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Episode 4 - HUMAN: Part of a six-part series, in this episode Ari explores the human ability to increase empathy and compassion, what values we are instilling into artificial intelligence technologies, and the need to create both a better world and a better humanity for life to survive and flourish on this planet Other Parts in the Series (each part is about 53 minutes): Episode 1 - Beyond the Now: The series begins by joining Ari as he sets out on a journey to widen our perspective on where we find ourselves in the human story today and in the tomorrows that follow. He meets the individuals showcasing the long-term thinking and decisions that will benefit future generations as we work to become the great ancestors the future needs us to be. Episode 2 - Chaos & Complexity: How do we make sense of today’s exponential rate of change and disruption? In episode two, Ari explores the historically transformational moment we are currently living in, why it is causing so many o

  Pro Obesity is a worldwide pandemic that deserves a pandemic-level response. More than 42 percent of adults and nearly 20 percent of U.S. children and adolescents have obesity, a disease that can harm health. Plus, more than 30 percent of adults are overweight, which can also adversely affect health. They deserve comprehensive interventions — such as lifestyle-based therapy, medications, endoscopic procedures and surgery — to treat this disease and increase longevity, improve quality of life, reduce cancer risk and control comorbid conditions...   Con Weight-loss drugs are not the answer to the obesity epidemic. There's a better solution.GLP-1 receptor agonists, the new class of weight-loss drugs, do indeed cause about 85 percent of users to lose weight. But many also get side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, gallbladder problems and gastroesophageal reflux. And most never reach the weight they are looking for; frust

It is summertime. Take advantage of your extra downtime and pick up a new hobby.  School of Sewing: Learn it, Teach it, Sew Together is a great book for beginners. It shows readers the basics, such as how to use your sewing machine, what supplies you will need to begin basic projects, how to select fabrics, teaches basic skills, and gives readers twelve beginner projects.  Amigurumi, includes 30 amigurumi designs. Amigurumi are crocheted or knitted little animals. This book gives you patterns for thirty patterns to practice. There are also tips on how to choose your yarn, what different materials you will need, and the necessary crochet techniques you will need to complete any of these patterns.  2001 Cross Stitch Designs: The Essential Reference Book includes hundreds of patterns across many categories such as floral, holidays, Americana, animals, nature, and sports. The book also includes tips on cross-stitching basics to get started, and basic materials, and teaches you

Check out the newest additions to the library graphic novel collection currently being featured.  Thought-provoking novels on social issues with beautiful illustrations, these unique graphic novels are easy and interesting to read.  Come by the library to take a look at them today.  Bring your COM ID with you to take one home with you. With close to 100 titles in the library's graphic novel collection, there is something there for everyone!  If you prefer to read online, take a look at the graphic novels available to you for free through hoopla. https://bit.ly/3XAAjL2

If you could rewind your life to the very beginning and then press play, would everything turn out the same? Or could making an accidental phone call or missing an exit off the highway change not just your life, but history itself? In Fluke, myth-shattering social scientist Brian Klaas takes a deep-dive into the phenomenon of random chance and the chaos it can sow, taking aim at most people's neat and tidy version of reality. The book's argument is that we willfully ignore a bewildering truth: but for a few small changes, our lives--and our societies--could be radically different.   Offering an entirely new lens, Fluke explores how our world really works, driven by strange interactions and apparently random events. How did one couple's vacation cause 100,000 people to die? Does our decision to hit the snooze button in the morning radically alter the trajectory of our lives? And has the evolution of humans been inevitable, or are we simply the product of a series

Making Black America: Through the Grapevine is a four-part series hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., that chronicles the vast social networks and organizations created by and for Black people—beyond the reach of the “White gaze.” Professor Gates sits with noted scholars, politicians, cultural leaders, and old friends to discuss this world behind the color line and what it looks like today. Episode 1: As Black people fought for full citizenship, hour one explores how free African Americans exercised their self-determination by building communities, establishing schools, and creating associations that would become the foundational pillars of Black America. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the organizations, networks and artistic impression created by and for Black people.  Episode 2: As Jim Crow laws went into effect, African Americans built a “life behind the veil” to meet their educational, economic, political, and cultural needs. Hour two explores the genesis of these organ

Check out some of these reads before watching them on the big or small screen.  Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire tells the story of Elphaba, the infamous Wicked Witch of the West. The book follows her from childhood into adulthood as she fights to protect magical creatures from Oz's secret police.  It Ends With US by Colleen Hoover is a love story that starts with the main characters Lily and Ryle meeting on a rooftop and falling head-over-heels for each other and their relationship seems to go to be true. Then Lily's first love comes back into her life and their relationship is upended.  The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver is the first in a series following Colter Shaw. Shaw was raised by a survivalist and is now an expert tracker who helps police and private citizens find missing people, for the reward money. In the first installment, he is hired by a father looking for his missing daughter in Silicon Valley who was mixed

Access the best resources on Juneteenth and Emancipation in COM Library. Go to the Guide! "The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer." --Major General Gordon Granger, Galveston, June 19th, 1865 Features * Read the eBook Juneteenth Texas : Essays in African-American Folklore. * Listen to Congressman G.K. Butterfield, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., Dean Kurt Schmoke and Professor Emeritus Roger Wilkins, discuss the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation * Download the "Lift Every Voice" mp3. * Use an interactive Emancipation Timeline or watch a video of Bill Moyers on Juneteenth. https://bit.ly/3VslcR9

The library is your place to relax between classes this summer.  Dig out your COM ID, check out a game, grab a snack from the vending machine and chill with us for awhile.  We love having you here! https://bit.ly/3VHkJM8

June 19th is Juneteenth: a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.  It is also called Emancipation Day, Freedom Day or Juneteenth Independence Day. The library is currently spotlighting several books on emancipation and African American history that we encourage you to come view.  We are also featuring the following eBooks: Emancipation's Daughters: Reimagining Black Femininity and the National Body Black Knowledges/Black Struggles: Essays in Critical Epistemology Colonization After Emancipation: Lincoln and the Movement for Black Resettlement Imagining Black America Juneteenth Texas: Essays in African-American Folklore For more books/eBooks, video and articles suggestions on Juneteenth, visit the library's Juneteenth & Emancipation guide.   https://bit.ly/4ccI39O

Happy Pride! Check out these reads to learn more about issues and the history of the LGBTQ community.  LGBTQ Social Movements in America is a short overview of the history of social movements within the LGBTQ+ community. The book covers the Stonewall riots, "die-ins" during the AIDS epidemic, pushes for family rights, and the rise of marches and parades to celebrate pride.  The Cambridge Companion to American Gay and Lesbian Literature covers the connection of the LGBTQ community with American literature. The book is broken into sections including LGBTQ authorship and secondary writing covering LGBTQ studies.  On Being Different: What it Means to be a Homosexual was originally published in 1971 as a response to a homophobic article. It is the author's memoir on the importance of coming out and offers readers a glimpse into what life was like before some of the social advancements that have been made.  The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets the auth

September 8, 1900. Galveston, Texas. A typically hot and humid day. Women tended to chores; men traveled downtown to work, including Isaac Cline, head of the National Weather Bureau's local office. Cline believed the island was safe from hurricanes, but by afternoon, a Category-4 storm proved how wrong he was. In a feature-length special based on Erik Larson's book, weather experts, historians, and survivors' descendants guide us through that horrific day that claimed over 6,000 lives. Relive local history - check this DVD out today with your COM ID! Rather read the book?  We have that too!  Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson is available on both eBook and physical copy at the library. For more resources on hurricanes, visit the online library hurricane guide.  https://bit.ly/4e8HvDL

"A timely masterclass for anyone interested in the future of learning in the AI era." --Bill Gates "This book is required reading for everyone who cares about education." --Adam Grant "Read this book. It's the most fascinating and important account of how AI will transform the way we learn." --Walter Isaacson   #1 New York Times bestselling author From the founder of Khan Academy, the first book on the AI revolution in education, its implications for parenting, and how we can best harness its power for good. Whether we like it or not, the AI revolution is coming to education. In Brave New Words, Salman Khan, the visionary behind Khan Academy, explores how artificial intelligence and GPT technology will transform learning, and offers a road map for teachers, parents, and students to navigate this exciting (and sometimes intimidating) new world.   A pioneer in the field of education technology, Khan examines the ins and outs of these cutting-

Graphing calculators and laptops will be available on a first come, first served basis.   You must bring your physical COM ID with you to the library circulation desk to check out one of these items. Check out the library of things to see what else you can check out from the library. We have what you need to succeed! https://bit.ly/45iDBUT

"Landing on the coast of France under heavy Nazi machine gun fire are these American soldiers, shown just as they left the ramp of a Coast Guard landing boat." ~Photograph by CphoM. Robert F. Sargent, June 6, 1944 from the National Archives and Records Administration. D-Day, the code word designating June 6, 1944, the day for the invasion of the Cotentin Peninsula in Nazi-occupied Normandy by Allied forces during the Second World War. The invasion was the largest amphibious landing in history. Within one week of D-Day, the Allies had landed, in the face of hostile obstacles, and by August 25, 1944 had liberated Paris.  Go to our D-Day guide or see all our Military guides. https://bit.ly/3x652od

Sit back and enjoy one or all of these summer reads between semesters.  Book Lovers by Emily Henry shows what happens when a clashing literary agent and her enemy of an editor end up vacationing in the same small town. This book follows the classic enemies-to-lovers trope of many romance novels. It's the perfect romantic read for the summer.  Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman is set in the 80s on the Italian Rivera. Seventeen-year-old Elio lives on his parent's estate when one summer a young university professor comes to stay and work on his manuscript. Over the next six weeks the two fall into a whirlwind romance that changes their lives.  Anxious People by Fredrik Backman is based on a ridiculous plot, potential buyers at an open house are taken hostage by a fleeing bank robber. It is told from multiple points of view of the cast of characters stuck in the apartment and the policeman interrogating them after their rescue. What really happened in that apartment?

Access great books, eBooks, articles, streaming media and more in our LGBTQ+ guide. See all our Gender guides. https://bit.ly/3VqYwli