Think rabid fans of late author Hunter S. Thompson and knee-jerk bloggers are hyperventilating over Converse’s use of his image in their ad campaign? Wait until they find out Thompson’s estate started talking with the shoe company shortly after the gonzo writer fatally shot himself in 2005 about an HST edition Chuck Taylor low-top.

Thompson was hardly a fashion icon, and by no means a clotheshorse. He did, however, have a look: aviator sunglasses, the occasional Hawaiian shirt, cigarette holder fitted with a smoldering Dunhill, and a Tilley hat crushed down upon his near-bald pate (with a convenient secret stash compartment under the crown)—and white, Chuck Taylor All-Star low-cut sneakers by Converse.

“Since he bought his first pair in the early 1960s in San Francisco he has worn them every day of his life,” the author’s widow Anita Thompson tells Radar. “There are still over 70 pairs of them at the house.”

That hasn’t stopped some from crying “sellout.” And it’s tough to tell whether Hunter himself would have approved of the endorsement. He was never against making a fast buck. He always loved schemes, but was always generous and never greedy. In the 1970s, he had no problem posing for Levi photo ads. In 1999, when I convinced Porsche to loan him a new car to test drive for a review in the San Francisco Examiner Magazine, he got slapped for shilling. And he could’ve given a fuck. He thanked me. We talked on the phone for years afterward.

Full Story: Radar.

(via Murketing).

[Read more →]

Via the links from Tracy Tywman linked below:

A controversial author, Hunter Thompson was allegedly linked to Larry King as implicated in Paul Bonacci’s testimony in which the pedophile victim revealed that Thompson directed a graphic ‘snuff’ film [Franklin Cover-up, pp.102-105 & 327] made near Sacramento, California at a location called ” Bohemian Grove .”

[…]

Rusty Nelson’s quick arrest following on the heels of Hunter Thompson’s ‘suicide’ and alleged assertions that Jeff Gannon could be Johnny Gosch may all have serious criminal implications, as Thompson and Nelson were said to be closely linked to child sexual criminality at the highest levels of government–acts still punishable by law and easily meriting cover-up attempts by powerful forces.

Full Story: Infowars.

Yes, it’s stuff like this that makes me roll my eyes when people try to use Infowars or Alex Jones as a source.

Some background on the Franklin Credit Union scandal.

See also: Was Hunter S. Thompson murdered?

[Read more →]

(via Kirk Ultra)

[Read more →]

I’ve fallen behind on podcast updates, here are the latest:

Viking Youth: Hunter S. Thompson Biographer Wayne Ewing .

Viking Youth: Artificial Intelligence with Ken Gumbs .

R.U. Sirius: Burning Man with Larry Harvey .

R.U. Sirius: Evolution Control Committee.

NeoFiles: Evolution Biology with Ronald Bailey.

Sacred Whore: an Orgy of Meta.

[Read more →]

Torrent: 676.82 MB avi file.

An excellent documentary about Hunter S. Thompson filmed in the late 90s. Official site.

[Read more →]

‘When I came back, I was stronger. But what really saved me was writing to Hunter. I still do that every day. That helps a lot. I keep up a connection with him. It’s like a portal to him in my own mind.’ Has he left her well provided for? ‘He’s the best husband you can possibly imagine. I’m secure in terms of having a home, and I’ll be working for Hunter for the rest of my life [she is helping to edit a third volume of his letters, though at present reading them is still too painful]. But not in terms of money. There isn’t much money, though people think there is. But I’ve always known that because I worked for Hunter.’

Guardian.

Interesting tidbit from the article: John Kerry attended the memorial service.

[Read more →]

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.

CNN.

[Read more →]

I haven’t listened to it yet, but here’s a full Hunter S. Thompson speech from the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Link.

[Read more →]

In an interviwe with CBS Marketwatch, Hunter S. Thompson advises Bush to quit. Short interview, with a bit of back story. It says his new book will be published in December and will be called Kingdom of Fear (I can’t remember if the month and title had been announced before).
Link (via The Drudge Report).

[Read more →]

A fax from Hunter S. Thompson to his agent has emerged. Thompson claims Seinfeld has been trying to manipulate him into contributing material for a new sit-com.
Link.

[Read more →]

Apparently, Hunter S. Thompson had been writing a column on ESPN’s web site. However, it’s currently down for HST’s “summer vacation” to make a movie (involving Julia Roberts, or is it a joke? you never can tell with him…). Anyhoo, you can read the archives there and he says he will be back in the fall to cover football. (Link via Memepool).

[Read more →]