I still couldn’t get myself out of the shock from the passing away of Steve Irwin. Today i read two articles in Today newspaper written about him. The first one was a comment written by Joan. She praises Irwin of being a vocal supporter of animal conservation. But she condemns the ways in which these animals are portrayed. She expresses her dislike for the methods used just to bring in good ratings for the show. This is what she says:

Animals are magnificent creations, proud, beautiful and deserving of respect. Man considers himself the superior being but animals do ot kill or attack except for food, to protect their families or as a result of an attack or threat. To force an animal to display these behaviours in front of a camera to thrill those at hoome is criminal, disrespectful and demeaning to these creatures. If the roles were reversed and the animal was in charge, how would we feel if, for example, an animal deliberately tried to separate a human mother and her baby just to see the mother’s reaction as she desperately tries to do what is second nature to her?

I kind of agree with her. In the name of sensationalism, some of them don’t think about the way the animal is being portrayed to the outside audience. But still, such display attracts audience who would normally rather watch an action movie or something else that is adventurous. And when more people see such programs, in which conservationism is promoted, more will get the message that is really crucial.

Another article about Irwin was a debate on whether to telecast the tape that shows Irwin’s last encounter in the Great Barrier Reef. And of course the conclusion reached by the author and the majority of the audience was not to telecast the footage. But the author was concerned about footage being released illegally on the net. I’m sure that in a few days’/weeks’/months’ time the tape might be released online. But still hope that will not happen. I would definitely no want to see Irwin die on tape!! I recently saw his programme on ‘Steve and Terri Irwin’ series. They showed his and his wife’s first screen test. At that time, he was so shy and was actually stammering! He has come a long way from that.

I not only like him. There are also others like him. Steve Austins, a snake expert and a photographer, is also another of my favourite. His shows are really nice. I first saw his show on a Monday. In that show he went to India, looking for a king cobra, supposed to be the most dangerous snake on earth. His encounter with the snake was superb! I saw another two or three of his shows, but that was all. I couldn’t get the time to see anymore because of stressful school life and so on.

Oh no!! School’s going to start on Monday! We are going to get back our prelim results! And i’m going to fail my Physics! I know it. I flunked the paper damn badly. How am I ever going to revise for it and get at least a B for A’levels? I don’t want to ruin my perfect score by doing badly only in Physics! Arghh! I’ll be glad once A’s are over and i don’t have to look back at Physics anymore! I’ve quite made up my mind about the degree i want to do. Let’s just see…