Sara at home
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
quote:Originally posted by Troberg:
quote:But he died in such a horrible way
Did he? He died doing what he loved, isn't that the best way to go?
I suspect that given a choice he would have perferred to die suddenly in his sleep of old age having lived a full, rich, productive life and seen his children and grandchildren grow up.
Frankly, I think he's pretty pissed to have died like this.
-------------------- Assume that all my posts will be edited at least once. Dyslexic -- can't spell, can't type, can't proofread. Posts: 8317 | From: Reading, PA | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
My parents told me last night, couldn't beleive it at first. They were playing non-stop Croc Hunter on Discovery last night. Manic or not, loved or not, this guy had a passion for animals and a drive to show people how beautiful,deadly and wonderful nature is. Hats off to you, Mr. Irwin.
-------------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning- Einstein Posts: 290 | From: Boston, MA | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Jay Tea: The inimitable Germaine Greer:
quote:The animal world has taken revenge on self-deluded animal tormentor Steve Irwin, according to expatriate Australian academic and writer Germaine Greer.
Writing in the British press following Irwin's sudden death, Greer said she had "not much sympathy" for the naturalist if he was grappling with the stingray that killed him on the Great Barrier Reef.
"As a Melbourne boy, Irwin should have had a healthy respect for stingrays, which are actually commoner and bigger in southern waters than they are near Port Douglas," Greer said in The Guardian.
She described Irwin's behaviour as "bizarre", noting the famed incident when he held his baby son while feeding a crocodile during a show at his Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast.
"The whole spectacle was revolting," Greer said.
"The crocodile would rather have been anywhere else and the chicken had a grim life too, but that's entertainment at Australia Zoo."
She dismissed Irwin's explanation that he had the situation under control and could not have slipped or stumbled.
"That sort of self-delusion is what it takes to be a real Aussie larrikin," Greer said.
"What Irwin never seemed to understand was that animals need space.
"There was no habitat, no matter how fragile or finely balanced, that Irwin hesitated to barge into, trumpeting his wonder and amazement to the skies.
"There was not an animal he was not prepared to manhandle.
"Every creature he brandished at the camera was in distress.
"The animal world has finally taken its revenge on Irwin, but probably not before a whole generation of kids in shorts seven sizes too small has learned to shout in the ears of animals with hearing ten times more acute than theirs, determined to become millionaire animal-loving zoo-owners in their turn."
That is THE most distasteful article that I have seen about this tragic incident.
-------------------- Where are we going, and why are we in this handbasket? Posts: 782 | From: Arlington, TX | Registered: Jul 2005
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-------------------- Assume that all my posts will be edited at least once. Dyslexic -- can't spell, can't type, can't proofread. Posts: 8317 | From: Reading, PA | Registered: Mar 2004
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She's entitled to her opinion that his treatment of animals was cruel. But some of her comments are insensitive and very poor timing. I think her imagining his final words, and then going on to criticise said self-imagined final words, is in very poor taste.
Since a lot of her opinion is based on hearsay, I can only assume she wrote it before the police's assessment of the actual footage of his death was released. This isn't to meant to excuse her, however. She has criticised a man for the manner of his death before she could be certain of the facts of his death.
Yesterday I thought to myself "He must have been doing something to provoke that stingray" until I read the later reports of the footage, so I am guilty of this myself, but at least I didn't pen a column about my unfounded speculation and pepper it with jokes about stupidity.
Posts: 1157 | From: Westcountry UK "It's Bootiful" | Registered: Jul 2005
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I came upon the sad news while I was flipping through the channels and I felt so guilty that my first thought was, "Well, he finally went and got himself killed." The world has suffered such a terrible loss not to mention his family. I had no idea that the rest of the world knew of Steve's death before his wife. I take back the comment I made about the news media showing at least some semblance of decency. Celebrity or not the FAMILY should be the first to know that a loved one has died. At least no one has gotten the chance to show the video of his death. That would be the most single most disrespectful thing that anyone could do.
Even though I personally was not a fan of his, Steve's work in conservation is something that not enough people in this world take the time. to do. It's truly sad that he is gone but he knew that what he did for a living was dangerous. He knew the danger and yet he risked his life to help save the lives of the beautiful animals he cared for. He helped to educate the public and we can only hope that he has passed on his love of life to his two children. If they were to walk in their father's footsteps I'm sure he would be very proud of them. Hopefully they do not lose their lives so young if they do continue his work. May they always remember the good their father did.
Steve Irwin - Greatly loved, sorely missed.
-------------------- WARNING: Men viewed through beer goggles may be uglier than they appear! Posts: 50 | From: Springfield, OH | Registered: Apr 2006
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To me, I repected that he was even willing to make fun of himself, as with his movie, that ESPN ad, and the FedEx ad where he is bitten by a snake and finds out that the DIDN'T use FedEx to send the anti-venom.
"It's like trying to hawk pork chops at a kosher PETA banquet." - Esprise Me Posts: 429 | From: Alabama | Registered: Sep 2005
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Sara at home
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
quote:Originally posted by Drama Queen Of Mars: I came upon the sad news while I was flipping through the channels and I felt so guilty that my first thought was, "Well, he finally went and got himself killed." The world has suffered such a terrible loss not to mention his family. I had no idea that the rest of the world knew of Steve's death before his wife. I take back the comment I made about the news media showing at least some semblance of decency. Celebrity or not the FAMILY should be the first to know that a loved one has died. At least no one has gotten the chance to show the video of his death. That would be the most single most disrespectful thing that anyone could do.
In this era of cell phones and text messaging, nothing stays quiet for long. All it takes is one observer and a cell phone and word it out.
-------------------- Assume that all my posts will be edited at least once. Dyslexic -- can't spell, can't type, can't proofread. Posts: 8317 | From: Reading, PA | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
It is very sad that he is gone. On a level though it is sort of funny (maybe ironic would be a better word) that after all the scary and deadly animals he has faced. All those crocodiles, snakes, tigers and such that could and would rip someone apart... In the end the animal that kills him was one that is normally not even really dangerous.
The world will miss him, and I feel bad for his wife and especially his kids. I guess at least he died doing what he loved doing best.
Posts: 411 | From: California | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Today's paper had a bit of an oddity. It had the article about the death of the Crocodile Hunter. Right next to it was a short blurb about a boy that was killed by a Crocodile (in Malaysia).
Was this front page news, for those of you who get newspapers in the English speaking world? I've never seen one of his shows here, so I don't know if they dubbed him, or just put subtitles. Steve Irwin without the accent just wouldn't be the same.
-------------------- "Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of the pieces." Judith Viorst Posts: 1082 | From: Luzern, Switzerland | Registered: Jan 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Die Capacitrix: Was this front page news, for those of you who get newspapers in the English speaking world? I've never seen one of his shows here, so I don't know if they dubbed him, or just put subtitles. Steve Irwin without the accent just wouldn't be the same.
It was on the front page of the Toronto Star. It was a very brief article that referred to a larger article inside the paper.
It was the main story yesterday on the CNN web site. I just checked and it's still the main story on cnn.com.
Posts: 403 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: May 2002
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To answer your question, Die Capacitrix: I watched his show on Discovery Channel here in Germany for quite some time, it wasn't exactly dubbed, it had a voice-over. Luckily you still were able to hear his accent even with that.
I really loved his show and watched it on Discovery Channel as often as I could. Even when they started to re-run it over and over again. Only when they ran it again one time too often I started to switch channels.
I liked his style. He was enthusiastic like a little boy who found his first frog at a pond every time he went exploring. Sometimes he was close to "overdoing" it, but he never crossed the line to being annoying for me. I had some good laughs when his face, all excited smile and huge eyes filled almost the whole screen because he stepped up to the lense and leaned into it when explaining something.
I am really saddened by his death
Gavida
-------------------- "He looked bigger when I couldn't see him" - Jayne Cobb Posts: 359 | From: Essen, NRW, Germany | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Die Capacitrix: Was this front page news, for those of you who get newspapers in the English speaking world?
It was buried as one paragraph on page A5 in the Palm Beach Post. My parents and I were kind of upset that he didn't get bigger coverage. We had to go online to actually find out what really happened to him.
-------------------- "There is no constitutional right to sleep with endangered reptiles." -- Carl Hiaasen Won't somebody please think of the adults! Posts: 8254 | From: Florida | Registered: Oct 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Die Capacitrix: Was this front page news, for those of you who get newspapers in the English speaking world?
It was a front-page story, with a lead to another page, but not the front-page story.
-------------------- "Well, it looks we're on our own ... again."--Rev. Lovejoy Posts: 3572 | From: St. Louis, MO | Registered: Sep 2003
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Sara at home
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
It happened too late in the night here to make the Monday paper. Today's (Tuesday's) paper has it as a front page story. Local TV channels covered it like a major international story.
-------------------- Assume that all my posts will be edited at least once. Dyslexic -- can't spell, can't type, can't proofread. Posts: 8317 | From: Reading, PA | Registered: Mar 2004
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Just very, very sad. I feel for his family.
Sometimes his personality and showmanship were a bit over-the-top, but most people look past those types of things when you see someone with a real and true passion and energy for something in which they believe so strongly. He was smart enough to know that the way he would really be able to further his conservation efforts was through increased awareness and money. He had the personality to pull off a show that entertained millions that gave him both of those things.
I thought the guy was crazy when I first saw him on TV too, but it became clear that he was crazy like a fox. I was not going to be surprised that if I heard the news one day that he died of a Mamba bite or a Croc attack, but the stingray thing somehow is different. From the way it was described, he may as well have fallen out of the boat on the way there and hit his head on the propeller. It really was a fairly freak accident.
I do a lot of wade fishing and stingrays are feared only because you can step on them so easily. I and most fisherman these days wear stingray boots and you just never think of the things as being potentially fatal (just incredibly painful from the few I've talked to that have been unlucky enough to step on one without boots).
I'm usually way more worried about a shark grabbing a hold of my stringer. I've seen many divers swim with rays and as long as you don't aggrevate their topside they tend to be very skittish and shy. And I'm not saying that now I will be more aware or afraid of them, to me it just reinforces the freakishness of this particular accident. It's right up there with aggitating a cow and getting knocked over and then stepped on and crushed to death.
Yeah he pushed the limits, but he did so to achieve the end goals of helping get increased awareness and being able to put money back into his work to help the animals he loved. It puzzles me that many 'experts' within his field have so much ire against this guys methods when their end goals are the same. It frankly smells strongly of sour grapes and jealousy.
I'm gonna miss the guy. And for the record, I cracked up every time I saw the ESPN commercial with him tackling the FS Gator too.
-------------------- "Sometimes it will be fluffy bunnies and cotton candy. Sometimes it will be napalm and defoliants. Sometimes it is roasted bunnies." -Rhiandmoi Posts: 627 | From: San Antonio, TX | Registered: Oct 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Fowlplay: And for the record, I cracked up every time I saw the ESPN commercial with him tackling the FS Gator too.
I hope you don't mean Florida State...
-------------------- "There is no constitutional right to sleep with endangered reptiles." -- Carl Hiaasen Won't somebody please think of the adults! Posts: 8254 | From: Florida | Registered: Oct 2002
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quote: quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by Fowlplay: And for the record, I cracked up every time I saw the ESPN commercial with him tackling the FS Gator too. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope you don't mean Florida State...
Oops... Florida. Yall are as bad as Texas when it come to all that. (Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech vs. Flordia, Flordia State, etc...)
I stand corrected and fished.
-------------------- "Sometimes it will be fluffy bunnies and cotton candy. Sometimes it will be napalm and defoliants. Sometimes it is roasted bunnies." -Rhiandmoi Posts: 627 | From: San Antonio, TX | Registered: Oct 2002
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posted
Yeah, just about the one school we don't have is a Florida University. (If we did, when someone asked the students what school they attended, they could shout "Eff You!!")
-------------------- "There is no constitutional right to sleep with endangered reptiles." -- Carl Hiaasen Won't somebody please think of the adults! Posts: 8254 | From: Florida | Registered: Oct 2002
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I won't pass judgement on his treatment of the animals he taught us about -- he was far more aware of what those animals needed than I am.
We don't watch TV at home, but he's the reason my kids always want to watch Animal Planet when they have access to it. We couldn't help but love his teaching style.
I think we've lost something good, and I'm glad we had him while we did.
-------------------- We also ask that you follow the guidelines above and try not to over-think these guidelines. - the transportation safety administration's permitted and prohibited items air travel list Posts: 240 | From: Kansas | Registered: Oct 2005
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I can't stop thinking about the song he sang with the Wiggles where he says, "Crickey, it's a crock. I'll save him if I can!"
My son (who is autistic and obsessed with wildlife) and I watch The Crocodile Hunter every night on Animal Planet when I'm getting him ready for bed. It's so sad. Steve Irwin's passion was so earnest, how could anyone help but love him?
-------------------- "Bad grammar makes me [sic]" -- seen on a t-shirt Posts: 319 | From: Upstate NY | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
More on newspaper coverage in Canada - it was on the cover of the National Post and The Globe & Mail today, complete with photo of Steve.
Posts: 403 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: May 2002
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posted
It's strange. I didn't even like the man, but following this story has made me sad.
-------------------- "It's a perfect system...unless it screws up." -Biology Professor Posts: 495 | From: Orange County, CA | Registered: Oct 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Wild Card: It's strange. I didn't even like the man, but following this story has made me sad.
There are two little kids in Australia who no longer have a daddy. That's pretty sad no matter who the guy was.
Nonny
-------------------- When there isn't anything else worth analyzing, we examine our collective navel. I found thirty-six cents in change in mine the other day. Let no one say that there is no profit in philosophy. -- Silas Sparkhammer Posts: 10141 | From: Toronto, Ontario | Registered: Apr 2000
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quote:He died doing what he loved, isn't that the best way to go?
I'd hate to die at the hands of an angry Nigerian scammer who broke into my home and gunned me down while I was writing an article, and I'd hate to think people would try to console Barbara afterwards with trite sayings like "At least he died doing what he loved."
Unless you want to die, I don't see that dying doing what you love is better than any other form of untimely death.
-------------------- "For me, religion is like a rhinoceros: I don't have one, and I'd really prefer not to be trampled by yours. But it is impressive, and even beautiful, and, to be honest, the world would be slightly worse off if there weren't any." -Silas Sparkhammer Posts: 3239 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Sep 2003
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Rhiandmoi
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
quote:Originally posted by snopes:
quote:He died doing what he loved, isn't that the best way to go?
I'd hate to die at the hands of an angry Nigerian scammer who broke into my home and gunned me down while I was writing an article, and I'd hate to think people would try to console Barbara afterwards with trite sayings like "At least he died doing what he loved."
Unless you want to die, I don't see that dying doing what you love is better than any other form of untimely death.
- snopes
I don't want to die, but if I had to die "early" I'd prefer to die in a freak knitting accident than to be hit by a car while out grocery shopping. At least my last moments on earth I would be doing something I enjoy rather than trying to wrestle a shopping cart and be backed over by a minivan. I think some ways to die are better than others.
As for the croc hunter, hopefully it is a small consolation to his wife that he didn't seem to have suffered, and he enjoyed his last moments of life.
-------------------- I think that hyperbole is the single greatest factor contributing to the decline of society. - My friend Pat.
quote:Originally posted by Cervus nippon: Yeah, just about the one school we don't have is a Florida University. (If we did, when someone asked the students what school they attended, they could shout "Eff You!!")
Because who wouldn't want to get their B.S. at FU?
[/hijack]
-------------------- "One original thought is worth a thousand mindless quotings." -- Diogenes
"Vote Republican! We won't burn you at the stake for your religious beliefs or slaughter your family and steal your land." -- Ramblin' Dave Posts: 3555 | From: Florida | Registered: Feb 2002
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Well, I suppose if I got to choose I'd rather die suddenly while doing something I love than be slowly tortured to death.
Nonny
-------------------- When there isn't anything else worth analyzing, we examine our collective navel. I found thirty-six cents in change in mine the other day. Let no one say that there is no profit in philosophy. -- Silas Sparkhammer Posts: 10141 | From: Toronto, Ontario | Registered: Apr 2000
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quote:Originally posted by snopes: Unless you want to die, I don't see that dying doing what you love is better than any other form of untimely death. snopes
Depends on your age. Irwin was obviously "caught" before his time. DW's uncle, now 70, whom I regularly play golf with, has many times declared that he "doesn't want to meet his maker after ten years in a nursing home" and would much prefer to go out in a blaze of glory after an albatross on the 600 yard ninth! His words.
-------------------- On my old guitar sell tickets, so someone can finally pick it. Posts: 799 | From: Dublin, Ireland | Registered: Mar 2006
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Sara at home
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
This is the way to go. Ninty-three, in the parking lot of the ballyard after having given an award named for you.
-------------------- Assume that all my posts will be edited at least once. Dyslexic -- can't spell, can't type, can't proofread. Posts: 8317 | From: Reading, PA | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
The tribute comments say it all, Sara. Way to go. Wouldn't you just wish it?
-------------------- On my old guitar sell tickets, so someone can finally pick it. Posts: 799 | From: Dublin, Ireland | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Did he? He died doing what he loved, isn't that the best way to go?
I suspect that given a choice he would have perferred to die suddenly in his sleep of old age having lived a full, rich, productive life and seen his children and grandchildren grow up.
Frankly, I think he's pretty pissed to have died like this.
I was talking about the how, not the if or when. Given a choice, I think some variant of this would be on his list of ways to go.
-------------------- /Troberg Posts: 4360 | From: Borlänge, Sweden | Registered: Nov 2005
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