Thursday, October 06, 2011

Here’s to the “Crazy Ones” . . .

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The late Steve Jobs narrates this first “Think Different” commercial for the Apple corporation. It was produced as a television ad in 1997 but actually never aired. Richard Dreyfuss did the voiceover for the version that did eventually air.

I must admit I find it somewhat disconcerting that the legacies of so many social and cultural trailblazers have been appropriated to promote a transnational, non-status quo threatening, capitalist venture like Apple! Still, I'm glad to see Maria Callas among the highlighted "crazy ones"! – a list that also includes Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, John Lennon, Muhammad Ali, Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Martha Graham and Pablo Picasso.

I’m sure that if there was footage of
Jesus of Nazareth, he’d be featured too! He certainly saw things differently, had little time for the status quo and sought to bring about change!

Jobs’ narration reminds me of a recent comment on the Star Tribune website in response to this pathetic whinefest of the Catholic bishops of Minnesota. You may recall that I’d previously shared this particular comment here. It's definitely worth repeating.

The progress of civilization has always been about extinguishing ignorance and blind allegiance. Civilization marches on despite all the forces – for whatever motive, nefarious or not – [that try] to hold it back. Mindless discrimination has always been one of the most powerful of these forces. It’s part of human nature, a vestige of our savage evolution. The challenge is to rise above it.


Recommended Off-site Link:
Two Reflections on the Death of Steve Jobs – Daniel P. Horan, OFM (Dating God, October 6, 2011).


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