Firenze, Italia.

I am traveling with a dear college friend and fellow Pennsylvania native, Jane. We are staying at an absolutely beautiful hotel in the middle of Florence and on the recommendation of the concierge, had the most amazing meal of our lives in a restaurant called Parrone’s. This was after a day spent in Venice, complete with a gondola ride and history lesson, and a night at Giudecca, a small island to the south of the other Venetian islands.

I’ll post a few pictures soon – for now, just wanted to share with you all that we are having a fantastic time. I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday week in the US! We are off to Cinque Terra and Roma, then Amsterdam for a night to meet up with friends on our way back to America. Ciao!

Update: Venice!
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“What are you watching?”

“A lecture. This guy. He’s a professor,” was all I could manage to say.

They didn’t get it at first, but once they started watching, they were hooked, too. Clips of the lecture (and even a 10-minute reprise on Oprah) have made their way around the Internet, but my favorite version is the original, about an hour and 20 minutes long. Delivered on September 20, 2007, Pausch was ostensibly participating in the academic tradition of last lectures – if you were dying and had just one last talk to give, what would you say?

Sadly, in this case, the question wasn’t hypothetical. Just weeks before, Pausch had been given three to six months to live. His pancreatic cancer, which had been aggressively treated at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, had returned, and it was terminal. Despite this unimaginable news, Pausch appeared in good spirits throughout the lecture – poking fun at himself, a lifelong nerd; imparting advice and sharing anecdotes; even dropping to the ground and pounding out a few push-ups.

Like a great deal of others who watched the original talk, I became a compulsive Randy Pausch Googler. I frequently checked his website for updates, pictures, and news. I regularly scanned Google News for articles or mentions of the professor. As a researcher very interested in virtual reality myself, I even started my own after-school computer class, teaching Storytelling Alice to middle-school students. Developed by Pausch and his team, ALICE is an innovative program that teaches students object-oriented computer programming by allowing them to create their own characters, locations, and animations.

When I found out “The Last Lecture” would be released as a book, I pre-ordered it from Amazon.com and promptly read it in one sitting. I read it to the students in my sixth grade class, emphasizing Dr. Pausch’s messages of hard work and unfailing determination. Remember that brick walls are there for a reason – to let us prove how badly we want something.  Wait long enough, and a person’s good side will reveal itself to you.  Don’t complain, just work harder.  I read the stories and talked about the ideas, but I glossed over one aspect of the story: the fact that he was dying.

You see, even though Dr. Pausch ‘outed’ the elephant in the room in the early minutes of his talk, I just didn’t want to accept it. As I checked his medical update page, I hoped against hope (along with millions of others) that a miracle cure would present itself, that he had been somehow misdiagnosed, that he would be one of those outliers who somehow outlived terminal cancer. But alas, today, July 25, 2008, the world lost one of the good guys. Randy Pausch passed away early this morning in Chesapeake, Virginia.

I am sad today, and I know that all over the world, people are mourning along with Randy’s friends and family, which includes a wife and three very young children. However, as we mourn, may we also honor Randy’s zest for life and love. Since I watched that speech on a warm September night, my life has changed. I was immediately wrapped up into a moment, into a momentum, around this amazing story. All across the world, people have been inspired by his words and actions.

As a terminal cancer patient, he had a cameo in an upcoming Star Trek film, appeared on Oprah, played football with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and served as an advocate for pancreatic cancer research and funding. But Randy lived like this long before he knew he was dying. He never lost the values imparted to him by his parents and mentors, always prizing people over things, working relentlessly, and encouraging honesty, creativity, and determination. His renowned career included achievement as one of the pioneers of virtual reality research, the development of ALICE, and stints at Disney Imagineering and Electronic Arts (EA). With Don Marinelli, Pausch founded the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) at Carnegie Mellon, where a new generation of game creators, designers, engineers, artists, and other entertainment professionals is developing.

Although Randy Pausch’s time on Earth has come to an end, an inconceivable number of people have been profoundly impacted by his lecture and his life. Ever the head fake artist, Pausch closes the lecture with a sweet, emotional truth: the lecture isn’t for us. If we are helped by it, that’s great. But it’s really for three people: Dylan, Logan, and Chloe. Randy Pausch is an inspiration, a role model, a teacher, a coach. To them, he’s simply ‘Dad.’  Luckily for us, their father is generous.  So grab the book.  Watch the speech.  Tell the truth, work hard, have fun.  Live your life right, and as Randy says, “The dreams will come to you.”

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This week, The Hills chronicles the holiday break. Lauren sets the stage for an eventful episode with a wish for a drama-free holiday, complete with her first romantic New Year’s kiss. If only it could be that simple, LC.

This episode centers on the two main couples as well as the growing friendship between Lauren’s boyfriend, Jason and Heidi’s boyfriend, Jordan. Lauren shops for Jason’s present, deciding upon diamond-studded dog tags. She decides that engraving them as “property of” or “return to” alongside her name is tacky and unfortunate in case they should break up.

The gang finds a Christmas tree and is excited about decorating it and getting into the holiday spirit. Apparently, however, the holiday spirit means different things to different people. Heidi describes the holidays as a time when ‘somebody always has to cry’ (hence the title of this episode). She explains how her sister always gets attention at Christmas, and Heidi ends up crying. She doesn’t believe her friends when they tell her that crying is not a part of their holiday traditions, save a few sentimental tears at a thoughtful gift.

Later, Heidi and Lauren have breakfast together and discuss upcoming Christmas gifts. Heidi, always good for a few quotes, doesn’t disappoint. When Lauren says she hopes to receive a Chanel bag and some things for the apartment for Christmas, Heidi comments, “You know you’re growing up when you want things for your apartment instead of like toys and clothes…” then thoughtfully adds, “I’m not there yet.” When pressed for a realistic answer, Heidi says she’d like a puppy.

At night, the two couples stand outside a fountain, laughing, kissing, and celebrating the season. Heidi asks if everyone has been naughty or nice, and we watch the couples cuddle in the cold-for-L.A. air.

Then, it’s back to the apartment to open presents. Jason shows more emotion about the dog tags than anything else on the show; his whole face lights up, and he proclaims how they were all he wanted. Jordan is equally pleased with the silver chain Heidi bought for him, since he told her that very day he wanted it. Heidi opens her presents, but instead of a real puppy, she gets a stuffed one. Lauren gets the Chanel bag she wanted and she’s over the moon. Heidi asks if the presents are done and looks disappointed, but Jason has a surprise for her-a box with holes in it!

Sure enough, a tiny golden puppy is in the box. Heidi names it Bella and cries, but this year, they are happy tears.

The group gears up for New Year’s Eve. As Heidi and Lauren get their hair done, Jason sends a text message to Lauren referring to a call she received the other day. A boy she used to like, Dave, had called her when she was with Jason, and she answered the phone. Lauren and Heidi agree that she did nothing wrong, especially since she and Dave are just friends.

The camera cuts to Jason and Jordan, who are bonding while they lift weights together. Jason tells Jordan that he’s mad because Lauren took the call when she was with him, and she shouldn’t be taking calls from guys when she’s with him.

Back at the salon, Lauren is annoyed and irritated when Jason hangs up on her. The girls conclude that Jason gets mad about the dumbest things. Nevertheless, they continue to get ready for their big night out, as Lauren awaits her first New Year’s when she will be able to kiss the guy she likes at midnight. Lauren wears a little black dress, while Heidi opts for a sparkly silver number.

Jason and Jordan are getting ready together, too, and they don blazers and top hats for the occasion. As they head out the door, Jordan wipes out oh-so-smoothly and both guys crack up. Then it’s off in the limo to Lobby Nightclub in West Hollywood.

As Heidi and Jordan get their freak on, Lauren and Jason sit down and Jason starts making cryptic statements about a ‘friendly relationship’, things ending badly, and having fun tonight. Lauren stands up to him and tells him not to threaten breaking up with her. He denies making that threat, but echoes what he said before: it’s something to discuss the next day, and they should have fun tonight. He follows these comments, strangely enough, with an “I love you,” but LC isn’t fooled. He tells her she was wrong for taking Dave’s call; she asks if he would rather have her lie to him about it. Lauren is furious and leaves the club. Heidi chases after her, and although Lauren tries to make her stay, Heidi gets into the cab too. Jason calls, but Lauren won’t hear him out. The girls joke that Heidi might have to be Lauren’s New Year’s kiss, since midnight is rapidly approaching.

Meanwhile, Jordan is trying to help Jason. Both realize they need to go back to the apartment too and get into a cab of their own. They stop for flowers, and Jordan gives Jason some pointers, telling Jason to say: “Lauren, I love you. I’m sorry. I understand what you’re saying. We’ll talk about it later but it’s okay.”

Jordan promises this will work, but just in case, they also stop to get flowers. He also tells Jason to whatever he has to do to make Lauren forgive him, and just kiss her the moment he sees her. The clock is racing towards the New Year and the boys are still not back at the apartment. A few minutes before midnight, Jason convinces Heidi to make Lauren talk to him. The girls go downstairs, and there are Jordan and Jason, with a huge bouquet of flowers. Jason embraces Lauren as the clock strikes 12, ringing in 2006 as both couples kiss.

With that said, this episode had plenty of terrific over-the-top moments as well. How great was Dwight’s talking head immediately post-peppering or Michael’s Wikipedia-proven negotiation tactics? The episode started with the resolution of Roy’s vow to kill Jim Halpert. When Roy furiously stormed into the office and lunged at Jim, Dwight finally found a good use for his pepper spray. Roy was fired, bringing Darryl’s quest for a raise to the foreground. Darryl rationally pointed out that since the merger, Dunder-Mifflin Scranton was shipping out twice as much paper, and with Roy out of the picture, he, as manager of the warehouse, was doing even more work. In Michael’s so-bad-it-was-funny negotiation, it was revealed that Michael’s salary is only slightly higher than Darryl’s.

Pam apologized to Jim for Roy’s behavior, who basically brushed her off. Even worse, when Pam insists that things with her and Roy are really over, Jim says “We’ll see…I’m sure you guys will find your way back to each other someday.” While Pam tries to be honest, Jim ignores her attempts, but I couldn’t decide why. Was it because Pam getting back together with Roy really upset him, and he vowed it was over? Was he being sarcastic when he said, “No, I mean, you guys really seem to have a strong connection”? Or is he just ignoring Pam in order to make his relationship with Karen work?

Elsewhere, Angela got all hot and bothered hearing everyone recount Dwight’s heroism in the face of danger. Dwight shrugs off the ‘hero’ label and refuses to accept Jim’s adorably thoughtful gift (a case for Dwight’s bobblehead!) or offer to buy Dwight a beer. Jim found that trying to thank Dwight for saving him from Roy’s attack was surprisingly harder than pulling a prank on him. Finally, in the last minutes of the episode, we were treated to a brand-new Jim Face when he caught Angela and Dwight in a passionate lip lock. Jim decided that his repayment to Dwight would be keeping mum about his office romance.

Back in New York, Michael’s meeting with Jan (despite typical Michael fumbling) culminates in a 12% raise for himself, meaning a bump up for Darryl as well. All in all, a pretty productive day at “The Office.

The Senior Farewell Address I delivered at Commencement on May 20, 2007 is below. My intro is at 2:15, speech begins at 2:30 and ends around 8:45.

MSN recently profiled Brigadoon, a virtual island in Second Life that allows people with Asperger’s to hone communication and socialization skills. At the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas, therapists are pushing the virtual environment one step farther and actually integrating them into therapy. The Chronicle of Higher Education ran an article (subscription required) applications of virtual reality for autistic people that quotes Dr. Rosenthal as well as the Director of the Center for Brain Health, Dr. Sandra Chapman. Since one hallmark of Asperger’s is an inability to read facial expressions or detect nonverbal context clues, therapists work with patients to role play and analyze social situations. With the therapist’s help, the patient can gain insight into how they handled specific situations and discuss appropriate actions and reactions.

Chapman asserts that the premise of such therapeutic interventions is that the brain can rewire pathways with intensive, experience-based practice. Virtual worlds offer a safe space for people to gain this invaluable practice, as well as a forum for patient, therapist, family members, and friends to interact. Chapman points out that the early, formative years, as the brain is developing, are a crucial time to help rewire neurological pathways. Center for Brain Health participants undergo a series of testing both pre- and post- treatment, including brain imaging and neurocognitive testing.

Further Reading:
http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2007/11/18-003.html

In this case study, a 29-year-old male veteran underwent four exposure therapy sessions using a VR headset system. The veteran is a combat engineer who served one year in Iraq and met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. He reported having trouble focusing at work, driving, and sleeping. He also experienced hypervigilance – constantly being on alert – as well as mood swings and irritability.

The rationale behind exposure therapy (VR and non-VR) is based on Foa and Kozek’s model of emotional processing, which posits that in order to overcome a fear, it must be activated and one must learn how to get used to it without an emotional response. Eventually, the fear can be extinguished as the patient learns to remember the traumatic incident in a non-threatening way.

During the four exposure therapy sessions, the therapist paired traditional therapeutic techniques such as breathing and treatment information with exposure in the VR environment. The system allowed the therapist to manipulate different variables that included visual, auditory, and olfactory components. As the sessions went on, the therapist increased the intensity of the stimuli to add stress. The patient completed pre-therapy and post-therapy assessments.

Although the sessions had increasing intensity, the patient’s ratings on a PTSD symptoms inventory decreased as the sessions continued. By the end of the treatment, the subject’s overall ratings had decreased by 56%. He initially fit the definition of “extreme” symptoms, but by the end of treatment, fell into the “mild/moderate” range of PTSD. The patient reported that he could concentrate more at work, had improved communication with his wife, and socialized more often. While this is an extremely new therapy with little empirical data, this study offers a promising vision for virtual reality researchers as well as a technical system and protocol for therapy.

• Gerardi, M., Rothbaum, B.O., Ressler, K., Heekin, M., Rizzo, A. (2008). Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy Using a Virtual Iraq: Case Report. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 21, 209-213.