quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Good grief. Take a look at CNN's website. The entire top half of the page is a black banner. You'd think a head of state died. Damn. Get a grip.

If he died of natural causes or from an accident, I get the tribute (though no where near to the extent CNN is showing it) but a suicide??? No way (IMO) should that be glorified, honored, or in any other way show a tribute to the deceased and his/her memory.

Condolences to the person's survivors and closest friends who may not have seen this coming. They are the ones who are now suffering.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
Was taken aback by reading of his death this morning. I was not surprised when I learned it was by suicide. His raw personality was evident in his shows - brooding, melancholy, depressive, prone to alcohol and drugs, introspective - attributes that makes one highly vulnerable to thoughts of suicide.

His early show, A Chef's Tour for sure, but, the drug usage he kicked before No Reservations, although he would talk authoritatively about it in episdoes. He enjoyed his drink and his cigarette's however once he got into his second marriage and his daughter came around he cleaned-up quite a bit, even getting into BJJ. If anything he turned that wasted time into productive usage with a book imprint deal, side projects with Roads & Kingdoms, Belavine and working on his NYC Food Hall. Which is possible that he jumped on the hamster wheel of celebrity make-work, various interests pulling him in different directions resulting in his own personal time being infringed leading to his untimely death.

Speaking of drug usage and professional chefs, look into Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern. His background is one of crazy drug usage and hitting rock-bottom.

I think he said he had depression, and his battles with drugs and booze were described by him. I think it is pretty obvious that he was using the drugs to dull the mental demons.

I am sorry they caught up with him.

Bye.

Im sorry for your family and the loss they feel.

But for me, one less elitist liberal asshole in the world. Another idiot with the world by the ass who threw it all away. It's not sad, it's disgusting. You had a life 95% of the people on this planet would envy, and you pissed it away. There are people with real problems and real hardship who probably should eat a bullet and dont.

It's your life to do with what you please, but when you have kids you have responsibilities. You could soldier on a few years until she was 18 or 20 and an adult, then do it. Instead you do this now and fuck her all up.

Id say fuck off and die, but well he already did.

Bipolar and depressive disorders are not uncommon in the restaurant industry. He must have been in a very dark place. The last several years were one hell of a ride..enjoyable, yes...but one he could probably not get off. Sorry for his friend who found him and for his family. Rest in peace.

With all of this winning; somebody must be losing.
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I have several of his books and enjoyed them more than the TV shows. 'Gone Bamboo' and 'Bone in the Throat' were two of my favorites of his. I also have an autographed copy of his Les Halles cookbook. Funny guy with an ability to put his humor in writing. Though I didn't agree with his politics, it's still a shame that he took himself out.

I guess I'm taking the dark side.

In this me, me, me world if someone decides that's it, it just fits with I'm choosing gender, color, etc.

Are you saying that you believe humans don't have the right to decide if they wish to continue living? You seem to be equating the right to end one's own life with nonsensical things like suddenly declaring that you are another gender or race.

Liberalism is a mental disorder. It's not something exclusive to liberals, but deep down they are sad, angry, and depressed individuals.

Guy was a liberal but I really liked his show. I recorded it every week on the DVR. Gonna miss his show.

Who cares.

I never watched his shows. All I ever heard was that he was an asshole. Now that he’s hung himself he’s a great guy? Right.

At least he didn't feel the need to take others with him as so many others have done recently.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Who cares.

Quite a few people, it seems, Mike. As members keep saying, the man's politics aside, he made some entertaining shows. I loved No Reservations. If you haven't seen it, you might want to take a look.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Well, maybe it wasn't a temporary problem. Maybe it was something that he couldn't get past.

I don't condemn people for suicide. Family or no family, selfish act or no, it is their life to do with as they wish. If we don't have this- if human beings cannot determine whether or not they wish to continue in this existence, then we have nothing and we are slaves.

Wow! Thanks for expressing that thought so clearly. I've never understood suicide, but I don't condemn what I don't understand. Not that I think it justifies suicide (if it even needs justification), but your way of expressing that we must all own our own lives really ring a bell for me. Thanks!

Success is no salve for depression. In fact, one thing which can motivate people we perceive as driven and successful is that they are, quite literally, never happy with their accomplishments. They only see the things that are wrong or could have been better. There is no joy in what went right, only a focus on what was wrong and a drive to make less mistakes next time. We see success, but they see a series of imperfect failures.

I can't say for sure if Mr. Bourdain fell into that category, but it wouldn't surprise me at all. He certainly had the drive and the self destructive tendencies. My guess is the drugs and alcohol were basically self-medicating for an inability to feel happy with his life. Chemicals could mess with his brain chemistry enough that he could feel happy. Again, that's just a guess.

The thing about depression that is just so hard to grasp is that it, by definition, does not make any sense. If your life is objectively shit, and you are sad about it that isn't clinical depression. The actual disease, disorder, or whatever you want to call it is when you hate life when there is no objective reason to feel that way. To the world, it may seem like you have a fantastic family, success in your job, and a comfortable life. To you it might feel like everything you do is pointless and a failure, and everything that is supposed to be fun is just hollow. Success does nothing at all to relieve depression, because depression is not rational and it is not a normal emotional response.

You aren't depressed because you are sad your dog died; You are depressed because your dog is alive, but every time you try to play fetch it feels like a pointless waste of time, and you start to resent having to go through the motions. Then you start to hate yourself for punishing your dog by never going out to play just because you are selfish and don't get anything out of it. THAT is depression.

- Bret

I've lost a family member and a friend to suicide. Both had very good lives and loving families, but both also suffered from clinical depression. The pain they feel is so great and so unrelenting that they decide suicide is the only way to make it stop.

The illness is as real and physical as cancer, high blood pressure, MS, etc. It is usually caused by the body not producing enough serotonin and/or dopamine. Life stresses can trigger more serious episodes, but the problem is ongoing.

If you know of anyone you think may be at risk, talk to them. Encourage them to get medical help. There are treatments for depression- holistic ones seem to offer the best hope.



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its been my contention that food very well could be the answer to most of life's problems,

I will not let this set back persuade me.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bendable,

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
CNN is talking about it, and of course brought up a waiting period for firearms- I assume that’s how he did it.

Depression is a bitch I guess. I don’t have it, so it baffles me how anyone could take their own life.

He was in France doing a segment for his show. How the fuck was a waiting period for firearms in America going to affect what the hell he did in Strasbourg?

-Tom