"We've tightened the screws and had each member in a critical life-or-death situation, " he said.

CNN: 2011 is bringing a death to the 'Fantastic Four' family

Perrin occasionally arranges his material in quasi-fictional ways in order to flesh out a life-or-death situation or to illustrate an ecological point without endangering his animals.

NEWYORKER: Winged Migration

Pretty slow decision-making in a life-or-death situation.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Obama dithered for nearly three days on pirates

We won't second guess his decision, since we don't know the exact terms of the deal (though apparently they were pretty bad), but you know what, TiVo is sort of in a life-or-death situation right now and might have to take what it can get if it wants to stick around.

ENGADGET: TiVo backed out of deal with Comcast

"You should dial 999 in a life or death situation, if you fear for someone's physical well-being or if property is being damaged, " it adds.

BBC: Helicopter over Snowdonia