bholdr
02-21-2005, 03:38 PM
by me.
Hunter S Thompson July 18 1937- Feburary 20 2005
"People that claim to know jackrabbits will tell you that they are primarily motivated by fear, stupidity and craziness. But I have spent enough time in Jackrabbitt country to know that most of them lead pretty dull lives; they are bored with their daily routies: eat, fuc k, sleep, hop around a bush now and then... No wonder some of them drift over the line onto cheap thrills once in a while; there has to be a powerful adreniline rush in crouching by the side of the road, waiting for the next set of headlights to come along, then streaking out of the bushes with split-second timing and making it accross to the other side just inches in front of the speeding front wheels."
-from fear and loathing on the campaign trail '72
It was heartbreaking news to wake up this morning and see that the Prince of Gonzo had died. though, when i read the news, it seemed oddly approiate that he would go out this way; anybody that's read his work will understand.
***
Hunter S Thompson was one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, and i hoper he will be remembered as such and not for his drug use (which made timothy leary look like a jehova's witness). his contributions to journalism and the english language are inumerable. He founded the school of 'Gonzo' journalism, based on the belief that objectivity and detachment have never existed and never will in journalism, so a reporter seeking to be truthful is obligated to immerse themselves in their subject matter. Over the years, he wrote for Playboy, Rolling Stone, Time, ESPN, and many other major publications (some of his best work was published in Runner's World, however). He wrote several books, the most famous being Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the essential work on the end of the sixties, told through a semi-fictional drug fueled rampage through Vegas.
His other major works included:
'Hell's Angles', for which, in the process of writing, he joind the infamous gang and eventually left with a price on his head for his troubles.
'fear and loathing on the campaign trail '72' It remains one of the most glaringly honest windows into modern politics ever produced.
'the great shark hunt' is a collection of magizine articles and short stories, and is easily the most entertaining thing i have ever read. The subject matter ranged from coverage of the superbowl to relentless drug fueled rants about Nixon, America and the Vincent Black Shadow.
One of the most striking things about Thompson, and it's the thing that his casual readers often miss due to his eccentric prose and often bizzare subject matter, is his pure talent for writing. he could, if properly 'motivated', write as beautifully as a poet, as concisly as a newspaper journalist, as insightfully as a guru, all the while living a strange and almost mythical lifestyle.
***
Hunter lived in Woody Creek, outside of aspen. He once ran for sherriff, losing by only a few votes as the candidate from the 'freak power' party. He loved the outdoors, guns, drugs, fast cars, dangerous people, gambling, and football. His numerous freinds included Bill Murray, Jim Belushi, 'Dollar' Bill Greider, Oscar Zeta Acosta 'the brown buffalo', James Carville, Ralph Stedman, George Steponopolis, and many, many others. he met every democratic presidential candidate since McGovern, and many of the republians.
Unfourtunatly, i fear that he will be remembered more for hi drug use than his writing. he probably took more acid, MDMA, speed, coke, heroin, and ten zillion other drugs, than just about any other man that managed to live to his age. his secret was the excellent physical condition he kept himself in, but, oddly, it wasn't for the conditioning that he would run ten miles a day, it was for the high he got. By rights, he should have died many, many times prior to his suicide, which makes it all the more tragic, as someone who cheated death should not have repaid that debt so willingly. he will be missed. there will never be another even remotely simaler to Hunter S Thompson.
"...wether you're... bill clinton or you or... bishop tutu or keith richards or boris yelstin's daughter or your fiancee's sixteen year-old beer drunk brother with his bearded goatee and his whole life like a thundercloud out in front of him..." you will have been influenced by HST, and be poorer for his passing.
Hunter S Thompson July 18 1937- Feburary 20 2005
"People that claim to know jackrabbits will tell you that they are primarily motivated by fear, stupidity and craziness. But I have spent enough time in Jackrabbitt country to know that most of them lead pretty dull lives; they are bored with their daily routies: eat, fuc k, sleep, hop around a bush now and then... No wonder some of them drift over the line onto cheap thrills once in a while; there has to be a powerful adreniline rush in crouching by the side of the road, waiting for the next set of headlights to come along, then streaking out of the bushes with split-second timing and making it accross to the other side just inches in front of the speeding front wheels."
-from fear and loathing on the campaign trail '72
It was heartbreaking news to wake up this morning and see that the Prince of Gonzo had died. though, when i read the news, it seemed oddly approiate that he would go out this way; anybody that's read his work will understand.
***
Hunter S Thompson was one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, and i hoper he will be remembered as such and not for his drug use (which made timothy leary look like a jehova's witness). his contributions to journalism and the english language are inumerable. He founded the school of 'Gonzo' journalism, based on the belief that objectivity and detachment have never existed and never will in journalism, so a reporter seeking to be truthful is obligated to immerse themselves in their subject matter. Over the years, he wrote for Playboy, Rolling Stone, Time, ESPN, and many other major publications (some of his best work was published in Runner's World, however). He wrote several books, the most famous being Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the essential work on the end of the sixties, told through a semi-fictional drug fueled rampage through Vegas.
His other major works included:
'Hell's Angles', for which, in the process of writing, he joind the infamous gang and eventually left with a price on his head for his troubles.
'fear and loathing on the campaign trail '72' It remains one of the most glaringly honest windows into modern politics ever produced.
'the great shark hunt' is a collection of magizine articles and short stories, and is easily the most entertaining thing i have ever read. The subject matter ranged from coverage of the superbowl to relentless drug fueled rants about Nixon, America and the Vincent Black Shadow.
One of the most striking things about Thompson, and it's the thing that his casual readers often miss due to his eccentric prose and often bizzare subject matter, is his pure talent for writing. he could, if properly 'motivated', write as beautifully as a poet, as concisly as a newspaper journalist, as insightfully as a guru, all the while living a strange and almost mythical lifestyle.
***
Hunter lived in Woody Creek, outside of aspen. He once ran for sherriff, losing by only a few votes as the candidate from the 'freak power' party. He loved the outdoors, guns, drugs, fast cars, dangerous people, gambling, and football. His numerous freinds included Bill Murray, Jim Belushi, 'Dollar' Bill Greider, Oscar Zeta Acosta 'the brown buffalo', James Carville, Ralph Stedman, George Steponopolis, and many, many others. he met every democratic presidential candidate since McGovern, and many of the republians.
Unfourtunatly, i fear that he will be remembered more for hi drug use than his writing. he probably took more acid, MDMA, speed, coke, heroin, and ten zillion other drugs, than just about any other man that managed to live to his age. his secret was the excellent physical condition he kept himself in, but, oddly, it wasn't for the conditioning that he would run ten miles a day, it was for the high he got. By rights, he should have died many, many times prior to his suicide, which makes it all the more tragic, as someone who cheated death should not have repaid that debt so willingly. he will be missed. there will never be another even remotely simaler to Hunter S Thompson.
"...wether you're... bill clinton or you or... bishop tutu or keith richards or boris yelstin's daughter or your fiancee's sixteen year-old beer drunk brother with his bearded goatee and his whole life like a thundercloud out in front of him..." you will have been influenced by HST, and be poorer for his passing.