Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought he seemed like a jerk and think it's weird how everyone got so into him after he killed himself.

Most of us were "so into him" before he killed himself. Possible that you just microwaved your dinner - but for those of us that cook, he's one of the OG celebrity chefs.

Also, I liked "seemed like a jerk" you have no idea what he was like. You seem like an idiot, but I could be wrong.

DP (not the person you're responding to). I actually knew him and he WAS a jerk. I'm not dancing on his grave or anything but, yeah, he was a jerk. Crazy talented and absolutely charismatic, as pointed out above, but still a jerk. Suicide isn't the answer, though.

Anyone thinking about killing themselves should please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. The Lifeline is open 24/7/365. You are not alone, help is available, and if you call the Lifeline you can talk to someone who wants to help you right now.

Anonymous wrote:I thought he seemed like a jerk and think it's weird how everyone got so into him after he killed himself.

Most of us were "so into him" before he killed himself. Possible that you just microwaved your dinner - but for those of us that cook, he's one of the OG celebrity chefs.

Also, I liked "seemed like a jerk" you have no idea what he was like. You seem like an idiot, but I could be wrong.

I enjoyed watching some of his shows. I enjoyed the one where he visited my country. I was sad when he killed himself. But I don’t have strong feelings either way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought he seemed like a jerk and think it's weird how everyone got so into him after he killed himself.

+1

+2

Did you read his books and watch his shows? There is no way any thoughtful person could simply write him off as a jerk after having done so.

And the reason there is so much attention being paid to him now is because he had a massive impact on so many of us. I have had imaginary conversations with him while cooking for years. His death, coming as it did on the heels of Kate Spade’s, was also enormously difficult for many people struggling with severe depression. I have a good friend who is a therapist who said many of her patients absolutely panicked when he died. They were thinking that if someone like him, with all his talents, friends, and a daughter he adored, couldn’t find a reason to go on, what hope did they have? My friend said that all of her therapist friends reported similar.

As with most people who are as charismatic as he was, he also was very shallow, with little depth, and was a complete narcissist. I think it is extraordinarily sad that so many people were hoodwinked by that and couldn't see through it. That said, your post very clearly supports our need in the US for better mental health services for everyone. It is upsetting that so many people who only knew Anthony Bourdain through his media presence were so devastated by his suicide.

Never liked him. Still don't, but sorry he committed suicide.

Anonymous wrote:He hated Jethro Tull. That upset me.

Lol. I can respect this specificity of this opinion. It reminds me of my sister’s dislike of Bob Dylan’s music, because he “sounds too much like Gary U.S. Bonds.” (We’re GenXers).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought he seemed like a jerk and think it's weird how everyone got so into him after he killed himself.

+1

+2

Did you read his books and watch his shows? There is no way any thoughtful person could simply write him off as a jerk after having done so.

And the reason there is so much attention being paid to him now is because he had a massive impact on so many of us. I have had imaginary conversations with him while cooking for years. His death, coming as it did on the heels of Kate Spade’s, was also enormously difficult for many people struggling with severe depression. I have a good friend who is a therapist who said many of her patients absolutely panicked when he died. They were thinking that if someone like him, with all his talents, friends, and a daughter he adored, couldn’t find a reason to go on, what hope did they have? My friend said that all of her therapist friends reported similar.

This is true because suicide increases after such kind of news.

Anonymous wrote:He hated Jethro Tull. That upset me.

I didn't know this!

I was indifferent to Bourdain before - though sympathetic to his death - but this definitely colors my opinion of him.

(And hello, fellow Tull fan!)

For most us who know him from CNN show he seems to live the fantasy life with great food and travel.
That is why his suicide was a shock to most of us.

I liked him. He was deeply troubled, flawed, and romantic and wayward. I didn’t know about the cheating thing, but I can see it.. he was hard and rough, but tender and wide eyed. To me, that was his appeal.

He never tried to be, in many ways. He represented the punk era to me.. the Johnny Rottens and Sid Viciouses, the men who are so angry and lovely. The immense respect for the bigger things, the impatience for the inconsequential minutiae of “proper life”. Tolerance for the great street food of some back corner, but disdain for the pomp and fluff of office people like PP mentioned - I get it. A searcher’s spirit whi never feels like they belong. Walk into almost any “anonymous” meeting around the world, and you’ve got 50 of those in one room.

He was a jerk at times, but he also never hid it or pretended otherwise, and that, I appreciate. He was always reaching, learning, wandering, and growing. He shared and thirsted and didn’t hold back. And that, I appreciate.

I had a like dislike / feeling about him. I thought his sincerity was fake and his ego was huge. But he was a brilliant writer. Almost a voice of a generation. But sometimes when he was eating at some poor persons hone ( nearly every episode) I thought about his lauding of the food but all made of the backs of women who cooked all day every day. Kind of gave me the creeps.

He hated Jethro Tull. That upset me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought he seemed like a jerk and think it's weird how everyone got so into him after he killed himself.

+1

+2

+3 master of the humble brag and everyone fell for it.

Anonymous wrote:He had a great show, but I've never understood why people glorify him the way they do.

People like him, for his rawness, honesty and openness. He was an unbelievably story teller. It really wasn’t about the food. Food was a the bridge to introduce people to other cultures.

I met him a few times and attended a couple of meet and greets/q&a sessions with him. One question that always came up, “was there something you refused to eat during filming?”

His response, “…these people are offering me the best of what they have, who am I to tell them that it is not good enough for me.”

That speaks a lot to someone’s character and is an attitude that more people in this world should have.

Anonymous wrote:I just read the Oral Biography out last week.

I loved Parts Unknown, but it was more about the food and the cultures and the camera work. Some of his writing on the episodes was great and other times I thought he was too pretentious or political. But I had an affection for him. After also reading the Biography, I was disappointed. He seemed like he had a romantic, sweet side, but also a real jerky side. Not sure how I feel after the book. I also thought that it was really interesting to read all the hints about Asia Argento.