I have sometimes wish’d it had been my destiny to have
been born two or three centuries hence.
I wonder if Steve Jobs felt the same way. I would like to believe that the visionary that he was, his peaceful end was comforted by the fact that all that he envisioned was all on the right path. His few dreams that were not already made reality would soon reach millions. Not only that, but millions if not billions of people around the world now understand his vision, not just the beauty and application of his products, but the implications of a future of grand dreams and great taste.
I will forever regret never meeting the man.
But I was never worth his time.
Now he has all the time in the world to relax with the greats: http://bit.ly/ng7PmU
He gave us platforms. Now it's in our hands.
---
Steve knew his calling and thus the world took so much of his precious time. Less than 60 years of life: We shall forever make the best of it as he rests in peace.
The clip affected me more than anything thus far. I think I'm ready to move on now, he gave so much but the world demands so much more. For now, I think I'm done up-voting Steve Jobs.
Colbert's short little clip here (especially the very powerful ending) and the Onion's article are the two most touching pieces I've read on Steve Jobs.
It reminds me of the Onion's "Holy Fucking Shit" piece after September 11th. That did a lot to snap Americans back to reality and help us mourn.
Has it always been the case that the funny people are the best at helping us (group, nation, community) mourn? Or is just that, these days, the wisest and people (in media) happen to be comedians?
There's always something touching about seeing funny people be completely raw and out of character. Or rather, for the first time, you see their real character.
Good comedians speak the truth that is apparent, but is possibly not being said. Breaking social morays and speaking freely is more of the comedians' strongest weapons.
I thought Obama's words about Steve's death were quite touching. I'll just quote the last paragraph:
"The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve’s wife Laurene, his family, and all those who loved him."
"FOR TWENTY-TWO years, the United States has been the freely-chosen home of Albert Einstein. For fifteen years, he has been a citizen of the United States by his own free and deliberate choice. Americans welcomed him here. Americans were proud, too, that he sought and found here a climate of freedom in his search for knowledge and truth.
No other man contributed so much to the vast expansion of twentieth century knowledge. Yet no other man was more modest in the possession of the power that is knowledge, more sure that power without wisdom is deadly. To all who live in the nuclear age, Albert Einstein exemplified the mighty creative ability of the individual in a free society."
This comment of mine is a bit off topic, since its not related to Steve Jobs:
I'm from Argentina and I've been watching Colbert and Jon Stewart for about 3 years now. I'm simply amazed every day when I see both shows. There's nothing I would like more than to see this format of television being brought to Argentina, but I doubt it.
What I want to say is: People in the US, you are VERY lucky for having these shows on air. Please, don't take them for granted. Treasure them!!!
It gets me right when the live audience realizes that it's not a joke, and falls completely silent. He can barely keep it together on his last few lines.
Very good delivery. I like how he very tactfully conveyed, maybe not stories about the man or his accomplishments, but how it marks the end of those contributions-- there won't be any more one liner emails, new product announcements, etc. that the tech industry has become so accustomed to over the years. It's a new era now. I wonder how we'll come to define it.
There was something particularly touching about this. I think it was the words "Thank You", where you felt it wasn't coming from "The Colbert Report" Colbert, but the actual Stephen Colbert himself.
It is touching to see the human element from idols who have always put on a public face. In this case, Colbert's character put away for a moment, which let you see the person behind the mask. Steve Job's death adds the human element to his legendary career and persona, which is what has captivated me the most. I look forward to reading Steve Job's biography to better understand one of the people that I most admire.
Notice too the extremely slow push-in on the camera when Colbert gets sincere. There's a bit of cinematic wizardry at play to make it extra poignant. It emphasizes that Colbert was truly breaking character - the entire show broke character in a sense, by using some non-standard direction.
I will forever regret never meeting the man. But I was never worth his time.
Now he has all the time in the world to relax with the greats: http://bit.ly/ng7PmU
He gave us platforms. Now it's in our hands.
---
Steve knew his calling and thus the world took so much of his precious time. Less than 60 years of life: We shall forever make the best of it as he rests in peace.
The clip affected me more than anything thus far. I think I'm ready to move on now, he gave so much but the world demands so much more. For now, I think I'm done up-voting Steve Jobs.