How To Explore Parts Unknown
A tribute to Anthony Bourdain and the cautionary tale of his untimely passing
Comrades: The blue pill is poison and sometimes fatal. The red pill can save lives. Four years ago, one legend left our world too soon because he overdosed on the blue pill and did not get the red pill in time. I write about these harsh topics because if it saves one life…
Anthony Bourdain was a unique cultural figure who transformed how we think about travel. He was a beautiful soul who wrote beautiful prose and shot beautiful film. A once in a generation combination of originality, authenticity, and charisma. His rise and fall mirrored the Eat Pray Love zeitgeist of the 2000s and 2010s, ushering in a golden age of travel before COVID fascism wrecked it.
I have watched all ~100 episodes of Parts Unknown (the only good show CNN has ever produced) and read most of Tony’s books. Before following his adventures, I had not traveled much and did not care much about food. Like many others, I visited a few countries just because he made them look so captivating: namely Vietnam, Myanmar, and Nagorno Karabakh - I will publish travel guides in future posts.
Tony was no holds barred old school New York, a dying breed. Principled leftists Jeremiah Moss and David Graeber wrote great books about how the city and its soul were bulldozed into just another Karenland FUPAZ (Vanishing New York and Bullshit Jobs - highly recommended summer reading). For a few years, I lived within walking distance of Tony’s restaurant (Les Halles) and dined there several times. I even shook the man’s hand once. As fate would have it, Les Halles closed a few months before his death and was turned into a shrine of flowers and fan letters.
Roadrunner is a riveting documentary about his journey, well worth watching on HBO Max. However, it did not fully explore the reason why he tragically took his own life. I believe it is worth a Yuri analysis because it has implications for all of us.
Tony was a classic hopeless romantic who was destroyed by a toxic modern woman. Like many who live a nomadic life, he always seemed to be lonely and running from demons. Until his mid 40s, he was just another strung out chef. Then lightning struck and next thing you know, he’s a global celebrity sharing pho with Saint Obama in Hanoi.
Back when I first saw the news that he had gotten divorced and started dating Asia Argento, I had 3 reactions: 1) Who is Asia Argento? 2) *Google image search* 3) Shiiiiet. Red pilled men recoil from women like Asia because they recognize the red flags instantly. In contrast, blue pilled men like Tony become entranced by the siren song and get sucked into the maelstrom. In Roadrunner, Tony’s friends expressed anguish over several dimensions: they knew she was trouble, they couldn’t save him from himself or her, and they couldn’t express how they really felt to the camera now or to him when they had the chance.
Asia checked all the boxes of high risk: 2 children from 2 previous marriages, heavily tattooed and pierced, Sanpaku eyes, D-list actress, attention seeking social justice warrior. She got her revenge on the monstrous Harvey Weinstein and rode the MeToo movement to increase her clout, but had previously defended pedophile rapist Roman Polanski and raped a 17 year old actor when she was 37. MeToo poisoned gender relations in the same way BLM did with race relations: the reaction to one injustice destroyed many innocent good people, empowered bad actors, and overall made the world a worse place through leftist thought policing.
In the brief period that Tony dated Asia, he devolved into a full blown NPC lefty. The last season of his show reflected this shift and barely mentioned food. The most painful footage from Roadrunner was his cringey beta behavior around her. Their body language said it all and inevitably, she cucked him for a young buck.
The entire world adored Tony, but he threw it all away by ignoring obvious truths. His tragic arc underscored a lesson far beyond anything he could consciously articulate despite all his wisdom and eloquence: if you don’t respect yourself, all the money, fame, and travel won’t matter. A sociopath can sense your weakness and easily break you.
Prince Harry is the most prominent living example, though we all have friends who have gone through similar pain. He and Megan Markle are the symbols of two decaying empires. As a new father to a daughter, the most heartbreaking part for me is that Tony loathed himself so much that he abandoned his own daughter. Perhaps it was for the better that he didn’t live to see fascist COVID travel restrictions, masks, and CNN+.
To anyone reading this: You are never as alone as you think. Talk about difficult topics with others. Find people who will give it to you straight and do the same in return. Ugly truths are better than pretty lies.
To Tony: Thank you for leaving something good behind for the world. Your heart was too pure for our clown world. Wherever you are, I hope you’re enjoying your morning cigarettes and “favorite vegetable”.
This is overly sentimental rubbish.
I was deeply angered by his suicide; I had very much enjoyed his shows and his wonderfully engaging personality.
You are starting to learn something that some of us also have and some of us refuse to--*your children are more important than any inner crap you deal with. You crawl through your own broken glass, if need be, to protect your children. You do not abandon your children.* But you are forgiving another for something you know is unforgivable.
Many of us have looked into the black moment. Some of us have been surprised to have accidentally survived the black moment, and some of us have learned from it.
It is impermissible to abandon your children. That's it. That's the rule. That's the meaning of life. I repeat--he did something unforgivable. Everything he did, and was, before that is meaningless now because he refused to be a grownup.
When you become a parent, you forswear free choice. You no longer have the luxury of abandoning yourself to the black moment. For every single one of us--we pass the test or we fail. It is the only test in life that matters.
Do not let your grief confuse you about this.
Anthony Bourdain's love affair with Viet Nam was infectious. In my opinion the episodes filmed there were among his best. However, that segment filmed in Hanoi with President Obama was difficult to watch. There's that moment after they finish their meal, when Bourdain brings up immigration and building a wall in the context of the upcoming election in 2016. It was totally tone deaf for their surroundings. They are sitting in a restaurant in the capitol of a communist country where they would lock you up and throw away the key if you did not have a valid passport and visa.
And of course, if you read about the filming of that segment, you know that the segment was in fact "staged" in the sense that they are in an upstairs private area populated with pre-selected friendly patrons. That's all fine and necessary, but it's a little misleading when the President complains about being forced to eat in "private" rooms when he takes Michelle out for a date night dinner all while he is in fact having dinner in one of those private rooms.
I look forward to reading Comrade Yuri's accounts of travel, particularly in Viet Nam. The country has a lot to offer. But like any country, it has its downsides, including being notorious for its "scam culture" that tends to target tourists traveling on a budget.