Goodbye Russia: Rachmaninoff in Exile

Goodbye Russia: Rachmaninoff in Exile by Fiona Maddocks

Rachmaninoff left Russia for the US. He didn't have much interaction with fellow Russian musician Leonard Bernstein. Russians wanted to claim him back later. He did stuff and had family. Honestly, his life in the US did not seem very interesting. 

Quantum Space: Loop Quantum Gravity and the Search for the Structure of Space, Time, and the Universe

Quantum Space: Loop Quantum Gravity and the Search for the Structure of Space, Time, and the Universe by Jim Baggott

Theoretical physics is something that smart people work on. Occasionally it has implications in the real world. After reading this book, I did not feel I had a better understanding of Quantum loop gravity. I did feel it was something that is still being debated that involved a different way of looking at the universe. Some things like gravitons could theoretically exist to help explain things, but would be almost impossible to measure. A lot of the work comes down to the details the get hidden away in the work of Einstein and Newton. It seems there are a some artificial complexities in the nomenclature. There is a lot of insularity in the theoretical physics community. The book focuses on a few physicists - mostly in Italy and Pennsylvania - as they use different methods to explore the physical world. It seems we are a long way from having a definite answer.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

This was one of Kurt Cobain's favorite novels. The story centers around a man with a great sense of smell living in 18th century France. He is orphaned at a young age and notices his gift for smell at a relatively young age. He smells a girl and murders her so that nobody else could have her smell. He realizes his great olfactory ability and apprentices himself to a perfumist. He also realizes that he does not have a smell. Later he decides to create a perfect smell. He kills a couple dozen girls to get what is needed. The people are distraught by the murders and eventually capture him. His execution is to be a great spectacle. He unleashes his "perfect smell" and everyone feels he is innocent as they get wrapped up in a hedonistic orgy. He finds this unfulfilling and decides to unleash his smell as he is walking among some low-life. They rip him apart, ending his life.

The book has an interesting take on the power of smell. Odor does have a power in our lives to bring back strong memories. Could it eventually be used to harness a form of mind control over a populace? Would people really go through such actions over a smell? It is also a tale of sacrifice. The all-powerful smell required the life of many people. The creator of this smell gave the people a final scent as they ripped him apart. Is this how Cobain felt about his musical abilities?