Rodney O. Lain (aka iBrotha) commits suicide...

pscates

<a href="http://www.cubeowner.com/"; target="_blank">http://www.cubeowner.com/</a>;



Apparently, it happened on Friday. Didn't he used to do a little column at MacAddict's website? I looked there (as well as macminute, maccentral, macintouch, etc.) and there's no mention of it.



Do you guys remember this guy? He was a bit odd, and I remember reading some of his stuff, thinking "huh?!?".



Suicide, though. Still sad.

amorph

I liked Rodney. Not because I always agreed with him, though. He was the rhetorical equivalent of a sawed-off shotgun: Sometimes he'd obliterated a target that needed obliterating, and sometimes he'd just leave a big mess. But at least he wrote boldly, and tackled difficult issues.



He was also a very funny correspondent.



I've come pretty close to the line he crossed; I know the suffocating feeling of helplessness and worthlessness that can lead a person there. But what kept me alive was always the thought of what would happen to my family, and my friends, and the other people who know me and depend on me. I'm sorry that wasn't enough for him.



Tim Robertson's <a href="http://www.mymac.com/robertson/6.17.02.shtml"; target="_blank">column</a> at MyMac addresses this as well as it can be addressed. I should pass along MacSurfer's [strong language] disclaimer, though.



RIP.

murbot

Depression is a killer. I've seen more of this than I care to think about, and have been at least part way down that road myself.



It's tough, because it's something most guys aren't going to ask for help over.



Just a sad, pointless tragedy. I can't believe it...









[ 06-17-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>

eman

Horrible to hear. I used to love Rodney's articles. Some weren't that great, but a lot of them were really funny.

pscates

Was he very popular or well-known? I mean, I came across his articles a few times over the years and I certainly knew who he was and all. But am I in the minority among Mac users?



I'm asking because there doesn't seem to be much reporting on it at all the various Mac news sites.



But I remember when Don Crabb died, people lost their minds. You would've thought Elvis had died all over again.



How popular/known was Lain? Especially in light of the circumstances of his death, I thought there would be a bit more news. MacAddict, who he used to write for, doesn't even mention anything at their site.



Maybe they had a falling out?

eman

I don't know how popular he was, but I knew him from MacAddict, MacObserver, Lowend Mac, and a few other places he had various articles.

murbot

Not a household name or anything, but I do remember reading a fair bit if his stuff in the last couple of years.



Seemed to have really dropped off lately, I really can't remember the last time I saw him mentioned - due to his depression I suppose.

scott_h_phd

I liked a good chunk of his stuff. Bad news. Wish his family the best.

eman

[quote]Originally posted by murbot:

<strong>Not a household name or anything, but I do remember reading a fair bit if his stuff in the last couple of years.



Seemed to have really dropped off lately, I really can't remember the last time I saw him mentioned - due to his depression I suppose.</strong><hr></blockquote>



That's true. I haven't read anything of his in months.

falcon

This was a big shock for me when I read it on Mac Central.



I first remember listening him on the now defunk MacShow Live. He just sounded like a great, happy, and insightfull person. His collums where the best in the Mac world in my opinion. He wrote with a passion and skill that was rivaled by few in the industry. He stood up for whatever he believed in, and wasnt afraid to let people know. Making me smile, sometimes laugh, and always making me think about what he had to say.



iBrotha my prayers are with you and your family.



You will be sincearly missed by everyone you touched.

buonrotto

I really liked Rodney Lain. He always set out to piss off people and he apparently did a good job, but his heart and his attitude were always in the right place. I actually enjoyed his columns for that reason -- he approached his points from such a different angle. He just struck me as a terribly interesting and passionate person. I'm shocked and upset that he took his own life. Like so many others, I think his passion fueled both his creative and destructive ability. Sadly, he lost control of his destructive impulse.



If you haven't coped with depression, it's hard to imagine just how painful it is. I wish I could tell him that as unimaginably bad it gets, it does get better if you keep trying. I wish he could have seen the difference he made for so many people. If he realized how many he helped, he might not have felt so helpless himself.



My deepest condolences to Rodney's friends and family. And may you find peace, Rodney.

casecom

The St. Paul Pioneer Press (Rodney lived in Eagan, Minn.) has an <a href="http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/3489297.htm"; target="_blank">obituary</a> and a reprint of a <a href="http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/business/technology/3489258.htm"; target="_blank">short profile</a> on its Web site.

matsu

Never knew anything of his. Too bad, macs will do that to you I guess, erm... excuse me, from what I've read in the past couple of days it seems a little sardonic mac angst is as appropo commentary as any. It's too bad that life can become so literally unbearable for some, too bad. And even worse that it can happen so insidiously to people that seem in good health, socially secure, you know, happy? At least on the outside. Fvcking depressing, that is. Damn. Intellectually I feel I can understand the impulse, still I feel a sense of near revulsion at the though of suicide. I can't imagine family feeling anything that isn't mingled with intense anger. Sadness and anger, fondness/remembrance and then anger, grief and then anger. This is a terrible thing for the living.

hmurchison

I don't stay depressed myself. I have my down days but I'm pretty resiliant. I do know for a fact that it's very real. I know TOO many people on Zoloft and I've seen some of them when they're not on it and they simply cannot cope with even seemingly trivial things in life.