RIP Robin Williams

[paradime]

This shit bums me out.

I don’t mean to harp, but NON of us are in a position to judge Robin Williams, and we have no idea what brought him to such a dark place. Come on now, we work on our Datsuns and chat online, we have absolutely no common point of reference to relate to that kind of life. One thing I do know, money and fame do not cure mental illness, but they do a damn fine job of amplifying emotional instability.

As a 12 year old kid I saw Robin’s standup act on HBO and listened to his live album Reality, What a Concept. This was before Morc even happened. I was an instant fan, because I could identify with spinning out on the edge. I was dealing with serious ADHD issues then, so watching Robin do his shit was like seeing my brain personified.

To be honest, I can’t say I’m surprised his life ended this way. What Robin did on stage was fucking dangerous. He totally exposed his inner thought process, in the moment, with millions of people watching, I think what drove his standup was him trying to fill some emotional void. His early act was like self mutilation. He threw himself at the crowd with no helmet or padding. What made it so damn funny was the tension I felt watching him do backflips on a razors edge. Every punchline was a release of all that built up anxiety. To me he was a comedy super hero with balls of steel.

[VFR800]

And if you're a podcast fan (and a Robin Williams fan), this is a really good listen...

 

http://www.wtfpod.com/

 

 

 

A great listen! 

 

Thanks for sharing that - was great to listen to. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This shit bums me out.

 

I don’t mean to harp, but NON of us are in a position to judge Robin Williams, and we have no idea what brought him to such a dark place. Come on now, we work on our Datsuns and chat online, we have absolutely no common point of reference to relate to that kind of life. One thing I do know, money and fame do not cure mental illness, but they do a damn fine job of amplifying emotional instability.

 

As a 12 year old kid I saw Robin’s standup act on HBO and listened to his live album Reality, What a Concept. This was before Morc even happened. I was an instant fan, because I could identify with spinning out on the edge. I was dealing with serious ADHD issues then, so watching Robin do his shit was like seeing my brain personified.

 

To be honest, I can’t say I’m surprised his life ended this way. What Robin did on stage was fucking dangerous. He totally exposed his inner thought process, in the moment, with millions of people watching, I think what drove his standup was him trying to fill some emotional void. His early act was like self mutilation. He threw himself at the crowd with no helmet or padding. What made it so damn funny was the tension I felt watching him do backflips on a razors edge. Every punchline was a release of all that built up anxiety. To me he was a comedy super hero with balls of steel.

 

 

 

 

"In all comedy there is truth"  as the saying goes.

 

 

This saying in connection with Robin is apt given how he was putting himself out there in an even more exposed,vulnerable way than most people do in entertainment. 

 

On stage doing stand up the comic is playing  themselves not some scripted character. 

 

 

Dollars and fame do not make mental illness like depression "easier" can sometimes make it worse. 

[]2eDeYe]

RIP :(

 

 

Thanks for all the laughs. :)

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StPjkm1bbbY

[paradime]

 

 

http://youtu.be/FH7crqRvhhc

[HRH]

Forgive the crappy quality of this clip, but Death to Smoochy is fucking epic!  "It's made from dil-dough!"  :D  I'm going to miss Robin Williams.

 

[danfiveten]

Just saw a headline he was in the beginning stages of Parkinson disease. 

[q-tip]

Just saw a headline he was in the beginning stages of Parkinson disease.

I just heard that aswell

[paradime]

Might want to look at the top of this page...     ^_^

 

 Yah What he said.  :blush: 

[datsunfreak]

 

Might want to look at the top of this page...    ^_^

[Z-train]

Just saw a headline he was in the beginning stages of Parkinson disease.

When you combine his existing condition, his cash issues and the series cancellation and then throw this on to it? No wonder. He went on his terms.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/on-robin-williams--parkinson-s-and-depression-203615441.html

[Parkinglotslider521]

I was just going to post about him having Parkinson's.

 

My wife is bi-polar with borderline personality disorder. I know that the littlest thing can seem like the end of the world for someone with these ailments. When we had to move recently, we had 2k saved. But she thought we were going to be homeless. Cried for 2 days straight.

$1200 later and we are in a nice house. Just the nature of the beast.

R.I.P Robin

[q-tip]

Hope your bipolar wife doesn't find out you called her a beast

[datsunfreak]

Hope your bipolar wife doesn't find out you called her a beast

 

:rofl:  :rofl:  :rofl:  :rofl:  :rofl:

[paradime]

Understood Q, this is ment as a good natured joke, but we should use more caution with a topic like this. Dealing with mental illness creates very real suffering. Just ask anyone who has a loved one, or who deals with it themselves. In my experience, there is always a feeling of fear, not knowing where the next episode will come, how severe it will be, or how long it might last. You do not have control in this situation. It's like suddenly loosing the rational person you know and love, and you watch something else take over. I don't care how many times you've been through it, every time it happens it's scary.

 

Seeing what happened to Robin played out in the news is the darkest fear come true. It's painful enough to loose him, but hearing the speculation, subjective reasoning, and flat out ignorant insensitivity from the media is salt in the wound. Bipolar disorder is not a cognitive issue, it is a physiological imbalance in brain chemistry. Characterizing Robin as weak shows complete ignorance of what they are talking about. Given what I know of this illness, and the extreme level of stress in his life, I would say the guy was a fucking iron man. If they'd walk a mile in his shoes, they'd sing a different story I'm sure

[datsunfreak]

Understood Q, this is ment as a good natured joke... Just ask anyone who has a loved one, or who deals with it themselves. In my experience, there is always a feeling of fear, not knowing where the next episode will come, how severe it will be, or how long it might last. You do not have control in this situation. It's like suddenly loosing the rational person you know and love, and you watch something else take over.

 

Might sound weird, but my mother is bipolar, and it's good to laugh about it every once it awhile. Takes the edge off.   :console:

[paradime]

Nothing weird about that, but joking about it here might not be the best place. He knows his family, we don't, Caution is all I'm say'n

[Ratwagon1600]

Nothing weird about that, but joking about it here might not be the best place. He knows his family, we don't, Caution is all I'm say'n

This ^^^^^^ is smart words !!!!!

[Z-train]

Given what I know of this illness, and the extreme level of stress in his life, I would say the guy was a fucking iron man.

Yep.And this makes it his call and everyone else needs to STFU.

[Parkinglotslider521]

I have dealt with every different level of meltdown with her. She knows she has a problem, and when crazy leaves and she comes back she apologizes and we move on. And there have been many times that we laugh about some of the crazy shit she has done when going thermonuclear. She has taken every different medicine made for it, and they all work for about a week then she gets worse. Just the way it is. She hasn't taken anything in over 3 years and she has gotten way better just learning to control it by her self. She just learned she may have cancer at 24 years old and has been (mostly) calm about it.

But for someone late in their life to learn they have an incurable disease it was obviously too much. And we dont know what kind of support system he had.

On a lighter note, im sure someone is glad they didn't go "hang out" with him that night.

 

Lord I apologize....

[510freak]

 Dealing with mental illness creates very real suffering. Just ask anyone who has a loved one, or who deals with it themselves. In my experience, there is always a feeling of fear, not knowing where the next episode will come, how severe it will be, or how long it might last. You do not have control in this situation. It's like suddenly loosing the rational person you know and love, and you watch something else take over. I don't care how many times you've been through it, every time it happens it's scary.

 

 

 

No truer words were ever written!

 

Dealing with someone(my mother) who has a mental illness or two here,She has tried to overdose in the past year

has become destructive in nature,and very aggressive towards almost everyone in the family(the close family)

The family,is always on edge waiting wondering what when how something will "trigger"

 

Its very saddening to see it up close and personal.

[q-tip]

Is that you Lou!? :lol:

[510freak]

Is that you Lou!? :lol:

 

 

The one and only :lol:

[q-tip]

The one and only :lol:

OG screen name and everything :lol:

[510freak]

OG screen name and everything :lol:

 

:thumbup:

MK1510 converted(thanks Steve)