Steve Irwin, dead.

[Jack]

There's talk he may receive a state funeral. Obviously his fellow countrymen thought as highly of him as everyone else.

[RickSp]

His death was obviously a tragedy. Nevertheless I'm surprised that one of Steve's cameramen wasn't the victim. I remember so many shows where Steve is shown in a wide shot annoying a highly poisonous, very large snake, for example. The snake starts to strike. The view suddenly changes to Steve's perspective where we see the venomous snake lunging at Steve. Terrifying. Why does Steve take such risks?

Only it isn't Steve. It is Steve's camerman. We are so conditioned to believing what we see in movies and TV that when it cuts from the two shot, with Steve and the snake, to what we perceive to be Steve's perspective, we buy it. I shoot video and I am sitting there thinking, damn, they don't pay that sumbitch camerman enough. He has to hold the camera steady, keep the snake in focus, make sure the exposure is right and oh, by the way, not get bitten.

And on the next show we see Steve stare down throat of an angry croc or a hippo or something...No, that's the poor cameraman again. Everything is just cut to make it look like Steve was in danger. Ah, the magic of the medium.

[Jack]

Long lenses...very lllooonnnggg lenses

[Scribbler1]

I was talking to my Wife this morning about the very same thing when MSNBC showed footage of Irwin for the 475th time.
It's a little different from Survivorman.

[RickSp]

Long lenses...very lllooonnnggg lenses

I was thinking boom crane, myself.

[Lullaby Chainer]

Steve Irwin should have worn some sunscreen to protect him from those harmful rays!!

lol.. wow. Talk about making me laugh in the wrong place.

[abub]

i feel sorry for his wife. she probably watched him die, seeing as she was always with him while his documentaries/shows were being filmed.

[The 68]

I agree with whoever said they feel for his kids. He had to know the risks involved in his job, or else he wouldn't do it, and it WAS a freak accident. However, that doesn't make it any easier to tell two kids they'll never see their daddy again. That's sad.

[Seeker_Of_Sins]

i feel sorry for his wife. she probably watched him die, seeing as she was always with him while his documentaries/shows were being filmed.

She was holidaying in Tasmania at the time and wasnt with her husband

[Marilyn Monroe]

There's talk he may receive a state funeral. Obviously his fellow countrymen thought as highly of him as everyone else.

I think he should get a state funeral. Lots of people would like to pay their respects.

I just find these types of things like dreams.

I've been watching "Dirty Jobs" with Mike Rowe on the Discovery Channel and there's risks involved in a lot of the stuff he's doing. All that Real Reality programming that deals with wildlife or jobs can be dangerous. Jane Goodall for example. I just watched a new documentary where she went back to Gombe, and this one male chimp named Frodus almost broke her neck. He was a bully type chimp, not mild-mannered.

They have Steve's death on film. He pulled the barb out. What a shame for his family, and the world that we won't get to see that enthusiasm anymore.

Life is short.

[Milton Bradley]

I heard on the radia this morning that the incident was caught of film, so I bet the video will be circulationg on the internet befor long.

[gr8fuldaniel]

No pity from me. He has been trying to commit suicide for years. He finally succeeded.
Natural selection dictates the stupid will die early. Courage without discretion is a runaway horse. His last words were probably "Hey everybody, watch this!!"