7 ms·

Gruber's talent for writing never ceases to amaze me. It's always incredible that a tech blogger can write so well and, in this case, poetically. Five minutes

Gruber's talent for writing never ceases to amaze me. It's always incredible that a tech blogger can write so well and, in this case, poetically. Five minutes ago I had just watched Jobs' commencement speech on CNN for the at least the 50th time. I put work on hold just to hear it again. Every time I hear it I gain strength. I've never had a dad but I did have heroes. Steve Jobs is one of them.

mapleoin 15y ago
Funnily I got the exact opposite impression. I thought it was cheesy and kitsch.
- hyperbovine 15y ago
  Agree completely. Yerba Buena Gardens anyone? http://g.co/maps/wy2se http://g.co/maps/wy2se The whole thing is contrived and smacks of just the sort of prying, cultish obsession with the private lives of celebrities that Steve Jobs treated with scorn. If it wasn't appropriate to write crap like this when he was alive, I don't see why it is now that he's dead.
- achompas 15y ago
  Very surprising to read this. Was there anything in particular that bugged you about it? To me, Gruber captures Jobs as both a loving family man and a visionary who is selective with his attention to detail. This is a nice lesson, as I often spend time focusing on the wrong details. Even the structure of the article -- a vignette with a narrative device built from a small detail -- is a tribute to Jobs's legendary focus on details. Beautiful on multiple levels.
  - dmm 15y ago
    > a loving family man He denied paternity of his daughter Lisa, even testifying in court that he was infertile. Lisa's mother was on welfare for a time because of this. So if you are going to say he was a loving father, you should also mention that he was a neglectful one. Hero worship is empty. If you want to admire something, admire the man, not some two dimensional pr bullshit.
    - achompas 15y ago
      He denied paternity of his daughter Lisa, even testifying in court that he was infertile. Lisa's mother was on welfare for a time because of this. So if you are going to say he was a loving father, you should also mention that he was a neglectful one. You left out the part where he accepted paternity, supported his daughter financially, and had a very strong relationship with her until his death. No one is perfect, but how can you hold mistakes he made decades ago (this happened in the 1980s) and subsequently rectified against him?
    - xuki 15y ago
      When he was 23. I think Lisa and her mother would forgive him for that long time ago. In his own words about his biography: I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of, such as getting my girlfriend pregnant when I was 23 and the way I handled that. But I don’t have any skeletons in my closet that can’t be allowed out.
  - Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
    Personally I loved the observation about the grass stains and how they just weren't important enough to be something Steve cared about, but I thought the image of him walking hand in hand through the grass with his family was a bit saccharine. It's enough just to invoke the idea that Steve had found time to get outside - whatever he was doing and whoever he was doing it with and that he did so by focusing on what was truly important but part of great writing is leaving a little bit to the reader and I felt he could have left it there. But hell, what do I know, I post the odd thing on HN, Gruber earns six figures blogging... (Don't get me wrong, I like Gruber and I like the piece, just that paragraph).
    - achompas 15y ago
      I'd agree, that last part was a bit saccharine. On net though, I thought it was great too.
- mechanical_fish 15y ago
  I should track down the actual post in which JMS (the "Babylon Five" guy) pointed out that even Shakespeare has only about a 50% approval rating. Meanwhile, I'm not sure you could conduct a proper tribute to Steve Jobs without throwing in a little kitsch. Have you seen the "1984" ad? The "Think Different" ads? Steve Jobs' taste was not constrained by a self-conscious fear of cheese. ;)
  - anon808 15y ago
    It's only cheesy if it's not sincere.
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
    - mechanical_fish 15y ago
      Steve Jobs was a grandmaster of sincerity.
- cglee 15y ago
  If there ever was a time to be cheesy and kitsch, it's now.
  - fs111 15y ago
    Newsflash: People die. Yes, it's bad, but they do. Deal with it. Stop being so pathetic. Did you even know him in person? If not, why do you think now is the right time for kitsch? Why not yesterday when lots of people - like everyday- died of hunger and poverty all over the planet? Yeah right, those people never sold you overprized gadgets made in Chinese sweat shops, where people commit suicide by the dozen. http://i.imgur.com/TI5Mt.gif http://i.imgur.com/TI5Mt.gif
danilocampos 15y ago
> I've never had a dad but I did have heroes. Steve Jobs is one of them. Funny — I was reflecting on exactly this today. No dad, either. Thanks for sharing it. I think Jobs is the only person outside of my immediate family whose passing could hit me in the gut quite this way. I grew up looking to his example. A man I never met but who nonetheless showed me, in small but meaningful ways, how to be a man.

mapleoin 15y ago

Funnily I got the exact opposite impression. I thought it was cheesy and kitsch.

hyperbovine 15y ago
Agree completely. Yerba Buena Gardens anyone? http://g.co/maps/wy2se http://g.co/maps/wy2se The whole thing is contrived and smacks of just the sort of prying, cultish obsession with the private lives of celebrities that Steve Jobs treated with scorn. If it wasn't appropriate to write crap like this when he was alive, I don't see why it is now that he's dead.
achompas 15y ago
Very surprising to read this. Was there anything in particular that bugged you about it? To me, Gruber captures Jobs as both a loving family man and a visionary who is selective with his attention to detail. This is a nice lesson, as I often spend time focusing on the wrong details. Even the structure of the article -- a vignette with a narrative device built from a small detail -- is a tribute to Jobs's legendary focus on details. Beautiful on multiple levels.
- dmm 15y ago
  > a loving family man He denied paternity of his daughter Lisa, even testifying in court that he was infertile. Lisa's mother was on welfare for a time because of this. So if you are going to say he was a loving father, you should also mention that he was a neglectful one. Hero worship is empty. If you want to admire something, admire the man, not some two dimensional pr bullshit.
  - achompas 15y ago
    He denied paternity of his daughter Lisa, even testifying in court that he was infertile. Lisa's mother was on welfare for a time because of this. So if you are going to say he was a loving father, you should also mention that he was a neglectful one. You left out the part where he accepted paternity, supported his daughter financially, and had a very strong relationship with her until his death. No one is perfect, but how can you hold mistakes he made decades ago (this happened in the 1980s) and subsequently rectified against him?
  - xuki 15y ago
    When he was 23. I think Lisa and her mother would forgive him for that long time ago. In his own words about his biography: I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of, such as getting my girlfriend pregnant when I was 23 and the way I handled that. But I don’t have any skeletons in my closet that can’t be allowed out.
- Tyrannosaurs 15y ago
  Personally I loved the observation about the grass stains and how they just weren't important enough to be something Steve cared about, but I thought the image of him walking hand in hand through the grass with his family was a bit saccharine. It's enough just to invoke the idea that Steve had found time to get outside - whatever he was doing and whoever he was doing it with and that he did so by focusing on what was truly important but part of great writing is leaving a little bit to the reader and I felt he could have left it there. But hell, what do I know, I post the odd thing on HN, Gruber earns six figures blogging... (Don't get me wrong, I like Gruber and I like the piece, just that paragraph).
  - achompas 15y ago
    I'd agree, that last part was a bit saccharine. On net though, I thought it was great too.
mechanical_fish 15y ago
I should track down the actual post in which JMS (the "Babylon Five" guy) pointed out that even Shakespeare has only about a 50% approval rating. Meanwhile, I'm not sure you could conduct a proper tribute to Steve Jobs without throwing in a little kitsch. Have you seen the "1984" ad? The "Think Different" ads? Steve Jobs' taste was not constrained by a self-conscious fear of cheese. ;)
- anon808 15y ago
  It's only cheesy if it's not sincere.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - mechanical_fish 15y ago
    Steve Jobs was a grandmaster of sincerity.
cglee 15y ago
If there ever was a time to be cheesy and kitsch, it's now.
- fs111 15y ago
  Newsflash: People die. Yes, it's bad, but they do. Deal with it. Stop being so pathetic. Did you even know him in person? If not, why do you think now is the right time for kitsch? Why not yesterday when lots of people - like everyday- died of hunger and poverty all over the planet? Yeah right, those people never sold you overprized gadgets made in Chinese sweat shops, where people commit suicide by the dozen. http://i.imgur.com/TI5Mt.gif http://i.imgur.com/TI5Mt.gif

danilocampos 15y ago

> I've never had a dad but I did have heroes. Steve Jobs is one of them. Funny — I was reflecting on exactly this today. No dad, either. Thanks for sharing it. I think Jobs is the only person outside of my immediate family whose passing could hit me in the gut quite this way. I grew up looking to his example. A man I never met but who nonetheless showed me, in small but meaningful ways, how to be a man.