They just mentioned it on the news. What a shock. And just a couple of nights ago, he was mentioned in a presidential debate.

And look at this weird link. Posted prematurely?

It just hit CNN's breaking news banner. They don't have the story up yet.

Looks like they posted the raw obit piece (the one they prepare ahead of time for most notable figures) without filling in the blanks.


Okay, CNN just posted the story.

Makes you wonder how many people they've got prefab obituaries written for, waiting for someone to just fill in the blanks (or not, in this case).

Edit: At least one more

Wow - that's a bit of a shock first thing on a Monday morning.

I hope he's remembered as much for his bravery in refusing to buy into the victim mentality as he is for playing Superman. The guy just refused to give in no matter how bad his circumstances - which is far more worth emulating IMHO than having a nice red cape and a particularly unconvincing disguise.

Matt

He was an often courageous man who played one of the most memorable roles in my lifetime. And after his accident, he began advocating with all his might that countless innocent others should be killed for the possibility that he might possibly be able to walk again.

I will miss Christopher Reeve, and I pray for his soul. But his legacy will for me be tarnished by the selfishness and callous disregard for life that he showed in the last season of his life.

Harry Knowles wrote:

Husker, if that was a swipe at Crimsonline, it was totally out of line.

I agree. Crimsononline was not taking a cheap shot, or a callous one. He was addressing the very thing in which Reeve publically invested himself--his name and his reputation--in these recent years. The message was not to ridicule Reeve or mock him, but merely to acknowledge that it is difficult for people who have deep moral convictions about the lives of the unborn to compliment or respect someone whose public message was that he wanted to exploit and destroy unborn lives for the sake of healing diseases like his own.

I certainly don't want to sidetrack the thread into a debate about embryonic stem cell research, but if the subject comes up and draws the criticism of those against it, that is because Reeve himself made it the issue, not us.

And people speaking out of concern for the unborn are, most of the time, speaking out of a place of care and compassion, not callousness or insensitivity.

Moreover, to simply sum up God's followers as "petty and callous" is as obvious a case of the "criticizing the speck in your neighbor's eye when you have a log in your own" as I can think of. The statement itself demonstrates a gross generalization. Pot, know thyself before labelling the kettle.

Now, if we have misunderstood your post... if you were making a reference to Reeve, or to those supporting embryonic stem cell research... please clarify, because at this point I don't see that. And if we have misunderstood, please forgive this detailed response.

I hate to admit it, but the stem-cell thing was one of the first things that occurred to me when I heard the news last night, too. And then, this morning, an e-pal of mine who lives in Seattle wrote that a Kerry campaign person said on this morning's radio that "they plan to use Reeves death as campaign fodder, as proof that Bush and his policies on stem cell research is killing people....he actually said that Reeve would be alive today if Bush had not limitied Stem Cell Research."

Sigh.

From Kerry's official statement: "He was an inspiration to all of us and gave hope to millions of Americans who are counting on the life-saving cures that science and research can provide. . . . Because he had the strength to carry this cause, I know one day that we will realize that inevitable dream." That's about as specific as he gets, there -- though the website does prominently feature a video file in which Michael J. Fox endorses Kerry's support for stem-cell research, as well.

I thought about the stem-cell stuff too. But I try not let my deep-seated moral convictions taint the actor himself. Sin is sin. It's in, through and all around us. We're all complicit in it. Sometimes I get the feeling that we pick and choose what evils we will stand against. I also get the feeling that sometimes we hold the gospel (message) to this or that political ideology as well as trump it with a concern for the unborn (as important as that is) or other social evils.

Sorry if that seems so harsh ... but who knows EXACTLY how God feels about the whole stem cell research thing? Please don't give me quote after quote from scripture. I'm just saying it seems men and people in general are the petty ones ... I mean we're the ones who've come up with most of the dogma and generally it's been a scare tactic ... control issue, etc.

Not so sure about this sanctity of life thing from a human perspective ... we don't think about that when we squash a bug ... it's obvious we're not above everything else ... hurricanes, alligators eating people, etc.

And this whole pro-choice/stem cell thing ... it's not like candidates who are for the research are PRO-abortion just b/c they may be pro-choice. This whole stem cell issue concerns way more than just the abortion issue.

For what it's worth, here's CT's story on Reeve's death.

And yes, they found it appropriate to mention the stem-cell issue.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Husker wrote:

i didn't say that ... I'm just saying that maybe our life isn't as sacred as we seem to think ... or I'm saying that why don't we treat all life as sacred ... just saying we make our judgments.

I was wondering if y'all discussed stem-cell issue on another thread in the past....if yes...can someone provide a link to that thread?

Let's bring back this thread and move the discussion there.

Good idea, run.

I'm all for having a discussion of the issue, especially regarding the differences between stem cell research and embryonic stem cell research.

But the key word is discussion... not "Let me challenge your opinions, but when you reply with the thinking behind your opinions, I'm just going to take a nap."

Just saying ... we could talk this in a circle over and over ... whoever said I was above it? That's the last I'll say about all this ... it's already turned into something WAY off topic.

Y'all are way way too much for me! Leave it to us God-loving folk to turn a tribute to a fine actor into a friggin political debate. Sheesh!!!

Getting back on topic...I read Harry's tribute and the talback on "Aint It Cool" as well. The same folks who flame every movie that comes out were able to speak the most heartfelt words in tribute to Mr. Reeve. I almost cried.

I got home and played John Williams' classic "Superman" theme and my heart soared. It doesn't matter who Bryan Singer gets to play the next incarnation of the character. Christopher Reeve made me believe a man could fly.

He is Superman...period...for many of us. R.I.P.

utzworld wrote:
: Leave it to us God-loving folk to turn a tribute to a fine actor into a friggin political
: debate.

[ shrug ] Some actors, fine and otherwise, turn themselves into political symbols or advocates, so it makes sense that we would comment on that aspect of their legacies.

A partial summary of his obit in our local paper: besides his controversial perspectives on stem cell research as head of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, he was heavily involved with other social concerns: Vice Chairman of Nat'l Organization on Disability (works to improve quality of life issues for the disabled), member of the board for World TEAM Sports (organizes and sponsors events for athletes with disabilities), member of the board for TechHealth (assists relationships between patients and their insurance companies), among many others.

Sounds to me like there's plenty to honor here (oh yeah, and I absolutely loved 'Superman II' as a kid!)

That's pretty standard for major news organizations (writing pre-fab obits, not running them prematurely ). News media keep a pretty thick file of celebrity obits, especially if they're aged or ill. Reminds me of an old Mary Tyler Moore Show rerun when I was a kid, where Mary and Rhoda stayed up into the wee hours updating the station's obit file and wrote a really flippant obit for the oldest living man, which was accidentally read on air.