Last lectures are common at many universities, where professors give a lecture as though they were dying and it's their last opportunity to share their wisdom and life's lessons. It's a professor's opportunity to leave everything on the table.
Randy Pausch, a professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, gave such a last lecture--after receiving a terminal diagnoses of pancreatic cancer, which claimed my own father's life. Diane Sawyer told his story in “The Last Lecture: A Love Story for Your Life” on ABC this evening.
You can watch the lecture at The Last Lecture. Watch the lecture beginning to end, and watch the head fakes. You can also find more information about his book at the same Web site.