No Pretty Boy

I really respect when a public figure goes out of their way to be simple and truthful. Steve Jobs' commencement speech two years ago at Stanford stands out in my mind. Roger Ebert, of the famous thumbs, says something true and simple and brave in explaining that he wont be missing his 9th annual Overlooked Film Festival even though he's battling complications from cancer:

"I have received a lot of advice that I should not attend the festival. I’m told that paparazzi will take unflattering pictures, people will be unkind, etc.

Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. As a journalist I can take it as well as dish it out.

So when I turn up in Urbana, I will be wearing a gauze bandage around my neck, and my mouth will be seen to droop. So it goes.

"We spend too much time hiding illness. There is an assumption that I must always look the same. I hope to look better than I look now. But I’m not going to miss my festival."

Best of luck to him. Via 37signals and their Signal Vs. Noise blog