Anthony Bourdain

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E.H. Ruddock
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 2:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 2:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 2:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 2:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 1:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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Good to know this is on Hulu. Thanks. I haven't seen all of that series yet. Just ones I could find here and there
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 1:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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tragabigzanda wrote:No Reservations is on Hulu now so I've been watching that. It almost seems like Anthony was more cynical and sardonic back then, but also had more piss and vinegar; on PU he seems more mellow and resigned.

I miss him.
A lot of that has to do with No Reservations not being the show he wanted to make. Parts Unknown is 100% his vision, his voice, his creative control.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 1:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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tragabigzanda wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:No Reservations is on Hulu now so I've been watching that. It almost seems like Anthony was more cynical and sardonic back then, but also had more piss and vinegar; on PU he seems more mellow and resigned.

I miss him.
A lot of that has to do with No Reservations not being the show he wanted to make. Parts Unknown is 100% his vision, his voice, his creative control.
I don't know anything about a conflict on NR, can you say more?
I do know in occasion in PU, he would take slight jabs at "the other network", referring to his old show
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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tragabigzanda wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:No Reservations is on Hulu now so I've been watching that. It almost seems like Anthony was more cynical and sardonic back then, but also had more piss and vinegar; on PU he seems more mellow and resigned.

I miss him.
A lot of that has to do with No Reservations not being the show he wanted to make. Parts Unknown is 100% his vision, his voice, his creative control.
I don't know anything about a conflict on NR, can you say more?
He's talked a lot about how much he hated working for Travel Channel. The lack of creative freedom. The inauthenticity -- look at how much he makes fun of those forced fake fishing scenes on No Reservations. He wanted the show to be more about people and culture -- exactly what Parts Unknown is -- but the network kept forcing him to go to certain places and make sure certain people appeared on the show. They had a format and a formula they required him to stick to as well as a shooting schedule he found unnecessary. There were places he wanted to visit that Travel Channel nixed, as well.

He didn't do much to hide his disdain, especially as things went on longer, toward all things Travel Channel. He didn't like the celebrities they employed and pimped. Parts Unknown was exactly they show he'd always set out to make.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 1:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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tragabigzanda wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:No Reservations is on Hulu now so I've been watching that. It almost seems like Anthony was more cynical and sardonic back then, but also had more piss and vinegar; on PU he seems more mellow and resigned.

I miss him.
A lot of that has to do with No Reservations not being the show he wanted to make. Parts Unknown is 100% his vision, his voice, his creative control.
I don't know anything about a conflict on NR, can you say more?
He's talked a lot about how much he hated working for Travel Channel. The lack of creative freedom. The inauthenticity -- look at how much he makes fun of those forced fake fishing scenes on No Reservations. He wanted the show to be more about people and culture -- exactly what Parts Unknown is -- but the network kept forcing him to go to certain places and make sure certain people appeared on the show. They had a format and a formula they required him to stick to as well as a shooting schedule he found unnecessary. There were places he wanted to visit that Travel Channel nixed, as well.

He didn't do much to hide his disdain, especially as things went on longer, toward all things Travel Channel. He didn't like the celebrities they employed and pimped. Parts Unknown was exactly they show he'd always set out to make.
Oh wow, this explains a bunch, thanks. I was definitely getting the sense he wasn't really feeling all the scenes he was in -- sort of sarcastic remarks to certain people, an obvious discomfort with some of the manufactured aspects of it all. For example, in Hokkaido, he's in a hot spring and he's sort of mocking the woman who is taking pictures of him -- I can't remember the exact dialogue, but it's to the effect of "I'm trying to enjoy this beautiful spa and Debbie is snapping fucking pictures of me." Lots of stuff like that happening.
:lol:

Yeah, I remember that.

If you really want to see the frustration, watch The Layover. There are several episodes where he clearly gets HAMMERED and doesn't give two shits. He seems to be purposefully trying to fuck up the show and give a huge middle finger to the Travel Channel. It's hilarious.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 1:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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tragabigzanda wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:No Reservations is on Hulu now so I've been watching that. It almost seems like Anthony was more cynical and sardonic back then, but also had more piss and vinegar; on PU he seems more mellow and resigned.

I miss him.
A lot of that has to do with No Reservations not being the show he wanted to make. Parts Unknown is 100% his vision, his voice, his creative control.
I don't know anything about a conflict on NR, can you say more?
He's talked a lot about how much he hated working for Travel Channel. The lack of creative freedom. The inauthenticity -- look at how much he makes fun of those forced fake fishing scenes on No Reservations. He wanted the show to be more about people and culture -- exactly what Parts Unknown is -- but the network kept forcing him to go to certain places and make sure certain people appeared on the show. They had a format and a formula they required him to stick to as well as a shooting schedule he found unnecessary. There were places he wanted to visit that Travel Channel nixed, as well.

He didn't do much to hide his disdain, especially as things went on longer, toward all things Travel Channel. He didn't like the celebrities they employed and pimped. Parts Unknown was exactly they show he'd always set out to make.
Oh wow, this explains a bunch, thanks. I was definitely getting the sense he wasn't really feeling all the scenes he was in -- sort of sarcastic remarks to certain people, an obvious discomfort with some of the manufactured aspects of it all. For example, in Hokkaido, he's in a hot spring and he's sort of mocking the woman who is taking pictures of him -- I can't remember the exact dialogue, but it's to the effect of "I'm trying to enjoy this beautiful spa and Debbie is snapping fucking pictures of me." Lots of stuff like that happening.
:lol:

Yeah, I remember that.

If you really want to see the frustration, watch The Layover. There are several episodes where he clearly gets HAMMERED and doesn't give two shits. He seems to be purposefully trying to fuck up the show and give a huge middle finger to the Travel Channel. It's hilarious.
I've never seen that show! It was between NR and PU, right?
Yeah. It was sort of congruent with the last season or so of NR.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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durdencommatyler wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:No Reservations is on Hulu now so I've been watching that. It almost seems like Anthony was more cynical and sardonic back then, but also had more piss and vinegar; on PU he seems more mellow and resigned.

I miss him.
A lot of that has to do with No Reservations not being the show he wanted to make. Parts Unknown is 100% his vision, his voice, his creative control.
I don't know anything about a conflict on NR, can you say more?
He's talked a lot about how much he hated working for Travel Channel. The lack of creative freedom. The inauthenticity -- look at how much he makes fun of those forced fake fishing scenes on No Reservations. He wanted the show to be more about people and culture -- exactly what Parts Unknown is -- but the network kept forcing him to go to certain places and make sure certain people appeared on the show. They had a format and a formula they required him to stick to as well as a shooting schedule he found unnecessary. There were places he wanted to visit that Travel Channel nixed, as well.

He didn't do much to hide his disdain, especially as things went on longer, toward all things Travel Channel. He didn't like the celebrities they employed and pimped. Parts Unknown was exactly they show he'd always set out to make.
Oh wow, this explains a bunch, thanks. I was definitely getting the sense he wasn't really feeling all the scenes he was in -- sort of sarcastic remarks to certain people, an obvious discomfort with some of the manufactured aspects of it all. For example, in Hokkaido, he's in a hot spring and he's sort of mocking the woman who is taking pictures of him -- I can't remember the exact dialogue, but it's to the effect of "I'm trying to enjoy this beautiful spa and Debbie is snapping fucking pictures of me." Lots of stuff like that happening.
:lol:

Yeah, I remember that.

If you really want to see the frustration, watch The Layover. There are several episodes where he clearly gets HAMMERED and doesn't give two shits. He seems to be purposefully trying to fuck up the show and give a huge middle finger to the Travel Channel. It's hilarious.
I've never seen that show! It was between NR and PU, right?
Yeah. It was sort of congruent with the last season or so of NR.
Well, he wasn’t exactly avoiding the drink from the get go on No Reservations.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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Steve Albini wrote:Whenever there's active promotion on the part of somebody else, whenever I see somebody all dolled up for a fancy photograph and someone's handing out flyers or whenever there's active promotion for something like that, as an imposition on my day, I hate all those people and I want them to fail. I have a visceral reaction to advertising and promotion. There's just something about salesmanship that grates on me on a very base level and I react very negatively towards it. I want those people to suffer and I want their enterprises to fail.
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Sun January 11, 2026 1:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anthony Bourdain

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oasisfan35 wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:No Reservations is on Hulu now so I've been watching that. It almost seems like Anthony was more cynical and sardonic back then, but also had more piss and vinegar; on PU he seems more mellow and resigned.

I miss him.
A lot of that has to do with No Reservations not being the show he wanted to make. Parts Unknown is 100% his vision, his voice, his creative control.
I don't know anything about a conflict on NR, can you say more?
He's talked a lot about how much he hated working for Travel Channel. The lack of creative freedom. The inauthenticity -- look at how much he makes fun of those forced fake fishing scenes on No Reservations. He wanted the show to be more about people and culture -- exactly what Parts Unknown is -- but the network kept forcing him to go to certain places and make sure certain people appeared on the show. They had a format and a formula they required him to stick to as well as a shooting schedule he found unnecessary. There were places he wanted to visit that Travel Channel nixed, as well.

He didn't do much to hide his disdain, especially as things went on longer, toward all things Travel Channel. He didn't like the celebrities they employed and pimped. Parts Unknown was exactly they show he'd always set out to make.
Oh wow, this explains a bunch, thanks. I was definitely getting the sense he wasn't really feeling all the scenes he was in -- sort of sarcastic remarks to certain people, an obvious discomfort with some of the manufactured aspects of it all. For example, in Hokkaido, he's in a hot spring and he's sort of mocking the woman who is taking pictures of him -- I can't remember the exact dialogue, but it's to the effect of "I'm trying to enjoy this beautiful spa and Debbie is snapping fucking pictures of me." Lots of stuff like that happening.
:lol:

Yeah, I remember that.

If you really want to see the frustration, watch The Layover. There are several episodes where he clearly gets HAMMERED and doesn't give two shits. He seems to be purposefully trying to fuck up the show and give a huge middle finger to the Travel Channel. It's hilarious.
I've never seen that show! It was between NR and PU, right?
Yeah. It was sort of congruent with the last season or so of NR.
Well, he wasn’t exactly avoiding the drink from the get go on No Reservations.
Of course. But that's my point. The Layover is another level. And it's obvious. He's clearly like, "you want me to do this asinine piece of shit show? Fine. But you're gonna regret it."

And they did. His behavior was enough to get him out of his Travel Channel contract and over to CNN.
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