Word: omega
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Einstein called it Omega, the ratio between the actual density of the universe and the density required to keep it from imploding. If the two levels are not equal, the universe is doomed. Einstein also called Omega "the biggest blunder of my life" and eventually disowned the idea...
...what if he were right? Flemish author Paul Verhaeghen explores that possibility - and galaxies of others - in Omega Minor, his sprawling, provocative, nuclear nightmare of a novel. After appearing in the Netherlands and his native Belgium in 2004, and Germany in 2006, the book spent months on best-seller lists and won a periodic table of European literary awards. Verhaeghen gained further notoriety by declining his prize money to protest the Bush Administration's conduct of the Iraq...
...Omega Minor has now finally arrived in the U.S. and Britain, the first of Verhaeghen's three novels to be translated into English. Critics are comparing him to such German masters as Günter Grass and W. G. Sebald, as well as to science-minded American novelists like Thomas Pynchon and Richard Powers. Indeed, Powers - who has lived in Holland - helped find a U.S. publisher for the book, calling it "amazing" and praising Verhaeghen for taking on "the whole 20th century in a single novel...
That prospect is inspiring enough to have attracted $67 million - about two-thirds of the project's overall budget - from a trio of high-profile sponsors: Swiss watchmaker Omega, part of the Swatch Group, which brings expertise in both miniaturization and efficient energy use; Deutsche Bank, which is keen to green its investment portfolio; and Belgian chemical and materials group Solvay, which backed the exploits of Piccard's grand-father, Auguste, when he co-piloted a balloon beyond the stratospheric altitude...
...cuisine at Nuage, tel: (86-10) 6401 9581. This restaurant club has a stunning view of the lake area and the nearby ancient Drum Tower, which was built in 1420 and used to signal the time during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. For after-dinner cocktails, the Alpha Omega Club, tel: (86-10) 6612 9898 is on the west bank of Shichahai and within walking distance of Nuage. A pop cover band plays on the first floor, a jazz band on the second, and there's a DJ and dance floor in the basement if you can squeeze through...