5 months
Oddly enough, today is both 5 months since Emily passed away, and 5 years since the terrorist attacks. I haven't had any emotional dysfunction yet today though (which I seem to have on the 11th of each month) so that's a good sign.
Here's a pretty cool eulogy for Steve Irwin if anyone cares: :)
Steve Irwin Diving Into Stingrays
Baz from the band Sunsaria herewith eulogizes the one and only crocodile hunter:
I am sure most people secretly thought Steve Irwin's luck would run out sometime. But now it finally has, the shock is still sinking in. And for me the manner of his exit seems too unlikely. The guy wrestled crocodiles with his bares hands, and what does him in is a stingray?! It's almost axiomatic that as an Aussie you'll have a run in with a stingray at some point. Most times they just give you the spooks and that's about it. And afterall a sting isn't so bad surely? Might hurt a bit, but kill you? Sadly it will if
a barbed sting goes through your heart which I gather is what happened to the wildlife baiting larrikin. It would be tempting to see Irwin's death as a wider symbol, the death of the archetypal gung ho Aussie bloke who could seamlessly layer bullshit upon
real life deeds. Anyone who has seen early footage of Irwin relocating crocs by hand will be left in no doubt that the man didn't have the 'fear' parts of his brain wired up properly. The fact these prehistoric carnivores eat mammals never seemed to bother Irwin in the slightest as he wrestled them bare handed, all the while narrating his own life in that insanely enthusiastic manner of his....'this one's a ripper! Look at the jaws on that! It could eat me whole!' He was never afraid of crocs and he was never afraid
to tell a yarn. He was the epitome of the grouse Aussie 'bushie' and used that to scale some truly Paul Hogan inspired heights of international fame.
But unlike Hogan who was an entertainer first, Irwin became an entertainer by doing exactly what he loved. He was passionate about conservation issues, even if some of his ideas were definitely not mainstream. He conveyed that passion to millions of kids around the world in a way that was infinitely more appealing to them than something like David Attenborough's 'voice of God' approach. Because he was just a kid doing dangerous stuff, kids everywhere could identify with him.
Now he's gone to that great reptile enclosure in the sky. And it wasn't because a croc bit his dopey, smiling head off as we all secretly expected. His luck did run out, but not in the way many of us would have thought.
Why is it always the special ones who depart so young? We've got countless politicians, corporatists and bureaucrats that we wouldn't miss at all. For some reason that is the way of the world...
Goodbye mate. You'll be missed.
Here's a pretty cool eulogy for Steve Irwin if anyone cares: :)
Steve Irwin Diving Into Stingrays
Baz from the band Sunsaria herewith eulogizes the one and only crocodile hunter:
I am sure most people secretly thought Steve Irwin's luck would run out sometime. But now it finally has, the shock is still sinking in. And for me the manner of his exit seems too unlikely. The guy wrestled crocodiles with his bares hands, and what does him in is a stingray?! It's almost axiomatic that as an Aussie you'll have a run in with a stingray at some point. Most times they just give you the spooks and that's about it. And afterall a sting isn't so bad surely? Might hurt a bit, but kill you? Sadly it will if
a barbed sting goes through your heart which I gather is what happened to the wildlife baiting larrikin. It would be tempting to see Irwin's death as a wider symbol, the death of the archetypal gung ho Aussie bloke who could seamlessly layer bullshit upon
real life deeds. Anyone who has seen early footage of Irwin relocating crocs by hand will be left in no doubt that the man didn't have the 'fear' parts of his brain wired up properly. The fact these prehistoric carnivores eat mammals never seemed to bother Irwin in the slightest as he wrestled them bare handed, all the while narrating his own life in that insanely enthusiastic manner of his....'this one's a ripper! Look at the jaws on that! It could eat me whole!' He was never afraid of crocs and he was never afraid
to tell a yarn. He was the epitome of the grouse Aussie 'bushie' and used that to scale some truly Paul Hogan inspired heights of international fame.
But unlike Hogan who was an entertainer first, Irwin became an entertainer by doing exactly what he loved. He was passionate about conservation issues, even if some of his ideas were definitely not mainstream. He conveyed that passion to millions of kids around the world in a way that was infinitely more appealing to them than something like David Attenborough's 'voice of God' approach. Because he was just a kid doing dangerous stuff, kids everywhere could identify with him.
Now he's gone to that great reptile enclosure in the sky. And it wasn't because a croc bit his dopey, smiling head off as we all secretly expected. His luck did run out, but not in the way many of us would have thought.
Why is it always the special ones who depart so young? We've got countless politicians, corporatists and bureaucrats that we wouldn't miss at all. For some reason that is the way of the world...
Goodbye mate. You'll be missed.