THANK YOU, @meatn3.
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Posting and drinking. Sorry
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Like most groups, HO has its share of crassholes.
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Looks like Moderation took a look at where this friendly conversation was heading.
Granted, I acknowledge we can have different takeaways from any public experience. Forums make it too easy to go off the rails.
Something Iām sure our friend Anthony could relate too.
I didnāt say I didnāt like him. I bought his books and watched his first few series avidly.
I also ate at Les Halles frequently, we had my daughterās graduation lunch there. The mixed grill with the Merguez was one of my favorites.
Although truth be told, we probably liked Park Bistro across the street a little better. Quieter and better service.
But, as per my post, both he and the restaurant had gone downhill over the last five years.
No intimate knowledge necessary, all of this is public record and often by Bourdainās own admission.
Gee, thanks for that, but I donāt think so Tim.
āHis 2d marriage to his Brazilian jujitsu instuctor failed because he started bonking his Italian director.ā
Can you substantiate this? Not that it matters as you appear to have an ax to grind. But unless you can prove this your entire presence in this thread can be ignored.
Anthony was a talented and complicated person who obviously struggled with depression. You obviously did not develop a connection with him and canāt imagine how anyone else could. Fine. I did and Iām sad heās no longer with us.
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Been there done that.
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Mr. Bourdain brought curiosity and empathy to parts of the world that were most likely unfamiliar to much of his audience.
āHe thought of himself as a guest, and was fascinated and genuinely in love with the idea of food as a way to understand the country and its people,ā Ms. Sookdeo said. āPeople respond to that kind of sincerity.ā
Others shared her sentiment. āHe didnāt look down on foreign places he visited and their āquaintness/backwardness/insert-usual-derogatory adjective,āā the journalist Rania Abouzeid tweeted. āHe dived in, hungry to experience. His wasnāt the Orientalist gaze. He saw humanity (& food) everywhere, and connected with it.ā
Jenny Yang, a comedian and writer, put it succinctly. āBourdain never treated our food like he ādiscoveredā it,ā she said on Twitter.
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I have travelled a bit in my life, but I still kind of lived vicariously through Mr Bourdainās Parts Unknown! Although I wasnāt obsessively watching his shows, when I did, I loved every moment of them, especially the ones filmed in Asia. I wanted to be there, right along side of him eating every delicious morsel and listen to him tell stories in person. Iām sure that Iām not alone on this phantom adventure.
Being a woman and in my late 60ās, AB always portrayed (for me, anyway), the essence of the bad boy I remember from high school. And as a woman, I loved that kind of guy, even if itās just a little longing from my youth now gone by.
Nevertheless, what he did inspire me to do most of all, is to try all kinds of food. When I travel now, or even when Iām home, I search for new places I havenāt tried before and are more off the beaten path. A lot of people do this Iām sure because of him, thankfully.
So yes, Iāll miss Mr Bourdain and Iām really sad that he took his own life. Was he tired, did he fall off the wagon, did his much younger girlfriend break up with him and he had a broken heart? Iāll never know and it doesnāt matter. But what does matter for the most part, is he was one of the tough guys. He appeared fearless, forthright, substantial and outspoken. A true survivor! However, he really wasnāt, at least not on the night he took his own life. He was vulnerable, just like the rest of usā¦ āHang on people, itās rough out thereā. David Spade, on the death of his SIL, Kate.
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Just an FYI (for all; didnāt mean to hit reply) ;
CNN is running āA Cajun Mardi Grasā tonight, one of the last two episodes. Is it just me, or is anybody finding this one especially disturbing? Even Tony seemed a little blown away by the some of the shenanigans.
Now Iām watching the Season 11 episode 5 in Hong Kong, where he talks about āFalling in love IN Asia, and falling in love WITH Asiaā, and I wonder what he means.
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Asia Argento, his romantic interest, stepped in to film this episode when his usual crewmember had an emergency surgery.
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Okay, thanks!
He starts by writing/ saying something about how devastating both loves were. Maybe not devastating, but something pretty compelling. Anyway, Iād seen the episode before, but now they all seem a little different.
This isnāt it, but I found it while looking.
Hereās a quote;
"Neal: A lot going on in this one. What about at the beginning, when Tony opened up with this very vulnerable, emotional letter?
Thornburgh: Let me ask you, as a civilian, did you get the āfalling in love with Asiaā reference there?
Neal: Thatās what I was going to ask. Was he referring to his girlfriend, Asia Argento?
Thornburgh: Seems so. Her name is pronounced Ah-sia in Italian, not Ay-sia, but itās her. And sheās not just his girlfriend. Sheās a film director, and she is the director on this episode as well. The scheduled director fell ill, so she was a late addition. You can see her in at least one of those meta, behind-the-camera shots. Itās part of why Iām really digging this episode. Itās like there are Easter eggs throughout, starting with the intro. You donāt need to be a deep Bourdain subreddit follower to know that theyāre dating. And the timingāthis episode coming out so soon after that speech she detonated at Cannes. Did you see it?"
Here is the quote;
"To fall in love with Asia is one thing. To fall in love in Asia is another. Both have happened to me.
The Star Ferry at Kowloon at night. The lights of Hong Kong behind me. Itās a gift, a dream, a curse, the best thing, the happiest thing, yet also the loneliest thing in the world".
Hmmmmā¦I guess lonliness and devastating arenāt the same at all.
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Delete. 
Itās so striking to see the "āA chance to liveā commercia!s playing at the same time. Those commercials always get to me, since Iām pretty convinced Iām going to die from cancer. (My husband thinks thatās crazy).
The commercial ends āwho wouldnāt want a chance to live longer?ā. Hah. He should spend a day as a psychiatrist!
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I was horrified that was happening!
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I drove through Cajun country yesterday, then turned on this episode. The story depicted was bizarre and not like anything Iāve ever seen before in Louisiana. And AB was joyless and tired looking, just as he was in the also bizarre Berlin episode. One more episode to go, Bhutan. Iāll have to force myself to watch. Heās a completely different host this season.
Iām convinced Iāll die in a fiery car crash after rolling my car three or four times, then plunging over the railing on PCH in Big Sur, over the cliffs and landing on the rocks below as the ocean waves crash and spray.
Youāre not crazy. 
YOUR not-crazy sounds WAY better!
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