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Comments:
raymond - 2005-02-21 08:52:52 He and Sandra Dee died over the weekend. If there's a more ironic juxtaposition, I don't know what it is. I was really sad about both of them, actually, but especially Hunter S. Thompson because I always suspected that he was a very unhappy man underneath all of the antics and bravado. He and Spalding Gray in just over a year. What a loss.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-21 09:15:42 Raymond: could be. Anna: I suspected the same about Spalding Gray, too. Apparently Hunter wasn't doing very well these past couple of years. One commentor on the inevitable Metafilter discussion said the ESPN column was more or less all he could do anymore. A terrible loss.* * * * * * * * * * * * Anna - 2005-02-21 09:21:20 Yeah, in the case of Spaulding Gray, I had heard rumors for years that they had to practically give him continuous intravenous anti-depressants to get him out of bed... I hadn't heard the same of HST, but I am not surprised.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-21 09:24:53 Didn't know that about Spalding Gray. As a MeFite commented, (a trivial aside) one wonders what will happen to Doonesbury's Uncle Duke. Sad day.* * * * * * * * * * * * Anna - 2005-02-21 09:31:26 By the way, speaking of the news this morning, I had a very bizarre experience while watching the Today Show before work. They were reporting on the phone calls between Bush and his family friend, and they rolled some of the tapes... and I found myself liking Bush *better*. Especially when his friend asked if he was under pressure to "fire the gays," He said, "I'm not firing anybody. I'm not going to discriminate against people." I was, frankly, surprised. Also, his stance on drugs -- "somebody's got to just put an end to this and stop answering questions," was exactly right, if also self-serving.* * * * * * * * * * * * Michael McC. - 2005-02-21 09:50:19 I think people should keep asking questions until someone starts giving answers. All the people that know about him aren't dead yet, they're just scared or complicit. Sooner or later somebody's going to snitch, and won't that be a revelation. He was in up to his neck, and so was his daddy. This is old news, maybe, but still relevant, given his moral cant.* * * * * * * * * * * * Michael McC - 2005-02-21 09:51:59 And way too bad about Hunter, which was the reason I started to comment. A real loss, not matter what happened or what he did.* * * * * * * * * * * * Dan Arbor - 2005-02-21 09:58:27 I like Raymond's comment. :) I am frankly surprised. I would not have batted an eye had I heard that Hunter had killed someone else, but himself? No way. And yet... This truly is a sad day. He was the last of a breed that was outrageous because they were outraged. I once had the good fortune of seeing HST speak in San Francisco. He arrived 2 hours lake, much-lightened fifth of Wild Turkey in hand, and out of his mind. Yet, he displayed a remarkable lucidity and grasp of current events at that time (this was late 80's). He was very funny, and savage in his critique of politics in general, and specifically, the Republicans. His commentary always struck me as some of the more insightful writing, particularly where politics is concerned, I've ever read. He will be missed...* * * * * * * * * * * * Vince Prygoski - 2005-02-21 10:00:40What a shame, and how very sad. I got up this morning and turned on TV to check the weather and the announcement was among the other basic news statements running across the bottom of the screen. Got to work and verified it on the internet. We have lost another brave soul who had the courage to speak the truth about all the stupidity and corruption in the world. Rest in peace, Dr. Thompson, and those of us still here will do our best to carry on your work.* * * * * * * * * * * * Dave D. - 2005-02-21 10:14:28 Saddened and shocked beyond words. "Fear and Loathing '72" is the best political book I've ever read. Wow..just...* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-21 11:16:11 Dave D., it's the best political book I've read as well. I remember the first time I read one of his books, F&LILV. I was 13 or so, and I was amazed. "Are people really allowed to write like that?" I thought. It was so crazy and wild and out of control, and at the time I didn't catch the politics but I knew this was something great. He will be very much missed.* * * * * * * * * * * * LF - 2005-02-21 12:02:03 The end of Hells Angels cracked me up. Throughout the book he feels that the bikers could turn on him at any moment and it finally happens. His smart-assed mouth gets him gang stomped and he pitifully crawls onto the back seat of his car while they roar off.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-21 12:36:00 That was his first book I believe, from 1966 (good heavens, he's been writing longer than I've been alive).* * * * * * * * * * * * Vince Prygoski - 2005-02-21 18:30:33 That "he's been writing longer than I've been alive" reminds me of when I found out that John Sinclair graduated from the U of M Flint in 1964...the year I was born! Then there's Gordie Howe, who started playing pro hockey years before I was born (started with the Red Wings in 1946)...and continued playing for years after I was born (retired from the Hartford Whalers in 1980!). Oh, and then he made a one game comeback with the minor league Detroit Vipers just a few seasons ago.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-21 19:15:55 All of those examples kind of stagger the imagination. I had no idea Gordie Howe started that early.* * * * * * * * * * * * LF - 2005-02-21 21:48:09 Gordie Howe to this day looks fitter than most of us pipsqueaks. He's one a them there genetic freaks.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-21 23:06:12 While we're on the subject of hockey, is there anything a non-sportsy girl needs to know about the NFL lockout? Is it good? Bad? An egregious example of greed on someone's part? I'm so totally ignorant, despite desultory, bus-sleepy scanning of the sports pages, that if I were captured by an enemy spy and questioned about it to determine if I were an American, I'd fail miserably and would immediately be shot. * * * * * * * * * * * * be OH be - 2005-02-22 08:15:16 Confusing the National Hockey League with the National Football Leaugue might just get you shot by your own side. : ) I honestly don't know much about the situation myself. But it's normally safe to assume that greed plays a part in why professional athletes aren't playing the game that they profess to love.* * * * * * * * * * * * Anna - 2005-02-22 08:27:41 Well, here's something funny -- As I was wishing you warm wishes and a quick fix for your furnace, it turns out that mine was not operational. I came home early from work not feeling well, fell asleep on the couch, woke up a couple hours later with a splitting headache to find that I was really, really cold, and that my dog was busy eating a bunch of bannanas that had been on the counter. It was very bizarre and almost Hunter S. Thompson-like ("am I hallucinating? I can practically see my breath, and my dog is chomping on... bannanas? huh? And what the hell is wrong with my head?"). Thought maybe I had carbon monoxide poisioning, but no... the furnace had just quietly decided to blow cold, rather than hot, air. I'm now waiting for the furnace people, who are supposed to come out at some point today. Until then, my house is almost into the forties. Br. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-22 09:04:46 Your warm wishes worked and its amazing how much better the furnace works now than it did--it's whooshing out that heat like nobody's business. Well, I'll be darned. Do I carry a furnace curse, transmissible by blog? I'm sorry to hear that your furnace is out--at least the furnace people are coming out today. That scene is Hunter Thompson-like. Except maybe in his case the dog might be chomping on benzedrines and not bananas.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-22 09:06:35 be OH be: I know the NHL guys have sticks. Beyond that it's all a blur I'm afraid. But thank you for the warning. :)* * * * * * * * * * * * yd - 2005-02-22 09:08:15 So did they tell you what was wrong with the furnace?* * * * * * * * * * * * Anna - 2005-02-22 09:43:13 They just left -- they didn't have the right part but were able to get it going until they can get the right one. I wish I had a service contract... Mine was the thingy that keeps the furnace from getting too hot (?). Dog seems to have survived eating copious amounts of bannana. I hear bannana peels are hallucinogenic. Maybe that explains things.* * * * * * * * * * * * yd - 2005-02-22 09:52:07 Ahh, the limit switch.* * * * * * * * * * * * Anna - 2005-02-22 09:56:32 Yes! Limit switch. He had one that wasn't quite right, and is even more limiting, so he wanted to get one that would allow the furnace to get hotter. I feel like I could just do it myself if I could figure out the part, but now I feel obligated to have him back. Oh well, he earned his money -- I never would have figured it out on my own.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-22 09:58:00 That was quick. I'm glad they found the problem & fixed it. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-22 10:03:45 I have to laugh at the picture of a dog enthusiastically chowing down on, of all things, bananas. Not the soup bone on the counter or the greasy butter wrapper sticking out of the trash or (in my dog's case) the subscription-renewal card from a magazine but...bananas. It's so funny, though I'm not laughing at you or your dog, Anna. It's just odd.* * * * * * * * * * * * Anna - 2005-02-22 10:13:44 The vet made me put her on a diet, and ever since then, she's been stealing anything she can get her paws on. Last week it was an entire 5 lb bag of potatoes -- she only ate half of one, then proceded to voice her disappointment in their flavor by leaving them all over the house -- potatoes in the bathroom, potatoes in the bedroom, potatoes in the living room, kitchen, dining room... It was so funny I couldn't even be angry with her. That's the way I felt when I looked up blearily and saw her with an entire bunch of bannanas next to her, and one resting on her paws as she chomped away. Silly girl. I think I need to stop listening to the vet, but she *is* awfully chubby and she's a golden and they tend toward hip problems, so I want to keep her at least at a *reasonable* weight. I guess it will be easier once hiking season starts.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-22 10:19:35 Potatoes....? I hope you mean she was leaving whole potatoes all over the house, which is hilarious. I can just picture a disgruntled Lab trying to dispose of those floury old potatoes by hiding them all over the house. I can imagine potatoes sitting on the carpet under my dining room table, left there by a disapproving dog--it's very funny; thanks for the story Anna.* * * * * * * * * * * * Anna - 2005-02-22 10:23:13 Yep, whole potatoes... as if they were balls. She's pretty damn cute, that dog of mine.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-22 10:26:00 I have to laugh at the thought of "discovering" dog-deposited potatoes all over my house for days. What a hoot. That is indeed cute.* * * * * * * * * * * * LF - 2005-02-22 11:46:55 My oversimplified version of NHL troubles - the owners were poaching players from each others' teams with outlandish contract offers. To put an end to the poaching, the owners decided they needed a salary cap. The players and management couldn't decide on the cap number (approx. 42 million versus 49 million) so the commissioner (Gary Bettman) cancelled the season. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-22 11:54:30 That makes sense; thanks LF. But...42 million? Versus 49 million? Phew. It's kinda laughable that they couldn't find a compromise between what are two extravagantly exhorbitant, Jabba-the-Hutt-bloated sums of money. But no...they had to stand their silly ground and lose the whole season. Though, as one NPR commentor noted, the fans don't really seem to care. It's not like there's rioting in the streets or anything...* * * * * * * * * * * * Anna - 2005-02-22 16:45:13 I heard a quip about that somewhere this weekend, "70 percent of the country heard the story about the season cancellation and suddenly remembered that major league hockey actually *has* a season". * * * * * * * * * * * * add your comment: |