Bourdain dead at 61 of Apparent Suicide

Suicide rates in the US are up 30% since 1999.

I don't think Chang can do it. He seems even more abrasive than Bourdain, but in a less likable way. Plus, his insistence on canonizing junk food just comes off as tired. No one wants to watch a show on how you think Dominoes Pizza is the best pizza because it reminds you of playing video games as a kid. I want to like Chang, and I watch his shows, but he always lets me down.

I could tell that Bourdain was extremely troubled; I think we all could.

But the bigger picture here is that we're making life miserable with the way that we live. Endless hours at work, constant derisiveness to those around us. Robespierre-like attitudes towards anyone with whom we disagree. Tall Poppie Syndrome. It has to stop. We need more love in this world. Love is the way.

Of course traveling the world first class, eating exotic food and discussing philosophical issues is the answer to happiness.

if i was any softer of a shell i would have killed myself the first time rekrunner called me an idiot, worthless, moron, stupid, mentally handicapped, retarded, insane, autistic.......

but luckily i have $32 to bribe death for a few more days

I envied this man. His bravery, life visiting and sampling exotic foods and cultures, gift for storytelling and advocacy for unknown cuisines. Have been watching his shows for coming on ten years and this was a complete shock. RIP Mr Bourdain. You will be missed.

sounds like he lived harder than robin williams!

"Bourdain had been known for being an unrepentant drinker and smoker. In a nod to Bourdain's (at the time) two-pack-a-day cigarette habit, renowned chef Thomas Keller once served him a 20-course tasting menu which included a mid-meal "coffee and cigarette": a coffee custard infused with tobacco, together with a foie gras mousse.[84] Bourdain stopped cigarette smoking in the summer of 2007 because of the birth of his daughter.[85] He is also a former user of cocaine, heroin, and LSD. In Kitchen Confidential he wrote of his experience in a trendy SoHo restaurant in 1981: "We were high all the time, sneaking off to the walk-in refrigerator at every opportunity to 'conceptualize.' Hardly a decision was made without drugs. Cannabis, methaqualone, cocaine, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms soaked in honey and used to sweeten tea, secobarbital, tuinal, amphetamine, codeine and, increasingly, heroin, which we'd send a Spanish-speaking busboy over to Alphabet City to get."[86] In the same book, Bourdain frankly described his former addiction, including how he once resorted to selling his record collection on the street in order to raise enough money to purchase drugs."

Gravy wrote:

Suicide rates in the US are up 30% since 1999.

What's the reason for the increase? And I find it strange the number of successful, wealthy people that kill themselves. It doesn't make sense..it seems only us lower class, frowned upon people would be the ones doing this. Usually money can buy you most anything including happiness, fame & power (e.g., Trump).

"Oh I wish that I could be Richard Cory"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwqwAy85CgY

I'm offended by all the people giving up on life when there is so much to live for. Another sad ending to someone who listened to the voice in their head believing there is no hope in this life. A blatant lie promulgated by God's adversary.

Also, I'm offended by the by the ads for Atlantis all-Gay Mediterranean cruises. Why isn't this discrimination? So much for diversity and equality.

M.A.G.A...

Trump2020OP-the real one... wrote:

I'm offended by all the people giving up on life when there is so much to live for. Another sad ending to someone who listened to the voice in their head believing there is no hope in this life. A blatant lie promulgated by God's adversary.

Also, I'm offended by the by the ads for Atlantis all-Gay Mediterranean cruises. Why isn't this discrimination? So much for diversity and equality.

M.A.G.A...

I’m just curious wtf people like you get out of taking a dump on a memorial thread.

Oh yeah — you get off on reactions like mine. Loser.

Low-Income Runner wrote:

Gravy wrote:

Suicide rates in the US are up 30% since 1999.

What's the reason for the increase? And I find it strange the number of successful, wealthy people that kill themselves. It doesn't make sense..it seems only us lower class, frowned upon people would be the ones doing this. Usually money can buy you most anything including happiness, fame & power (e.g., Trump).

I find it strange that people can't seem to comprehend that money and power do not make one happy. "If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough. Never feel you have enough.

Worship power... you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. And so on."

I am not sure how many times this needs to be said. "On one level, we all know this stuff already. It's been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, bromides, epigrams, parables: the skeleton of every great story."

I read Kitchen Confidential shortly after it came out and was a fan ever since. I could see that he was very troubled during the last few years. His demeanor had changed drastically.

I hope that he can rest in peace.

Unless you have struggled with mental illness: depression, et al - it is very hard to understand. It isn't as easy as "there is so much to live for." It is more that life is so painful that you just cannot bear it any longer. The pain of depression is like nothing you can imagine. During bouts of depression, you will actually pray for pain, because at least pain is something. It cannot be place into words. It is truly an illness unlike any other.

Our society is sick, and it is dying a grisly death. We need to come together.

Low-Income Runner wrote:

Gravy wrote:

Suicide rates in the US are up 30% since 1999.

What's the reason for the increase? And I find it strange the number of successful, wealthy people that kill themselves. It doesn't make sense..it seems only us lower class, frowned upon people would be the ones doing this. Usually money can buy you most anything including happiness, fame & power (e.g., Trump).

I sometimes wonder if its due to our infatuation with being constantly connected. We're always watching tv, or staring at our phones, or posting some nonsense on social media (usually something that makes us outraged) completely oblivious to the world around us. If all you look at is the news and social media, then of course you'll think the world is a sh*tty, unlivable place. People don't bother even trying to talk to anyone anymore. Sometimes those small interactions are all people have, and deeper conversations don't happen at all. Remove those and it becomes "what's the point?" for more and more people. Its sad really.

Bourdain, may his soul rest in peace, had recently become almost manic in his political views. Not that one shouldn't be concerned about the current state of our country, but one also must remain optimistic and have faith in the humans around us. I feel like famous people don't have the normal interactions that most of us have, every day.

This morning, for instance. I walked into a Starbucks and had a positive interaction with three different people of different races. We laughed about being in a hurry to get to work, someone complimented another on their pants, and it was just 30 seconds of positive interactions. It was a quick reminder that just because I am one race, it doesn't mean that I cannot get along with someone from another.

People: get off of social media and stop watching the news. I am not saying this in a Trumpian "fake news!" way, but more in a "if you haven't figured out that the 'news' is just brain rot by this point, I have a bridge to sell you" kind of way. Tabloid fear, anger, judgement, and grotesqueness are huge money-makers for the news industry. Don't be a consumer of that stuff. Choose your media wisely and be aware of its biases.

awesome story :) was wondering though, if you would have paid for the 3 strangers coffees....would you have been able to do it with $32?

m!ndweak wrote:

awesome story :) was wondering though, if you would have paid for the 3 strangers coffees....would you have been able to do it with $32?

Unlikely. One of them had some pansy coffee milkshake BS with whipped cream and a cookie on top.

Low-Income Runner wrote:

Gravy wrote:

Suicide rates in the US are up 30% since 1999.

What's the reason for the increase? And I find it strange the number of successful, wealthy people that kill themselves. It doesn't make sense..it seems only us lower class, frowned upon people would be the ones doing this. Usually money can buy you most anything including happiness, fame & power (e.g., Trump).

His was one of the few programs i sought out to watch.I would have loved to party with him.

I didn't see this coming or signs of unhappiness. He was always snarky which I enjoyed and and he seemed very fit through martial arts.

If drug O.D.s are included in the suicide rates the big rise makes a little more sense.

Kate Spade was apparently a raging alcoholic who took pills.

C'est la vie.

I studied suicide a few years back and the first thing I learned was that "common sense" and "common knowledge" are misleading as guides for determining the reasons why they happen and for helping us to avoid more. Most of what we think we know about suicide isn't true.

Statistically the reasons for suicide are mental health issues (depression), drug use, family problems, chain suicides, etc, and I'm guessing that Anthony had at least the first two, but most likely what pushed him over the edge was Kate Spades' recent suicide. Chain suicides are very common as one suicide pushes others over the threshold with the resulting cascade effect.

For more information look into The Sorrows of Young Werther, the book that triggered a slew of suicides and brought chain suicide into the realm of mental health science.

Professionals recommend the following to stop chain suicides:

1. Don't even talk about a suicide. Media blackout. In other words, delete this thread.

2. If that's not possible then under NO circumstances portray the person as a sympathetic romantic victim of life's struggles as they did in Werther, where suicide ~"finally brought him peace from a troubled world". That's really bad. Do NOT put a positive spin on it.

3. Tell stories of the pain suffered during suicide and the crippling effects of failed suicide attempts.

4. Take threats to kill one's self seriously.

That's what the pros say.

DiscoGary wrote:

'common sense' and 'common knowledge' are misleading as guides for determining the reasons why they happen and for helping us to avoid more. Most of what we think we know about suicide isn't true.

This. A million times, this.

People who say things like, "But they were so rich" or "How could they do that to their child? How selfish!" just don't get it. And if you don't get it, you need to praise your lucky stars. That is a great thing.

I don't see suicide as a bad thing and respect everyone's decision to do it even if it's not that best decision.

Better than a battle with cancer or a heart attack IMO. Or being miserable or having to take psychiatric medication.