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This was one of the greatest TV shows of recent years, “Parts Unknown”, purporting to be a food/travel show while managing subversively to give a voice to oppressed and struggling people all over the world. Now I think of it, that’s why I always said The Clash was my favorite band: they made revolution feel like a party. Well now the genius behind it, the chef, adventurer, raconteur and former junkie Anthony Bourdain has committed suicide in Strasbourg, France. (see below)
Millions of people felt close to him, and one of them was our local star Gustavo Arellano, who was featured in one of Anthony’s LA specials. Gustavo tweeted about Anthony several times today:
#AnthonyBourdain was everything I hoped he’d be in real life: smart AF but humble, kind and even goofy. And a man with a huge heart. What brings tears to my eyes right now is remembering how he described with joy making pancakes for his daughter’s sleepover party …
We finished filming at midnight. A driver came to pick up #AnthonyBourdain. He idled for a good 20 minutes as Tony talked to at least a dozen fans who happened to be walking Cesar Chavez at midnight and saw him. Talked to EVERY SINGLE ONE. And listened …
The only celebrity I’ve ever seen who appealed so much to the common man besides #AnthonyBourdain was my dear friend Huell Howser. They knew they were nothing without the pueblo…
Everybody’s writing and talking about Anthony today. Let’s just see a bunch of typical clips from his episodes, that’ll be best…
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“If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food.”
And his good friend Rose McGowan on the recent rash of suicides:
PS. Now that I know he died in Strasbourg, not Paris, here is a great piece of music about that town that you may not have heard, which’ll do for funeral music:
This piece, published 24 hours ago, accidentally got trashed, and I just restored it. There WERE 3 comments. I can only find one, which was from Donovan; I know Diamond left one too but here’s Donovan’s:
“Buddy of mine co-produced his show in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a show that simply would not have happened with any other celebrity. He found Bourdain exceptionally (shockingly) civil in a country where the locals are quite familiar with cliched, harsh judgments.
“I contacted a few friends to check in on them whom I haven’t reached out to in years. A few friends I haven’t heard from in years contacted me to check in on me. None of us brought up Bourdain, but I suspect we were all thinking about him, and paying him a sidelong tribute with a long distant hug to someone else. Think he would have liked that.”
*Just another Russian Assassination. No biggie! These will be commonplace during the Trumpster Administration. If you watch his 2014 Interviews and food commentary with the
two Russians (one poisoned the other shot on the bridge)…….2 years later….you start to
see the pattern. Hey, we love those Rusky Bastards! That’s what George Patton said….
and sure enough his staff car is involved in a odd accident and he dies two days later.
All just coincidence….but he hated Harry S and wanted to wipe out the Russians shortly
after the end of hostilities in WW II – VE Day!
*We didn’t mention a couple of unanswered questions: When he was “found unresponsive” did he have any drugs in his body? Who found him? Did they try to revive him? Was his room in the hotel dusted for prints and DNA? Why not? When are the results of the autopsy going to become available? Was their a police report by the Paris police. When was the last time he was seen alive, on video or in person? Who was the last person to go to his room? Did he have room service?
What was the last thing he had eaten? Any poisons or heart medication in his system?
Sort of reminds us of Princess Diana…..in Paris…one more time for mother!
We’ll get right on that, as soon as we can.
Thanks for reposting, Vern. Was listening to Bourdain’s Christmas in Manila episode driving down to San Diego (my passengers knew Kate Spade better than Bourdain, and that’s a tragedy of its own).
Think we need to start a restaurant review section in his honor? There’s this refugee group called Tiyya in Anaheim that is trying to get refugees to run restaurants that I’m totally curious about…
Damn. Robin Williams, Chester Bennington, now Anthony Bourdain. Hurts my heart.
Mine was just about the depths of my personal devastation making it impossible to concentrate at work. He was, in all ways, the internationalist anti-Trump.
He was a true hero to so many working class people. I do like the Russian angle, of course we must all dismiss this out of hand. As if they would bother after electing tramp.
Life is difficult
Mental illness is all around us.
I am on the homeless issue and several homeless people a year hang themselves in OC, I get the coroners reports on it regularly.
But I really think many of the homeless people would not end up dead if they had the psych or med services available to them and of course a place to live.
Anthony will be missed we always watched him.