Aug. 21, 2005, 12:42AM It's a Gonzo send-off for iconic journalist Alcohol, music accompany launch of Thompson's ashes from cannon Los Angeles Times Associated Press Fireworks carrying the ashes of the late Hunter S. Thompson explode over the top of his memorial on the Owl Farm in Woody Creek, Colo., on Saturday. WOODY CREEK, COLO. - At dusk Saturday, some 350 friends and relatives of Hunter S. Thompson stood outside and stared into an inky sky, drinking, waiting. In front of them loomed a massive monument in the shape of the late writer's icon— an arm topped by a "gonzo" fist — roughly two feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. Thompson loved explosions. He adored guns, the boom, kickback, the smell of powder and metal; and also the kind of explosions that arose from his typewriter, like his classic book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas , which sent shock waves through the written world and helped drive a revolutionary brand of participatory journalism. So it seemed fitting that a monument to Thompson should double as a cannon, spewing forth fireworks and a series of 34 exploding shells containing his ashes, and that the ashes should drift and settle across Owl Farm, Thomson's ranch. The revelry was at Thomson's behest, said Anita Thompson , his widow. "He said many times he wanted to be shot out of a cannon," she said. "The most important thing to Hunter was that we celebrate his life, get together in a beautiful gathering." The ceremony was six months to the day after 67-year-old Thompson, whose health was ailing, shot himself in his kitchen at Owl Farm. Actor Johnny Depp who befriended Thompson when he portrayed the writer in the 1998 film based on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas , picked up most of the tab for the party. Other Thompson actor pals attending included Bill Murray and Sean Penn . http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/nation/3319011
Ha, great question! And yeah, it's something my wife and I have talked about. What we want to do is have a creamation. We both want to be creamated and have our ashes put together and then thrown out to sea. We both live on the East coast near the water for a lot of our lives. Just seems like the thing to do. I know this sounds stupid but we kind of like the idea that our ashes will be together even when our spirts have left the earth.
Will that be real cream or is the petroleum-based stuff okay? How about a donation to The Body Farm? http://www.hbo.com/autopsy/forensic/the_body_farm.html
Yeah I wouldnt want the whole making a big deal out of the funeral. Not like the guest of honor will be there to care. Also I was wondering why so many of you chose cremation?
I always admired how Goethe kept Schiller's skull on his desk as inspiration (they were best friends). I talked to a girlfriend about it and she liked the idea too. Since she's 12 years younger than me, the chances of her getting to see my skull are not that unlikely. Plus...we live in Israel, and I'm buying a motorcycle with my financial aid money. And I smoke and drink alot. And I live in a bad neighborhood... In any case...I haven't tried to buy life insurance. As for the rest...I could care less. Whatever is the cheapest. Cremation I suppose. But getting anything other than burial is pretty tough in Israel. Even the most unreligious Muslims and Jews are pretty particular about burial rites, and there's not too many games in town. The important part is the wake. I think multiple parties in LA, Houston, Corpus Christi, Austin, and Tel Aviv are a must. KEEP THE WHISKEY FLOWING WHEN I CROAK.
Don't forget to make sure the casket is air tight, causing gas to be built up by the bacteria, resulting a pressure build up and forcing the ground to explode, sending dirt covered, partially liquified body parts to fly everywhere...
Hey, didn't really feel like starting a new thread, but I just wanted to "congratulate" you on making it to Entensity.net (VERY NOT SAFE FOR WORK PEOPLE); there's a link there to your site entitled "Billy D Washington is a funny guy." So good job, I guess, because there's definitely a lot of traffic over at that site.
