reading, writing, music, watching movies, going on adventures, skateboarding, biking, hotkeyz, long walks, picnics, sleeping on couches, taking car trips, going to shows...
Second Degree Eulogy: I awoke to the phone ringing at six-thirty in the morning last Monday. It was my friend, Kasia. She called to tell me that Hunter S. Thompson died.He didn’t just die though; he shot himself in the face with a handgun.He was only 67 years old. That may be quite a few years, but I’m sure he had more in him. He was still writing before he died.Hunter Thompson, the self-proclaimed “Doctor of Journalism,†was a literary hero. His death has prompted me to write this. You need to know how the death of an idol can hurt. I am still stunned. When you think of people that you admire, you don’t think about how or when they are going to die. Immortality is almost reachable when it pertains to people that you have grown to love.Yes, I loved Thompson. I greedily consumed his works for a few years now. He became a catalyst to my own unique writing style. He made me realize that not all writers/journalists have to be corrupt. Doc was the founder of “Gonzo Journalism†which really cannot be described adequately. Read it for yourself.What is this world coming to? I mean, ye gods! When one of your heroes dies, you seriously question this life. If you commit suicide, or hari-kari, that must imply that there is nothing more or better to live for. And shooting yourself in the face is probably one of the most painful ways to go, bubba.So why did he do it? This is the question of the week. As of right now, the media has no clue, but then again, the media never really has a clue about anything. If there was a note, they have not found it yet. I suppose even if they do have a note they may not release it to the press. Hunter was a man of privacy. I think he hated his fame.At least the good doctor will go out with a bang, bubba. That isn’t dark humor or anything, because fatal, self-inflicted gunshot wounds are not a laughing matter. I am referring to Thompson’s send off arrangements. One point in time, Hunter wrote that he wanted his ashes shot out of a cannon. I guess family and friends want to grant this wish for him. What a way to go.To tell you the truth, even though I am still shocked that he is dead, I never really imagined that Doc would kick the bucket from natural causes. He was a sporadic man with insane intentions. He burned many bridges in his day. Yes, that was figurative, but knowing what I know about Hunter, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that he actually burned a few bridges.Ye Gods! How do you tell the world that your hero is dead? How do you tell the world how amazing one man was, even though you never met him? Hunter wrote in a way where you felt as though you knew him. Hunter wrote in a way where everything didn’t have to make sense. Granted, he took enough drugs in his day- but I still think his writing would’ve been top notch with out substances. His sense of exaggeration and sometimes poisonous words can make you feel all right. I laugh out loud to the doc’s works, and I will still continue to do so.Hunter S. Thompson is dead, but he has left behind the legacy of Gonzo which will and cannot die. I see Gonzo as scientists see energy; it cannot be created or destroyed. The essence behind this particular style of journalism was always there, it just took a crazy son-of-bitch to find it. So thank you, and farewell, Doc.
A Night in the Box, Kill the Vultures, Camp Kill Yourself, Hello Blue, Bright Eyes, Sage Francis, Atmosphere, Modern Life Is War, Brucial, Kid Gorgeous, Roma Di Luna, Leftover Crack, The Vandals, Blood Brothers, Sicbay, Modest Mouse, Propaghandi, Thunder in the Valley, Mates of State, Pavement, H.I.M., Postal Service, Fugazi, Ramones, Desaparecidos, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Q and not U, Signal To Trust, Buck 65, Interpol, Possibly Bailey, Refused, Elliott Smith, Bloc Party, Nirvana, Muse, Nico, Beatles, Bob Dylan, Death, Malevolent Creation, GG Allin, A False Notion, Nick Drake, TNR, Velvet Underground, Aneuretical, Radiohead, Lost Patrol, TTT, Turbonegro, John Lennon, Them, Don't Let The Machines Win, Look Down, Askeleton, STNNNG, Plasmatics, Led Zeppelin, Pixies, Morris, Janis Joplin, Cradle of Filth, Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, Michael Jackson, Megadeth, Cursive, Swiss Army, Billy Corgan, Ween, TPC, Jefferson Airplane, Weezer, Slayer, Vaux, One For The Team, Sex Pistols, Against Me!
Favorite Directors (in no order): Quentin Tarantino, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Wes Anderson, Peter Jackson, Robert Hiltzik, and of course, Tim Burton.
House M.D., Chappelle's Show, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Crocodile Hunter, and basically anything on the History Channel or Cartoon Network-
Anything by: Hunter S. Thompson, Kurt Vonnegut, George Orwell, Chuck Palahniuk, Albert Camus, Franz Kafka, Edgar Allan Poe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Kerouac, Henry David Thoreau, Amy Hempel, Ray Bradbury, Ken Kesey, Ernest Hemingway...
"The American Dream really is fucked." -HST
Get this video and more at MySpace.com