This lecture was posted to YouTube last year and was quite the sensation then. Now, because Prof. Randy Pausch has published an accompanying book, the video's has surfaced again.
It's known informally as "The Last Lecture" — and in this case, it's almost literal. Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006. In August last year, his doctors told him his situation was terminal and estimated six more months of good health. Since then, he's been fighting a battle against time.
A devoted husband and father of three young children, he has said he wanted to focus on making the most of what's left of his life by focusing on his wife and his kids. Meanwhile, because of an outpouring of public interest and support, he has chronicled his progress.
I sometimes have to wonder how it is that fate often steals away the good while they have so much potential, and how it is that those people are able to burn more brightly when life slips away from them.
In any case, here's the video that caused such a sensation.
A terrible nightmare shocked me awake this morning and left a lingering shadow on the rest of the day.
To banish the gloom, I went out for a walk and then sat down to read. A duo on guitar and muted trumpet were playing jazz at 'wichcraft near NYU. The location didn't seem right but the guy strung together standards that got my mind and ear wandering between sets.
Running through my head were some of my favorite versions of Tin Pan Alley hits and crooner classics: "Witchcraft" by Frank Sinatra, "Soon" by Sammy Davis Jr., and probably the hottest 90 seconds in a movie about down and out piano bar players, Michelle Pfeiffer singing "More Than You Know."
The New York that inspired so many of these songs is long gone now, but the music lives on.
Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald perform the complete piece, written by Vincent Youmans, with lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu for the musical "Great Day!"
Filmmakers are prepping their works for an international event known as Pangea Day, created by TED.
While it seems overblown, there's still some cool stuff surrounding it. Like this idea, from New York ad agency Johannes Leonardo: a choir from one country sings the national anthem of another.
There are four films, but a French choir singing the U.S. national anthem resonated most with me. It works on so many levels.
And check out the better-looking QuickTime version.
If ever there was something to make me homesick for L.A., it'd have to be this — a bunch of goofballs turning a Little League baseball game into a major-league event. The Improv Everywhere troupe are at it again.
But why the sentiment? I spent many years in the enclave where the game took place. It was a little bit of suburban hell in paradise. The Goodyear Blimp that flew over the game once carried me and a friend on a private tour high over the South Bay — the "charter member" club card is faded now, but I still have it, complete with the pilot's signature; the memory of that golden afternoon remains vivid.
But most of all, the video reminds me of the immense volume of good intention among Angelenos that can make people happy when the doers don't flake out.
So here it is: the mission known as "Best Game Ever."
From The Economist, the English take on preparing for business meetings in New York (what to wear, how to use money, how to get around). The narrator sounds like he's about to fall asleep.
Or, I suppose you could say it gets Sweded. In any case, check out the low-tech lightcycle race scene from "Tron" as recreated by Frères Hueon. As my French class mecs used to say, "Très cool."
Haven't been writing 'cause I've been feeling the need to produce things people can touch and taste.
This weekend, I was invited to a "welcoming spring" party. With the pending vernal equinox, it seemed like macaroons were the right thing to bring.
The hosts made tea sandwiches and cracked open homemade infused vodkas. (The vodka was store-bought but the infusions were done at home.)
It was a lovely evening — one where many of us discovered that we liked horseradish mixed into cream cheese and spread onto baby carrots sliced lengthwise.
To top off the evening, the hosts held a bookswap. I gave away "Subwayland" by Randy Kennedy (Amazon|BN|Powell's) and in return picked out "More Tales of the City" by Armistead Maupin (Amazon|BN|Powell's) and "Talk Talk" by T.C. Boyle (Amazon|BN|Powell's).
Meanwhile, the knitting bug has bitten again.
Well, maybe there'll be hugs once I get the hang of this thing.
After many months, my give one-get one XO laptop finally arrived.
The keyboard is tiny. And slow. But I managed to make some music and take some photos. I've yet to dig into the programming tools or log onto the Web, but hey, we're just getting acquainted, the XO and me.
It's a fun toy, and my greater hope is that the child who receives the "give one" laptop will have the desire and imagination to use and then outgrow it.