What is the fascination with Hunter S. Thompson?

[Talleyrand]

I have never read anything by him and am curious as to why some people seem to see him as an icon of sorts. What was his significance? What did you learn from him? Fill me in on details.

[Horus]

hunter was the lasty bastion of hope for the hippie revolution, having a voice that was heard by both sides of the social coin. his tales always remind me of what it means to be free, and not a part of te closed minded collection of humans on this planet...
Check out "breakfast with hunter s thompson" after watching this, I vowed to become an alcoholic, the dude carries a bottle of aged scotch everywhere he goes, even the airport....he truly was one of the few who could make a difference by just not giving a fuck. I wish he was still alive.

[furst]

I believe that he was a journalist to begin with. If you've ever seen the move "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", that's based on a book he wrote on one of his experiences. He seems like he was a cool dude, but as far as literature goes.. well, I wouldn't waste my time reading his wacky little stories. I'd rather read Carpe's story about shitting on some girls bed while she was in the shower.

[PU$$YCONTIN]

hunter was the lasty bastion of hope for the hippie revolution, having a voice that was heard by both sides of the social coin. his tales always remind me of what it means to be free, and not a part of te closed minded collection of humans on this planet...
Check out "breakfast with hunter s thompson" after watching this, I vowed to become an alcoholic, the dude carries a bottle of aged scotch everywhere he goes, even the airport....he truly was one of the few who could make a difference by just not giving a fuck. I wish he was still alive.

i read this and cried

seriously that guy is god

[dj 2way]

he seems like a cool cat. I just listened to him discuss 9/11 in an interview the other day. Its old but you can find the torrent. I've seen fear and loathing but never read anything by him. I've met a couple cats that were really into him.

[Horus]

-talley, I will upload that doc over the weekend..Ive got a few days off. it really is great...

[Talleyrand]

Yeah, I know the very rough basics about him, like Fear and Loathing, gonzo journalism, the conspiracy debate on his suicide, etc. I just need these terms explained and more. I will try to catch the Breakfast vid haterator.

[Streetie]

i found this dope picture once of these cats dressed up like the charecters on the las vegas movie

kitty even had a little ciggarette extension dealy and the caption read "can't stop here, this is bat country!"

cats eyes were soo big, it was lmfao. wish i had saved it too

[Revenant]

My little lame ass stories aint got shit on Thompson's.

[Horus]

I believe that he was a journalist to begin with. If you've ever seen the move "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", that's based on a book he wrote on one of his experiences. He seems like he was a cool dude, but as far as literature goes.. well, I wouldn't waste my time reading his wacky little stories. I'd rather read Carpe's story about shitting on some girls bed while she was in the shower.

furst has a poorly replicated russian bootleg brain and is uncapable of understanding an artistic mind...fear and loathing is full of symbolism and such, that goes a lot deeper than just acid trips in the desert

[PU$$YCONTIN]

here is the torrent for breakfast with hunter s thompson

http://www.torrentspy.com/torrent/943902/Breakfast_with_Hunter_S_Thompson_Gonzo_2003_DivX

[Talleyrand]

furst has a poorly replicated russian bootleg brain and is uncapable of understanding an artistic mind...fear and loathing is full of symbolism and such, that goes a lot deeper than just acid trips in the desert

What kind of symbolism?

I just want to see what others say before I invest valuable time and brain power reading him.

[PU$$YCONTIN]

I believe that he was a journalist to begin with. If you've ever seen the move "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", that's based on a book he wrote on one of his experiences. He seems like he was a cool dude, but as far as literature goes.. well, I wouldn't waste my time reading his wacky little stories. I'd rather read Carpe's story about shitting on some girls bed while she was in the shower.

fuck you seriously

[furst]

furst has a poorly replicated russian bootleg brain and is uncapable of understanding an artistic mind...fear and loathing is full of symbolism and such, that goes a lot deeper than just acid trips in the desert
I've actually seen it twice. The first time I was tripping balls because I just ate a shitload of mushrooms before watching it. I didn't really take any deep meaning from it. The second time I was completely sober and found it so uninteresting that I didn't get through more than half of it. I guess I've seen ti one and a half times.




Oh, here's the documentary haterator mentioned. It's the entire thing, but you'll have to put up with the small google video screen.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=978031029791414253&q=breakfast+with+hunter

[Streetie]

talleyrand he's not that great. maybe read one book by him. but be carefull.

[Horus]

hey talley, im really not smart enough to articulate the symbolism, but I can attest that he won a pulitzer for fear and loathing, and Im sure there are plenty of smarter people like you who have written papers on the subject. itsd all about the fall of the drug craze and such.but realy im no literarian

[Jay Weishaupt]

Thompson was one of the best writers of the 20th century, people that say he is "ok" and "not that great" can fuck right off.

[furst]

Thompson was one of the best writers of the 20th century, people that say he is "ok" and "not that great" can fuck right off.
See Aldous Huxley, John Steinbeck, George Orwell, Robert Frost.

[Revenant]

John Steinbeck,

Cant argue with that one.

[Talleyrand]

Thompson was one of the best writers of the 20th century, people that say he is "ok" and "not that great" can fuck right off.

Can you please explain why you feel this way? If you're going to compare him to the likes of Steinbeck and Camus, I must hear some things.

Furst, thanks for the Breakfast vid. I watched the first 10 mins and will come back later for more.

[Horus]

honestly talley, i wouldnt be hoping to find Hunter to be a literary genius, he is brilliant and inspiring, but since his relevance is to more pop culture sort of topics, I wouldnt expect him to really rate up with the type of people furst quoted up there..Im not saying he isnt as smart, or his work doesnt have as much impact, but more like its a matter of popular and youth culture never really having a real historical value until it become the stuff of dusty books on shelves.

[Streetie]

Big Bay Area Catfish Hunter S Thompson

[Catfish Hunter]

Big Bay Area Catfish Hunter S Thompson

Even though he was from Kentucky originally, he did spend his best years in the Bay Area.

If you're going to read any Hunter S. book, read Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_and_Loathing_on_the_Campaign_Trail_%2772) It's easily his best single piece of work. Really captures the feel of the country in the early 70's. Also read Hell's Angels. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hells_Angels:_The_Strange_and_Terrible_Saga_of_the _Outlaw_Motorcycle_Gangs) Seriously. If you're actually going to invest your time, those are the two to start with. If you're still interested after that, then you move on the the Las Vegas one.

I've read the majority of his work, he's certainly a singular figure, although his personality has a tendency to overshadow his actual work. His first novel, The Rum Diary, is actually a good one to check out if you want to see an example of him before he became HUNTER S. THOMPSON. But the writing is a bit primitive compared to his later work.

He wrote an excellent column for the Page 2 section of the ESPN web site. He approached it from the persepective of a professional gambler, with much social commentary, pacticulary regarding a post 9/11 America. The columns were recently compiled into a book, entitled Hey Rube: Blood Sport, the Bush Doctrine, and the Downward Spiral of Dumbness Modern History from the Sports Desk (http://www.amazon.com/Hey-Rube-Doctrine-Downward-Dumbness/dp/0684873206/sr=8-1/qid=1166213828/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-5580820-8233719?ie=UTF8&s=books) I was a fan of the column at the time he was writing it, and find the book to be among his better work. I'm also a fan of Generation of Swine, (http://www.amazon.com/Generation-Swine-Tales-Shame-Degradation/dp/0743250443/sr=1-1/qid=1166213931/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-5580820-8233719?ie=UTF8&s=books) a collection of columns he wrote for the San Francisco Examiner in the 80's.

Hunter S Thompson is one of those authors you read when you're young, into getting intoxicated, and questioning one's place in the world. Others that fit the bill would be Kurt Vonnegut, Tom Robbins, JD Salinger, Russell Banks, Richard Brautigan (aka Catfish Hunter in America (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trout_Fishing_in_America)), Charles Bukowski, et al. After one ages and mellows out a little, one might choose to never read another work by these authors. Or not, it's up to the individual really.

[indica]

hunter is my idol.i almost got the gonzo sword tatted.respect and R I P sir.

[Talleyrand]

Thank you Catfish, that is a worthy analysis.

I think I'll postpone any plans to read anything by him in the near future.

Edit- What is Gonzo journalism?

[Streetie]

I think it's a fancy name for his flavor of hippy/druggy prose

[indica]

one that you might not find everywere is the curse of lono,im working on it at the moment.they just released a huge illustratted version,ralphs drawings alone are worth the buy.it reminds me of fear and loathing in las vegas,only on the beach.
a good fim to see would be where the buffalo roam,awesome to the max.

[CHILLY]

I believe that he was a journalist to begin with. If you've ever seen the move "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", that's based on a book he wrote on one of his experiences. He seems like he was a cool dude, but as far as literature goes.. well, I wouldn't waste my time reading his wacky little stories. I'd rather read Carpe's story about shitting on some girls bed while she was in the shower.


I love that story to furst haha.

[CHILLY]

i read this and cried

seriously that guy is god

I didn't want the whole thing, but I have seen a good portion of it. I felt the same fucking way, perfect man.

Kind of sucks he blew his brains out, but if you read his suicide letter, its actually pretty funny. He really just didn't give a fuck. I did my senior project on him in High School, man is a fucking legend. He thought different than other people, but he spoke the fucking real truth, no hiding shit. Its a fucking story about the American Dream.

Tally, I really recommend his shit, I think you will like it, and make sure you watch Breakfast With...really shows you how absurdly truthful Fear and Loathing is. I have to give my hat off to Johnny Depp, he played that shit on point.

Check his suicide letter:

"No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun — for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax — This won't hurt"

[Horus]

I have to give my hat off to Johnny Depp, he played that shit on point.

Check his suicide letter:

"No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun — for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax — This won't hurt"



depp is dope, I totally agree...and that suicide note will be the one I use when i get to the ripe age of 67 as well

[Sardu]

the man is just out there doing his thing, you gotta respect that. he said at one point that if he wasnt free to kill himself whenever he wanted he would feel trapped in life. a person like this comes around one every 10,000 years

[Frank Motherfucking Booth]

The History of the Time suggests that if de Sade had learned Moderation- if he could have kept his brutal floggings down to one or two a week, even three- the cops might have left him alone. But no, the Marquis wouldnt listen, so his legacy was to go down as the most Vicious Pervert in history.
Al Gore will not be so lucky. At least people are still intersted in de Sade's crazy excesses, but nobody will ever care about the fate of Al Gore. He will be forever known as "the Loser" of the doomed 2000 Election. He was Wrong from the Start, & he will be happy to get out of Electoral politics, & Bush is an Unhappy winner. He will be beaten like a rat in a wastebasket and will age 14 years in the next Four.
- HST, Hey Rube/ESPN Dec 2, 2000

He's probably my #1 favorite author.

It wasnt just that he could write so damn well- and he could- but that he took such an avid interest in politics and was ultimately right so often...even though the way he usually described an event or person was full of hyperbole, symbolism, monstrous comparisons, etc...the gist of what he was saying was almost always dead-on accurate.

For example...this is an excerpt from "HEY RUBE" a collection of columns he wrote on sports, politics, the war on terror, and society in general. Its one of his most recent books and he was talking (in this article) about how 9-11 had just happened and the hysteria that was going through the country.

- Just then I heard the lock on my gas tank rattling, so I rushed outside with a shotgun and fired both barrels into the darkness. Poachers! I thought. Blow their heads off! This is War! I fired another blast in the general direction of the gas pump, then I went inside to reload.
"Why are you shooting?" Anita screamed at me. "What are you shooting at?"
"The enemy," I said gruffly. "He is down there stealing our gasoline."
"Nonsense," she said. "That tank has been empty since June. You probably killed a peacock." *(he lived on a ranch with peacocks roaming everywhere)
At dawn I went downt o the tank and found the gas hose shredded by birdshot and two peacocks dead.
So what? I thought. What is more important right now- my precious gasoline or the lives of some silly birds?

lol, Now...in all likelihood he very likely DID actually do that, but if it was just a made-up story, thats the kinds of ways he often makes political observations and points about the dominant sociology of the day.

Personally I've always admired his being such an outspoken and strident advocate of the libertarian lifestyle and ethos. To say that he was any part of the "hippie movement" would be completely wrong because Hunter was as much a "hippie" as he was a Hell's Angel. He never fastened himself to any movement really but was a bizarre gun freak/anti-establishment/psychonaut/alcoholic/journalist/sportswriter/novelist/libertarian; he dabbled in anything interesting to him.

And yes, he is absolutely one of the 20th century's greatest writers. Anyone (talley, furst, obviously...but anyone else really into literature, philosophy and good writers in general) with an eye for it will see why after you finish one of his better books or sometimes even a few chapters.

Anyone who is unfamiliar with him and wants to familiarize with his material the first thing I'd recommend is "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Its fairly short, very accessible, EXTREMELY funny and hard to put down, and gives you a good feel for his style.

Other than that I'd say the second absolute must-read is "The Great Shark Hunt, Gonzo Papers vol.1" EXCELLENT BOOK....big collection of essays, articles, and excerpts from his other writings.

Some clips:

HST with Conan OBrien (lol, the man has a FULL BAR outside on his ranch by his shooting range haha)
YouTube - Conan (redhead) and Hunter (maniac)

Him fucking with a British reporter in the 70s...talking shit/picking on the interviewer while he snorts coke and drinks chivas regal (lol, "geez...foreigners!...I've never seen such lame equipment")
YouTube - Hunter S. Thompson

10 Minute Interview with Keith Richards...wakes him up by putting a recording of a screaming cat outside his hotel door lol wtf
YouTube - Hunter S. Thompson interviews Keith Richards


Finishing up "Hey Rube" now...just bought "Hells Angels"

[Sardu]

very simply, he was very intelligent and was able to recreate the drug world with razor sharp accuracy, almost poetically

and yes i am faded as fuck as i write this

[AWESOME J]

i first got into Thompson when my dad gave me his old copy of Hells Angels when i was 14. Ive read a good bit of his works but nothing in the last 10 years or so.
Around that time i was into William S Burroughs, Alan Ginsberg, all those homos.

[cocaineface]

i just finished fear in loathing in america and paul perrys a strange and terrible saga of hst.. both good books.

YouTube - "When I Die" Preview of Hunter S. Thompson Film

YouTube - Hunter S. Thompson blasts off with help from fans