NCB

True, kinda like Mike Tyson

__________________

World's King

He's the reason I became a journalist, a writer, an alcoholic, a freak...

__________________
heavy is the head that wears the crown

filtherton

I want to read his suicide note.

NCB

Was there one?

The only thing I've read about it was that he was seated at his computer reading mocie reviews on NetFlix

__________________

minyn

Does that count as natural?

__________________
"Woke up this morning with a blue moon in my eye"
~A3 "woke up this morning"

"Don't compromise yourself, you're all you've got." -Janis Joplin

skinnymofo

While its sad Hunter died, i have to say im not really suprised.
hes had his own memorial up on a hill on his property up for years
i giant fist type thing, (you can see it in Fear and loathing criterion collection version on special features).
i have quite a few of his stories in my book collection.

gonad

He's the reason I became a news writer.

And the reason I got fired two years later.

It's a shame he's gone. Hell's Angels is an outstanding piece of writing. I think I'll wear my golf shoes to the bar tonight.

__________________
"We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold."

The_wall

I heard this last night on the news as was peaking on my very first acid trip, not a thing you want to hear while on acid for the first time, hell he was a huge part of the reason I wanted to try it. Some of you probably think I'm crazy now, but it's true.

R.I.P Hunter S. Thompson

__________________
"We do what we like and we like what we do!"~andrew Wk

Procrastinate now, don't put off to the last minute.

riverman

It's a shame he's gone.

He was a creative writer and a thorn in the side of the establishment; there aren't enough people in the world left like him.

__________________
We're living in a strange time
Working for a strange goal
We're turning flesh and body
Into soul

Strange Boat, The Waterboys

wnker85

Help me out here who is he? I have heard what he has written, but that doesn't help me at all.

Amnesia620

Hey now. Please don't disrespect the dead. No one here is worshiping him, we're all paying our respects TFP style - now isn't really the time to point out faults of a man who wasn't afraid to say what was on his mind, even in the face of adversity.

**I will forever be a fan of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas**

__________________
For example, I find that a lot of college girls are barbie doll carbon copies with few differences...Sadly, they're dumb, ditzy, immature, snotty, fake, or they are the gravitational center to orbiting drama. - Amnesia620

whocarz

Absolutely bizarre. I had the sudden urge to watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas last evening. Come to find out today that he killed himself yesterday. Rest in peace, you crazy fucker!

__________________
If there exists anything mightier than destiny, then it is the courage to face destiny unflinchingly. -Geibel

Despise not death, but welcome it, for nature wills it like all else. -Marcus Aurelius

Come on, you sons of bitches! Do you want to live forever? -GySgt. Daniel J. "Dan" Daly

moot1337

Okay... so. Just because he had some rather interesting political views doesn't discredit the fact that the talent he had with words was matched by no one. You don't have to agree with everything something says to appreciate the way they said it, and it may just be me, but I have a feeling you're grossly misinterpreting what he's attempting to communicate with those 2 statements. Writers will often use elements such as hyperbole to emphasize their view on something, which, in Hunter's case, was as unrestricted and unpredictable as could be. Without original context, it's really hard to say what he may be trying to communicate, so let's not take it out of proportion. This is like picking apart someone's quotes just to find faults in the man, as if you want to bury his memory and make people forget about him.

Well, the thing is, we all say some pretty stupid shit. When it comes to a man like Hunter, we can appreciate how he says it, even if what he says isn't something that we personally agree with. Hunter has an amazing collection of intellectual work, and to say he was no Hemmingway would be correct, for he stands in a genre entirely of his own. This guy had the balls to say what was on his mind, even if he knew people wouldn't agree with it and he'd be shunned for it later. Also, with his collective experience, he had some rather interesting viewpoints on life and how it had changed throughout his lifetime, which few of us will ever, ever be able to relate to. He was a person that truly understood what it meant to be free, in just about every regard I can think of. This includes, even as a journalist, wehre such moves could end his career and surely would have be it not for his writing talent, freedom of speech, as far as it could go.

And that's what Mr. Thompson was about. Pushing things as far as they would go, and further, because what else could he do? I may not agree with every single one of his political views, but nevertheless I admire what he did.

GuttersnipeXL

Hunter was 67. I'm sure that old boy had some voices in his head, ya know? Hunter would put Ozzy and Keith Richards to shame in a competition of consumption. This doesn't suprise me in the least, yeah I'm upset, but definently not shocked. The amount of firearms in that mans possesion and the amount of drugs that had flowed through his body....it was just a matter of time. Onward and upward Hunter, we'll see you on the flip.

__________________
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. HST

supersix2

Dude so did I. Thats insane. I actually just watched the movie for the first time like last week. Last night though I had the sudden urge to watch it again.
Needless to say I was a bit freaked out when I heard what happened.

squirrelyburt

He made his own destiny in all ways

__________________
If you've ever felt there was a reason to be afraid of the dark, you were right.

bermuDa

well yeah to be honest i thought he od'ed a long time ago... i wasn't aware he was still alive until i hear he was dead.

and just to play devil's advocate: in the quote about the draft, i think you were highlighting the wrong part of the quote... the meaning i got out of it was that he thought that forcing a draft to supply bodies for an unpopular war only fueled the fire of the war protests. The victory in question had nothing to do with casualities or military advances, but rather advancements in civil disobedience. There was a draft during the world wars but back then there were no antiwar protests (aside from the isolationists)... because the war effort had the public's support. He was drawing a parallel between two unpopular wars; vietnam and iraq.

as for the abu ghraib quote... perhaps as shocking as all of the nazi's actions were, he wasn't as surprised they were capable of it. Nobody really expected american soldiers, the vigilantes of freedom and justice to commit such human rights violations. I don't come nearly close to agreeing with that quote, but if you tilt your head you can see everything from a different perspective.

__________________
I am the very model of a moderator gentleman.

Squishor

Exactly. If you study history and political science (of which I do not claim to be an expert), you see that it's not until a government does something so unpopular that the people can't stand it anymore that they get motivated to do something about it and speak up. Once the people become aware, change happens. Many who witnessed the Vietnam era are well aware of his phenomenon. You can even stretch the point and say that, in some ways, we all have the Vietnam War to thank for a great many of the social freedoms we enjoy today. If it weren't for people like Hunter Thompson who were willing to take risks and present fresh viewpoints, we could all be placidly anticipating our next serving of USDA Grade A pre-digested news. Not that a lot of us aren't anyway...

Tophat665

Well, I was going to go to sleep here, but now, I am going to go drink some bourbon and a Flying Dog.

He was a batshit crazy demented genius and we will never see his like again. Mourn his passing, for that is just, but mourn too the end of the age.

Bush had something to do with this. (Just saying.)

Strange thing, I almost watch the Fear and Loathing Criterion Edn tonight, but decided at the last minute on "Dave" instead. Good thing. My head would have exploded if I had read this after watching that.

Fremen is right - this never solved a thing.
Halx is right - natural causes was never in the Great Gonzo's future.
Filtherton is right - Maybe it's the best possible thing for him.

NCB - put the quotes back in the context of the hyperbolic, frenetic sort of prose he wrote and calm down. Thompson was not a hero because of his clarity of thought or his benevolence, tenderness, or cultured etiquette. He was a freaks freak and proud of it. He was a hero to many for being so very much himself that the world seemed to line up around him in ways that are hard to describe (without reference to mind altering substances.) 50 years from now, if we are still a democracy in fact as well as name, he will be taught in journalism schools, half as an example, half as a counterexample.

__________________
Light a man a fire, and he will be warm while it burns.
Set a man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life.

meembo

He was the only journalist telling it like it was when Richard Nixon died. Instead of kissing Nixon's ass, he reminded America what a cancer Nixon was to the body politic of America. A small taste: "Richard Nixon was an evil man--evil in a way that only those who believe in the physical reality of the Devil can understand it. He was utterly without ethics or morals or any bedrock sense of decency... He was a cheap crook and a merciless war criminal who bombed more people to death in Laos and Cambodia than the U.S. Army lost in all of World War II, and he denied it to the day of his death." Etc. etc., thank God
Google Thompson and Nixon and do a little reading. It's refreshing. I'm still pissed about how he ended it, though.

__________________
less I say, smarter I am

m0rpheus

Well said man. Cant agree with you about feeling worse when Johnny died but its pretty fucking close.

__________________
"it never got weird enough for me." - Hunter S. Thompson

Astrocloud

Hunter S. Thompson Wanted Remains Fired From Cannon
Friends Plan Private, Public Ceremonies

POSTED: 7:20 am MST February 23, 2005



ASPEN, Colo. -- Close friends and family of Hunter S. Thompson will hold a private gathering March 5 at the Belly Up bar in Aspen to honor the author.

A public ceremony is planned for this spring or early summer.

Thompson, who wrote "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and other works of Gonzo journalism, committed suicide Sunday evening in his Woody Creek home near Aspen.

Some admirers and friends are making interesting tributes to Thompson. Two anonymous fans called the bar in the Hotel Jerome Monday in Aspen and gave their credit card numbers so bartenders could buy a drink for anyone who mentioned Thompson's name.

And actor Johnny Depp and others are searching for a cannon and researching firing techniques to grant the author's wish that his ashes be fired into the sky.

Depp starred in the movie version of "Fear and Loathing" and was a friend of Thompson.

Meanwhile, Thompson-related items are hot sellers on the Internet auction site eBay. By 5 p.m. Tuesday, eBay had 1,800 bids placed on 601 items related to Thompson.

The items include a 5-inch tall action figure of Uncle Duke, the Doonesbury character based on Thompson.

chewybaca96

Ya know what is really weird, i was up that night with a couple buddies and we were looking for quotes to put on my "wall of moderate interest" i was reading aloud a few quotes from Hunter S. a bit later i hit up fark and saw the story. the time it happened was within like 5 minutes of us reading quotes from him. so we did what any insane alcoholic should do. we drank to him and watched fear and loathing. RIP HST. You will be missed.

__________________
Brian: “Ok, all we’ve gotta do is find the American Embassy, and they’ll help us get home”
Stewie: “Home? I have no intention of returning to that disgusting hovel with that intolerable woman, that fat slob, and that insufferable dog… Oh, you’re right here aren’t you? Oh well, I stand by it."

skinnymofo

i found this off another messageboard so i dont have a link sorry but thought this would be interesting-

The Boston Globe
After Thompson's suicide, attorney saw clues

By David Abel, Globe Staff | February 22, 2005

If one of Hunter S. Thompson's last wishes comes true, the body of the late maverick journalist will be cremated this week and his ashes blasted from a cannon across his sprawling ranch in Woody Creek, Colo.

That will be the extent of Thompson's funeral, as he told friends and family, said George Tobia Jr., a Boston-based entertainment lawyer who has represented the author for the past 15 years. Tobia said he has spent a few hours every week, often in the wee hours of the day, fielding requests from and chatting up the man who created gonzo journalism.

In a phone interview yesterday, Tobia said only in retrospect does it makes sense that the 67-year-old author sat in his kitchen Sunday afternoon, stuck a .45-caliber handgun in his mouth, and killed himself while his wife listened on the phone and his son and daughter-in-law were in another room of his house. His wife had no idea what had happened until she returned home later.

The former Rolling Stone magazine contributor, known for his self-styled, freewheeling writing, chronicled the downfall of President Nixon and authored books including "Hell's Angels" and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."

Tobia, 43, who said he spoke to Thompson at least five times in the last week, as recently as the day before he killed himself, said his client and friend did not leave a note, only conversations and obscure directions he had issued to friends and family in recent days.

"This was definitely not spur of the moment," said Tobia, who plans to fly to Colorado today to help carry out Thompson's wishes. "He arranged to have things dealt with, and he wanted his family close by, but he didn't want anyone to know -- he didn't want anyone to try to stop him. In a weird way, he wanted it to be, I think, a celebration."

Was there anything specific that led Thompson, the model for a character in the comic strip "Doonesbury," to commit suicide? Tobia said he did not know, but noted Thompson has written about suicide and talked about it with friends.

The decision, he said, had nothing to do with the reelection of George W. Bush or the current trend in national politics, which provided a certain grist for Thompson's mill. Nor did he have significant financial problems. With his land, archives, royalties, and other valuable possessions, Tobia said, Thompson's estate is worth millions of dollars.

The best explanation, perhaps, is that in recent months Thompson had chronic pain from back surgery and an artificial hip. He also broke his leg on a recent trip to Hawaii and was limping, which made it difficult for him to travel.

"He didn't want to waste away," Tobia said. "He did not want to exist as an invalid or as someone who needed constant care. It wouldn't suit his sense of self."

The one clue, in retrospect, that something changed recently was Thompson's decision that it wasn't so important that his papers and archives be sold to the highest bidder, money that would help him in later years. Last week Thompson told friends and Tobia -- one of the trustees of his estate -- that it was more important his archives not be sold piecemeal and that they find the proper home, such as at a university.

"There was no one thing you would point to and say, 'Oh . . . he's going to kill himself,' " Tobia said. "It wasn't clear last week suicide was imminent, but now it adds up."

"I was numb last night," he said yesterday. "But when that settles in, the phone calls, things start to come back, and things begin to make sense. . . . We all had hints, but none of us had the full picture."

The two planned to work together on the third volume of Thompson's letters, Tobia said. Just the faxes Tobia received over the years, he said, stack up about 5 feet high. There was also the unpublished novel, "Prince Jelly Fish," which Thompson hoped to have published.

Tobia first met Thompson while working on a benefit for the estate of Jack Kerouac.

"I represent the estates of many eminent writers like Jack Kerouac," Tobia said. "But [Thompson] was alive; the others, I never knew. I got to know him. I read him in college. Forming a relationship with him was a dream come true."
© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

Manuel Hong

I can't say I was surprised, but it's a damn shame and a great loss. I hope he finally found some peace.

__________________
Believe nothing, even if I tell it to you, unless it meets with your own good common sense and experience. - Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha)

Fire

blaze on brother- and light a candle for me in hell.......

__________________
Thought the harder, Heart the bolder,
Mood the more as our might lessens

Onions

Great writer and a good guy.

QuasiMojo

god DAMN!


res ispa loquitor

__________________
AzAbOv ZoBeLoE

izzzzy

RIP HST. AMEN

Contempt

It’s strange that I wanted to get the movie, “Where the Buffalo Roam” the weekend he died. I was in Target on that Saturday and I was going to get it, but I didn’t have enough money to get that and the other things I needed to, plus the scanner thing wouldn’t bring up a price on it. I went back on the Sunday and was looking for it, but I couldn’t find it. I continued my shopping at other stores and later called Target to see if they had it, but after employees where looking everywhere they couldn’t find it. I don't really know what to say, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is just another one of those great celebrities that have died recently. "He was one of God's own prototypes, never considered for mass production. Too wierd to live, too rare to die." The day he died I was talking about reading some more of his books, because I have only read a couple and a lot of his articles, even though I didn’t find out until that Monday. It was so shocking that he died on a weekend where I did nothing, but think about him. I really wanted to watch “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” too, because I haven’t seen that movie in a long time and I don’t own the DVD yet, because it’s expensive. I could say that a part of him made me get into journalism and writing, and that sounds nice. Even if you were against drugs, the man was still a great writer.

BigBen

I consider myself a graduate of the "Gonzo School of Journalism". To experience the story, instead of being a casual observer, really hit home to me.

Maybe I could look at my life as one big Gonzo Journalist report... I haven't looked back.

When he was on Conan O'Brian and they moved his whiskey glass off to the side so he could shoot the AR-15 better, I knew that he was not going to go peacefully into that good night.

__________________
3.141592654
Hey, if you are impressed with my memorizing pi to 10 digits, you should see the size of my penis.

kramus

The man blew my mind before any substances either grown or man made ever did. He wrote with clarity about subjects that most of us cannot begin to articulate. He created his own place in journalism because there were none extent that could contain what he so beautifully expressed. He walked his walk and talked his talk and the world wide now sees things with a viewpoint that didn't even exist until he pulled it out of himself and laid it before us. You rock Hunter. Thank you.

__________________
And now to disengage the clutch of the forebrain ...
I'm going with this - if you like artwork visit http://markfineart.ca

cyrnel

From <a href="">RockyMountainNews.com:</a>

"Hunter S Thompson's ashes to be sent high on fireworks
In accordance with his last wishes, Hunter S Thompson's ashes will be sent into the sky in 34 fireworks mortar tubes, and Johnny Depp is paying the $2 million the ceremony will cost:

Hunter S. Thompson's cremated remains, mixed with fireworks and packed into 34 mortar tubes, were en route to Woody Creek Wednesday. The unusual shipment from New Castle, Pa., via padlocked truck is one of the final steps towards a funeral Saturday expected to mix solemnity with pageantry. "
--remainder of story clipped --

I think it's awesome how Depp stepped up. No small contribution, $2m for a friend's funeral.

Quickly weighing sanity vs. a trip to Woody Creek tomorrow. *sigh*

__________________
There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195