Author Archives: Ralph Hanson

MLK’s Great Question – “Will we be extremists for hate or love?”

m One of the greatest honors of my life was being invited to speak at the Martin Luther King, Jr. candlelight vigil several years ago at the UNK student union, along with Kevin Chaney, who was then UNK’s women’s basketball coach.  On … Continue reading

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And so the Ninth Edition is in print…

Just got my author’s copies of the ninth edition of my media literacy textbook Mass Communication: Living in a Media World. So excited to see these years of work in print! For those of you teaching with Mass Communication, it … Continue reading

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Something Old, Something New: Favorite Movies From 2024

Over the last year, I and/or my Dear Wife have watched 107 movies; some that were new releases (i.e Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga), some that were vintage or classics (i.e. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison), and some that were repeat … Continue reading

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Why is the NY Times Connections the most controversial online game?

When you are on Facebook, if you see the following graphic with some kind of comment below, you know that one of your friends has succumbed to the addiction that is the NY Times game – Connections. The game is … Continue reading

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New algorithms help animators with coiled hair for Black characters

One of the issues that has long been a problem for diversity in entertainment media is that creatives often have not been trained or had the tools to effectively portray people of color. Which is why it is so exciting … Continue reading

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Iconic “This is Fine” Dog echos a 14th century illuminated manuscript image

How long has the “This is  Fine” meme been around? Would you believe the 14th century? You all know the Dog-in-the-Burning-Room “This Is Fine” meme, right? As reported in the LAist blog, Green drew the iconic image as part of … Continue reading

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Riding With Strangers – 40th Anniversary Team Strange Airheads Grand Tour

NOTE: For the last eleven years, I’ve competed in a large-scale motorcycle scavenger hunt sponsored annually by Team Strange Airheads. This is a Twin Cities-based organization that got its start as a bowling team that evolved into a  BMW motorcycle … Continue reading

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Happy ARPANet-Goes-Online-in-1969 Day for those who celebrate!

The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANet), the first wide-area packet-switching  network, made its first successful computer-to-computer connection on Oct. 29, 1969. Unlike some earlier conceptions of the network, it was  intended to serve the needs of academic researchers, not … Continue reading

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What Has Happened to the Washington Post?

Editor’s note: Last week, the Washington Post’s publisher and CEO William Lewis announced that the paper for the only the second time in 50 years would not be endorsing a candidate for the presidency of the United States. In a … Continue reading

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Everyone’s Gone To The Movies – Day 2 Clips for Media Literacy

Dear Basketball – Oscar for Best Animated Short 2018 Here is a link to a short documentary on the Disney animator who did the incredible hand-drawn animation in Dear Basketball https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=151995019413886    Gone With The Wind – Staircase Scene – 1939 … Continue reading

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