February 21, 2005
Who the heck is Hunter S. Thompson?
Other than being some guy dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, I am privy to very little other information. His name is familiar and I believe that he was a writer, but I have never read any of his books. Steve knows a lot more about the guy, but seems to have held him in something less than high opinion. Personally, I possess of no opinion of any kind. Imagine that!
I actually just finished his 'Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas' and was not overly-impressed. It rambled on and on, providing brief comedic moments but the overall message must have gone over my head. (And yes I know about the whole 'American Dream' thing).
I had heard that before every interview he'd make the interviewer mow his lawn. I think it worked for 60 minutes. A bit of trivia there.
Posted by: Lank at February 21, 2005 02:49 PMRan across this story about Mr. Thompson:
[Thomson was covering] the "Rumble in the Jungle", the 1974 heavyweight fight between Mohammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire. Days before the fight, Thompson was last seen asking a bell boy at his hotel whether he could lead him to a cannibal tribe.
Thompson, who took to attaching leeches to his head because the blood sucking gave him a "real buzz", did not see the fight but was instead found floating in the hotel pool, face down, afterwards.
When he was fished out, he looked up and asked, "Who won?" ...
[The article also noted that he] was distraught when Bill Clinton announced he had not inhaled a marijuana cigarette once handed to him.
"It's just a disgrace to an entire generation," he exclaimed.Source.
Posted by: Moona at February 22, 2005 09:15 AM