Robin Williams found dead

[Buster Bluth]

That is just an incredibly ignorant and offensive viewpoint.

100% agree

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Not that it's time to knock the man, and he was a genius, but Robin Williams was one of the biggest buyers of jokes in comedy. He'd go to a show, see a joke he thought fit him, and buy it from the guy.

Many people do that and just steal it, but Williams helped many young comics out financially.

Just saying, a lot of his stand up wasn't his per se.

There's a lot of guys that this applies to. IMO a good comic is 50% quality of jokes, and 50% delivery of them. That's why there are way more writers than comics. If anybody could do what the "faces" can on stage, it wouldn't be such a small pool that comprises them. For every Louis CK (100% self written), there's 50 Dane Cooks (steal/buy jokes).

 

[Huntr]

David Simon (creator of The Wire and Homicide) with a tribute to Robin Williams.

 

[Buster Bluth]

There's a lot of guys that this applies to. IMO a good comic is 50% quality of jokes, and 50% delivery of them. That's why there are way more writers than comics. If anybody could do what the "faces" can on stage, it wouldn't be such a small pool that comprises them. For every Louis CK (100% self written), there's 50 Dane Cooks (steal/buy jokes).

I totally agree. I'm just saying that Robin Williams was known for being one of the biggest purchasers of jokes. I'd probably argue that delivery is more than 50% of it anyway.

 

[ulukinatme]

Photos: Robin Williams Memorial Takes Over ‘Good Will Hunting’ Bench - Massachusetts news - Boston.com

you can DEFINITELY tell in the "fart" scene, Matt Damon's reaction is way too "real".

If you watch it closely, the camera man actually is laughing during that scene as well. He can't keep the camera straight.

 

[NDdomer2]

"Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God."

- Catechism of the Catholic Church

That is just an incredibly ignorant and offensive viewpoint.

That's stupid.

100% agree

So you guys disagree with the catholic church or with tussin?

 

[ulukinatme]

So you guys disagree with the catholic church or with tussin?

Well, it's not like it would be the first time the Catholic Church has been wrong....

 

[NDdomer2]

Well, it's not like it would be the first time the Catholic Church has been wrong....

I don't recall saying that. I am not even Catholic. I just was asking.

 

[ulukinatme]

I don't recall saying that. I am not even Catholic. I just was asking.

It was nothing against you really. As a Catholic I don't necessarily agree with all of the church's teachings. I don't think it makes me a bad Catholic. I just believe that man isn't perfect, and maybe every decision that comes from the church isn't necessarily what God wants. That's a whole different discussion though and doesn't belong here.

 

[tussin]

Well, it's not like it would be the first time the Catholic Church has been wrong....

I really don't think that quote is all that controversial. I don't understand why you all disagree with it, especially these two sentences: "It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations."

I understand and sympathize deeply with his struggles with addiction and depression, but I can't sympathize with the circumstances of his death.


Regardless, I'm sorry for derailing the thread and I don't think this thread should turn into a moral debate. Mods feel free to delete my posts. Robin Williams was an immense talent and one of my favorite actors, one of the few that had the range to make you cry from laughter and sorrow.

 

[ulukinatme]

It's amazing how someone you've never met can have a profound effect on you when they pass. I'm not speaking for myself, but for the thousands and probably millions that have been affected in some way by Williams' death. It's amazing to see the phenomena that have occurred to pay tribute to him, like the messages on the park bench in Boston, and tributes at his star on the walk in Hollywood.

Great performers seem to have this strange power. They can suck an audience in with their performances and make you remember an act or character for a lifetime. They can touch your life without ever being near you. In some way they give us a piece of themselves with every performance, and it endears them to their audience.

I hope Robin is up with his good buddy, Christopher Reeves, and entertaining all of heaven.

 

[ulukinatme]

Norm MacDonald May Have Just Written the Best Tribute To Robin Williams Yet | The Daily Banter

 

[Huntr]

So you guys disagree with the catholic church or with tussin?

My post was in response to the position that suicide is a "selfish" act. However, let me say that the church's position, as stated above, is also ignorant. I would hope we've gained a greater understanding of the realities of mental health issues in the 22 yrs since that was issued, but good luck getting church policy to reflect modernity.

There was a piece on HuffPo today by someone whose father killed himself. She expressed thoughts similar to mine (much better than I could) when she wrote:

Suicide is a decision made out of desperation, hopelessness, isolation and loneliness. The black hole that is clinical depression is all-consuming. Feeling like a burden to loved ones, feeling like there is no way out, feeling trapped and feeling isolated are all common among people who suffer from depression.

People who say that suicide is selfish always reference the survivors. It's selfish to leave children, spouses and other family members behind, so they say. They're not thinking about the survivors, or so they would have us believe. What they don't know is that those very loved ones are the reason many people hang on for just one more day. They do think about the survivors, probably up until the very last moment in many cases. But the soul-crushing depression that envelops them leaves them feeling like there is no alternative. Like the only way to get out is to opt out. And that is a devastating thought to endure.

Until you've stared down that level of depression, until you've lost your soul to a sea of emptiness and darkness... you don't get to make those judgments. You might not understand it, and you are certainly entitled to your own feelings, but making those judgments and spreading that kind of negativity won't help the next person. In fact, it will only hurt others.

So, yeah, I'm gonna deride any position that says suicide victims are selfish cowards who don't love jesus and took the easy way out.

 

[NDFan4Life]

So...

Where are the tributes and accolades for one of the greatest actress in history, Lauren Bacall?

 

[Irish8248]

So...

Where are the tributes and accolades for one of the greatest actress in history, Lauren Bacall?

Probably missing because many on this board had the same reaction I did ... "Who?"

 

[zelezo vlk]

You kidding me? Better go start the Big Sleep.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[Irishnuke]

So...

Where are the tributes and accolades for one of the greatest actress in history, Lauren Bacall?

I don't recall ever watching her movies let alone enjoying one. Plus her death isn't exactly surprising given her age.

 

[Irish8248]

You kidding me? Better go start the Big Sleep.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

Isn't that why this thread was started? (Ba doom ching)

Bangarang Peter Pan

 

[Jason Pham]

@Tussin: The ease with which you say that he "had choices" and "took the easy way out" betrays a dangerously oversimplified understanding of the mental disease, i.e. depression, and the effect it has on the decision-making and thought-processing of the human mind. To be sure, it is not as if he had no choices at all and that this result was entirely inevitable, but the idea that you are forwarding assumes that you are dealing with a fully healthy and correctly-wired mind. If that assumption were true, the hurling of words like "coward" and "selfish" might stand, even if it lacks empathy; as the assumption is not, your words not only lacks that empathy, they also fail in soundness.

@Those giddily tossing around the Catechism like a stawman: The Church would probably also consider the will of the person committing the act. If a healthy-minded person were to choose with their full volition to take their own life, the quoted paragraph from the Catechism would likely be fully applicable. Query the likelihood a healthy-minded and otherwise healthy person would voluntarily take their lives, but that isn't really within the scope of the current discussion. If, in contrast, a person who is not mentally in full health, what can we say about that person's volition? And if the passage quoted from the Catechism is directed toward fully volitional acts, to what extent does it apply to the situation of those whose volition is impaired?

 

[NDFan4Life]

Robin Williams Was Struggling With Early Parkinson's, Wife Says

Robin Williams was sober but struggling with early stages of Parkinson’s Disease at the time of his death, his wife said Thursday.

“Robin spent so much of his life helping others. Whether he was entertaining millions on stage, film or television, our troops on the frontlines, or comforting a sick child — Robin wanted us to laugh and to feel less afraid,” his wife Susan Schneider said in a statement.

“Since his passing, all of us who loved Robin have found some solace in the tremendous outpouring of affection and admiration for him from the millions of people whose lives he touched. His greatest legacy, besides his three children, is the joy and happiness he offered to others, particularly to those fighting personal battles.

“Robin's sobriety was intact and he was brave as he struggled with his own battles of depression, anxiety as well as early stages of Parkinson's Disease, which he was not yet ready to share publicly.

“It is our hope in the wake of Robin's tragic passing, that others will find the strength to seek the care and support they need to treat whatever battles they are facing so they may feel less afraid."

Williams had been known to struggle with depression and addiction. After his suicide on Monday at age 63, Parkinson's advocate Michael J. Fox tweeted his respects to the comic legend, calling him "famously kind, ferociously funny, a genius and a gentle soul."

Parkinson’s is caused by the loss of brain cells that produce a message carrying-chemical, or neurotransmitter, that is important for movement. Symptoms can start with a barely noticeable trembling but worsen to difficulty walking and talking, depression and other disability. There’s no cure and the drugs used to treat the condition usually stop helping over time.

Robin Williams Was Struggling With Early Parkinson's, Wife Says - NBC News

 

[NYIrish14]

Thought I would share this with you guys.

Nice little tribute video.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6csfDT5ovps" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

RIP

 

[MrIrishCanadian1]

@Tussin: The ease with which you say that he "had choices" and "took the easy way out" betrays a dangerously oversimplified understanding of the mental disease, i.e. depression, and the effect it has on the decision-making and thought-processing of the human mind. To be sure, it is not as if he had no choices at all and that this result was entirely inevitable, but the idea that you are forwarding assumes that you are dealing with a fully healthy and correctly-wired mind. If that assumption were true, the hurling of words like "coward" and "selfish" might stand, even if it lacks empathy; as the assumption is not, your words not only lacks that empathy, they also fail in soundness.

@Those giddily tossing around the Catechism like a stawman: The Church would probably also consider the will of the person committing the act. If a healthy-minded person were to choose with their full volition to take their own life, the quoted paragraph from the Catechism would likely be fully applicable. Query the likelihood a healthy-minded and otherwise healthy person would voluntarily take their lives, but that isn't really within the scope of the current discussion. If, in contrast, a person who is not mentally in full health, what can we say about that person's volition? And if the passage quoted from the Catechism is directed toward fully volitional acts, to what extent does it apply to the situation of those whose volition is impaired?

I find the distinction between the 'healthy-minded' people and those who are not, very difficult, if not ad hoc. My reason for saying that is, can we really even reasonably imagine the above scenario playing out? Can we reasonably imagine someone who we consider healthy-minded taking their life? Do we have to think of some happy, healthy person just walking along, being all normal, and then suddenly think 'Gee, I think I'll kill myself today because...(?)'. That literally happens in ZERO cases. There seems to be no relevant contrast classes of the healthy-minded taking their life and the unhealthy minded. (Of course there's Seppuku and other suicides along those lines. But that's irrelevant since we're not wondering wether Williams' suicide was motivated by his desire to keep his honor.)

That's just an initial thought that I have when I hear things like that. I could probably be easily convinced I'm wrong.