Crikey :(

I heard late last night that Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin died. My mom and I were watching some guy chase around African pythons on the National Geographic channel in a hotel room on Saturday, and we started talking about Steve Irwin. He certainly helped start the nature show trend of catching dangerous animals, especially snakes, so we can see nice close-ups of venom dripping off huge fangs. As far as I'm concerned these guys did all of that crazy stuff so the rest of us don't have to but at least with Irwin, it wasn't just stunt t.v.. This was a guy who grew up with animals and wanted to show everybody else how cool they were, especially kids.

There are people who thought he was tempting fate all along but while stingrays are indeed quite dangerous, the chances one is going to impale you right in the heart are remote. I just watched saw on Fox News that the most dangerous thing about doing these shows is the technical accidents, i.e. car crashes and helicopter crashes, that happen with far more frequency than animal attacks. We don't know yet exactly what happened and why; it's possible the stingray slipped right in from under him and he never saw it coming. Australia's waters are dangerous, especially because of poisonous fish and sharks.

In any case, I'll miss the Crocodile Hunter, his family, and his show. R.I.P..

John Williams concert & the rest of my weekend

( I shoulda brought my lightsaber! )