police have been called to … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, News, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Bruno Mars—as you’ve (probably) never seen him!

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I’m teaching contemporary literature this quarter at Milwaukee School of Engineering, and the text we’re discussing this coming week is literally hot off the presses—”The Flick,” which is the play that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama last spring and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and reading, Life, Movies and film, Music, Popular culture, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

F. Scott Fitzgerald: Football Genius?

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I was about to toss yesterday’s Wall Street Journal into the recycling bin this morning but realized I hadn’t read the “Review” section.  Am I glad I took a minute to page through!  On page C3 was this excellent essay/article, … Continue reading →

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“Unsquare Dance” in Silver Linings Playbook

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I’m showing Silver Linings Playbook in one of my classes this week, and for the first time I really thought about how interesting it is that Dave Brubeck’s “Unsquare Dance” is the song playing as Tiffany walks out to meet … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies and film, Music, Popular culture, Television | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Fuzzy Wuzzy, “Vintage” Soap

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I have no idea why this product from my childhood randomly popped into my thoughts this morning. I vaguely recall being allowed to get Fuzzy Wuzzy soap at least once.  All my friends were fascinated by it.  Does anyone know … Continue reading →

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The Northern Soul Project – Sociology of an Underground Music Culture (post #3)

Posted on September 9, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I found another BBC documentary about Northern Soul. This one aired September 25, 2013, on BBC2 in the United Kingdom. It is titled “Northern Soul: Keeping the Faith” and appears to have been part of a series called “The Culture Show.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Learning, Music, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

The Northern Soul Project

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

One of the terms in my blog’s subtitle is “Lifelong Learning.”  When I started writing here a couple of years ago, I thought I’d be talking much more about that topic than I’ve turned out to, as it’s a huge … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Learning, Life, Music, Popular culture, Teaching, WPLongform (posts of 1000 words or longer) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Does penmanship matter?

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

Two handwriting stories. One:  After I got a D in penmanship in third grade, my parents made me sit at our dining room table every night practicing my handwriting. The reason I’d gotten a similarly bad grade in arithmetic was that … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher education, Life, Music, Popular culture, Teaching, Technology, Writing, blogging | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Casey Kasem: Keep reaching for the stars

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I was on I-65 driving south from Chicago Sunday when I heard the news that Casey Kasem had died. Because I’d seen recent news stories of family drama pitting Kasem’s wife against the children from his first marriage, Kasem’s death came as … Continue reading →

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O. Winston Link exhibit of steam locomotive photography closes next Sunday

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

For today’s post, head over to my blog at Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Hub, where I’ve written about the Grohmann Museum’s exhibit of steam locomotive photography by the famed O. Winston Link.  Plus I share a fun background story about … Continue reading →

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