Author Archives: Ralph Hanson

Guest Post: Using AI as a collaborator, not a crutch

Posted on October 20, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

Editor’s Note: Regular readers here will know (can’t help but noticing!) my disdain for most things AI, especially in creative work. (I also worry, somewhat speculatively, that it could result in the end of the world as we know it…) … Continue reading →

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Dartmouth provost uses AI to do his homework

Posted on October 13, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

Aside from the debates as to whether AI models are out of control and could take over/destroy the world, there is the smaller, but still important, question as to how much disclosure is required by people using AI to create … Continue reading →

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Using AI to do your homework isn’t limited to college students

Posted on September 21, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

One of my great frustrations during the last couple of years of my college-teaching career was students using generative AI tools like ChatGPT to complete their homework. It was sad to see with academic homework, but what really disappointed me … Continue reading →

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Ralph’s Current Media: Coyote vs. Acme, Union County, and Pirate Video Game Console

Posted on September 9, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

My late summer movie viewing has been eclectic, to say the least. Here are a couple of interesting films I’ve seen in the theater recently along with my latest video game foray.  We’ll come back to this topic in a … Continue reading →

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Questions Worth Asking (Maybe) – GTA VI, Anthony Bourdain, and Steven Sondheim

Posted on August 31, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

How many people will be absent from work on Grand Theft Auto VI release day? (WSJ – gift link) Gamers have been waiting 13 years for the next edition of the monster hit open world phenomenon of Grand Theft Auto … Continue reading →

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Remembering Dolly Parton

Posted on August 25, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

Editor’s note: I’ve been off-line the last few weeks because of surgery reattaching a ligament on my left arm. Recovery is slow, but sure, but I do now have the use of both hands. The great Dolly Parton passed into … Continue reading →

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Nolan’s created a great film, but it’s a revisionist tale – Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ Part 4

Posted on July 31, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

Editor’s Note: For the last couple of weeks I’ve been writing about Homer’s Odyssey in a variety of forms without my reaction to Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film. Here are my thoughts after seeing it twice – once at an Ultra DLX … Continue reading →

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Nolan’s Storytelling Generates Talk – Homer’s The Odyssey Part 3

Posted on July 24, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

Editor’s Note: Dear Wife and I saw The Odyssey at the Grand Theater’s Ultra DLX premium format screen (With Atmos sound) in Lincoln, NE over the weekend. I loved it, and DW enjoyed it despite it being way over her limit of … Continue reading →

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British Actor Stephen Fry performs Greek Myths with a Storyteller’s Perspective: Homer’s The Odyssey Part 2

Posted on July 20, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

NOTE: This is the second of three blog posts taking a look at modern translations/retellings of Homer’s The Odyssey – each in more-or-less a different medium – Emily Wilson’s book with a new translation from Ancient Greek, Stephen Fry’s audiobooks presenting … Continue reading →

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Who lives? Who dies? Who tells your story? – Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ Part 1

Posted on July 15, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

My favorite line from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical Hamilton: An American Musical comes near the end of the show when George Washington asks the question: “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” That inquiry can be applied to so much … Continue reading →

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