Goodnight, Steve Jobs

My entry was supposed to be about something else, but then Steve Jobs died and I cannot not write about that. Yesterday felt heavy, and I think the weather agreed. I was in the car with my husband and baby listening to the radio when Delamar from RX 93.1 started delivering the sad, sad breaking news about Steve's passing. It would be the news that would trend all day from Facebook to Twitter and everywhere else significant and insignificant in the blogsphere.On my personal Facebook page, I changed my profile pic to this:

CNN was all about Steve too. Last time I saw something like that was when Michael Jackson suddenly died. But he was King of Pop, a phenomenon for the past 40 years. He was controversial, had huge personal issues, fodder in tabloids for years... Steve Jobs in comparison started creeping into the world's consciousness just fairly recently; he also lived a much quieter life, not much was known about his personal life but every time there was an Apple event he was the crowd-drawer (and of course his gadgets). In these events, he spoke about his inventions like he literally gave birth to them. Such a passionate man, that Steve. He was known for his idealism (his wish was to create "a $10 billion company without losing its soul"), his relentless pursuit for excellence, his eye for art and design, and of course his creations that are truly the most beautiful gadgets we've ever seen. He was also stubborn, abrasive and mercurial, by some accounts, but in the face of genius those he has worked with cannot argue with his talent. He was also famous for answering randon emails by fans and critics alike - ordinary people like you and me inquiring about his products. His email address - sjobs@apple.com - is probably the most famous email of any CEO. And a CEO of his stature that answers emails? Truly he is rare, that Steve. And so we are left to grieve this man we barely knew (personally), but somehow the feeling is that you've known him all your life and there's now this huge, gaping hole in the universe you walk around, trying hard to cope with this event you're not quite ready to address. End of an era, some say. I'd have to agree. Goodnight Steve, game-changer, icon and genius. Thank you for leaving your beautiful legacy, for the snippets of wisdom, for living an example of a life well-lived. Cheers to you, crazy one. P.S. Many tributes have sprouted around the net, but this one for me is the most poignant, written by Steven Levy for Wired.