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No sooner had my epic seven-part series on Hunter S. Thompson, “Father of Fake News,” wrapped up — well, maybe a few months later — than Miles Mathis, the doyen of online conspiracy research, turned his gimlet eyes onto the same hapless subject in “Hunter S. Thompson: Spook Baby.”
Cazart! Was this another conspiracy? Synchronicity? Or just a coincidence? (Sure, that’s exactly what They’d want you to believe). (more…)
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Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality was tacitly denied by their philosophy. — George Orwell, 1984
American college students have said, ‘Like 1984, man’, when asked not to smoke pot in the classroom or advised gently to do a little reading. — Anthony Burgess, 1985
I made a half-hearted New Year’s resolution not to mention Orwell’s 1984 this year, not once. Like most of these Janus-faced pledges, however, it didn’t last long. But hasn’t the book been over-visited? (more…)
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Part 6 of 7 (Part 1 here, Part 5 here, Part 7 here)
6. Gonzo: Paleocon, Neocon, or Just Con?
I had just begun to doubt some of my strongest convictions when I stumbled upon [Colin Wilson’s The Outsider]. But rather than being wrong, I think that I just don’t express my rightness correctly. — Hunter S. Thompson (more…)
Thompson when he was running for Sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado in 1970.
Thompson when he was running for Sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado in 1970.
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Part 4 of 7 (Part 1 here, Part 3 here, Part 5 here)
4. Father of Fake News – or OT (Original Troll)? . . . The Myth of the Golfing Douchebag
I have discovered the secret of writing fiction, calling it impressionistic journalism, and selling it to people who want “something fresh.” — Hunter S. Thompson
Any man who still has a residue of honor will be very careful not to become a journalist. — Dr. Josef Goebbels (more…)
Hunter passed out drunk while covering an event as a journalist circa 1960.
Hunter passed out drunk while covering an event as a journalist circa 1960.
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Part 3 of 7 (Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 4 here)
3. Gonzo: What Happened? — Decline and Fall of Gonzo
As Thompson charts Hemingway’s road from literary brilliance to failure and suicide, he maps out his own path for the future. (more…)
Hunter S. Thompson during his time in the Air Force.
Hunter S. Thompson during his time in the Air Force.
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Part 2 of 7 (Part 1 here, Part 3 here)
2. What is Gonzo? — High White Notes
“It has finally come home to me that I am not going to be either the Fitzgerald or the Hemingway of this generation . . . I am going to be the Thompson of this generation, and that makes me more nervous than anything else I can think of.” (more…)
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Part 1 of 7 (Part 2 here)
David S. Wills
High White Notes: The Rise and Fall of Gonzo Journalism
St. Andrews: Beatdom Books, 2021
“He’s a drunk and he’s a doper who has got a style which is very dangerous for journalism students to pick up on.” — Harlan Ellison, 1979[1]
David Wills comes not to bury Hunter Thompson, but to praise him; ultimately, he does a pretty good job of both. (more…)
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I read a lot and always have, but there is only one book I have ever finished and immediately gone from its last line straight back to page one and started reading it again. It was Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The movie version featured Johnny Depp with Benicio del Toro as his lawyer (and I guess Depp has met his fill of lawyers just recently, although hopefully not on acid). But it wasn’t at all bad, I thought. Thompson’s famous gonzo style of writing (much better than precursor H. L. Mencken, who I have to say I could never stand) put a fishhook in my upper lip I could not shake free of. (more…)
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Host Greg Johnson was joined by magus James J. O’Meara on the latest episode of Counter-Currents Radio to talk about Hunter S. Thompson, the father of fake news, plus current events and YOUR QUESTIONS, and it is now available for download and online listening.
Topics discussed include:
00:03:22 Introduction to High White Notes: The Rise and Fall of Gonzo Journalism
00:07:23 Who was Hunter S. Thompson?
00:20:11 Thompson as the father of fake news (more…)
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Seasoned warmage James J. O’Meara was the special guest on the latest episode of The Writers’ Bloc with host Nick Jeelvy, where they discussed The Best Month Ever, a retrospective of a selection of articles on Counter-Currents from January, and it is now available for download and online listening. Considerable discussion was also devoted to the topic of Christianity versus humanism. (more…)
