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So Long, Duke

So Long, Duke

February 21, 2005 (Mon)

I’ve always considered writing the most hateful kind of work. I suspect it’s a bit like fucking, which is only fun for amateurs. Old whores don’t do much giggling. Nothing is fun when you have to do it–over & over, again & again–or else you’ll be evicted, and that gets old. So it’s a rare goddamn trip for a locked-in, rent-paying writer to get into a gig that, even in retrospect, was a kingshell, highlife fuckaround from start to finish … and then to actually get paid for writing this kind of manic gibberish seems genuinely weird; like getting paid for kicking Agnew in the balls. So maybe there’s hope. Or maybe I’m going mad. These are not easy things to be sure of, either way…*

–Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005)

*Excerpt from the jacket copy for Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream

Writing

6 Comments

Jay

February 22, 2005 at 6:55 pm Reply

i thought i was the only one moved by hunter s. thompson's death. kudos, kev, kudos!

also...that oprah link you sent me is hilarious!! the depiction of her crowd isnt an overstatment at all!! hahaahah especially when that lady's head blew off her neck!

thanks dude, that made my day.
- Diana
  
  February 23, 2005 at 3:02 pm Reply
  
  Dare I ask about this Oprah link with someone getting their head blown off? A lot of people have been dying lately though. Bonnie Raitte's Dad died, Sandra Dee died... is it me, or is everyone all of a sudden dying? I don't recall seeing this many deaths of celebraties on tv when I was younger. Or was it just not covered very well back then? And there are hundreds of people dying from all these horrible natural disasters from this the weather. Was this what being alive during the bubonic plague felt like? Wondering if you were gonna be in the next batch of dead people?
  - KZ
    
    February 24, 2005 at 4:41 pm
    
    Regardless of what you thought about the man's politics, he was a brilliant writer. I'm sorry to say that up to this point, I haven't read much of Thompson's work besides Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and a couple of his ESPN sports articles. Like a lot of other people, I'll be rediscovering Thompson's work in the coming months. I took the man for granted while he was still around, but I feel an irrational sense loss now that he's gone.
    
    And in case you're all wondering what the heck Jay's talking about, check out this out. Glad you enjoyed it, Jay. It's become one of my all-time favorite SNL sketches.
Franker

February 27, 2005 at 12:09 pm Reply

Boy, I bet this guy's query letters to publishers must have been fun to read:
"Dear Sir or Madam,
I would like to offer for your perusal a romantic novel I have just completed. It is the story of a sensitive gentlemen who has been searching for love his whole life, wistfully dreaming of his soulmate as he travels from one exotic locale to another. A charming florist enters his life unexpectedly and they passionately begin to explore their delicate -
THAT'S ALL I'M GOING TO TELL YOU. I'VE BEEN WRITING THIS FUCKING NOVEL SO LONG I CAN'T EVEN BEAR TO DESCRIBE IT ANYMORE! YOU HAVE UNTIL TOMMORROW TO SEND ME A CONTRACT FOR ONE-TIME NON-EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATION RIGHTS, OR I'LL FIND OUT WHERE YOU LIVE AND KICK THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF YOU, MOTHER FUCKER! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I'M A WRITER! AND IT SUCKS! AAAUUUGHH!!!
I've enclosed a self-addressed stamped envelope for your convenience. I look forward to receiving your check soon. Thank you for you prompt consideration.
Yours,
Duke"
Diana

February 27, 2005 at 5:59 pm Reply

LMFAO!!! ROTFLMAO. I wonder if the book is as funny as his letter. Kinda makes me curious.
- Franker
  
  February 28, 2005 at 6:19 am Reply
  
  Thanks. I've always thought there's nothing like a well-placed "fucker" to get the juices flowing. Well, literary juices at least Wink