Author Archives: Ralph Hanson

Is your phone listening to you and serving up ads based on what it hears?

Posted on July 2, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

While I was visiting my older sister over the weekend, she maintained, as so many people do, that her phone listens to her and then serves up ads based on what she was just talking about. As is typical with … Continue reading →

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Discovering David Hockney’s “Grand Canyon”

Posted on June 23, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

Editor’s Note: British artist David Hockney, famous  for his vivid paintings of brief moments in southern California life, died June 11, 2026 at the age of 88. He was best known for his work “A Bigger Splash,” depicting the instant … Continue reading →

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Ralph’s Current Media: Disclosure Day, Postmodern Jukebox, Quick Deductions, and Edward Abbey

Posted on June 19, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

Lots of fun items in my media diet this summer including movies, music, video games and old books. Here’s what I’ve been paying particular attention to lately: Steven Spielberg’s new contemporary science fiction movie Disclosure Day is an intriguing and exciting … Continue reading →

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Everyone’s Gone To the Movies: Christopher Nolan’s early, popular and weird films

Posted on June 3, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

I would be hard pressed to name a more interesting activet film director than Christopher Nolan. His upcoming adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey is the most anticipated movie of the summer, and with Oppenheimer, he managed to turn a historical science … Continue reading →

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Fun with Mando and Baby Yoda

Posted on May 30, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

I went to see director Jon Favreau’s  Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu at The Grand Theater in downtown Lincoln, NE Thursday at 9:40 a.m. with my Dear Wife. That may be the earliest screening either of us have seen … Continue reading →

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Did no one pay attention to what the creation of Skynet led to?

Posted on May 21, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

Artificial Intelligence, AI, especially in its generative AI large language model form, has taken front and center lately in the discussion of contemporary culture. There are all of the awful AI-generated political memes out there, deepfake nude images, faulty legal … Continue reading →

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Questions Worth Asking (Maybe): Perfect transcript, Perfect Jeopardy player, Imperfect corporate retreat, Perfect novelist

Posted on May 17, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

Why should every student should get their first “B” as soon as possible? (Atlantic gift Link) As a long-time college professor, one of my biggest frustrations was having students who were desperate to maintain their perfect 4.0 GPA. I had … Continue reading →

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Welcome to the next phase of Living in a Media World

Posted on May 12, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

So, it’s been awhile… Posts here over the last year have been rather erratic as I’ve had a busy time finishing up my 38-year career as a journalism and communication professor. For the last 18 years I’ve been a teacher … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS declines to hear AI copyright case

Posted on March 4, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

The US Supreme Court today announced they were not going to hear a case claiming copyright protection for AI generated works.  The plaintiff wanted to have copyright go to the person running the AI software. The courts had previously ruled … Continue reading →

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A Video History of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Soul and Country Music

Posted on February 20, 2026 by Ralph Hanson

Thursday was one of my favorite media literacy lectures covering the history of a variety of formats of popular music, starting with hillbilly, folk, and the so-called race records. We started out with Chuck Berry performing “You Can’t Catch Me” … Continue reading →

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