HAWKING HAWKING

by Charles Seife

A biography.

The Physics /Cosmology scientific research world is complex.  

Whilst following the personal life, love, and health of Hawking, which was fascinating, I meandered through my first real introduction to his world of physics.   Seife writes of Hawking’s research history.   Despite early onset of the debilitating MND, Hawking did not allow this cruel disease to stop his brilliant intellectual achievements. 

It is beyond me to explain.   Hawking was considered to be a great communicator.  Seife gives examples of this as he rated Hawking’s social communications worthy of note, alongside his scientific discoveries.  The man trapped in his frail body had a gigantic brain, which was always active. Amazing.   

Therefore I will simply list some of the words, which I can at least remember, in no particular order :

Newton, Einstein, Hawking Radiation, steady state, Big Bang, singularity, relativity, gravity waves, the Theory of Everything and A Brief History of time, Hubble, space time and of course BLACK HOLES, boundaries.

Toss these around and if you never studied or understood physics, the clues are there. Through Libby, I reserved a copy of A Brief History of Time. (Waiting time 8 weeks).  Wait and see.

 

  

Reading Together (I draw, he snoozes).

 

 # MISS SUBWAYS.    #NEVERTHELESS.    #THE CHANCELLOR.

MISS SUBWAYS.

💓 THAT X FILE ACTOR.?

Yes it is him, Mulder - David Duchovny.  In 2022 I am  reading his book Miss Subways.

It is so New York, the subways, the lifestyle. As an ethnically mixed immigrant city, it has a large Irish population.  I read that all migrants bought their gods with them. In this book Gods, philosophy and fantasy and family intertwine.   

Emer a teacher, is our heroine (as she was in Irish mythology) and her 'hero' is Conn (Cu Cuchlainn).  She says she is not a writer, she is a reader. This gentle, love story of a teacher, who reads literary quotations (Keats is one) on the subway during her commute, includes fantasy supporting characters.  For example; Sydney or Sidhe.

And here is my favourite quote, from the book via Emer.  Doesn't need explaining does it!

….That Billy Shakespeare he got everywhere first.

He took the virginity of language first after Chaucer had bought her a drink....

 Once I finished, I had 'caught on' that the names meant something.  So then I did the usual Google search of these Irish names.  Maybe a  reader could to do that first.  Although it is always satisfying at the end of a read to investigate the names and influences of characters more closely.

I enjoyed this audio book. 

NEVERTHELESS.

YES THE OTHER ACTOR FROM NEW YORK.

ALEX BALDWIN.

One of my early reads in 2020 using Libby (the Australian  free online library service).  Baldwin wrote well about his upbringing with several brothers, from the poor side of the city.  He rose to prominence with his acting career.   As an author his story of the road to hollywood success was an interesting read. 

THE CHANCELLOR

ANGELA MERKEL 

Just finished this recently published biography by Kati Marton.

A review I read had called this a 'flattering' portrait of Germany's recent Chancellor.

Sounds a bit harsh, cynical perhaps, but this did not deter me from reading about this remarkable woman.  For me, it was a worthwhile overview of recent political events of the last twenty years;  Germany, Europe, and other powers in the world.

The German Chancellor was noted for her calm and careful presence and I enjoyed reading how she handled the big noisy personalities from other countries.  She is admired as a leader, with formidable intellect and thoughtfulness.

    

 2022.  

 FIONA McINTOSH 

  Born in UK but calls South Australia Home.

BYE BYE BABY 

MIRROR MAN.

McIntosh recently gave talks on her books and career in Adelaide's Regal Cinema, Kensington Road.

Several of my friends have enthused about her books, so I decided I should try them out.

I read the two above, her early books.  All about serial murders.  The hero was DI Jack Hawksworth ably supported in his hunt for the killer/s by strong interesting lady detectives.  Also it provided enough love interest which seems necessary, but these females were good characters with a bit of a twist.

Despite both books having strong, detailed descriptions of the killings, once the handsome tall dark haired detective gets on to the case, the author gives us a jolly good chase.  

The killings really nearly put me off, too much details, yuk, but I stayed on with my reading.

As a young woman writer coming from the UK tradition of famous detectives, crime novels , tv series and movies, I guess she was brave enough to make a difference with the explicit deaths of victims. She would be noticed.

Redemption (from gruesome death descriptions) is gained through a strong yarn, sound plot, good writing,  and well developed characters.

McIntosh has developed a strong readership in South Australia.