My colleague and co-conspirator Gordon Mah Ung passed away this weekend, after a battle with cancer.
I’m heartbroken. Gordon is the journalist and the person I want to be when I grow up.
But you can read about why in PCWorld’s obituary for Gordon. I’m here to celebrate my friend of 15 years, so instead I want to talk about my favorite Full Nerd episode—which isn’t even a Full Nerd episode at all. Instead, it’s a 2017 episode of CES After Dark, which, in this case, had a Full Nerd mission and 100 percent more liquor.
Every night of that CES six years ago, a duo of journalists from our editorial team streamed from a couch in a Vegas hotel room, interviewed by our then-video lead, Tyler Larsen, who was dressed to the nines in a tuxedo. The show stuck to a strict 30-minute time limit. Until the final night.
“CES After Dark Episode 3 covering Day 2”
By this point in CES schedule, most of our fellow reporters were flying out of Vegas. Gordon and I had another day in town because HARDCORE! So, we were the pair for the final episode, with Adam manning the camera offscreen and shouting out questions from viewers.
I can’t remember who came up with the idea, but it was genius: It was the end of an action-packed week in Vegas, and since this was the last night of the show, we’d get loose.
We covered the coffee table in Doritos bags and Metamucil. Kyle loosened his collar. Gordon wore a beanie hat covered in hundos. Someone ran downstairs to grab those delicious 3-foot-tall margaritas you can find everywhere in Vegas. But even though the vibe was looser, the 30-minute time limit was supposed to be the same.
But not when you’ve got Gordon and I slamming gigantic margs and riffing about the cool shit we saw in Vegas! We kept talking for damned near an hour and only wrapped up because Tyler was wrapping it up (lmao). We completely derailed all plans by going Full Nerd during the guerrilla livestream. I love the memory so, so much.
I re-watched “CES After Dark Episode 3 covering Day 2” when I heard about Gordon’s passing. And now I’m sharing with you because this episode perfectly encapsulates how wonderful and wonderfully unique Gordon was.
Gordon’s family has launched a GoFundMe to help cover expenses. Please donate to them if you can.
Gordon commanded a room better than anybody else I’ve ever seen—and I’ve seen Gordon in rooms with major CEOs and endless YouTubers. His charm absolutely oozes throughout the video, ranting about then-new GeForce Now gaming subscriptions (take a shot, Full Nerd faithful) and tossing off one-liners while drinking a ludicrous monstrosity and wearing a beanie covered in $100 bills. You couldn’t help but be riveted by what the man says!
But a bunch of jokes wouldn’t have taken 57 minutes to tell. And that’s how Gordon worked his magic.
Gordon showed PC enthusiasts the light. Often using a huge honkin’ tactical flashlight.
Adam Patrick Murray / Foundry
Yes, Gordon’s Gordonness kept you enthralled. But his true purpose was finding and speaking the truth. And “CES After Dark Episode 3 covering Day 2” is a masterclass in that.
Watching the video again, I’m amazed at just how much information Gordon managed to pack into just 57 minutes, especially with Tyler and I blabbing a bunch.
Off the bat, Gordon brings real insight into the Dell XPS he checked out, telling you about its “big-ass battery” and “real keyboard” compared to the Mac. Later, he doesn’t hesitate to bring up that most of the debut Ryzen motherboards looked pretty damned cheap (let the record show they indeed were compared to Intel counterparts).
He relentlessly sprinkles in information reported from firsthand sources—I’ve always been jealous of Gordon’s rolodex—and uses that in combination with his deep-rooted computing expertise to deliver truly insightful analysis of CES’s endless spotlight reveals. He gives everyone watching not just a regurgitation of the fire hydrant of news, but real reporting to dig deeper into that news, and then contextualizing it in a way that gets across what actually mattered, and why it did.
Gordon refused to let the host get a word in edge-wise while we were discussing and debating deeply nerdy material, because he wasn’t ready to wrap it up yet. He had more to say. His focus was on telling the people the truth, always. Gordon brought takes, but they were backed by receipts.
And that’s the truth about Gordon. Sure, he might’ve cranked up his personality a bit for videos, but he wasn’t a persona. The Gordon you know is the Gordon you know. He was personable, and funny, and hard-working, and deeply connected, and curmudgeonly, and smart, and fair, and honest, and he was utterly dedicated to being a journalist and presenting the truth as he saw it.
There’s a reason he never accepted a job in corporate marketing despite the promise of far more money than journalism ever could. Gordon was Clark Kent, personified (if Clark Kent was constantly enraged by Microsoft Teams).
Like I said: I’m heartbroken. Gordon is the journalist and the person I want to be when I grow up. The world is worse without him, and I’m better because I knew him. Rest in peace, friend.
Gordon’s family has launched a GoFundMe to help cover expenses. Please donate to them if you can.