Owl Farm Blog

As I was reading the sad news that several seal hunters were killed today due to bad weather, my first thougth was of the wives of those men who died. I have a hunch they never wanted their husbands to be out there on the ice killing those babies in the first place. But I don’t know. Condolences to the families…. all the families that suffered the loss of a loved one.

As I prepare my bags for a trip to Paris tomorrow for business and a little study, I did a quick log on to see what they’ve been saying about Hunter’s good friend Jame’s Carville after he compared Benedict Richardson Arnold to Judas. They’ve been bashing Hillary since day one, but wondered what was up with James after a day of it. Nice post James! The following is one of the many reasons Hunter admired his buddy James: 

Fully aware of this supercharged environment in which the slightest slight is elevated to the most egregious insult, I waded in — okay, dove in — by demonstrating what constitutes a real insult.

I believe that loyalty is a cardinal virtue. Nowhere in the world is loyalty so little revered and tittle-tattle so greatly venerated as in Washington. I was a little-known political consultant until Bill Clinton made me. When he came upon hard times, I felt it my duty — whatever my personal misgivings — to stick by him. At the very least, I would have stayed silent. And maybe that’s my problem with what Bill Richardson did. Silence on his part would have spoken loudly enough.

Most of the stuff I’ve ever said is pretty insignificant and by in large has been said off the cuff and without much thought to the potential consequences. That was not the case in this instance. Bill Richardson’s response was that the Clinton people felt they were entitled to the presidency. In my mind, that is a debatable hypothesis. But, even more than that, I know that a former president of the United States who appointed someone to two Senate-confirmed positions is entitled to have his phone calls returned.

If Richardson was going to turn on the Clintons the way he did, I see no problem in saying what I said. Because if loyalty is one virtue, another is straight talk. And if Democrats can’t handle that, they’re going to have a hard time handling a Republican nominee who is seeking the presidency with that as his slogan.

–James Carville, Hunter’s good friend in the Washington Post today

Remember, one of the lessons Hunter taught us is that  We Is The Most Important Word In Politics.

Until next time, your friend in Geneva,

Anita Thompson

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It is very important to learn, early in life, that you can beat City Hall and that You can change the System.  You might be beaten and gassed by Police a few times before you succeed — but that stuff goes with the territory.  And you will be proud of it later, just as you will make many smart friends who will stand with you for the rest of your life.

— Hunter S. Thompson, Hey Rube. May 14, 2001 

 Where is Michael Moore when we need him? His beloved Canada has just baned the press and all other observers from whitnessing the annual Seal hunt. We know why China bans the press (unless they’re accompanied by a censorhip officer), we know why Zimbawe’s dictator bans the press from seeing what he has done to his people but, if Canada’s seal-pelt hunt is "humane," why the secrecy? 

Canada claims that the hunt is now humane, because the new rules require that the hunters slit the arteries of the baby seals after crushing their skulls, so they are not skinned alive anymore. There is evidence that often the babies were stunned, but not dead, as they were skinned, every year, for the last 400 years. So, no more skinning alive, according to Canadian authorities. Good. But, why keep the reporters and observers out?  Oh Canada.

We know why European and American observers have been barred by Zimbabwe’s dictator Mugabe, and many foreign media, including The Times, denied accreditation. Mugabe has presided over the total economic collapse and destruction of his people. The unemployment is 80%, education and health systems are almost non-existant, and life expectancy for women is 34 years and for men, 37, according to the World Health Organization.

We also know why China accompanies and severly limits the press access in Lhasa. Yes, this is old news.

But why is Canada suddenly a censorhip country?  I received some thougthful emails from readers who said that this seal slaughter (killing  not for the meat, but for the fur to rich women in countries like Russia) has been going on for 400 years, and is the income of hunters (actually about 5% of their income), so I should be more considerate of their trade. Okay.

That, however, is the beauty of living in a free country like Canada. If one is born into an evil business such as murdering for vanity, that person can learn another trade — like tourism, for example.   But a baby seal doesn’t have that option to choose another role in life. 

 If the Canadian hunters are too dumb to learn another trade, maybe the generous Canadian government can help them. I’m all for tradition. But I’m also hip on human evolution. Why not?

Your friend,

Anita Thompson

 

p.s. Evolution? It appears that we have been slowly evolving as a species. A human jawbone has just been found in Spain. "it looks superficially similar to jawbones of H. erectus found at Dmanisi in Georgia, which date to about 1.7 million years ago, according to the study published in the journal Nature. "I think this part of human history is poorly known in Europe. We have very few fossils and artefacts. But this jawbone is the oldest human fossil we have from western Europe," said Dr de Castro, of Spain’s National Centre for the Study of Human Evolution.

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275,000 will be clubbed to death this season. The hunters said the photos of cute baby white seals are "misleading," because the new regulations require that they can’t bludgeon seals that are younger than two weeks old. OH. I see.

Most of the EU has banned the imports of seal fur, and the British politicians are under pressure now. It’s interesting that even the welfare of animals depends on politics in the end. And of course, we know politics depends on money.

Which is nothing new in the Political business. Even George Washington needed cash in the final hours; there is always something,from feeding the horses to keeping the phones from being cut off. It used to be cash in brown bags, tight greasy little bundles of 10s and 20s, but now it comes by computer, with no fingerprints. It comes in vast amounts and it comes constantly…

We are not talking about the petty cash drawer. The fast money now is what gets people elected.  It is the stuff that can make a 5 percent difference in the polls in the week before Election Day – far more than any great speech or high truth or great issue.  These things are all extras, compared with the cadidate’s access to money.

— Hunter S. Thompson, Generation on Swine

Yep, it hasn’t changed, has it. Especially in places like Chicago where the concept of "bundling" was perfected. The Clinton campaign is trailing so far behind the money game, it’s grim. I even contributed to her campaign from my microscopic savings account just to make some effort to compete with all the cash flowing in to Obama. He is totally rolling in dough, and I doubt it’s coming from his grandma in Kenya. 

It is no secret that politicians on both sides are on the take. It’s just a bummer that the "Change" and  "Hope" guy is the biggest Taker.  Apparently not just from corporations like Exelon, but even from the Chicago mega-slum lord during their "praying" sessions at the Louis Faraquan church. Yes, he is a politician, by design, so he ain’t clean, but I doubt he is a true racist.  My mom’s good friend, (a non-white American woman) after graduating from Yale,  found herself at Harvard Grad school with Barack Obama. She didn’t call him a racist by any means, she just says he was a "pompous ass." 

But hell, being a Pompous Ass is not so bad. I know lots of them.  It will only make it harder for his ego when McCain wins.  At least Barack doesn’t wear baby seal fur coats. Does he?

Anyway, it’s already 11 am here. I gotta run.

Until next time, your friend in Geneva,

Anita Thompson

P.S. I have a special announcement to make: We wish, my nephew,  Zack Ross, of Fort Collins, Colorado a very happy birthday today.   He is the author and publisher of a snowboarding-style pamphlet (50 cents each) titled: "How To Be A Champion."  Happy Birthday sweetie. 10 is a biggie! I love you.

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Every time Hunter’s grandmother was with him on Easter Sunday, she would wake him up with these words:

Goodmorning Hunter. He has risen

Hunter: He has risen indeed!

Huner loved to tell me this story, and chuckle every time. His grandmother was a strong, beautiful woman who had a sense of humor, along with a strong will. So, Happy Easter!

Anyway, I just returned from England, where they sent me to do an exclusive Interview with the Sunday Times about the Gonzo Way. Of course, hours-long interviews often end up focusing on the negative, but I can’t blame the journalist for wondering about those unanswered questions that have been lingering since those photos were sent to me of the scene of Hunter’s death. She focused a lot on the 6th lesson of the Gonzo Way. She was a very nice journalist, and we had a good long talk in an old school private club in London… over tea. But sometimes editors exagerate and add things interviewees didn’t say.  It’s called "thug journalism"

Unfortunately, we didn’t talk about Ralph’s Plague And the Moonflower…

Anyway, the best part of the trip was that I was able to meet up with Ralph and Anna for Anna’s sweet 16 birthday. She looks beautiful as ever, living in one of the most colorful and comfortable castles I’ve ever seen.  We spent the evening eating a lovely stew, salad with Champaign and many bottles of wine. Anna played the piano and Ralph, laughing, told me the story of when Hunter first visted in the early 80s before the house was renovated. Hunter spent a lot of time at the local pub. The friendly bartender, Marvin, gave Hunter a shot of whiskey, and Hunter, after asking if that was a sample, went on a long excersize showing Marvin how to make a proper drink, full of ice and filled to the top. 

I wish Hunter could see Old Loose Court today. I slept like a baby, while the white-peddled flower tree, and daffodils and landscape handled the dramatic storm that hit about 4am. It rattled the original glass windows, that have seen generations and generations of storms! Today, it is rich with colour, textures and Ralphs sketches, ink, and oil paintings all over; gorgeous carpets, along with fire in the fireplace, with life and history in every room. Is this where Ralph’s magic happens?

Maybe, the studio is right out back, where I was first greeted with a rush of creative energy, along with a ink sketch of Hunter on a back table. I didn’t know this, but Ralph’s mentor is Pablo Picasso, who also worked every day…

 This is also the place where Ralph worked on Plague and The Moonflower. Have you heard of it? I had only heard about it in parts from Ralph. But I read the story on the plane ride back. Read it, listen, and hopefully see it performed in New York soon. Every reading gives you another take on it, but the essence is human nature, and its place in a the world at the brink of the Millenium:

…The sea has mountains of its own

And caresses them with rythms of eternity

Thundering horns of white

With Brazen thrusts

Hurl insults at teh cliffs

Clawing back the past

Losing its grip

Before another jealous onslaught

A universe of moving parts

Heave mortality

Around a global cast

The sea abides, nurturing life

Allowing death to those whose time is come.

NARRATOR:

The frail dependence of its charges

Live in liquid optimism

They gather for compulsive celebration

Making mothers and faterhs of them all

Declaring space for all…..

—Ralph Steadman, Plague and The Moonflower

And on it goes.  It’s fantastic!

Geneva is quiet for Easter. I decided to skip church today. Anyway, sorry I’ve been out of pocket, as I get used to my life here in Switzerland, and the few days in England. Cheers, your friend, back from Kent,

Anita Thompson

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Anita would like to talk with you about Wilde and  she is in Geneva absorbing knowledge and wisdom.  I have a hunch that they are two separate things.

The Faustian question is- which would you give your soul for?  Knowing everything or being wise?  You are not allowed to have both…….this is not a moral question, but it
may be a paradox…….isn’t that a truth seen around a corner?? I better stop. I am
beginning to talk funny…..

— Ralph Steadman in Kent, awaiting the arival of his second grandson!!

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Today, Jack Nicholson is our Deus Ex Machina.

 It is a term recently pointed out to me by our friend Shelby Sadler: literally, it means "god out of a machine" — an  improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or untangle a plot, like an angel flying in on a paraglider, or good news coming in from your assistant Brandon, or a ball of kryptonite cropping up just at the right moment. Often in ancient Greek theater, they would use wires and ropes to suddenly swoosh the resolving god onto the stage.

 

Shelby and I have been noticing these DEMs everywhere. As Hunter was and is my Deus Ex Machina, life goes on, bringing us more and more! Jack Nicholson, like Bob Dylan, rarely if ever gets involved in politics. But today, he endorsed Hillary. Hot Damn.

 

Maybe Milli Barack Vanilli will still get the nomination, but there’s nothing like having a strong man who has seen a lot of ACTORS in his life point out the truth when it is most needed. Thank you, Jack! Yep, George McGovern and Jack Nicholson are on board with our woman Hillary. I think Hunter would be whooping it up with them now!

 

I’ll check in ASAP. I’ve been running around getting ready for my flight to Geneva. My baby nephew is healthy and happy and all is well at Owl Farm despite the 30-year-old TV antenna that fell. It broke my heart to see it on its side, but this spring I’ll be turning it into a work of Gonzo Art.

 

When you have lemons, make lemonade.

 

— Hunter S. Thompson

 

Ta-da!

 

Until next time, your friend,

 

Anita Thompson

P.S. Hi Bruce! Thanks for the Milli Vanilli track!

 

 

 

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