Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Welcome MSNBC.com readers

If you're new to BlondeChampagne, I'm so sorry we had to meet under these circumstances.

But I'm glad you're here.

UPDATE Have a look at the current MSNBC figures on the article. This is astounding:

-First in "Most Viewed'
-Second in "Top Rated"
-First in "Most Emailed"

My writing accounts for maybe .000000001% of the credit for this phenomenon. It's not about me and my words; articles concerning the Croc Hunter have had shown these numbers all weekend. It's about the tremendous outpouring of emotion for Steve Irwin. I think what many of us are feeling is surprising even ourselves.

Many thanks to all of you for clicking your way here. I am blessed to be a small part of remembering this remarkable man.

hoisting a shiraz toast to stevo at: mb@blondechampagne.com

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

grand post. grand man. A spirit as big as the country he made us love. what a great tribute. thanks for the Irwin requiem so I could drink this last cup o joe in some assurance that many people saw him and appreciated him just as frothing-at-the-lips about mulch as he really was....I volunteer at a Zoo...the business does spawn this type of madman, but they're usually more circumspect in their ecstacy about newer, tougher trash bags or better grade sand for an exhibit. Irwin was the real deal...I miss him like I'd miss a friend. The whole world ought to feel the same way...Blog on, woman.

Anonymous said...

Great piece, MB.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, guys. Jonna, good to see you here-- I appreciate the kind words and the fact that you've brought another dimension to our understanding of Steve Irwin.

Anonymous said...

Well crafted piece from one with a true sense of the man, his following, and the world he represented so well. For those of us who would watch Irwin on the flat screens with a mild smile and often an arched eyebrow, he brought a little of the wild of reality into our 9 to 5 days of sooo protected an existence - sort of zoo-cage-like. He stood for the out-there that surrounds us and which we in the daily zoo might feel a little fonder of for having had his presence in our lives for an all too short a time.

Walk softly on Mother earth.

Anonymous said...

That's lovely, ftt944. I'm so glad you stopped by today.

Anonymous said...

Bravo!

and ftt944 you're absolutely right, we are now the caged animals on the zoo of our own devising, and we are not even that great as our own caretakers.

Irwin success brought upon a myriad of media copycats, but I remained a true fan because, as MB wrote, the man was the REAL thing.

And I suppose the shock (of his dead)comes from the feeling many of us had that somehow this guy had almost supernatural powers, or had a secret deal with mother nature. Turns out he hadn't, and that's a very humbling thing to consider, specially in a time when mankind once thought to be the master of the world, and the world has been beating the crap out of us for being such lousy landlords.

Anonymous said...

Your article is a wonderful tribute to Steve Irwin. You captured everything from his uniqueness and the often goofy enthusiasm with which he educated us about the natural world, to the irony of his tragic death. Thank you for putting into words what I felt in my heart.

Anonymous said...

a sad loss to the beautiful creatures of this earth and his family . and to the rest of us.. I am a sad man today , but happy in knowing his message may have touched at least some . Rest in Peace , Steve Irwin .

Anonymous said...

A fine, fitting tribute. Well said.

Anonymous said...

Your article on Steve was excellent, and I thank you for eloquently expressing what so many of us felt. When I read the news, I truly felt as if I had lost a member of my own family. The medium of television does have the power to make a far away person familiar, but it takes someone like Steve, truly as genuine a person as ever lived, to really demonstrate how "fans" can become so attached to a celebrity. He certainly accomplished his goal of bringing us all closer to wildlife. I will miss him terribly. Thanks again!

Anonymous said...

Great article but I think he was a media tycoon, not a typhoon- unless I missed the humor somewhere.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, guys. I feel like we are having a wake here in the comment section, and Steve is surely here in spirit.

And anon, thank you, but I did indeed mean "typhoon"-- an unstoppable, overwhelming wave :) If Steve Iriwn was anything, he was that.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much, M.B., for writing such a wonderful article on such a wonderful man. My entire household mourned his death, my children most of all.

My heart goes out to HIS wife and HIS children. I can only imagine what they must be going through.

Anonymous said...

Nicely done.

gryphonesse said...

thanks for what you wrote, mb. I was crushed yesterday when I found out we'd lost him... I always emjoyed his work becuase he WAS so passionate, so involved, never fakey or hoakey. You've done a nice, tasteful job of saying what I think most of us mushy animal-planet-watching grownup types who really enojyed that spark he shared with us are feeling. My heart goes out to his family, Teri and the kids most of all. His passing is truly a loss, to all of us, creatures great and small. Thanks again for saying it so well.

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to say, I believe in my soul that nobody else could have said it better than you did, M.B., and I think Mr. Irwin's family would agree. Thank you so much for putting it so well. CWE

Anonymous said...

I am a journalist in North Jersey and I just wanted to say that the article you did for MSNBC on Steve Irwin's death was very well written and extremely moving. The day he died I posted a blog that touched on some of the same points you did. Not many other artciles managed to caputure the spirit, the essense, the passion of the man. You, however, did that beautifully. The ending of your article brought a tear to my eye. Thank you for understanding what so few people do and thank you for sharing it with the world.

Anonymous said...

Eloquently put MB.
I never new much about him, just that he was that crazy guy who likes to wrestle crocodiles. I never watched his show, but I find myself greatly saddened by his death, especially after finding out so much about the kind of person he was. There's something about someone dying doing what they loved the most that strikes right to the heart. May we all be so lucky as to find that kind of passion in our lives.

Anonymous said...

Overwhelming, everyone-- thank you for allowing me to be part of marking this day for you.

Jane Porter said...

We've only been back from Australia a couple weeks, spent a week near Port Douglas with my kids, two boys who loved Irvin's Australia Zoo most out of everything they saw in Australia. They are boys who grew up with Steve Irvin and loved him as much as one could love Superman, because in the eyes of two young boys, Steve was everything heroic: warm, caring, protective and larger-than-life. Best of all he was real.

And thanks for the piece I read at msnbc.com--it summed up "our" Irvin, as well as our grief. Our love to his family and everyone else who admired the Crocodile Hunter.

Jenib said...

My heart just aches for his family. I am going to miss him. Thanks for writing about this.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for a wonderful piece, MB. He really was bigger than life and you more than did him justice.

Godspeed, Steve.

wurwolf said...

It's a good article, though, MB. You really wrote a fine eulogy for the man. I enjoyed reading it.

Anonymous said...

Best article I've read on Steve following his death.

Anonymous said...

Very kind words from all of you... many thanks. I am humbled.

Sarah J. MacManus said...

Thank you MB - I've been trying to blog SOMETHING - ANYTHING - about my grief - but no words are coming. No words are enough.

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

He was the epitomy of love for life... He put himself into everything he did, whether it was being with his wife and children, wrestling a croc, or doing an interview...he was Steve. No one quite like him. God blessed us with a wonderful human being for a short time. I feel more people should see how he lived his life with such love and joy and peace.

Previous Tastings