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On why he stopped writing: "Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel peace prize." In the intro to "So long mom": "You know,
by less_less 4y ago
On why he stopped writing: "Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel peace prize."
In the intro to "So long mom": "You know, every great war produces its great hit songs. And, after each war, we like to gather around the piano or the guitar, and play these songs. We enjoy the songs because they remind us of how much we enjoyed the war. Now, World War III is almost upon us, as you know – by popular demand, it seems. And, it occurred to me that if any songs are going to come out of World War III we’d better start writing them now. So, I have one here."
- ghaff 4y agoIt's interesting to me the way Tom Lehrer totally walked away from his past life. Long ago when I was undergrad and involved with the movie/lecture group we asked a good friend of his at the school if there was any chance he'd make an exception and do a concert. No way. I've know people in tech who have retired, often a bit on the young side. They often keep their fingers in tech in various ways. But I also have known people who just 100% walk away.
- 121110987654321 4y ago"But I also have known people who just 100% walk away." How many people? Any commonalities surrounding their choice?
- ghaff 4y agoThey often want to spend more time with family. They have hobbies that they didn't have enough time to devote to while working. And, for a lot of later career people in tech, they weren't doing a lot of coding anyway--and it's not like they can continue to meet with customers or set company technology direction part-time over the long term although a few very senior folks may stay around as an advisor for a time.