Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Meeting Stephen Hawking
Hey Folks,
Last night I went to see Stephen Hawking, the genius quantum physicist who has ALS. My friend Bob got tickets even though it was sold out long ago. Bob, Rebecca, my pops, Serrana, Dave D. and Dan saw the lecture with me. It was at Zellarbach Auditorium on the Cal Berkeley Campus. About seven years ago the Diablo Ballet did a performance with an orchestra playing "End of the Beginning" at that same place.
Before the lecture a writer from the SF Chronicle asked me some questions. He was really sweet even though he hadn't known who I was.
Hawking was great. He had pre-written his speech and had it spoken from his computer. I may not necessarily agree with all of his theories (Hell, I don't even understand many of them), but it is so beautiful when a genius speaks. His words and his presence get people thinking and talking about deep stuff. He was also making hilarious jokes.
After the show Dave got us all to the back of the place where they were expecting to meet me later. I wanted to give Hawking my CD's Perspective, and Perpetual Burn, plus a letter I wrote to him. Among other things I told him I loved him in the Simpsons, Futurama and Star Trek.
Actually the main reason I wanted to meet him was I wanted to show him how I communicate. He has a great system with his computer for lectures and stuff like that, but it is so cumbersome and slow for regular conversation. His friends ask him questions and a few minutes later he answers them, but by then, they forgot what he is answering. It must be so frustrating for the modern day Einstein. Also, what if the power goes off for a long period of time?
When Dave told Stephen's caregiver about my communication system, he was intrigued by the speed of it. It might not work for him though because Stephen's eyes might not be strong enough. Man, I hope they are. Of all people, Hawking needs to communicate faster than most people on earth. His words are precious.
We waited outside for him while he ate dinner. When he came out I said, "it is such an honor to meet you." Almost a minute later he said, "nice to meet you too." He took my little package and I got out of his hair. What a thrill. I was hoping he wouldn't test me on physics. I would have challenged him to a thumb wrestle but I heard he had lost a lot of hand movement. Sad. He has had ALS for 45 years, give or take. Awesome. Thank you, everyone who made that happen.
I am really sorry about all the spam. That crap is hell of annoying. This space is about the love, baby, not ******** ads. I usually don't mind a little band stuff but it is mainly for my brothers and sisters. Let's just have fun, thoughts, feelings, stories, insights; you know, love, man.
Sorry about the last blog about the ashram. It was mistakenly put there by a caregiver. It happened back in November.
Peace and love,
Jason
Jason Becker
http://www.myspace.com/72303306