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January 29, 2011

Art, Violence, Government budgets etc

Hi there. Here are a couple related bits that are connected in a way that I don’t need to explain expect to say (my lawyers will be happy: that the lack of art was not necessarily the motive behind the massacre in Tuscon): Since I don’t have  our beloved Ralph Steadman or Bob Dylan, or Eminem for that matter, at Owl Farm with me, here’s a piece of Hunter’s writing (perhaps  posted before). But it’s more important now than ever as Arts Budget’s are about to be slashed.

 

In 1957, Hunter read Ayn Rand’s The Fountain Head. He discussed it over the years, but here is an important passage:

To Joe Bell (1957): 

To discuss The Fountainhead would be useless — even more so with a person who understands it than wit one who doesn’t. It is nothing more or less than a re-affirming of a principle, that to drag it down to the level of a conversation piece would be to cheapen it…

Although I don’t feel that it’s all necessary to tell you how I feel about the principle of individuality, I know that I’m going to have to spend the rest of my life expressing it one way or another, and I think that I’ll accomplish more by expressing it on the keys than by letting it express itself in sudden outbursts of frustrated violence.

… And I can see your dilemma — in wanting to believe in this thing, yet not being able to find a way to believe in it and eat too. Keep in mind that the ability to create is an integral part of the makeup of man. If a lack is encountered, it lies not in the ability, but in the scope of perception of one’s own creative ability.

–Hunter S. Thompson, The Proud Highway (1957)

Hmmm…

GOP CUTTING ARTS BUDGET:

La Times Reports that: Any way you want to describe it, the Republican Study Committee, made up of about 165 GOP members of the House of Representatives, on Thursday announced a budget-cutting plan aimed at slashing federal spending, and it calls for the elimination of the nation’s two leading makers of government arts grants: the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Also on the chopping block is the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
 
 
Jared Lee Loughner:
 

Vancouversun: re

WASHINGTON — Prosecutors are likely to seize on evidence that Jared Lee Loughner surfed the Internet for information on lethal injection and assassins in the hours before the Tucson shooting spree as evidence that he was not mentally incompetent, a federal law enforcement official said Thursday.

Loughner, who was indicted on five federal counts of attempted murder, including shooting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was at his parents’ home on the computer reading information about the federal death penalty and profiles of famous assassins, the source said.

"He was up late, the night before and into the morning hours," said the federal law enforcement official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the case. "

He added that Loughner’s Web traffic was downloaded on a disk and given to his defense attorneys to review when the two sides met on Monday in Phoenix for his arraignment. Loughner has pleaded not guilty.

(BY RICHARD A. SERRANO, MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE)

 Whether any of these items link together or not, I do wish the family and friends of the Tuscon victims peace. .. it will take a long time, I’m sure.

Your friend,

Anita Thompson

p.s.  since you’e aready presued the main sites and papers regarding Cairo’s clash, read Jerry Merriitt’s TALK LEFT

 

also, sorry about Any Typos.





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checking in

Hello! Good morning! It’s early and I hope my marbles are together enough to say Thank You properly. My brother Peter, along with Jim Caruso and countless friends who have urged me to stop with the indulgent seclusion and CHECK IN.  I understand that you are paying attention to that atavistic endeavor to continue the idea of unadulterated TRUTH (with a Gonzo notion of real-time-FUN) to journalism  — and prompts me to say a heart-felt hello!

YOU are the ones to keep it on the agenda. I’ve never fancied myself a writer or journalist (in the same sphere as Hunter) am happy to say hello and chin-up and thanks for keeping the fire alive.

with the Xgames ON.. (Shaun White didn’t make the finals…. just ONE year out of the scene??? Yep. that’s how fast the sport is evolving — Talk about the winds of change! ).

Here is an interesting ESPN page @ journalist  Mary Buckheit, who caught my attention via ESPn archives because of her interest in the HISTORY and legacy of sports writing. Where is she now? light-years from where she was when she wrote the sweet (no worries about the historic misreads — I’ve done it countless times).

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=buckheit/061101

The Superbowl is Feb. 6th.

Dale Earnhardt‘s son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was forced or obliged  (you know what I mean — I can only imagine how proud his father is of him) to make yet another statement about his father….

yes, the Xgames are the center of attention this week in our backyard that is Aspen, Colorado. Sports are high priority…

Why not go back a few steps to look at  Ms. Buckheit’s words just a few years ago?

True I don’t stay up as late as I used to, I’m not as devoted to the blog. But I am interested more than ever in the future of Journalism in light of Hunter’s legacy. 

Cheers. Your friend in Woody Creek,

Anita Thompson





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January 22, 2011

Conservation…

Hi guys. It’s good to be back home. Owl Farm is covered in snow. The animals are warm, and it’s a great night to sit back and read Doug Brinkley’s book" The Quiet World: Saving Alaska’s Wilderness Kingdom: 1879-1960"

Talking about Conservation, my dear friend Jim Caruso of Flying Dog Beer sent a link to a great article about Hemingway’s home in Cuba. Finca Vigia (Hemingway’s home for 20 years) is indeed special. Thanks Jim, for passing on Patrick Oppmann’s article. Here is the link

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/01/21/hemingway.house.restored/index.html?hpt=C1

Needless to say, conserving this special place that is Owl Farm is more important than ever.

Your friend in Woody Creek,

Anita Thompson





All comments are subject to review before being published.


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