The Great Gonzo in the Sky

Oh crap, Hunter S. Thompson's gone and died. Shot himself with a rifle.

Like Iggy Pop or Keith Richards, he was one of those counter culture excessive types who was supposed to defy the odds and live forever.

I'm off to have my little Las Vegas adventure next month. While i don't think it'll be quite the fear and loathing filled experience of Hunter Thompson's famous book, the mystique of reading it as a younger fella is part of why i'm drawn to Vegas.

I've got a room at the Sahara on the Vegas Strip, a wedding to go to at the Little White Wedding Chapel now all i need is "two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half-full of cocaine and a whole galaxy of multicolored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls".

I'm taking my lawyer with me, Dr Cameron Gonzo. I'm not sure of his qualifications but he looks good with a mo.

RIP Hunter S. Thompson.

PS. For the past four years Hunter S. Thompson's been writing columns for ESPN. Check out the archives.

Also: Take a listen to the first 9 ½ minutes (mp3, 4.3Mb) of this 1996 Audio Book version of Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. It features Harry Dean Stanton and Jim Jarmusch in the Roaul Duke/Hunter Thompson role. It's kinda confusing, and certainly doesn't beat reading the book but it's a good introduction for lazy types.

Posted on February 21, 2005 6:34 PM |



Comments (5)

Chris:

yeah, very sad about this today, a big reason for me asking Lyndal to marry me in Las Vegas was for the thrill of a "Hunteresq" (that should make it into the English language) road trip. Don't worry boys, we may not be able to come up with everything on the list, but we'll have a damn good crack (no pun intended) at it!

Posted by Chris | February 22, 2005 2:41 PM

cybele:

there were only two ways for this this haze of geneous to go

1.the great american dream
H.S.Thompson proved that a well balanced diet of uppers and downers can induce a long and fruitful life

2.democratic right
once he had proved this, defied the rules, he had to go out with a blast.

imagine if maralyn hadnt died in a bed of platunim blonde sheets, naked but chanel no5.

imagine if james dean hadnt crashed. gone in a gush of smoke.

these are the american dreams.

Posted by cybele | February 23, 2005 1:11 PM

darren:

Remember dan, suicide is not big or clever....

"October 23, 2003
Elliot Smith RIP

It seems that Elliot Smith has died in an apparent suicide. I never really got into his music, but i always meant to. What i did hear i really liked.

It makes me mad when people commit suicide. Its so selfish and stupid.

Posted by daniel at October 23, 2003 12:54 PM "


heh!

Posted by darren | February 24, 2005 10:08 PM

Dan:

Yeah i know that. Suicide is for chumps. Nuttin glamourous about it.

An interesting quote from Hunter S,

"'I would feel real trapped in this life if I didn't know I could commit suicide at any time'"

Posted by Dan | February 25, 2005 9:05 AM

darren:

Nothing glamourous at all but sometimes not as simple as people make out.
On that note another good post for you:
http://www.warrenellis.com/index.php?p=375

Posted by darren | February 25, 2005 11:35 AM