First, I have to say I really enjoy this whole blog/discussion group thing. This is the first place the discussions have been fun enough for me to jump in, and I'm having a ball. Some of the posts are just plain...weird, but there's a lot of good stuff here. NR is one of only 2 shows I ever watch (the other one I'm getting from Netflix), and it's fun to interact with a broad variety of folks over travel/gastrosophy/entertainment/writing.

I guess the Internet is now our national dinner table (or BBQ, or bar), and that's just fine with me. This table holds a lot of people who otherwise wouldn't get to talk to one another.

So I see all these posts about Tony getting "soft" and I'm sort of confused. I'm new to Bourdaineville, and haven't absorbed the entire oeuvre, but I don't see anything in there that indicates the guy's a hardcore jerk. If anything, I see a lot of sensitivity (oh, what a terrible word...)and integrity. Just because somebody's snarky sometimes - or often - doesn't mean s/he's not also incredibly kind and gracious. A mediocre mind doesn't seem to be one of AB's problems, so why would anyone expect foolish consistency?

Also, I can only speak for myself, and this is entirely speculative, but you know, he's a daddy now. At least some of y'all out there know what I'm talking about...parenthood changes you if you're a halfway thoughtful person. Not totally - but you do tend to see the world a little differently.

Having a child caused me to lose my "principles" like nobody’s business. Things I swore I’d never do, or give up, or say, I found myself quite readily doing, giving up, and saying - all in a frighteningly short period of time. Baby changed me. I went from being a baguette (maybe soft on the inside, but with a crusty and crackly exterior) to being a croissant (okay, more fatty but also multi-layered and sweeter on the inside, and now perhaps merely flaky on the outside). I wanted to remain edgy and hip and crafty and kind of twisted, and I sort of did, but I also had this new viewpoint as well.

I look at it now and see that I was mustering my old identity in the face of something that was, like travel or food, an experience that should and would change me forever in some pretty profound ways. It would take this Yoda-like, serene, voracious, 9-pound guru to introduce me to my better self, or at least another self. And boy, did the walls (thankfully) come crumbling down. Travel is supposed to open us up to ourselves and others. Some travel takes place without ever leaving home.

So maybe that's the "softer side" we're seeing - who the hell knows. But half the fun of art (and yes, I'll call NR art of a sort) is speculating about the motivations of the artist!

Cheers...

(p.s. - the kid is almost 10 now and I am regaining my edge a little...so maybe there's hope for the old Tony back at some point - or maybe all this has nothing whatsoever to do with him!)

I see what you are saying. But I enjoy it for the most part. Like when he met Emeril, and I guess, in his way, expressed his regret at speaking so badly of him. But I prefer to say he's not going soft, but evolving. He's not as edgy before bc he has more to lose. But he does still have the intelligence and insight to back up his on/off again ego. That's the important thing that I don't think he'll ever lose. A friend of mine and I have a theory that our debaucherous atheist will become spiritual next--perhaps with a budhist tattoo, heh! Evolution, my friend! so we'll see

Kate and Ginalee - nice posts and I agree with both of you.

To my way of thinking snarky is dead. While Tony could usually pull it off, because he had an intelligent point of view behind his quips, and an underlying compassion, after a while it all starts to sound like whining to me. Especially since the form has been hijacked by a lot of folks whose comments are not smart or pointed, just mean-spirited. It's gotten pretty tired. I don't watch NR for the smoking or smirking or whatever else is considered edgy but because by and large it's interesting, entertaining, thought-provoking and very funny. Who wouldn't want to travel with Tony? And with NR you can do it without portioning liquids into quart size baggies so they go through airport security.

As for Tony going soft? I don't know. I agree that babies change you. No, matter how cynical you are about the the world, once you have a baby, you can't help but deep down inside hope you're wrong. Without being naive, you want the world to be gentle to your kid. I like your baguette to croissant metaphor, Kate. I agree.

Here's to evolution! I like the new "softer" Tony