In the Creepy Coincedence Department:
On Friday, June 24th, veteran ventriloquist and cartoon voice Paul Winchell died in his sleep in Los Angles at the age of 82.
On Saturday, June 25th, Film, TV, stage and voice actor John Fiedler died in New York City. He was 80 years old.
Why is that creepy, you ask?
In an interesting yet not surprising reaction to the passing of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, he is being referred to as the original blogger. Clearly this is not meant to be taken literally, as the blogging phenomenon is relatively recent and Thompson didn’t keep a blog or even an official website. However, with more and more bloggers paying tribute to the man as one of their main inspirations and with the question “Are bloggers journalists?” being debated almost daily, this brings an intriguing debate front and center. In fact, the self-described “alternative news and underground culture destination” disinformation has a very interesting quote by Thompson in a piece dated March 4th, 2001: “Gonzo journalism is a style of reporting based on William Faulkner’s idea that the best fiction is far more true than any kind of journalism – and the best journalists have always known this. Which is not to say that fiction is necessarily ‘more true’ than journalism – or vice versa – but that both ‘fiction’ and ‘journalism’ are artificial categories; and that both forms, at their best, are only two different means to the same end.” – Hunter S. Thompson
Author, raconteur and all-around fantastic nutbar Hunter S. Thompson fatally shot himself on Sunday night, according to several news outlets. He was 67.
Maybe I’ll do a full obit tomorrow, but for now I’ll just say, “good night, you brilliant, crazy old bastard! We love ya!”
:´-(