Suicide is Painless. . .
It brings on many changes...These were lyrics from the hit TV show Mash about an army surgical unit during the Korean War. Yes, many would have benefited from Anthony Bourdain's survival. His young daughter, CNN, friends, and many associated with his hit show. However, it is evident that Bourdain himself was no longer benefiting from his continued existence. He had told his daughter that he had wanted to quit the show. In puerile but forgivable fashion, the daughter would have nothing to do with it; she loved her father in the limelight and he stupidly and lovingly obliged (filial love is the stuff of Hollywood, in my opinion). CNN, of course, had a hit show that had improved ratings for the station. Bourdain was under pressure--perhaps no more so than in his mind. He had wanted his girlfriend to direct more of his shows; maybe he saw in her a way to assuage the demands of a hit show on his. Unfortunately, he didn't even try to hire her because he felt that CNN would not fo...