Hunter S. Thompson

Goodbye to one of America's greatest characters. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas will probably always remain my favorite book to read. Gonzo journalism is dead at 67.

Goodbye HST. Thanks for the laughs.

*: You better take care of me, Lord. If you don't you're gonna have me on your hands.

Rest in peace Hunter, thanks for expanding my mind. Hunter and Burroughs together at the great typewriter in the sky.

Check out this link gives a glimpse into HST's recent life. Fascinatingly interesting especially now, wonder what the editor for Taschen is thinking?

http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/excerpts/photography/show/1/87.htm

RIP HST

On 2005-02-21 07:29, tikitanked wrote:
Rest in peace Hunter, thanks for expanding my mind. Hunter and Burroughs together at the great typewriter in the sky.

Speaking of typewriters and Hunter (rip):

More great photos and essays and loads of other Gonzo stuff at http://www.gonzo.org

He will be missed in this house.

Wow - he was amazing. This totally sucks.

Hunter, Hunter, Hunter......

A great loss. I remember Conan O'Brien tried to get him as a guest and he wouldn't come on the show so Conan flew out to his house to do the interview. Crazy stuff watching Conan and Hunter Shooting it up in Hunters backyard.

His books Hells Angels has to be my favorite of his. Damn funny guy, crazy, but those who push the limits usally are.

Is it certain that this was a suicide? I mean, the guy liked drugs and he liked to play with guns. Kind of a bad combination. That's an accident just waiting to happen.

look at the bright side, at least now the arctic typewriters can prance through the snow without fear.

"But there is one thing I feel you should know, Ralph, before you take your theory any further: I am Lono"
HST - The Curse of Lono

"O bright knife of Lono!
Who has seen it? Who has found it?
Has it been hidden away in the earth?
Has the great sea swallowed it?
Does the kilo see it among the stars?
Can the kaula find it in the bowels of the black hog?
Will a voice from the anu answer?
Will the priests of Lono speak?
The kilo is silent, the kaula is dumb.
O long knife of the stranger,
O bright knife of Lono,
It is lost, it is lost, it is lost!"
The Song of Waahia

Trader Woody

From Ralph Steadman's website:

*Since it happened my feet haven't touched the ground. It's like I can still speak to Hunter beyond the grave. Like he is saying, 'Don't fuck up on this one, Ralph! Tell it like you knew it, but don't bad mouth me!! You always knew I was going to do it, so it wasn't 'if' but 'when'. It was my call, Ralph and now you will have to deal with the flood. Apres moi, Ralph- the deluge!! Did you think it was going to be an easy ride? You knew what you were doing when you bought a ticket. You were there most of the time, but towards the end you couldn't handle the heat, but you made the Role of Honor by the skin of your teeth. So long Ralph, and thanks for the laughs. And remember- The Crazy Never Die! Look after Anita'.

So there we are. I always knew that one day Hunter would make that journey, but I did not know yesterday that it would be today. He told me 25 years ago that he would feel real trapped if he didn't know that he could commit suicide at any moment. I don't know if that is brave or stupid or what, but it was inevitable. I think that the truth of what rings through all his writing is that he meant what he said. If that is entertainment to you, well, that's OK. If you think that it enlightened you, well, that's even better. If you wonder if he's gone to Heaven or Hell- rest assured he will check out the both, find out which one Richard Milhaus Nixon went to- and go there. He could never stand being bored. But there must be Football too- and Peacocks. I thank everyone who has sent condolences, but spare a long thought for his wife Anita, who has had to balance their lives on a knife edge these last few years to keep them sane. She is a lovely lady. Bless her heart....

Ralph Steadman,
February 22, 2005
*

On 2005-02-21 15:49, tikilee wrote:

A great loss. I remember Conan O'Brien tried to get him as a guest and he wouldn't come on the show so Conan flew out to his house to do the interview. Crazy stuff watching Conan and Hunter Shooting it up in Hunters backyard.

I remember seeing him on Conan's show, and he was pointing to his Nikes while slipping out of the chair, and saying that he made them in his garage. Conan was laughing, and saying, "You did NOT make your shoes in your garage!" and trying to get the interview to make sense. Then Hunter said he was "making things that explode" in his garage, and had a lot of explosives stored in there. Conan was laughing and saying, "OK, you invented Nikes, and you're making bombs in your garage!" It was the most surreal interview I've ever seen.

After reading the Ralph Steadman quote late last night I had a strange flash on the timing of HST shooting himself: it was the first Sunday after the weekend of the Pro Bowl, the real end of the football season.

On 2005-02-23 16:40, freddiefreelance wrote:
After reading the Ralph Steadman quote late last night I had a strange flash on the timing of HST shooting himself: it was the first Sunday after the weekend of the Pro Bowl, the real end of the football season.

I'd like think of Hunter Thompson and Dick Nixon sitting in some afterlife sportsbar recapping the '04 season over a beer. Hunter was a great writer and a man's man and as such, he did something few of us can or will do...he wrote the ending to his autobiography.

I was just perusing the wealth of articles at http://www.gonzo.org and found this:

Hunter S. Thompson's remains to be shot out of a cannon!

Check it out!

On 2005-02-24 08:11, Hakalugi wrote:
I was just perusing the wealth of articles at http://www.gonzo.org and found this:

Hunter S. Thompson's remains to be shot out of a cannon!

Check it out!

Am I the only one who notices a very strangely apt Muppet Show connection to this?

Cheers,
Gwen Smith

[ Edited by: gwenners on 2005-02-24 12:09 ]

I don't know about you all, but if this cannon ball thing is done publicly, and/or the tentatively planned public memorial in late spring/early summer goes forward, I'm thinking "Colorado Road Trip."

Love the Gonzo-cannon, a big muppet "waka waka"
for that one.
A good quote from the Denver post article: Thompson liked to joke that he was cannon fodder, which led to his oft-expressed wish for one final blast.
This stunt is appropriate for the godfather of gonzo journalism, which is a scatter-brained form of writing... wait that didn't bring up a good mental picture.

wow. this is weird and gross:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=377&item=4530830861&rd=1

NOT my auction!

poor HST.

also, just found this DVD about HST online. does not appear to be available on amazon.com:

http://www.breakfastwithhunter.com/thedvd.asp

Just fetched my new Rolling Stone from the mailbox. Excellent article(s) on HST by Jann Wenner & freinds. Also some very cool pics & illustrations. A must read for fans & admirers.

[ Edited by: purple jade 2005-08-25 09:21 ]

Have you ever tried to put 90 lbs. of air in your vehicles tires .....??

Check my tires ......plzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

I stumbled onto ....."Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas" ..........during the 70's .....it was right next to "The Late Great Planet Earth" ...in the bookstore.

I guess HT rode it out.

On 2005-02-28 11:02, dangergirl299 wrote:
also, just found this DVD about HST online. does not appear to be available on amazon.com:

http://www.breakfastwithhunter.com/thedvd.asp

Yeah, I'm surprised that this isn't getting better distribution. Hopefully it will do in the fullness of time, so it's a little cheaper (and easier to get hold of in the UK).

Another DVD worth getting is the Criterion Collection version of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". It includes a 1978 BBC documentary with Hunter and Ralph Steadman, a short film of Hunter visiting the set, and an HST audio commentary to the film. Really good stuff.

Trader Woody

"The delicate illusions that get us through life can only stand so much strain."

--HST