Category Archives: Popular culture

Countdown to Downton Abbey (13 days to go) — The Dowager Countess’s “Mom” Jeans

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

Or at least the equivalent thereof. Have you noticed that as other women’s hemlines rise and hairstyles modernize, Violet Crawley (played by Maggie Smith) remains somewhat stuck in a pre-WWI Edwardian time warp?  Her hats are a bit smaller and slightly … Continue reading →

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

Is climate change cyclical?

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

Although most media reports on climate change focus on looming disaster, I’ve read some interesting articles recently that look backward and provide some long-term perspective. Melting glaciers are revealing ancient human artifacts as they recede.  Beneath ice thousands of years … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Nature, News, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Countdown to Downton Abbey (36 days to go) – Pharaoh and Isis

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

The title of today’s post refers to the countdown clock on the Masterpiece “Downton Abbey” page on the PBS website.  For those of us anxiously awaiting Season 4 (or “Series 4,” as they say in England, where this season’s episodes have … Continue reading →

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Why “The Hunger Games” should win the Academy Award for Best Production Design

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Katherine Wikoff

I was finally able to watch The Hunger Games about a week ago and was extremely impressed by the film’s visual design – the locations, costumes, sets, props, makeup, etc.  Immediately I began thinking about writing a post arguing that the film … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies and film, Popular culture, WPLongform (posts of 1000 words or longer) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment