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Hunter S. Thompson, known as th e
founder of "gonzo" journalism, shot and killed himself in February.
On Saturday, August 20th, his ashes were shot out of a cannon on his
ranch in Woody Creek, Colorado. Hunter was 67 years old and in
declining health.
I first became aware of Hunter's
work when I saw Bill Murray portray him in the 1980 motion picture,
"Where the Buffalo Roam." Seeing that film as a teenager, I
could hardly believe that there really was such a person as Hunter
S. Thompson, and that Hollywood must have greatly exaggerated his
taste for smoking, drugs, alcohol and absurdity. Turns out that
Hollywood didn't know half of the real story, or else they couldn't
tell it all, lest no one believe it.
To call Hunter a renegade would be
an understatement, and probably not to the point anyway. Through the
years, I often thought of Hunter as the voice of insanity in a world
of reason, but these days I tend to look at Hunter the other way around. At
the very least, it was always entertaining and usually insightful to
get Hunter's opinion on politics or sports, both of which he loved
to watch and criticize.
Most of all, I appreciate Hunter's
take on journalism, a style he pioneered and called "gonzo"
journalism. Modern journalists like to pride themselves on their
impartiality or impersonal approach to their stories, but Hunter
held no such false notions. He knew that his coverage of a story
was, by definition, a part of the story and he made no bones about
it. His articles, often laced with profanity and absurd commentary
often hit closer to the point than any pretense of professionalism
that other writers sought. Hunter knew what he knew, believed what
he believed and he was passionate about sharing both.
Hunter inspired many and I'm proud
to have some small association with that inspiration with the Flying
Dog Brewery, whose recent "Gonzo Porter" was but a tiny tribute to
the man who drank and smoked with wreck-less abandon. (The beer is
great, by the way!) It was yet something else Hunter made no bones
about when he said "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence,
or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."
For coverage of Hunter S. Thompson's cannon blast, I suggest the
CNN website, which even has a
link to a video of the blast - or for more on the beer tribute, the
Flying Dog website.
Questions, complaints or compliments? Email me at:
beergeek@worldclassbeverages.com |
