Had to find it — but remembered this came out last year at the time of his death and was an amazing read.
Rereading this thread has me in my feels. I was at a doctors appointment with my father when I found out what happened and this news fucked me up hard. My best friend who is without a doubt a “guys girl” texted me the news in a way that was incredibly sensitive because she knew how it would effect me. It’s crazy it’s been a year. Both because of the fact that Tony is gone and the loss I’ve gone through in the year since. It took me up until about a month ago to finish the last two seasons of parts unknown and if I’m being honest, the West Virginia episode probably sums up everything it meant for me to be such a tremendous fan of this guys content. Such a loss. RIP. Also I hope dan enjoys his stay on the rivals board because he’s a twat
https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/31/opinions/bourdain-west-virginia-mccarroll/index.html Good article that articulates some of my problems with the bland glorification of certain areas vs striving for nuance and context
It really is incredible the void that has been left by these two passings: Anthony Bourdain- on a culinary standpoint, ambassador to global food/cultural appreciation. Jonathan Gold- the best food writer I've ever followed and the voice of LA for decades. As a food obsessive person in life and work, I can't see who is going to be able to ever fill those shoes.
It's crazy how soft/awkward he seems and then at Le Bernardin he's a fucking tyrant ruling with an iron fist.
I'd forgotten about some of the god-awful takes on the first few pages of this thread. Lack of empathy is getting to be the plague of our time.
Bumping this thread on purpose. While I get the mourning of Kobe Bryant, the purpose of this post is to say that Bourdain’s tragic passing meant much, much more to me than has the recent tragic passing of Kobe. The events surrounding those deaths are not, themselves, comparable. The death of one adult versus several deaths, including several children, cannot be so compared. I mourn the deaths of the children more than I do the deaths of either Bourdain or Bryant. Both were fathers. We can have great empathy for their children and the families of the deceased children. Isolating Bourdain and Bryant, one is looking at icons in both cases. For me, and I speak only for me, Bourdain’s efforts to demonstrate the commonalities and brotherhood of global humanity, even in the face of personal danger, is one of the inspirational efforts of my lifetime. In his own way he attempted to bring people together across the globe. Kobe’s basketball skills and athleticism are undeniable. Within the boundaries of sports and extended to the popularity of basketball as a globally embraced sport he is admired as a great athlete and as a great competitor. Even after his retirement his altruistic endeavors were defined by sports. Not that that is bad. He was also popularly viewed as a devoted father. Bourdain was devoted to humanity and to justice, and viewed as a man who risked his own safety when confronting the forces that suppressed the innate right of an individual to be an individual. In the end Bourdain’s belief in the inherent goodness of mankind was his demise. He committed suicide because of he had been taken advantage of by a person who was the opposite of himself. One who used power to take advantage of others. One who was a wolf in sheep’s clothing... One who was/is a...rapist. He had fallen in love with a woman who was a self proclaimed “Hollywood rape survivor”. A woman whose career was salvaged by being a “face” of Hollywood rape survivalhood and a global spokeswoman against rape. Yet, this same woman came to him and asked him to pay “hush” money to a young male actor whom she had taken sexual advantage of ( ie, raped) . It absolutely devastated him. It was in opposition to everything he stood for..., all of his vision of what humanity could be. And yet, he found himself completely deceived by the very thing he fought against. It proved to be too much for him. He couldn’t live with such a world. He killed himself over it. I get why people greatly grieve for Kobe. In our entertainment driven society it makes sense. While I can grieve for both Bourdain and Bryant, in the context of their contributions to global humanity and justice I grieve for Bourdain’s untimely passing much, much more than I can grieve for the untimely passing of Bryant. Nuff said. Take shots or give support as you will.
I agree that it isn’t. I pretty much acknowledged that. If a competition, in our modern society, the great athlete/hero will win hands-down in popularity against advocates of a global humanity. My only intent was to say that I, as a member of society, was more moved by the untimely passing of Anthony Bourdain than by the untimely passing of Kobe Bryant. I posted it here, in the Bourdain thread. Not in the Bryan thread. I posted it for the benefit of my fellow Bourdain fans, instead of posting it in the Bryant thread...where it would have simply created a shitstorm.
Imma let you finish. But Jean Vigo died of tuberculosis when he was 29. John Kennedy Toole killed himself at 31 with the understanding that he was a fucking failure. There’s the 27 club, there’s Sylvia Plath, John Lennon got shot to death one day outside of his crib. Somehow (thank fuck) Hawking lived wayyyy beyond explanation. Try not to die, people. And try not to glorify death or weigh one’s life over another.
First I was like I want to have whatever this guy is on. Then the more I read, I was like just shut the fuck up Ditto
it’s pretty hilarious when you picture him saying it while pacing around the room, waiving his hands in the air, and an audience of two nodding along, focused on the rolled up dollar bill in his hand because all they really want is their fucking turn.
This may be one of the all time weirdest takes/posts on this board but I am glad to have experienced this trainwreck. Thank you for your brain.
"and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Heavy Death Award goes to.... Anthony Bourdain! Unfortunately Anthony couldn't be here to accept his award. His girlfriend will accept on his behalf." We are having fun in here
This is about as dumb as someone on my homeboard going "thousands of people die every day, why is Kobe special"
I bet not a one of them ESPN types stopped what they were doing to tell anecdotes about your grandpa and that’s what’s wrong with this country
Buffalo Trace. In retrospect I’m happy that I shared my ‘conjecture’ about Bourdain and entertain TMB at the same time. On the flip side the headache that woke me up wasn’t worth it.
That’s the only way I drink it. The problem is that I drank wayyy to much of it. It’s rare that I get a headache from drinking.
Two years, still miss this guy’s persona and his work. He would be a huge voice today with everything that’s going on in society and the food industry.
had to rescind a like when I realized he had brought that tweet here but the sentiment of the post is on point. I've wondered routinely what Bourdain's voice would be like through the pandemic era.
Your fainting couch is available in chenille or suede. Just LMK and it will be placed in rush delivery status
I think the worst part about losing Tony was that there was/is no one to fill that void. A true original.