Er, some old British dinosaur died (Richard Attenborough - and USA fame)

Yes, there's plenty of disgust to be found on the obit page.

It's not just the reminder that death is inevitable...but that your lasting achievements haven't lasted. Or the achievements of somebody you respected have been dismissed in a paragraph or two.

I've grown accustomed to the farce...of people I care about and/or people better known outside the USA, being humiliated via a small news item that focuses on something trivial but...it's STILL annoying to see THIS...

Yes, even in death, you've got to appeal to the great unwashed, the stupidest of the stupid, and of course, the YOUNGEST of the young. Hey kids, we know you have the attention span of a gnat...but maybe if we tell you that Richard Attenborough was the old geezer in your favorite action picture JURASSIC PARK...

Nice try. I've seen this ALL over the place, not just creepy TMZ (where the death of distinguished actors competes with wardrobe malfunctions on brainless bimbos).

Almost all the general news item references to Attenborough have started with JURASSIC PARK. An exception of course was on the obit page of the NY Times: "Richard Attenborough, Actor, Director and Giant of British Film, Dies at 90."

The Times I guess can afford to skip the JURASSIC PARK reference, as they make decent money as the world's only real reference newspaper, with "all the news that's fit to print." But everywhere else, where there's tabloid competition and everyone scuffling for a buck and a dime? JURASSIC PARK is the lead. And maybe that's it, too. Mention he died and go on to the VMA and EMMY award show results.

There's an age gap here, of course. If you've been on the planet for more than a generation or two...FUCK OFF. Go join Dickie. YOU are not our prime audience because YOU have enough taste NOT to buy everything that's advertised. So we're not interested in whether you visit our website or buy our newspaper. It's fortunate for Attenborough that Bieber didn't throw an egg the other day...otherwise there might not have been room for him at all at TMZ and some of the other "entertainment" sources of info.

And since there's a cultural gap, the fact that an ACADEMY AWARD WINNING DIRECTOR died...nah, that doesn't cut it. The kids never heard of the actual GANDHI, much less a movie about him.

I'll confess to a cultural/age gap in reverse. I don't have time for stupid shit, mostly because I have more than enough stupid shit as it is. I'm going to waste 2 hours on a special effects movie, sitting in a popcorn-smelly theater surrounded by shrieking brats? No. So I didn't see this fucking "Jurassic Park" movie. I saw "Gorgo." I saw the original "Godzilla." Giant dinosaurs running around...not a high priority for me.

Another thing about obits is that they are written by robots. They are written by stat-o-matic morons. "He did THAT, and then he did THIS...and after this TRIUMPH he had a lull with THAT, and then he bounced back with THIS, and stumbled with THAT..." dismissing a life like it was a tennis game.

For me, Attenborough was a unique star the very FIRST time I saw him. Not being British, this wasn't in any of his early movies, such as "Brighton Rock," but "The Great Escape." Now, "The Great Escape" had an ensemble cast, and a rich and varied one. For an impressionable boy, there were plenty of heroes to choose from, and a lot of memorable personalities on display. First and foremost was...not...Attenborough. It was Steve McQueen, for a lot of reasons I need not go into. The late James Garner was in there, too. The prisoners included Americans, Canadians (I think), and I somehow recall James Coburn pretending to be an Aussie. The Brits were the brains of the plot, and the leader of "The Great Escape" was actually played by Attenborough, and this little man commanded instant respect. He was fascinating to me. He was a leader. He didn't look like one, but he sure acted like one. One of the most vivid scenes in the film was the look on his face when he realized what fate, and the Nazis, had in store for him. It may have been one of my first encounters with the cruel side of reality...that not everything works out and not everyone can be trusted.

Frankly, a lot of Attenborough's movies were either too highbrow, or too serious, or didn't make it over the pond. When I was in college, I booked the films to be shown each week. We had a small budget so I usually had to buy older movies or more obscure ones that the rental companies couldn't charge $500 a night for. Since this WAS college, and anti-war movies were always a good bet, I booked, "Oh, What a Lovely War." Attenborough directed it. I remembered it as being a good movie. Well...people began walking out within the first five minutes. They hated it. Didn't get it. Even with the title as a fucking clue, they didn't understand this was a satire of some kind...and as I stood around in frustration...I wished I could yell out, "Assholes...you got in FREE...fuckin' WAIT and see what happens at the end of this merry-go-round bit...you just GOT here you jerks...you're leaving to go smoke some DOOBIES?"

Nice bit of directing there, but half the seats were empty.

Too British? Certainly a lot of his stuff never even appeared over here. "10 Rillington Place," was an item I had to track down on video because it was so unknown. I hadn't seen Attenborough the actor in a while...and here he was, in a tour-de-force as one of the creepiest and unpleasant of villains. No Anthony Perkins or Anthony Hopkins here. THIS was a villain nobody would want to emulate on Halloween. And on he went, directing many many films, acting less...and no doubt being revered in Great Britain as he slowly disappeared with family tragedies and old age's nuisances, while his nature-lovin' brother continued on with his parody-able enthusiasm for creatures great and small. I mean, I can do a very good impersonation of David...but not Richard.

So there you are and there you aren't, Sir Richard. Or Lord Richard. Whatever odd title they gave you for being royal without having been born royal.

As a general news item, it was THIS was the guy who unleashed the dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park." Thanks. Nice going.

Going. Gone. It's good he was remembered. It was better when he was alive, and it would've been a tribute if more of the news about him showed respect for his real achievements. But that's asking a lot in this Viley world.