Author Archives: Ralph Hanson

2019 in Media – When the chicken sandwich wars go viral

In retrospect, we all should have seen it coming. We should have guessed that one of the biggest social media battles of the year would be a corporate fight over … chicken sandwiches. The Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich empire has long … Continue reading

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LMM News Part 2 (sort of): Hamilton, impeachment and the current news cycle

I started tweeting about Alexander Hamilton and impeachment this morning as a way of avoiding working on my end-of-the semester grading, and it kind of got out of control.  Here it is in mildly more coherent form: It all started … Continue reading

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Lin-Manuel Miranda News Part 1: In The Heights finally makes the trip from Broadway to Hollywood

(UPDATE: 5/12/20 – The release of film adaptation of In The Heights has been delayed until the summer of 2021 because movie theaters have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though I wouldn’t be shocked if it ended up landing … Continue reading

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Media Twitter: TikTok, ViacomCBS, Libel, and Marie Colvin

Just a quick round up of what’s been of interest to me on Twitter this week. On Tuesday, a German publication proved TikTok was suppressing videos by queer, disabled, and fat creators. On Wednesday, TikTok admitted it and announced it … Continue reading

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Why You Should Be Reading the Wall Street Journal: Google & TikTok Edition

I know, I know, the WSJ is behind a pretty solid paywall.  You really do have to pay to read it. And I know it’s owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. And some of you may be bothered that it … Continue reading

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World Diabetes Day – The Story of Three Diabetics

The one thing you need to know about me as I tell this story is that I’m an insulin-dependent diabetic and have been for a decade and a half.  My pancreas checked out years ago and no longer does much. … Continue reading

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Media Twitter: Esports, video games, and the story behind TikTok

Esports making the move into high schools: As high schools embrace esports, students hope parents follow suit – WaPo https://t.co/TUetILUprr — RalphIsNow@rhanson40@threads.net (@ralphehanson) November 6, 2019 Call of Duty’s dark view of Russia is having global consequences for the video … Continue reading

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Guest Blog Post: Deadspin – When Vulture Capitalists Don’t Like What They’ve Bought

Readers who turned to the irreverent and unpredictable sports, news and pop culture blog Deadspin on Thursday morning, hoping to get the eclectic blog’s take on the National’s win of the World Series were disappointed to see only a story … Continue reading

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Costumes not to wear on Halloween, no matter who you are.

This should go without saying, but given costumes I have seen over the years, this needs to be said: These are Halloween costumes no one should wear.  You have been warned. Sexy Tariffs #CostumesNotToWear 1 https://t.co/QcsZ7Rw6iJ — RalphIsNow@rhanson40@threads.net (@ralphehanson) September … Continue reading

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Travels With Putt Putt: Finishing out the season with a ride to the Ozarks.

Last week was fall break at UNK, and so it was one last chance for a multi-day ride before cold weather settles in for the season. First things first – get the bike ready to go complete with saddlebags, tank … Continue reading

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