I’m watching the NFL playoffs from the comfort of my living room, just like many other Pittsburgh Steelers players and fans. If you are too than you’ve probably seen the Apple Ipad Air commercial.
Cool. Inspirational. Creative.
We’ve come to expect cool from Apple. But this commercial is one I really like because it makes us think about how technology is weaving itself into the fabric of our lives. Right now it’s the tablet and the smart phone. Soon it will be a variety of wearable devices.
But that’s not all that’s cool. Robin Williams narrating the commercial with his classic quote from Dead Poets Society. Now that’s cool. It’s also compelling – daring you to live out loud. Williams character in Dead Poets Society is Professor John Keating, one of my favorites. And, if you don’t recognize it from the commercial then perhaps you didn’t see Dead Poets Society, or need to see it again or share it with your children.
O me! O life!
“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, “O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless… of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?” Answer: that you are here; that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?
