TBT, Halloween ed.
In anticipation of tomorrow, here's a look back through some of my more memorable Halloween costumes over the years. In other words, here's a throwback to simpler days when the entirely ridiculous (Sexy Lobster Costume, I'm looking at you) and the all together horrifyingly inappropriate (Sexy Ebola Containment Suit, WTF) weren't even an issue.
"What are you doing for others?"
Throughout my professional life, I’ve tried to maintain a basic level of privacy. I come from humble roots, and I don’t seek to draw attention to myself. Apple is already one of the most closely watched companies in the world, and I like keeping the focus on our products and the incredible things our customers achieve with them.
At the same time, I believe deeply in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, who said: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ ” I often challenge myself with that question, and I’ve come to realize that my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important. That’s what has led me to today.
For years, I’ve been open with many people about my sexual orientation. Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I’m gay, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference in the way they treat me. Of course, I’ve had the good fortune to work at a company that loves creativity and innovation and knows it can only flourish when you embrace people’s differences. Not everyone is so lucky.
While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.
Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple.
The world has changed so much since I was a kid. America is moving toward marriage equality, and the public figures who have bravely come out have helped change perceptions and made our culture more tolerant. Still, there are laws on the books in a majority of states that allow employers to fire people based solely on their sexual orientation. There are many places where landlords can evict tenants for being gay, or where we can be barred from visiting sick partners and sharing in their legacies. Countless people, particularly kids, face fear and abuse every day because of their sexual orientation.
I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy.
I’ll admit that this wasn’t an easy choice. Privacy remains important to me, and I’d like to hold on to a small amount of it. I’ve made Apple my life’s work, and I will continue to spend virtually all of my waking time focused on being the best CEO I can be. That’s what our employees deserve—and our customers, developers, shareholders, and supplier partners deserve it, too. Part of social progress is understanding that a person is not defined only by one’s sexuality, race, or gender. I’m an engineer, an uncle, a nature lover, a fitness nut, a son of the South, a sports fanatic, and many other things. I hope that people will respect my desire to focus on the things I’m best suited for and the work that brings me joy.
The company I am so fortunate to lead has long advocated for human rights and equality for all. We’ve taken a strong stand in support of a workplace equality bill before Congress, just as we stood for marriage equality in our home state of California. And we spoke up in Arizona when that state’s legislature passed a discriminatory bill targeting the gay community. We’ll continue to fight for our values, and I believe that any CEO of this incredible company, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation, would do the same. And I will personally continue to advocate for equality for all people until my toes point up.
When I arrive in my office each morning, I’m greeted by framed photos of Dr. King and Robert F. Kennedy. I don’t pretend that writing this puts me in their league. All it does is allow me to look at those pictures and know that I’m doing my part, however small, to help others. We pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick.
Tim Cook, Apple CEO
Some food for thought
I recently found myself caught up in National Geographic's "Future of Food" series, and I recommend you taking some time to do the same. A few articles of particular interest include "The Evolution of Diet" / "Carnivore's Dilemma" / "The Next Green Revolution" / "One-Third of Food Is Lost or Wasted: What Can Be Done" / "Can Farms Reduce Antibiotic Use? Dutch Farms Did" / "What The World Eats" / "Here's Why We Haven't Quite Figured Out How to Feed Billions More People".
For Your Enjoyment #23
When the hammer came down, the audience broke into applause. The final price for Apocalypse Now, including the buyer’s premium paid to Christie’s: $26.4 million. It had appreciated roughly 350,000 percent in 25 years.
- Christopher Wool's "Apocalypse Now": $7500 in 1988 / $26.4 million in 2013 (image above)
I explained to them it was a Nobel Prize, and their main question was, ‘Why were you in Fargo?’
- The hassles of carrying the Nobel medal through airport security
[Google's] decision to mount the Trekker on a camel's back stemmed from the desire to collect truly authentic imagery while minimizing environmental impact.
- Google's Street View visits the Arabian Desert with the help of camel-mounted trekker cameras
If I’m going to tell my daughter that she can do almost anything a man can do (excepting some very specific biological acts), then I also need to show her that a man can do almost anything a woman can do too … especially when it’s something awesome like dressing up as a character from one of the best movies ever.
- This Princess Leia dad and his Hans Solo daughter win at Halloween
The world’s first whisky experiment in space touched down safe and sound in Kazakhstan, T minus a few hours ago. And now it’s on its way to Houston.
- Ardbeg sent vials of terpenes into space
"Pengwing? Pengling?"
- Benedict Cumberbatch is struggling
“Hello. I’m looking for a pocketbook that will match my snake,” I said to a salesman. “Maybe something in reptile.” I shuffled [Mexican milk snake] Augustus from one hand to the other as though he were a Slinky. The salesman handed me a smart, yellow python bag marked $9,000. “I think this would work the best. It’s one of our classics. I think yellow. Red makes the snake look too dull.”
- Emotional Support Animals (ESL): how far is too far?
A bee-ver!
- And finally, this guy
Can I keep you?
I just caught this classic on tv, and nearly twenty years after watching it for the first time, it made me cry all over again.
