May God rest his soul, but will the lord ever get any rest now?
Hunter Thompson - Rest In Peace
That page somes up Hunter Thompson. All I can add is what he meant to me. I didn't find out about him until well after I had seen Fear and Loathing (not a great introduction to him, much too cartoonish, even if Johnny Depp is his usual great fun excellence). It was actually through Timothy Krause's Boys on the Bus to which my friend was kind enough to turn me on. Getting a glimpse of Thompson's out of control, highly personalized style got me hooked. Not long after Boys, I found a copy of Fear and Loathing on the Campaign trail - which I consider a must read for any politico with the slightest sense of humor, and all liberals. Watching Thompson's insane approach to covering the routine idiocy of presidential campaigns, riding his roll of emotion about McGovern's campaign, you knew it wasn't "balanced" but as Hunter might say "fuck Balance, balance is for the unitiated fools getting their gourds sucked out in the lobby. Balance is for Broder, in other words. And those of us who live in the real world will just find ways to tolerate and despise him, in a balanced way of course."
Hunter was a ride, helped me to see the world through the haze created by drugs I'd never even think about trying myself, and his utterly personal, self-centered writing had the ability to illuminate something deeply personal about his subjects. And most illuminating was the Hunter was not afraid to go anywhere and not afraid to insult anyone. I ran through Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and later spent a glorious summer reading Hell's Angels. All three books remain some of my absolute favorites. The Proud Highway, a collection of his letters and writings before his fame, are a constant source of enjoyment.
Hunter was very often wrong, he was always a careening disaster waiting too happen. But he was a beautiful American, beautiful because of his independence and his belief in himself. Obviously I haven't lived nearly as daring a life as he had, but he did help me see the farce in our society, and when I was younger his writing was a form of venting anger that ultimately calmed my soul.
I'm fairly certain he's found a version of heaven - and I'll bet money it's a new one with him in it.
Thanks for the inspiration, thanks for the laughs. And thanks for getting it right at least most of the time, but doing it right all the time.
That page somes up Hunter Thompson. All I can add is what he meant to me. I didn't find out about him until well after I had seen Fear and Loathing (not a great introduction to him, much too cartoonish, even if Johnny Depp is his usual great fun excellence). It was actually through Timothy Krause's Boys on the Bus to which my friend was kind enough to turn me on. Getting a glimpse of Thompson's out of control, highly personalized style got me hooked. Not long after Boys, I found a copy of Fear and Loathing on the Campaign trail - which I consider a must read for any politico with the slightest sense of humor, and all liberals. Watching Thompson's insane approach to covering the routine idiocy of presidential campaigns, riding his roll of emotion about McGovern's campaign, you knew it wasn't "balanced" but as Hunter might say "fuck Balance, balance is for the unitiated fools getting their gourds sucked out in the lobby. Balance is for Broder, in other words. And those of us who live in the real world will just find ways to tolerate and despise him, in a balanced way of course."
Hunter was a ride, helped me to see the world through the haze created by drugs I'd never even think about trying myself, and his utterly personal, self-centered writing had the ability to illuminate something deeply personal about his subjects. And most illuminating was the Hunter was not afraid to go anywhere and not afraid to insult anyone. I ran through Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and later spent a glorious summer reading Hell's Angels. All three books remain some of my absolute favorites. The Proud Highway, a collection of his letters and writings before his fame, are a constant source of enjoyment.
Hunter was very often wrong, he was always a careening disaster waiting too happen. But he was a beautiful American, beautiful because of his independence and his belief in himself. Obviously I haven't lived nearly as daring a life as he had, but he did help me see the farce in our society, and when I was younger his writing was a form of venting anger that ultimately calmed my soul.
I'm fairly certain he's found a version of heaven - and I'll bet money it's a new one with him in it.
Thanks for the inspiration, thanks for the laughs. And thanks for getting it right at least most of the time, but doing it right all the time.
posted by SebbyMan at 5:17 PM
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