Ain't he a cute little bug- oh. Wait -

[kyburg]

I got to share air with Steve Erwin last night. Me, and about 300 other people. This guy.

Membership has its privileges - AMEX wanted us to take a look at taking a trip to Australia - and for $25 a pop, we could come in and be fetted by a whole bunch of travel/Australia vendors - and Steve would show up and say hi. Just because.

Well, who would say no to that?

They didn't tell us that The Ten Tenors or a very good aboriginal group called "Decendents" would be showing up as well. Oh, wonderful stuff -

Lots of kids, of course. Up waaay past their bedtimes, but just waiting to see Steve - lots of wriggling in seats. Being Very Good.

He didn't disappoint, either. I think he had to have either gone to San Diego or the Los Angeles Zoos for the animals, but he brought three large lizards, three non-venomous snakes (and handled one very venomous Tai-Pan onstage as part of the demonstration), a kangaroo, a wallaby, a crocodile (very small one) and a camel - and the lizards, snakes and croc went around the room with handlers so everyone who wanted, could go get a closer look, sniff and feel.

Steve says there is a very good 12 hour flight from Los Angeles to Brisbane on Quantas - I'll check it out and see if Singapore can make the same journey. 12 hours is nothing - compared to the 16 or longer I've been quoted lately.

But you have to wonder - he had made that trip yesterday AM to make the show last night - he has one more tonight, and back home he goes.

For someone likely having the biggest case of jet lag on record, he was superb.

He is not the tallest fellow, and he looks and sounds just like he does when you see him on tape - he's not one of those guys who loses a ton of weight off-camera. He's exceptional in how he handles his celebrity - a question from the audience was about "can I come stay at your house?" - I think the kid was 8 or 9 - was answered in one of the best examples of honesty I've ever seen from a person making their living in the public eye. Yes, he does have a guest room at his house, but NO, you can't stay there - sorry, but NO. And he found the kid and told him, eye to eye - and told him where he could stay if he came. Not just NO, are you kidding/kooky/nutso - but a a very frank, friendly but firm response. Receptive. He definitely has a very good feel to him.

The kid was perfectly fine with that response, BTW.

We didn't win the drawings (one was a trip for two to Australia, the other was a golf gift basket - whoo), but we did get a ton of stuff on every facet of Australia (and my project29 envelope next month is going to be the heavier for some of it, I got duplicates of a lot of the swag) - missed out on the free Fosters, but snagged a bottle of ginger beer, macadamia nuts and crocodile bites (coffee truffle-filled chocolates - kinda good, actually).

Kind of a mini-trade show. Done in a couple of hours -

And we were planning a trip to Australia this year anyway - this was just some more research that dropped in our laps. A very nice way to spend an evening.

Tonight? As little as I can get away with. I'm pooped.

I'm missing Arisia and Ushicon again. Bah.

Comments

[pseudicide.livejournal.com]

Sigh, the main problem with Steve is that he's shockingly right wing conservative, a big supporter of the current government, very anti-refugee, and almost racist in some of his views... Something you don't experience unless you are living here really...

though, he puts on an amazing show.

From LA to sydney it's 14 hours there, 12 hours back (it's the tailwinds)... So bris-vegas as it's called here would definitely be shorter.

If you do make it down this way, let me know!

[misskris.livejournal.com]

haha! you were across the street from here!

[caitlin.livejournal.com]

Good rest tonight.

You doing anything tomorrow? (1/22)

C.

[exedore.livejournal.com]

I wanna go to Australia.

/doesn't want to go to any part of it with snakes, though.

[pseudicide.livejournal.com]

Sydney and melbourne then... Ooooh, and Tasmania, Hobart mainly.

[kimberlychapman.livejournal.com]

Heeee, Steve Irwin...Mr. DIDDLY SNIKES AND SPIDAHS himself. My Australian husband is *not* a fan, in part for the reasons deense said above.

My ex gave me a Steve doll for my birthday once, in part to torture my husband. It says silly little Irwinisms when you squeeze it's tummy. My husband likes to threaten the doll.

We are very strange people. :D

You should totally go to Oz if you can, though, because it's a nifty place. If the right job was there, we'd move to Sydney in a heartbeat.

[missus-emm.livejournal.com]

Oh, no. I never knew that - how awful. I am such a fan, because I just love animals of any size or shape!

[pseudicide.livejournal.com]

He does great shows, but he gets into a lot of trouble here in oz, cause he does shows that involve special permits, like his anartica stuff, than violates the condidtions by going too close to the animals.

But what can you do??? You don't know from seeing him in tv or in person that he gives heaps of money to the right wing christian consevative party here, or is good friends with their leader, or unless you read the local papers, you don't see the comments he's made about refugees and the like (who live in a MANDATORY 2 year detention here, in horrid consitions) and how he thinks that is generous...

It was a very rude awakening for me... I mean, he always seemed so cool to me, but...

What can you do???? The reality of famous personnas is often very different from their public facade.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. No, hang on a moment.

A lot of countries are innately anti refugee. Depends on who you're talking to. There is what I call a "cultural bigotry" in that if you allow people with other cultures into your own, you run the risk of having them bring their problems with them as well as their culture.

In America, that hasn't been seen as nearly the bugaboo other countries see it as. Japan is paranoid about it; Switzerland limits it and pats the nice foreigners on the head and tells them to eat their chocolate like nice kiddies - Australia would be right in line to look at 9/11 and say - look, those stupid Americans invited THOSE people into their country and just LOOK at what they did to them! *sniff sniff*

(One of the things Steve did say in his presentation was how safe Australia was to visitors. SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE.)

I haven't forgotten how Australia treated its "boat people" - Iraqis who managed to get to Australian waters (and this is long before we invaded the place, BTW) trying in any way they could to escape Hussein.

Australia refused them. Matter of fact, they refused them even when the refugees started throwing their babies overboard rather than return them to Iraq. When they saw that threatening the Australian authorities with the deaths of their children wasn't going to sway them, they stopped, rescued the ones they could - but a lot of children died. And Australia pointed them towards Indonesia - that Muslim place, y'know. A lot more people died before they finally got there.

I don't think Steve Erwin is far off the mark or out of the ordinary as far as being a countryman is concerned.

Consider the terrorist bombing in Bali that killed more Australians than any other group; and the terrorists claimed they were targeting Americans.

Scared much? You betcha.

Conservative and disrespectful of following permit regulations? Well, consider - a self-made businessman (Australia Zoo was literally a very small roadside attraction before Animal Planet found him), who has had to do most of the work and quite rightly assumes he deserves the results of that hard work. Arrogant? Likely - you have to be to be in front of that camera 24/7 like he is and believe you always have something interesting to say. He also believes very firmly that he knows what he is doing, not you - so of course, nobody understands that he can go beyond the permit regulations safely. Not surprising in the least.

Believe it or not, I don't have nearly the issue with conservatives or conservative Christians anywhere else in the world that I do when I deal with them here in the States. Most Christians outside the United States have a legitimate education in the subject - I think his basic arrogance is more of a concern that his religion.

(Wonder how much he supports our current regime's stand on the environmental issues they're trying to put forth - no signature on the Kyoto Treaty, drilling in ANWAR, modifying or eliminating the endangered species act, more logging, less oversight - yadda ya.)

No, not surprised at all.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

You're not that close to me, are you? Shoot - let's have coffee...ummm...Manhattan Beach Bread Company! Name a date!

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Looking for you - I think I have your address - we may just swing by and pick you up this afternoon. Sound good?

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

When he brought out the Tai-Pan, I mentioned to my husband that we could take in two Animal Planet shows in one - Crocodile Hunter AND Venom ER.

Because you know, from here, if that snake had tagged him, he'd have been airlifted to Loma Linda right away - that's a given!

Two! Two! Two Shows in One!

[pseudicide.livejournal.com]

I understand a lot of these things, and honestly, can sympathize with many of them, but still...

Irwin is good friends with the man who covered up the 'children overboard' scheme as it's called here, John Howard, the prime misnister of Oz, and spoke out in his defence many times during the investigation, saying he never lied. Well, he had. Sure, there's a good chance steve didn't know that, but considering the videotapes that were around...

Howard has introduced a mandatory 2 year detention for ALL refugees, no matter what documentation or situation they are coming from. This includes mothers and children, and all sorts, and they are kept in very extreme prison like situations. One of the best things i've ever seen on it is an animated short from the Southern Ladies Animation Group found here (http://homepage.mac.com/shawjonathan/mmm/iblog/C842325396/E214637402/). Watch it, even for unrelated reasons, it's just, well, brilliant.

Irwin supported this, and spoke out saying it wasn;t enough.

He has said awful things about Aboriginies and their rights to any land at all, in australia. Think of how the us treated it's native americans... Picture this still happening in the 1970's, cause it was here. Only recently has an aboriginal view of aussie history been introduced into school curriculim, and it's voluntary in many areas. My friends have children in their early teens who know almost nothing about aboriginal history in this country (and it plays such a huge part) except what their parents have taught them.

He has also spoken out against gay marriages and rights and adoptions, and those sorts of things.

He supported Howard in supporting the US into iraq, and spoke out against people who did not, after all, the iraqis had WoMD. He spoke out in support of that too, even when it was obvious to the rest of us that there were no such things..

My finace's sister left jakarta the day before that bombing. She works for AusAid, as do many of my, and her firends. They had to go back and deal with the remains and provide the stress relief. It wasn;t fun. However, they say the current goverment is the reason things are going this way.

When I say religous right, well, it's odd. I have deep respect for people who are religous, and for their beliefs. I've many friends, from mormons, to jews, who are deeply spiritual,a d it's something i've debated and fought with myself for many years. Still, what i have a problem with is the religous movement that degrades and excludes things that are not part of it. Which, is what Howard does. He's devoutly christian, and talks all the time about aussie family values (that means married, one man, one woman and 1.5 children) and the mandate we have given him to support those values...
Don't get me wrong.. Conservation and awareness wise, he rocks. He's done a lot for his organisation, but one thing i've learned from so many aussies here, is they DO NOT want to be associated with the man... they consider him a typical aussie blike , and to typify a lot of what is wrong with australia and australian culture, a culture that re-elect Howard a man much like Bush... A man Irwin wholheartedly supports.

Safe to visit? Oh yes, definitely. It is a wonderful country in many ways, and is wonderful, and beautiful. But, like a lot of australians, I think they wish they could choose who their ambassador to the rest of the world was...

Anyway, it's late, this is rambly, and well, like you said, things seem very different in the world of today than a few years ago. Still, i don't think the australia irwin wants is one that i really like that much... Kinda like the US... Funny after the election, I spent a lot of time defending the US to people here... They wanted to know how the hell they could re-elect Bush... But, in the end I kept trying to say that I have heaps of American friends, and have spent a great deal of my youth and adulthood travelling america... It is a country I love, and well... At least Irwin has charisma.

PS, none of this was meant to seem confrontational, it's late, i should be asleep, and really, it's how things seem here... But in the end, it's fromed off my opinions and the opinions of friends and co workers...

[pseudicide.livejournal.com]

ps... my whole point was that steve is not a typical australian, as much as he woulf portray himself to be... he is a stereotype of an australian... a very different thing but so close

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

And to a lot of people here, he's a liberal because he's pro-wildlife.

Frankly, I see a very scared parent. It's not right - or educated - but it's understandable.

Know thy enemy, right?

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Oh, and this is coming from someone who has Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo in their national consciousness - let alone the invasion of another soveriegn nation for no reason whatsoever - AND CAN'T DO A DAMN THING ABOUT IT.

*fumes*

[missus-emm.livejournal.com]

Yup. But if he came over here, I might think twice before spending money to see him. I'm South African - the "right wing christian conservative party" isn't so far back in our history, I grew up with Apartheid. So I guess I'm a bit sensitive to that stuff and can't condone it.

[missus-emm.livejournal.com]

That was the best post ever... from someone else who gets emotional about her country's dark past. It may have been late, but you are educating people and doing it well. (By that I mean me - I wasn't implying you need educating kyburg!)

[pseudicide.livejournal.com]

It's not a good thing, is it??? Every country has something though, ot that it helps to think that way.

You should watch that animation from the long rambly post... It's pretty tragic, yet really well done...

[pseudicide.livejournal.com]

Perceptions are funny things, aren't they???

But yes, you are indeed correct.

[pseudicide.livejournal.com]

Oh, and i'm making a mental note to make sure you're not my exchange partner next month!!! ;p

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Smart girl - but then again, I wouldn't be that mean to you!

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

The first step in eliminating a behavior you don't like is to get down to where it begins and stopping it.

I find people tend to become more reactionary when times are bad, they're frightened and they've been taught that being "right" will equal "safe."

You have a tough time convincing people that peace is the only answer when they feel that threatened. You have to acknowledge they have fears and address those first - and you have to be willing to validate that those fears are real and have some basis. Only then can you discuss a way out.

I don't see people acting like this as strong - I see scared behaviors taking over good reason and judgment.

Condone it? No. Understand it? All too well.

[missus-emm.livejournal.com]

I understand your point. And you are right, and it is a path I must investigate. Because all of my life I was taught to see those people as strong, because a handful of them managed to keep millions of people in poverty and political strife. And we never had a process in this country where we were taught to feel sorry for them.
Somebody finally had the courage to put an end to it, and things were made right. In fact, nobody is trying to understand it. Actually - I can't. They came into this country and enslved the existing inhabitants. That wasn't fear - it was greed and imperialism.

We have a long way to go to heal - the truth and reconciliation commision was one thing, forgiveness at grass roots is another.

[misskris.livejournal.com]

maybe next weekend sometime?

yeah, we're that close. *grin* Paul told me to add you because you're that close, you love Hawai'i (I grew up there), and also that you are really nice and cool.