My Random Reading For Stephen Hawking

I read the article and then ran into some woman who had whatever he has, at a store. Then I went to the bookstore, thinking, "I will do a random reading with Hawkings in mind, something I hope, that will apply to his life." And I prayed as I walked and then at the table was a man who looked just like Stephen Hawking.

I got some books and we talked about Hawking and he said it didn't look like anything he would read or recommend. I said, "Well, I didn't want to limit to just the science section--I wanted to go to all of the areas and just trust that something might fit for him or hope it might." So, in some ways, some of the selections do. I picked some things, wondering what he wanted to do and was doing when he was a child too but I don't know anything about his background. Do you want to hear the strangest thing though?

Out of all my selections, the strangest one was that I ended up pulling out a book mark, a spacer inbetween books, instead of a book. I thought it was just a really thin book but looked at it and it had something about reading and then the number Zero.

I just went to Hawking's page, for the first time in my life and saw he experienced weightlessness in a room where the photo shows the caption "zero" everywhere.

I am sure it's coincidence but what was strange was that I started to put the spacer back and then something told me, "no, this will mean something" so I kept it, thinking how weird will this one be...

The spacer says only: I CAN READ
LEVEL O

(with a slash through it to show it's zero, not a letter)

When I kept it, I thought it was sort of funny maybe, since he's a genius and then I wondered why there would even be a "level zero" but this was the first thing I saw on his site, as I went to his UK page and read and then scrolled down and found him surrounded by the word:

"Zero"

Oh, before I did this, I read the Bible and opened randomly first to Jer. 31:1-26.

Here are the books:

1. Hostage by Susan Wigg
pg. 120, "Jack had been making the voyage for years, but he was no longer a young man, and the trip was grueling. "I can't stay, either." Only a short while ago, he would have added that he had to get back to Asa, that Asa was depending on him."
(I guess I thought hostage fit in the sense that it would feel this way to be in a wheelchair or held hostage by ones own body)

2. A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the 13th, by Lemony Snicket: The End
pg. 233, (from Ch. 11), "Perhaps one night, when you were very small, someone tucked you into bed and read you a story called "The Little Engine That Could," and if so then you have my profound sympathies, as it is one of the most tedious stories on Earth."

(I included longer bits but decided to delete and someone can look them up for context if they wish...oh going back after randomly opening to this next section I am thinking maybe I should include more...sort of uncanny how they fit)

3. The Bonehunters by Steven Erikson (cover art by Steven Stone)
pg. 697, "The moon's own breath," she replied. "We can measure that breath...in the ebb and flood of the tides. Such are the laws of existence.
The Toblakai snorted. "Laws are broken. Existence holds to no laws. Existence is what persists, and to persist is to struggle. In the end, the struggle fails." He was removing strips of smoked bhederin meat from his pack. "That is the only law worthy of the name."
She studied him. "Is that what the Teblor believe?"
He bared his teeth. "One day I will return to my people. And I will shatter all that they believe. And I will say to my father, "Forgive me. Yu were right to disbelieve. You were right to despise the laws that chained us." And to my grandfather, I shall say nothing at all.

4. Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs
pg. 138, "I described the trauma on Cruikshank's sixth cervical vertebra. Gullet listened without interrupting. I then explained that identical trauma was present on the skeleton Emma and I had recovered..."

5. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
pg. 104, "This is awful. What's the point of discovering a new shop and thennot being able to buy anything in it? It's not fair. Everyone else is buying stuff, everyone else is having fun. For a while I hover disconsolately beside a display of mugs, watching as an Australian woman buys a pile of books on sculpture. She's chatting away to the sales assistant, and suddenly I hear her say something about Christmas. And then I have a flash of pure genius."

6. Frog by Thomas Marent (DK book)
pg. 064 (Identity). "The harlequin poison dart frog is named after its bright blotched patterns that resemble the similarly bright costumes of halequins, or court jesters, from the Middle Ages. The species is not restricted to one set of colors, but also has red and orange forms, or it may be yellow and black, like this specimen from Colombia."

7. Airplane Flying Handbook by U.S. Department of Transportation: Federal Aviation Administration.
pg. 13-5 on "Crosswind Landing"
"If the crab method of drift correction has been used throughout the final approach and roundout, the crab must be removed beforre touchdown by applying rudder to align the airplane's longitudinal axis with its direction of movement. This requires timely and accurate action. Failure to accomplish this results in severe side loads being imposed on the landing gear and imparts ground looping tendencies."

8. The Art Of Planting by Rosemary Verey (Photographs by Andrew Lawson)
pg. 122, (from a section on Ivy). "The golden ivy Hedera Helix "Buttercup" covers the ground around and climbs up an ornamental cherry, Prunus serrula, at Crathes Castle in Scotland. The colour of the ivy leaves and the cherry bark is in strong contrast. This makes a good year-round picture as the ivy is, of course, evergreen and the shiny cherry bark looks superb in the winter."
(I guess I thought of Ivy League for this one)

(Every single book was random and I didn't see what I chose first. Then I randomly opened to any section in the book without previewing the contents of the book at all. I select lines from the first opening.)

I need to take a quick break though...pretty cool though. I thought it was all going to be nonsense looking at the books but I think it makes a little bit of sense. ;)

9. The Crime Scene: How Forensic Science Works by W. Mark Dale and Wendy Becker
pg. 107, Chapter 11: Introduction to Evidence Receiving: Drug Chemistry

10. Dr. Atkins' New Diet Cookbook by Atkins nd Fran Gare
pg. 72, (from Soups section) "Cream of Shiitake Mushroom Soup"

11. Learn To Play Guitar: A Beginner's Guide to Bass Guitar by Phil Capone
pg.92, Lesson 18 "The Natural Minor Scale"
"the tone of the natural minor is more ambiguous and complex than major tonality. Make sure you get to grips with the major scale before you grapple with this lesson and you will be able to detect the slight nuances of sound, pitch, and mood."

(I don't know if Hawking every played guitar or any instruments or what his music tastes are)

12. The Truth (with jokes) by Al Franken
(I opened towards the back and it was all index. my eyes first on:
"Paul Weyrich is quoted in documentary by the BBC's Adam Curtis, The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear, which originally aired on October 20, 2004. You can watch the whole documentary online at www.archive.org/details/ThePowerOfNightmares. It's mind-blowing."

13. Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy: with new chapters on his death and legacy by the Team at the Boston Globe edited by Peter Canellos
pg. 294, "Money was a major concern. Romney had pledged to spend as much as $8 million on the race. Kennedy's staff had drawn up two budgets, one if they held a comfortable lead, the other if the race was close. Plan B was now operative."

14. If You Give A Cat A Cupcake by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond
pg. ? "cleaning up will make him hot, so you'll give him a bathing suit and take him to the beach"

15. I Prayed For You Today by Donna Fargo
pg. 24. "Don't Let Anyone Steal Your Joy"
"Choose to be well in every way. Choose to be happy no matter what. Decide that each day will be good just because you're alive. Don't let your circumstances dictate to you how to feel. Don't let your thoughts and feelings color your situation blue or desperate. You have power over your thoughts and feelings. Use this power.

Even if you don't have everything you want, even if you're in pain or in need, even if you're having health or financial issues--whatever is bothering you--you can choose to be joyful. You are more than your body, your physical presence, and your material possessions. You are spirit. You are God's child, and you are blessed."
(I actually did pray for mr. hawkings today so thought this one was funny to get, the title)

16. Ten Golden Rules for Living in this Crazy, Mixed-Up World by Donna Fargo (I accidentally grabbed a couple together)
pg. 35, "Be sensitive to other people's needs and feelings; don't allow yourself to be prejudiced. Be present for someone who's going through a crisis. Share helpful ideas and options to show that there is a way out. Be supportive and compassionate."

17. God is Always Watching Over You by A Blue Mountain Arts Collection
pg. 28, "God Never Gives Up, and Neither Should You" by Barbara Cage
When you're hurt and confused
and things are hard to accept
or understand,
give them to God
and He will give you peace and faith.

When you've been treated rudely
or unfairly
and hatred and anger rule your soul,
talk to God about it
and He will give you a forgiving,
calm spirit.

When you're overwhelmed with
too much to do
and stressed out because of lack of time,
let God guide you
and He will show you where your priorities shld be.

When you're feeling down and discouraged
and you aren't living up to your
own dreams and expectations,
let God be your partner
and He will give you power and strength.

When things get touch and you want
to give up,
don't...
and God won't either.

18. How to Behave (so your children will, too!) by Sal Severe, Ph.D.
pg. 130, "A Comparison between positive feedback and punishment"
(a table chart with side-by-side comparisons on the effects of positive feedback vs punishment)

19. Show Me The Money! How to make cents of economics
pg. 26, Playing the Market. Intro to the stock exchange.

20. A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry For Children by Caroline Kennedy
pg. 107,
A Fairy In Armor
He put his acorn helmet on;
It was plumed of the silk of the thistle down;
The corslet plate that guarded his breast
Was once the wild bee's golden vest;
His cloak, of a thousand mingled dyes,
Was formed of the wings of butterflies;
His shield was the shell of a lady-bug green,
Studs of gold on a ground of green;
And the quivering lance which he brandished bright,
Was the sting of a wasp he had slain in fight.
Swift he bestrode his fire-fly steed;
He bared his blade of the bent-grass blue;
he drove his spurs of the cockle-seed,
And away like a glance of thought he flew,
To skim the heavens, and follow far
The fierty trail of the rocket-star.
--Joseph Rodman Drake

21. Go Diego Go! My Animal Friends (storybook with spotting scope) by Nick Jr.
pg. 15, "Let's think like animal scientists," said Diego. "We need to find the footprints that match."
*****************
That's all.

I didn't count how many books I had, just chose until I felt it right to quit.

Hopefully, something interesting in there. I thought some things might fit pretty well. But anyway, that was my random reading for Mr. Hawkings with a prayer to God first, that there might be something cool to come out of it.