2012/09/01

Nothing lasts forever — not even eternity

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of RealityThe Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality by Brian Greene
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nothing lasts forever — not even eternity, as we learned from Steven Hawking a few years ago. The recent discovery of what may be the Higgs boson made me aware again of how little I understand about the universe. Or even about the questions now being posed by cosmologists. Greene makes it all about as clear as it can possibly be to someone — like me — who can't follow the math. For those who can follow it, he offers many of the necessary equations in the endnotes, which also include numerous references for further reading. To substitute for the math, Greene uses metaphors, generally pretty silly ones — Bart Simpson on a supersonic skateboard, for example — that at least give us an idea of, for example, what Einstein meant about space-time in the general theory of relativity. And then beyond Einstein, to quantum mechanics, and why the world and the whole universe appear to us in only three space dimensions (forward and back, side to side, up and down) and one time dimension, when quantum theory, confirmed experimentally, demonstrates that there must be ten space dimensions (but still only one time dimension). Is our universe really a kind of hologram projected by forces outside it, that is, beyond the universe we are capable of perceiving directly? Could be; Greene considers that hypothesis as at least plausible. And how did it all, everything, begin? Or did it? Was the Big Bang, the initial expansion of matter and energy that set everything in motion, just a new configuration of energy that is always, and that therefore may have been dispersed in some other entropic system(s), and may again — if our universe ever reaches the limit of its continuing expansion — shrink to extreme density, preparatory to a new explosion ("Big Bang") some billions of years hence? It took me weeks to get through this book, not because it was unclear, but because the news about the universe seemed so strange, so oddly contrary to our ordinary experience, that I had to keep checking back to re-understand parts of earlier chapters necessary for following the later ones. I remain amazed, and inspired with new speculations about philosophy and existence and what we do and cannot know. Guess it's time for me to learn some math.

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Romney Aides Scratch Their Heads Over Eastwood’s Speech - NYTimes.com

Romney Aides Scratch Their Heads Over Eastwood’s Speech - NYTimes.com

This is SO bad. Ol' Clint has never been a clear thinker, but here he's not even a decent performer. And the thoughts that come out of his rambling are just vague expressions of dislike of things he can't understand. And alas, he had an audience of nonthinkers to applaud him. (And he makes fun of Biden as an intellectual — good thing for Clint that he was talking to an empty chair that couldn't talk back.)

2012/08/30

Ain't gonna let no (Romney, Ryan, fill in the blank) turn me roun'

Loved this! An antidote to the rhetoric spilling out of the Republican convention. Thanks to Anita Jones for reminding us of this event (she's right: we missed it the first time) and to Pete de Lissovoy for pointing me to Anita's blog.
 
Freedom Singers Performance at the White House in 2010 - Peach Seed Monkey

2012/08/29

A "Look at me!" contest

They charge $40 to read your first chapter, $200 if you want them to read the whole novel. I suspect the chances of "winning" may be close to 100%, but the prize is not publication but a videotaped reading — an ego massage for the author, maybe, if you're desperate for attention, but not much use for publication. Also, this is one of the ugliest websites I've seen lately, and even with proof-reading errors. (“Just VOTED on of the top festivals in the world today!”)

1st CHAPTER and FULL NOVEL BOOK CONTEST - Submit the 1st chapter or entire novel to the writing festival

Real writers can do better than that.

2012/08/27

"Welcome to My Contri" now available as e-book

A new, expanded edition of what The New York Times Book Review described as a “frequently powerful collection of short stories" of Latin America that "leaves us thoroughly wrung out — and aware that we are in the presence of a formidable new writer.” 
Smashwords — Welcome to My Contri — A book by Geoffrey Fox

Cheap! Only $0.99. I'm hoping for readers, and will welcome your comments on the Smashwords review page.

A publication of the Thoth Books Editorial Collective.