This year, we’d suggest, the city could add a veneer of authenticity to the event by inviting noted physicist Stephen Hawking instead of the drag queens who were the centerpiece of last year’s street party. Hawking, on a visit to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center this past Tuesday (April 9) said he did not think humans would survive another thousand years “without escaping beyond our fragile planet.” If there’s a man who could foretell the end of the world, our bet is on Hawking. Epoch Times reports that Hawking, 71, was visiting Cedars-Sinai to tour a stem cell laboratory focused on trying to slow the progression of Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS. Hawking was diagnosed with the disease 50 years ago, but went on to develop a stellar reputation for his research on black holes and the origins of the cosmos.
Epoch Times reports that Hawking, who receives around-the-clock care because of his ALS condition, can only communicate by twitching his cheek. He uses a computer mounted to his wheelchair communicate in a robotic monotone.
