the big bang

Melody Mountain Ranch is a gated, planned, suburban heaven for everyone but interior decorator Hope Jordan. As Hope struggles through the letdown of several unsuccessful fertility treatments, her cul-de-sac neighbors Will Pierce-Cohn, a stay-at-home dad and community activist; Frank Griffin, a minister?cum?homeowners' board president; and Tim Trautman, a soon-to-be father of five, jockey for her attentions.

When Hope has a few too many cocktails and inadvertently eats hash-laced brownies at the playground ribbon-cutting gala/Memorial Weekend poolside potluck, she falls into the arms of one of her three wannabe paramours. Maybe all three. She wakes up with only fleeting memories of the evening, and soon discovers that her dream of getting pregnant has become a crushing reality. With all eyes on her, Hope is forced to watch as the walls holding up her picture-perfect neighborhood begin to crumble.

Ever wonder what Aristotle might say about the life Sheldon Cooper leads? Why Thomas Hobbes would applaud the roommate agreement? Who Immanuel Kant would treat with "haughty derision" for weaving "un-unravelable webs?" And—most importantly—whether Wil Wheaton is truly evil? Of course you have. Bazinga!

This book mines the deep thinking of some of history's most potent philosophical minds to explore your most pressing questions about The Big Bang Theory and its nerdy genius characters. You might find other philosophy books on science and cosmology, but only this one refers to Darth Vader Force-chokes, cloning Leonard Nimoy, and oompa-loompa-like engineers. Fo-shizzle.

• Gives you irresistibly geek-worthy insights on your favorite Big Bang Theory characters, story lines, and ideas
• Examines important themes involving ethics and virtue, science, semiotics, religion, and the human condition
• Brings the thinking of some of the world's greatest philosophers to bear on The Big Bang Theory, from Aristotle and Plato to Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Simone de Beauvoir, and more

Essential reading for every Big Bang Theory fan, this book explores whether comic-book-wielding geeks can lead the good life, and whether they can know enough science to "tear the mask off nature and stare at the face of God."

When asked for the definition of mental health and fulfilment, Sigmund Freud had two words: lieben und arbeiten, love and work. In this book we will find how 16 business leaders brought together their compassion, their caring for others and the world, with their work.

True, only on rare occasions are we able to meet the person behind initiatives that made a positive impact on the world, even less have an in-depth view into their feelings, concerns, hesitations, doubts and most intimate thoughts. What is seen publicly is the initiative, the impact on the bottom line and the community, or sometimes on the environment. Yet it is their personal stories that can be most inspirational, since they draw our attention to the fact that amazing achievements start in simple ways, with just the thinking of one individual. And when we find out that the exemplary individuals have many very human aspects that we identify with and find in ourselves, it brings us closer; and, particularly, it may even trigger in us the question: If she could do it ... I wonder what could I do?

The interviews, however, were only the beginning of the journey. The lessons of the interviews made it possible to identify how we can all develop a sustainability mindset: in other words, the thinking and the being that can take us from breakdown to breakthrough on this planet. Each one of us can play a part in leading the change; in fact, we are already playing a part we are just not necessarily aware if that is the part we would like to play, or aware that we choose the change we are contributing to unfold.

Part I presents the 16 leaders, including a summary of their story and their initiatives. Part II goes a little deeper, as you will find two dimensions that were not obvious but which underlie the way these business leaders championed the initiatives: the Thinking and the Being. Part III explores why sustainability change is so slow, and addresses the elephant in the room : the values and beliefs that anchor our Western Weltanschauung, or worldview. Part IV addresses the alternatives that we have to convert the unsustainable values into opportunities that will permit humanity to thrive and to break through the obstructions that prevent us from stasis. Finally, Part V takes us beyond the tipping point, and presents us with an opportunity to evolve as humans developing a new way of thinking and being on this planet. This transformation is so radical and significant, that the author calls it the Big Bang Being.

George has problems. He has twin baby sisters at home who demand his parents’ attention. His beloved pig Freddy has been exiled to a farm, where he’s miserable. And worst of all, his best friend, Annie, has made a new friend whom she seems to like more than George.

     So George jumps at the chance to help Eric with his plans to run a big experiment in Switzerland that seeks to explore the earliest moment of the universe. But there is a conspiracy afoot, and a group of evildoers is planning to sabotage the experiment. A mysterious message from George’s old nemesis, Reeper, brings shocking new information, but whose side is Reeper really on? And can George repair his friendship with Annie and piece together the clues before Eric’s experiment is destroyed forever?

     This engaging adventure features essays by Professor Stephen Hawking and other eminent physicists about the origins of the universe and ends with a twenty-page graphic novel that explains how the Big Bang happened—in reverse!