The Last Lecture Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture is a rather moving work. This book that was a national best seller is a model for people preparing and facing major health issues. Pausch who was a professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University received a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer that upended his life. He had three to six more months to live. This realization led him to give the last lecture at Carnegie Mellon where he was a popular professor in “virtual reality.” Pausch therefore painted a picture of his life. He loved his family, parents, teaching students, sports, and Teddy Bears – the bigger the better. He praised his wife Jai as a caregiver, and expressed regrets that his young children wouldn’t know him when they become older. Pausch was open to the possibility that his wife might decide to marry again. If she didn’t, he felt that would be okay with him. To prepare for this impending reality his family moved from Pittsburg to Virginia to be close to Jai’s family

  Book Choices Selected books are beautiful gifts that shaped my Facebook posts on God and nature.   Jack Miles, The Norton Anthology of World Religions Volume 1. Donald A Crosby, The Routledge Handbook of Religious Naturalism. Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns. C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity. Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy. John O’ Donohue, A Book of Celtic Wisdom. Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom. Gail Sheehy, New Passages. Booker T Washington, Up from Slavery. Karen Armstrong, A History of God. Jack Miles, God: A Biography. Isabel Wilkerson, Caste. David McCullough, The Wright Brothers. Karen Armstrong, The Lost Art of Scripture. Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind. Michael Dowd, Thank God for Evolution. Marie De Hennezel, The Art of Growing Old. Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ. Ptolemy Tompkins, The Divine Life of Animals. Jon Meacham, The Soul of America. Elisabeth Sifton, The Serenity Prayer. Stephen Hawkins, Brief An

  Interfaith Documentaries These diversified documentaries help amplify my posts on Facebook about cultures worldwide that were viewed on YouTube.   Pillars of Faith: Religions Around the World 1:47:40 Comparative Religions Full Length Greg Ollick 46:15 Atheist: Inside the World of Non-Believers (2015) CNN Special 42:10 The Son of God is the Sun of God 30:01 Tibet – The End of Time 50:56 Reincarnation – A Documentary 1:30:39 Hinduism fully explained Jorge Wenzel 1:30:25 Confucianism and China 52:12 TAO in Everyday Life 43:27 The Origins of Islam 54:52 History of Evil 50:14 Gnostics – The Divinity of Man 51:59 Caesar’s Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus 1:23:11 The God Delusion – Full Documentary 1:33:42 Judaism Explained: Religions in Global History 17:51 Is there an afterlife? Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, David Wolpe 1:37:55 Michael Tellinger Exposes the Hidden Controllers of Mankind 57:36 The Sixth Sense 50:01 The History of Nat

  Wildfires in Forests Wildfires can occur in any country - America, Canada, Australia, And even in the Western Cape of South Africa With climate change they have become prevalent. Natural fires generally start by lightning. Some begin by spontaneous combustion Caused by sawdust and dried leaves, And these fires burn for other reasons But there are “good” and “bad” forest fires.   Wildfires are “good” when they are beneficial to mankind. They turn dead trees and decaying plant matter into ashes Causing nutrients to return to the soil, Instead of being trapped in dead plant vegetation So, wildfires clear the decaying trees Of debris by returning health to the forest, And some plants depend on the heat for germination   Wildfires are “bad” when they destroy homes Causing a loss of lives and loss of cultivated acres People suffer and they wipe out many species Such fires also kill trees that prevent erosion Thus, having a negative impact on the

  A Promised Land Barack Obama’s A Promised Land is a rather insightful presidential autobiography. He explained how the Democratic party was able to pass a number of legislations. Obama pointed to victories with TARP, Recovery Act, Dodd-Frank Act, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, Immigration, and climate change. He failed in his effort to get legislation on the Dream Act for millions of undocumented children who reside in the United States. Obama’s victories didn’t come easily. As these pieces of legislation made their way through the senate, they faced opposition from Republicans. In the senate Mitch McConnell would try to use the filibuster to block his legislation. Fortunately, when Obama first assumed the presidency, he had the backing of sixty Democratic senators. After the Democrats lost a seat in Massachusetts the healthcare bill appeared in jeopardy. With other legislation Democrats under Harry Reid relied on three Republican senators to secure a bipartisan majority. In the

  Alcohol Addiction It’s often said that those who don’t drink shouldn’t start.  For those who do, they should drink in moderation.  Some may tell you how easy it is to become hooked on booze.  Alcoholism is addictive and may cause your life to end tragically.  TV viewers have been shown the tragic loss of some celebrities, politicians, rock stars, actors, and actresses to addiction.  Even if someone should survive alcoholism it can still lead to impairment, violence, suicide, and criminal activities.  Stonewall Jackson (1824–1863), a Confederate General during the American Civil War said, “I am more afraid of alcohol than of all the bullets of the enemy.”  He was convinced that alcohol was bad for Americans.   Media Coverage   Alcohol in the media covered many topics:             •   Debates about advertisements             •   The number of liquor billboards in poor neighborhoods             •   T he positive and negative effects on life expectancy             •   D rin

  Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Lyndon Johnson and The American Dream is a monumental work that captures this American president at his best and worst. From a childhood in Texas while at home, and at school Johnson was deeply influenced by his mother Rebekah. The author went at length to portray this aspect of his life by showing how he longed to please a mother who was rather demanding. But Johnson was able to eventually shift his loyalties to Sam, his father, who was a political figure in Texas. At San Marcos College Johnson made his mark by manipulating the system where he was a student. Soon, he was working closely with the college’s president that orchestrated changes in student government. On graduation he endeavored to follow in his father’s footsteps, and went to Washington DC as an office manager to congressman Richard Kleberg. There, he mastered the intricacies of congressional life by learning the ropes. Having been able to attract the attention