Hunter S. Thompson finally went over the edge

[Jag_Warrior]

The wild man of journalism took his own life last night. Strange guy, but still :(

Thompson Dead at 67 (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1497291/20050221/index.jhtml?headlines=true)

[oddlycalm]

Yep, the Doc exited the stage today. I feel compelled to observe that weapons grade pharmaceuticals, strong drink and firearms make unpredictable bedfellows, whether in pursuit of that bear a few years back (just a minor flesh wound to the assistant) or simply reflecting in the front room.

Thompson left his mark (stain?) in countless ways that are now part of the cultural ooze. I for one will never be able to ever again use a lavatory in an airliner without thinking of it as the "blue room" and wondering what I'd do if something really valuable fell in. After all, if it weren't for Thompson's classic looks and trendsetting stylishness, Vin Diesel and the Dali Lama might have had mullets...

His comments on politicians were blind to party, withering, and unfortunately all too true. Thompson loved a good freak show, and American presidential politics offers the best seats in the house. Ironic that it's Presidents Day.

I was given a decent first addition of his 1967 "Hells Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga" in turd brown hardback many years ago by an elderly widow I was doing some remodeling for (and whom I didn't have the guts to ask what the hell she was doing with it). I haven't read it in 30yrs, but I think I'll take down and read it this afternoon. Only Thompson would spend that amount of time riding with the Oakland and San Berdoo chapters, write about it and actually walk away alive.

Many will miss him (particularly those that advanced him money recently), while many won't even know who he was, but it's my personal hope that he's there when I get to the next cartoon.

All the best to his family for whom it must have seemed like a long ride on a bumpy road with a bottle of bathtub nitroglycerin. :(

[Spicoli]

Yep, the Doc exited the stage today. I feel compelled to observe that weapons grade pharmaceuticals, strong drink and firearms make unpredictable bedfellows, whether in pursuit of that bear a few years back (just a minor flesh wound to the assistant) or simply reflecting in the front room.

Thompson left his mark (stain?) in countless ways that are now part of the cultural ooze. I for one will never be able to ever again use a lavatory in an airliner without thinking of it as the "blue room" and wondering what I'd do if something really valuable fell in. After all, if it weren't for Thompson's classic looks and trendsetting stylishness, Vin Diesel and the Dali Lama might have had mullets...

His comments on politicians were blind to party, withering, and unfortunately all too true. Thompson loved a good freak show, and American presidential politics offers the best seats in the house. Ironic that it's Presidents Day.

I was given a decent first addition of his 1967 "Hells Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga" in turd brown hardback many years ago by an elderly widow I was doing some remodeling for (and whom I didn't have the guts to ask what the hell she was doing with it). I haven't read it in 30yrs, but I think I'll take down and read it this afternoon. Only Thompson would spend that amount of time riding with the Oakland and San Berdoo chapters, write about it and actually walk away alive.

Many will miss him (particularly those that advanced him money recently), while many won't even know who he was, but it's my personal hope that he's there when I get to the next cartoon.

All the best to his family for whom it must have seemed like a long ride on a bumpy road with a bottle of bathtub nitroglycerin. :(

http://www.gonzo.org/hst/ht/pix/hunter-thompson-profile_3.jpg

RIP - HST. :(

[extramundane]

http://www.ineffectual.net/hunter.jpg

[Ankf00]

http://www.adamflowers.org/HunterS.jpg

[Skater_36]

"The Great Shark Hunt" is one of the funniest books I've ever read.

The man was a true original.

[Easy]

I've been reading HST lately, currently on "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 72". I've been missing his ESPN.com page 2 articles, (he didn't publish from late December until just last week) and have been wondering about his health. He'll be missed.

[nrc]

http://wentom.home.mindspring.com/zevon.jpg

I asked a friend of mine who's a cancer survivor if she thought I had a good chance of dying with my boots on, and she said yeah. So that's a hope. I'd have preferred it to be in Hunter's back yard, but we'll see.

-- Warren Zevon

[Ankf00]

HST article on espn.com's page 2 about patrick roy and warren zevon :D :http://espn.go.com/page2/s/thompson/010528a.html

the complete archives:http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/archive?columnist=hunter_s._thompson&root=page2

[Michaelhatesfans]

...I for one will never be able to ever again use a lavatory in an airliner without thinking of it as the "blue room" and wondering what I'd do if something really valuable fell in.(
That was a fantastic book - it had me longing for a Samoan war club for years afterward. :D

RIP, Doc...

[cart7]

http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/coverv/34/236134.jpg
Great movie

[lone_groover]

He MUST have had something terminal; wouldn't be his style to go out like that. People who had known him were calling into Morning Sedition yesterday, and you could tell how much effect he had on them, however fleeting the contact may had been.

That was nice, Taildragger. :thumbup:

[pchall]

I remember reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas about 1975 in a college class and coming across a bit where Thompson writes about pumping the tires of the convertible Chevy up so high that it handled like a Lotus Elan. "No way", I thought, "-- the guy must be on drugs!"

[FTG]

I remember the over inflated tires scene too. classic.

[chop456]

He MUST have had something terminal; wouldn't be his style to go out like that. People who had known him were calling into Morning Sedition yesterday, and you could tell how much effect he had on them, however fleeting the contact may had been.


That was my first thought. I can't call myself a fan as my familiarity consists of seeing about 30 minutes of Fear and Loathing, but homeboy was definitely an original freak.

First Spalding Gray and now this...

Morning Sedition, he says. :laugh:

[Opposite Lock]

He MUST have had something terminal; wouldn't be his style to go out like that.


Or, would it? 1997-era interview (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-1494489,00.html)

He said he had thought of suicide. “It might be in the year 2000,” he pondered. “Yeah. Another year . . .”

[lone_groover]

Chop, I'm serious. I don't think you can get it in your market yet, but you can listen to it streaming. Must not post link in deferece to the "no politics" provision in the OffCamber charter.


Google it, a'ight?

[chop456]

Chop, I'm serious. I don't think you can get it in your market yet, but you can listen to it streaming. Must not post link in deferece to the "no politics" provision in the OffCamber charter.


Google it, a'ight?

10-4. I have XM. Everywhere is my market. ;)

[L1P1]

Fear and Loathing in Hell should be pretty good. I expect it will be ghost written.

[JohnHKart]

This is a guy I still haven't figured out. Some of his late 90s pieces in Rolling Stone were virtually incomprehensible to me....but I know he must have done some great work, I just haven't gotten around to it. Having known his reputation, the suicide was almost like Deja Vu for me....like it's something I thought he'd already done. It's not the slightest bit surprising to me, knowing that Thompson was a totally over the edge personality. It's sad though and I'm sorry to hear about it.

John

[oddlycalm]

Some of his late 90s pieces in Rolling Stone were virtually incomprehensible to me....but I know he must have done some great work His battles with Jan Wenner at Rolling Stone were legendary in the later years, and that likely influenced the work. I recall something about Thompson blowing Wenner off after taking an advance on an article and just turning in his working notes which Wenner just published as is.

If you want to know what Thompson was really about I'd suggest getting a used copy of "The Great Shark Hunt" off Amazon. It's is a collection of excerts from some of his best writing spanning his career with his commentary. In a few hundred pages you go from his early writing for an Air Force newpaper through the entire sweep of his work. If you like what you see from one or more books in particular, then you know where to go from there.

oc

[JoeBob]

Here's an interesting collection of memories from some of his closest friends, compiled by the folks at ESPN.com's Page 2: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=050225/hunter/bradley

[JohnHKart]

I'm not far off the mark.....His wife of several years reported in the LA Times yesterday that she often argued with Thompson about suicide; he had been threatening to do it for several years....Various health problems, operations led to the suicide.

John

[Michaelhatesfans]

If you want to know what Thompson was really about I'd suggest getting a used copy of "The Great Shark Hunt" off Amazon. It's is a collection of excerts from some of his best writing spanning his career with his commentary...
"The Great Shark Hunt" is always a good place to start, that was my first introduction. Likewise, keep an eye out for a copy of "Hells Angels." If anyone found his later writings to be incoherent, there is nothing vague about "Hell's Angels." :eek:

[RedLine]

Best Motorcycle Review I've Ever Read (http://www.latexnet.org/~csmith/sausage.html) :thumbup:

[Michaelhatesfans]

Best Motorcycle Review I've Ever Read (http://www.latexnet.org/~csmith/sausage.html) :thumbup:

"I never got to sixth gear, and I didn't get deep into fifth. This is a shameful admission for a full-bore Cafe Racer, but let me tell you something, old sport: This motorcycle is simply too goddamn fast to ride at speed in any kind of normal road traffic unless you're ready to go straight down the centerline with your nuts on fire and a silent scream in your throat."

That rush that he got from riding fast bikes, that's pretty much how I felt when I read his books. :thumbup: :cool:

[dando]

Heckuva finale for Gonzo:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/08/20/thompson.memorial.ap/index.html


'Gonzo' journalist's ashes to be shot from cannon

:eek: :laugh:

-Kevin

[Jag_Warrior]

Hell yeah. Go out with a bang!

I guess he kinda did that in a couple of senses of the term... :saywhat: