Category Archives: Uncategorized

My Favorite Christmas/Holiday Movies

This afternoon I went over to one of our local movie theaters and  purchased a pair of tickets for John McTiernan’s 1988 thriller Die Hard, which my Dear Wife and I will go see Monday. Die Hard got a rerelease last … Continue reading

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Is Taylor Swift the new Queen of all Media?

I’m working on the ninth edition of my textbook Mass Communication: Living in a Media World. The eighth edition was written in the middle of the pandemic lockdown and talks about a time when everything was being limited. The lockdown … Continue reading

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Questions Worth Asking (Maybe)

Are Facebook and Instagram addictive? And if so, what does that mean? We know that nicotine, meth, heroin, alcohol and the like are addictive. Biochemists can lay out the specific mechanisms that make these substances difficult to quit using. But … Continue reading

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Rupert Murdoch Steps Down From Fox Corporation and News Corp. Management

Breaking news: Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as the chairman of Fox Corporation and News Corp, ending a decades-long run that saw him become the driving force in American conservative media through Fox News. https://t.co/5AtAwR6VB7 — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) … Continue reading

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Everyone’s Gone to the Movies – The Year Sequels Didn’t Rule

It is almost fall, but it still seems like the summer movie season has a little time yet to go before we jump into the doldrums that lie in between the blockbusters and the late-fall/early-winter Oscar bait. Oh, wait a … Continue reading

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Remembering A Motorcycle Ride to the United 93 9/11 Memorial on a Rainy Summer Day

It was 22 years ago this morning that I was teaching my freshman media literacy course at West Virginia University.  I had a class with close to 350 students in it. C-SPAN’s Washington Journal morning show was playing on the … Continue reading

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Riding Up North – Wheels on Walls Part 5

This is the fifth post in a series of images from my travels for the  Wheels on Walls motorcycle scavenger hunt sponsored  by Team Strange Airheads. For it, I need to collect photos of my motorcycle and rally flag taken … Continue reading

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‘Great 78 Project’ Works to Preserve Vintage Recordings; Big Music is not Amused

“Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter. Therefore, ye soft pipes, play on.” – John Keats: If record companies had their way, there would be a lot of really sweet music out there. Let me explain. The music … Continue reading

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The Lessons of Barbenheimer Shake Up Movie Industry

The standard narrative this summer is that audiences are tired of going to theaters for movies and would rather just stay home to watch streaming. Audiences stayed home in droves from one more Indiana Jones flick and didn’t show Mission … Continue reading

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The Highs and Lows of Living with Diabetes

I have been living with Type II diabetes since 2001, and it affects almost every aspect of my life. Like many diabetics, I really can’t go more than a couple of hours without having to actively think about it. I’ve … Continue reading

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