Hunter S. Thompson: Champion of Breakfast (two orders of excess and a side of Hot Damn!)

 

I got an email from a guy high atop my honor roll today. He chimed in with a quote from a natural born spark striker and main influence, the Good Doctor himself, Hunter S. Thompson. My cracked cohort and I have shared many a near Hunter experiences in the past. We've bought tickets and taken rides. 

Fortunately we never went over that vaunted edge that HST used to speak of (hence we are still living)...but we came close a few times. Somedays you need a little edge to jumpstart the engines. Today the old pipes got a bit of a rattlin' when I received this in an email:

"Breakfast is the only meal of the day that I tend to view with the same kind of traditionalized reverence that most people associate with Lunch and Dinner. I like to eat breakfast alone, and almost never before noon; anybody with a terminally jangled lifestyle needs at least one psychic anchor every twenty-four hours, and mine is breakfast.

In Hong Kong, Dallas or at home — and regardless of whether or not I have been to bed — breakfast is a personal ritual that can only be properly observed alone, and in a spirit of genuine excess. The food factor should always be massive: four Bloody Marys, two grapefruits, a pot of coffee, Rangoon crepes, a half-pound of either sausage, bacon, or corned beef hash with diced chiles, a Spanish omelette or eggs Benedict, a quart of milk, a chopped lemon for random seasoning, and something like a slice of Key lime pie, two margaritas, and six lines of the best cocaine for dessert.

Right, and there should also be two or three newspapers, all mail and messages, a telephone, a notebook for planning the next twenty-four hours and at least one source of good music…. All of which should be dealt with outside, in the warmth of a hot sun, and preferably stone naked."

- Hunter S. Thompson

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Give this bit of audio a listen. It is a reading from the 25th anniversary of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. While listening to this, my advice to you is to start drinking...heavily. 

Tagged Audio Breakfast Gonzo Hunter S. Thompson The Edge Tune Tags

Poorman's Podcast: crawling pubs with the London locals (and Ralph Steadman) and waiting for the Faces to walk in...


Listen!

via AudioBoo
Tagged Gonzo Happy Birthday Hunter S. Thompson London Pubs Ralph Steadman The Faces Warren Zevon Wild Turkey

You might need a tumbler of Wild Turkey with plenty of ice for this: Hunter S. Thompson, Hotel Rooms and One and a Half Suitcases...

I was listening to the iPod this morning while strolling the London footpaths. The Shuffle was working its magic, offering up a wicked three-in-a-row of My Morning Jacket > Chuck Berry > Waylon Jennings.  With The Shuffle it is a serendipitous sound surfing, never know what is coming next. 

What I got next was from The Gonzo Tapes. The Gonzo Tapes is a five CD set of audio recording of and by Hunter S. Thompson. The recordings of Hunter's mumbles, slurs and twisted Kentucky drawl cover the years of 1965-1975 and it over 100 tracks long.

If you are devout Hunter fan (like I am) you will find this utterly fascinating if not overwhelming.  It is both exhilarating and exhausting to listen to 9I mean this in a good way). When I indulge in repeat listens (of which there are many) I like to be alone in the house, turn it up very loud and double up on that tumbler of Wild Turkey. The extreme volume squelches out any other sounds in the house and disrupts any clear thoughts you may have; hang on and listen.

The Gonzo Tapes track that came up is from the Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas era. It is Hunter surveying the carnage in the hotel room after a week's stay with "Dr.Gonzo".  He is riffing on the scene for a matter of record. If you are familiar with the book, you can see the germs of the vibrant imagery and dark happenings expertly transcribed in the pages of the book. 

It is a fun tour of an apparently debauched and ravaged hotel room.  His blasé attitude is cavalier in light of the looming deadline, the heavy room tab and the severe state of his being ("I should be put in a rest home...if not a jail."). My favourite part is at 3:57 when he says, "I have no guilt". He means it, too (The Gonzo Way, Lesson #7: "Never apologise, never explain").

Here, listen and enjoy:
(download)

Hunter was a massive fan of music. It was most often a central character in his best works. Here is a quote on music from the Good Doctor:

"Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio." 

Dammit. I miss Hunter.

In 1999, Hunter was asked by a UK label to string together a playlist of his favourite Fuel to be packaged up for sale. It was called, "Where Were You When the Fun Stopped".  Back when I lived in the States, I ordered a copy from the UK by mail. It is classic Hunter.  The quote above is from the liner notes.

There are the obvious choices (obvious if you know Hunter) from Zevon, Dylan, The Airplane, Buffet and Lovett. There are also a few savvy selection of which you may never heard. Here is the coolest one of the collection:

"The Ballad of Thunder Road": Who knew Robert Mitchum sang, let alone sang bad-assed shit?! Hunter chose the Mitchum's reading of the song from the name of the same movie Mitchum Starred in.  

You willing to bet Hunter stepped hard on the gas when he heard these lyrics? I would.

Roarin’ out of Harlan, revvin’ up his mill
He shot the gap at Cumberland, and screamed by Maynordsville
With G-men on his taillights, roadblocks up ahead
The mountain boy took roads that even Angels feared to tred.

Tune Tags

Fuel for your fire:

The Goods

Prior posts on Hunter from The 6149:
Lookee Here! (links):
Track listing for "Where Were You When the Fun Stopped":
  1. Ballad of Thunder Road - Robert Mitchum
  2. I Smell A Rat - Howlin' Wolf
  3. Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum
  4. The Hula-Hula Boys - Warren Zevon
  5. Maggie May - Rod Stewart
  6. The Wild Side of Life / It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels - Hank Thompson feat. Kitty Wells & Tanya Tucker
  7. Will The Circle Be Unbroken - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
  8. Mr Tambourine Man - Bob Dylan
  9. Walk On The Wild Side - Lou Reed
  10. If I Had A Boat - Lyle Lovett
  11. Stars On The Water - Rodney Crowell
  12. Carmelita - Flaco Jiminez feat. Dwight Yoakam
  13. Why Don't We Get Drunk - Jimmy Buffett
  14. American Pie - Don McClean
  15. White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
  16. The Weight- The Band
  17. Melissa - The Allman Brothers Band
  18. Battle Hymn of the Republic - Herbie Mann
Tagged Bow-Down Post Fun Gonzo Hunter S. Thompson Playlist Riffs Robert Mitchum TheGoods TuneTags

Gonzo Management: The not so fine line between influence and emulate

Close to three weeks ago I left my job. My team and co-workers had a bit of a send-off ceremony for me. People gathered in the cafeteria, they played a slideshow of photos (backed with Johnny Paycheck's, "Take This Job and Shove It"...nice touch) and they gave me a beautiful framed portrait of Sydney's famed harbour.  


A good friend (now ex-boss) said a few words as well. In the course of him telling stories he talked about my personal style of work and how I make things happen.  


He touched on something I hadn't thought of. He talked about how I had seemingly made myself part and parcel of all the major initiatives that I had launched internally for my brand.  Literally, I was the face of everything that I did.  It wasn't just the "initiative" that needed to be completed, it was "Judd's initiative" that needed to be completed. 


In some cases I would have a simple piece of creative worked up with me in it to have a bit of theatre around what I was trying to do.  Rather than be a stale, "same-old" roll out, I would try and give it some life.  This always generated more support and dedication to the desired outcome.  It was simple to do and it had great effect. 


Here is a sample of one of the simple posters I made up for the second phase of an internal initiative. 

But it wasn't just a goofy movie poster parody that garnered all the support.  What really made this work was my lunging into it head first and seeing it through. Being showy for showy's sake doesn't work.  It is transparent.  When people can see through you and don't feel that you are supporting them with equal dedication to the task that you are asking of them, they find something more worthwhile to focus on.  

When I heard my friend speak about me in this way, I instantly thought of one of my heros: Hunter S. Thompson.  

One of Hunter's bits of wisdom, is to "never try and be like anyone else".  I agree.  I don't desire to emulate anyone of my heroes. I am influenced by them thought.  The line between influence and emulate is not a fine one in my opinion.  

When you try and emulate (or equal) someone, you are set up to fail.  You can't be anyone else.  You can only be yourself...but your self can be influenced by others. 

Hunter (wether he liked it or not) created what has come to be known as Gonzo Journalism. A quick wikipedia reference give us a formal version of what that is:  

Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism which is written subjectively, often including the reporter as part of the story via a first person narrative...it often uses personal experiences and emotions to provide context for the topic or event being covered

Without knowing it...or trying to do it...I was applying Hunter's influence into my work/my personal style. I was acting out my own personal Gonzo Management.  The idea of this was exciting to me.  In his best of works, Hunter made himself an integral part of the story. The story could not be written without a healthy dose of Hunter in it.  Not that Hunter stole the spotlight, but he helped shine it on the messages and the meaning...first hand.  In hindsight, this is what I was doing. 

This is influence in action.  I did not set out to emulate Hunter.  That would have resulted in failure. If I did, the emulation of Hunter would have been my focus and not gather ing the necessary support to be successful in our common goals.  

Influence is you with a twist.   Emulate is you trying not to be you.  People follow you's.

_____

A side note:

I am a hands on guy.  Not hands on in a "control freak", but hands on in the sense that I am willing to do the hard-yards with you.  I'm passionate about what I do and I like to get involved.  I also crave and give autonomy whenever possible. You can't lead from the middle of the pack, but you can lead by example. 

 

Tagged Gonzo Gonzo Way management marketing teams wisdom

Ancient Gonzo Wisdom (not the same thing as an "Ancient Chinese Secret")

 

One of my favourite bits of Gonzo Wisdom is: "Everybody fumbles...its the recovery that matters".  I think about it every time I screw something up.  I take a step back and think about what I did and how I learned from my mistake and then I go bat-out-of-hell like into the pile to find the ball. 

You are familiar with the book on Hunter S. Thompson's wisdom, aren't you?  You would be if you read my previous post on it.  If you habven't done that, go ahead and take 5 minutes to do so...

...OK.  You done?  Good.  You need to understand that to then grasp what comes next.  Another book out out by Anita Thompson (HST's widow) has hit the shelves.  "Ancient Gonzo Wisdom" just arrived on my Sydney doorstep today (I actually heard the thud of it hitting the porch). I had been waiting for this sucker for sometime now.  It is not the same as a new work from The Man himself, but alas we have no choice but consider this the next best thing. 

Here is a product description on the book:

Bristling with inspired observations and wild anecdotes, this first collection offers a unique insight into the voice and mind of the inimitable Hunter S. Thompson, as recorded in the pages ofPlayboy, The Paris Review, Esquire, and elsewhere.

Fearless and unsparing, the interviews detail some of the most storied episodes of Thompson’s life: a savage beating at the hands of the Hells Angels, talking football with Nixon on the 1972 Campaign Trail (“the only time in 20 years of listening to the treacherous bastard that I knew he wasn’t lying”), and his unlikely run for sheriff of Aspen. Elsewhere, passionate tirades about journalism, culture, guns, drugs, and the law showcase Thompson’s voice at its fiercest.

 

Arranged chronologically, and prefaced with Anita Thompson’s moving account of her husband’s last years, the interviews present Hunter in all his fractured brilliance and provide an exceptional portrait of his times.

There are a number of people who have come out with books since his death.  What I like about this one and the Gonzo Way is that they are him...his own words.  What else I like is that it is arranged by someone (Anita) who cares about him, the man...not just Raoul Duke or Lono. 

NPR also ran an excerpt form an interview with the Good Doctor about his "Hell's Angels" experience. Have at it.  Here is the link:

 

 

I am assuming that by now you have cracked a beer or poured yourself a tall cool Cuba Libre (with plenty of ice).  I have (both).  Let's take a look a hidden gem of a video of Keith Richards being interviewed by HST.  

Yes you read that right.  Keef Richards interviewed by Hunter S. Thompson.  Two of the Lords of Karma's own henchmen on the job. 

I remember watching this when I was in colle ge (one of the few things i fully remember from that time and pla ce).  Two of my heroes, two juggernauts of individualism and True Grit both trading barbs.  The interview is a bow-down event...but, my imagination explodes with possibilities about what the hell went on between this pairing in Hunter's Kitchen post interview.  I feel light-headed just dreaming about it. 

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p.s. you got the "Ancient Chinese Secret" joke, right?

Tagged Books Gonzo HST Keith Richards

The Gonzo Way: Tribute to Hunter S. Thompson (video)

"Never try and be like anyone else". - HST

Good advice, Hunter. Hunter knew how to walk the talk, too.  In a long history full of pioneers and trailblazer, Hunter was one of America's best.  He was uncompromising in methods and unquestionably patriotic.  HST is a heavy influence in my life and not for all the reason that you may think.  There is another angle to Hunter that the masses do not know about nor have bothered to investigate. His widow, Anita Thompson, put together book in the months after his death called, "The Gonzo Way".  It is a tribute of sorts to the man that Hunter was and the wisdom that Anita and those around him soaked up.

His wisdom. as I see it, reflects a  very existential existence.  It is up to you as to who you are and who you project yourself to be. Your choice...your responsibility...(and as a result) your freedom to live the life you want to on your own terms. One of the bits of wisdom that I pulled out of the book was a quote by Hunter: “To see life clearly, to live it like a champion, not taking abuse from anyone, you have to develop your own set of rules.”  There was so much more to Hunter than Fear & Loathing and that is why I appreciate Anita's book so much.

Around the time it came out, I got a new Apple Macbook Pro and I was giving all the bells and whistles a test run.  I was using the Apple version of powerpoint ("Keynote") and I created a presentation the Gonzo Way as I saw the book.  I used the upload to YouTube feature and whala...I posted my vid online.  Through the power of the interweb, the wisdom spread. Within a couple of days I had over 1,000 views (almost 7k now), a few emails and even a mention from Anita on her "Owl Farm Blog" (see it here). Very cool. I even exchanged a an email with her on the video & book.  I hit the nerve center. Righteous.

The book puts forth the Seven Lessons:

  • One: Learning – That’s What it’s All About
  • Two: It’s Wrong When it Stops Being Fun
  • Three: Politics is the Art of Controlling Your Environment
  • Four: “We” is the Most Important Word in Politics
  • Five: Truth is Easier
  • Six: Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride
  • Seven: Never Apologize, Never Explain

Have a watch of the vid and learn a bit more about the lessons and to soak up some of the wisdom youself.  Also, enjoy the Bob soundtrack (Mr. Tambourine Man was a front-row song for HST).


If you want a closer look a the presentation, I attached the PDF of it.

(download)

Mahalo.

Tagged Existentialism Gonzo HST
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