Arigato, Irwin-san!

If I would ever make a list of my top inspirations for my life, the list would probably be short, concise, but varied. There's Shigeru Miyamoto whose creative genius emphasizes simplicity in video game design. There's comedian Jay Leno who never fails to deliver big laughs night after night. Count also Anthony Bourdain and Rokusaburo Michiba, two maverick chefs whose cooking skills I will never be able to match. On the industry of film and criticism, who could possibly neglect Roger Ebert--the undoubted demigod of his craft. And then there's Hayao Miyazaki, master of animation and head honcho at Studio Ghibli.

I could be forgetting a few others, but I could never forget to list Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, the Australian naturalist and conservationalist who died in a tragic marine accident last Sept. 4, 2006.

He was a great inspiration, for lack of a more ornate description. He really was. He was the source of my love of and interest for animals, be they cute or ferocious, furry or scaly, big or small. To me, his greatest contribution to mankind was making us realize that for all our problems, for all our weaknesses, and for all our evils, deep down in our hearts, we are capable of much, much better things.

I'm sorry that your life here in this world was short. But what it lacked in length, it more than made up in substance. Thank you very much, mate!