Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Steve meet . . . Stephen



Recently I finished two books in quick succession. The first, Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft; the second, Steve Jobs, the biography written by Walter Isaacson. On the surface, the books may seem unrelated. I mean, how can you compare a book on fiction writing against a biography of one of the most polarizing business icons in the last 100 years? My answer – Easily!! The truth is, the books are very much related . . . in soul and essence, in philosophy, and in power. 


 First, let’s just take the principle characters. Stephen King is simply one of the most prolific writers ever. His tales of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy have sold over 350 million copies worldwide and have been adapted into numerous films. Steve Jobs only changed the world as we know it by revolutionizing six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing. He is the driving force behind iconic products like the Mac. iPod, iPhone, and iPad.
 
In reading King’s book and Jobs’ biography, I found a common thread woven throughout the pages, an insight into their drive and motivation. I also saw how both men intuitively connected with everyday people—both in the books they wanted to read and in the electronic gadgets they craved. What follows is a few quotes from both men that I found strikingly similar.


Friday, March 25, 2016

the dichotomy of the human race



Gosh, I’ve been a way for a long time! I’ve spent the vast majority of my spare time since January 1 working on a pro bono database project for a local nonprofit. I really got in over my head with that one!  Now it’s time to switch from my techie geeky IT software engineer mode back to my techie geeky SciFi/Fantasy writer mode.

Hmm . . . is there a difference?

I’m going to make this post short, but the thoughts have stirred deep in my spirit for the last several days, ever since the nasty devastation that rocked the beautiful city of Brussels recently. While listening to some of my favorite music, I pondered the dichotomy of the human race, the polar extremes of human nature. Listen to the music. Maybe you’ll hear the same question that it whispered to me – How can a species capable of such beautiful stirring art also be capable of such hatred and wanton destruction?

I don't have an answer either.