8/11/14 6:21 PM

That one caught me off guard.

8/11/14 6:25 PM

This is really sad. I seem to recall he had a fleet of high end bikes and was an avid cyclist.

8/11/14 7:02 PM

MAPEI colnago master? respek!

and the ambrosio rims with matchy-matchy orange/blue spokes...seriously pimped!



Last edited by walter on 8/11/14 7:11 PM; edited 2 times in total

8/11/14 7:04 PM

...reflecting on the brilliance of mr. robin williams. another iconic, amazingly gifted comedian...gone.

so very sad to think that for some people, taking their own life seems to be their only option. i just cant understand it. tortured souls. tragic.

the world is definitely a shade less happy and carefee with mr. williams' passing -- may he rest in peace.

Movies worth watching:
- Good Will Hunting
- Dead Poets Society
- Good Morning Vietnam
- The World According to Garp
-and Wifey tells me Fisher King is better than all of them

8/11/14 7:07 PM

gather ye rosebuds while ye may.

O Captain! My Captain!

I just slid my ticket across the table, and I said, "Sorry, guys; I gotta see about a girl."

If you ever disrespect my wife again, I will end you. I will fucking end you. You got that, chief?

We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.

Boys, you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. Thoreau said, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation." Don't be resigned to that. Break out!

THIS WILL NOT LOOK GOOD ON A RESUME!!!

What do you think it's going to be like tonight? "It's gonna be hot and wet! That's nice if you're with a lady, but it ain't no good if you're in the jungle."

FLY, BE FREE!!!

8/11/14 7:15 PM

This one got to me too. I felt he was a genius from the first time I saw him circa '74. Standup where he morphs into Nadia Comaneci smoking dope. Pretty close to peeing in my pants. Unimaginable talent. About my age.

I don't see lot of movies but Good Will Hunting is one of my favorites and he was great in that. Also Good Morning Viet Nam. Never heard anything bad about him.

Some guys you think, what could they be depressed about? But of course you never know.

8/11/14 7:34 PM

"Wifey tells me Fisher King is better than all of them"


My fav. By a fair sum actually.

8/11/14 7:41 PM

John Keating: Language was developed for one endeavor, and that is - Mr. Anderson? Come on, are you a man or an amoeba?
[pause]
John Keating: Mr. Perry?
Neil: To communicate.
John Keating: No! To woo women!

[Keating stands on his desk]
John Keating: Why do I stand up here? Anybody?
Dalton: To feel taller!
John Keating: No!
[Dings a bell with his foot]
John Keating: Thank you for playing Mr. Dalton. I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way.

One of my all time favorites and what should be required viewing for all. Granted they aren't RW's words but he delivered them with eloquence that few if any could ever equal much less top. To think he started in many of our lives as the crazy coked up Mork from Ork, He went on to personally support Lance Armstrong before his fall from grace. He donated his time to the USO to bring a bit of home to deployed troops.

We lost another great one to mental illness. My heart sinks for a man I never met but I know all of us often felt as if we knew him.

Rest your stormy mind, Robin. The world is grieving with your family because your message of humor and warmth touched so many.

8/11/14 9:14 PM

The tears of a clown.

8/12/14 8:08 AM

Sach's connection

http://debrapaulson.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/robin-and-me/

8/12/14 9:24 AM

A genius, a great soul. I always felt he was one of those comics whose inspiration came from some place on the edge of real craziness, and he was always in danger of of falling over the edge (Jonathan Winters was another, and Andy Kaufmann, of course). This could have happened 30 years ago, and at several other times in between. We are blessed that he got himself together to make what he left us over those 30 years.

O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:

But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

8/12/14 9:53 AM

A shock, though not surprising. The line between genius and mental illness can be a very fine one. So sad, he will be missed. RIP.

8/12/14 8:44 PM

Crazy MoFo, in a good way of course.

Go donkies

8/13/14 1:00 AM

"The line between genius and mental illness can be a very fine one."

I'm not sure that such a line exists, a genius can have mental illnesses just like anybody else can. A successful genius though would of course rely on a certain degree of mental stability I would assume.
Or did you perhaps mean that genius flirts with mental illness?
I heard on TV today that entertainers have relatively high rates of depression, ...which I thought likely correlates to substance abuse.

I live in a neighborhood where a nearby block of apartment buildings is obviously used for subsidized housing for discharged mentally ill people, so I often meet "patients" from the widest imaginable variety of backgrounds in the nearby stores. Most are on med's, and some will volunteer that drug use caused their problems.
Same street that my former apartment dwelling was on, but, just to be clear, I lived on the other side of the street.

8/13/14 4:27 AM

I feel it is a very blurred line that ALL us slowly tread back and forth across.

I know depression has tried to get it grip on me and almost won, my wife and loved ones in general have also dealt with it. Life stressors add up and if we let them haunt us. The desire to be more and self loathing on our missteps and perceived failures are the biggest to blame. Those things are self imposed but re-enforced by our society. The feeling we will never live up to our own expectations is HUGE.

I don't understand how Robin felt he had nowhere to turn. He must not have understood or realized how deeply he touched millions of people and his close loved ones.
The man was loved by our current military more than Bob Hope ever was. He was fabulous with your troops and many military installations are flying the flag at half staff in HIS honor without direction from up the chain of command. An honor RARELY given to a civilian outside of federal service.

Depression in men presents very differently in men when compared to women. That is why it is not often treated when it is needed. We are totally different than women with regards to this illness.


I learned a word that has helped me deal with some life stressors

Equanimity.


And I have found riding my bike helps. Much better than running in fact. I don't know why.

Maybe a bit of TMI, sorry folks but I had to get it off my chest.

Last edited by ErikS on 8/13/14 9:06 PM; edited 1 time in total

8/13/14 7:30 AM

I appreciate your thoughts, Erik.

David

8/13/14 7:35 AM

Great article from Velonews with many video clips.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/08/news/cycling-world-saddened-williams-death_340833

We will all miss him.

8/13/14 8:01 AM

http://thedailybanter.com/2014/08/live-depression-understand-robin-williams-took-life/

"What I do know is what was etched clearly all over Robin Williams’s face: an absolute, insuppressible passion in everything he did, but one that came at a very high price. In order to feel as strongly as he did in positive ways he had to feel just as strongly in negative ways. To bring that much laughter and joy to us, the darkness of his depression must have been a burden that always teetered on the edge of being achingly unbearable. He felt so much. It’s what made him brilliant beyond words. It’s probably also what killed him. He felt everything, particularly his own pain — and at some point maybe he just wanted it to stop."

8/13/14 9:28 AM

Thank you, Erik, for the well-expressed and important thoughts. I've seen depression up close, too, and understand its power.

And thanks, too for what you said about RW's standing with the military. A nephew of mine is in Afghanistan with the Marines, and he posted some very angry things on Facebook yesterday (in response to a post about RW by his mother, of all people). In so many words, he said,"Shut the f*ck about Robin Williams; he was just a rich bastard who selfishly killed himself, and I don't give a f*ck about him; why doesn't anybody care about anybody else, like the sergeant in my batallion who had his legs blown off by an IED last week."

Of course, I can't really comprehend the sources of his anger, but I've tried to tell him that caring about people and things is not a zero-sum game; that being moved by the death of an artist who moved us doesn't mean we don't care about others. I'll share what you said about what RW meant to military folks; maybe it will help a little.

8/13/14 9:44 AM

I will simply say that there are those extra creative folks among us which seem to have a natural ability for natural highs. To the extreme and also must endure the down side times as well.

What goes up must come down et al, but the higher it goes up, the harder it hits when t comes down. I learned to be careful about enjoying the highs too much myself, yes 'Equanimity'.

---
JohnC, I'd keep my finger on that pulse for a while. That has to be hard enough being over there. Best wishes for that situation!

8/13/14 12:29 PM

quote:

---

I felt he was a genius from the first time I saw him circa '74.

---

8/13/14 1:15 PM

An interesting Robin Williams quote:

"Canada is the kindest country in the world. It's like a really nice apartment over a meth lab"

I wouldn't be so kind in describing Canada, but there it is.

8/13/14 6:39 PM

Think he had plenty of reasons to get really depressed.

He had money problems. Expensive divorces.

He wasn't on the shortlist for leading man roles in Hollywood anymore.
His heyday was over. Just smaller roles.

His tv series tanked and got cancelled just one season.

He had to constantly fight to avoid succumbing to substance abuse.

Sandiway

8/13/14 9:16 PM

JohnC, I understand why your nephew would be upset. What he may not realize is how much Robin did to make those like him feel a bit more at home and how much he supported him and those like him that serve.

I empathize with your nephew. I pulled a young staff sergeant from underneath a live 2400lb (GBU24) bomb many years ago. He kept his legs but lost their use. I saw it happen, I did my best to save what I could. I am now glad I was there to save his life but feel horrible about what happened to him. I know what it is like to look into the face of a dying man. Robin cared about his sacrifice and those like him even though he was a rich Hollywood type. Robin cared therefore we care for the loss of him.

8/14/14 12:29 AM

It seems probably the case that some of the deployed are at times just not in the mood to be entertained. Depending on the environment, I might not be, either.
So his impression of Robin just didn't turn out good. It's not like he has to really know someone to have a strong opinion.

As for career and money problems, it's probably quite often the case that entertainers deny themselves retirement because their money didn't get managed right, which in itself might tempt someone to drink heavily.
Too bad that cycling wasn't quite enough of an escape from all that.