Sporting Madness

Today (Sunday) marked what would have been the 73rd birthday of one of my heroes, Hunter. S. Thompson . Thompson was one of the pioneers of gonzo journalism, and he's always been an inspiration of mine. I wrote a piece earlier this year on the fifth anniversary of his death, and I thought it was worth linking to again. The man produced some tremendous writing, and in a lot of ways, he pioneered many of the styles and techniques some of us bloggers use today. To celebrate his career, here's a link to one of his classic columns , and a song I have no doubt he'd approve of:

Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of the death of Hunter S. Thompson . Thompson has always been a hero of mine with his brilliant writing and his willingness to think outside the box and challenge the status quo, so I thought it would be only appropriate to honour him here. In a lot of ways, Thompson pioneered the form that many of us bloggers use today, using unconventional approaches that never would have seen the light of day in the conventional media. He frequently abandoned the idea of neutrality, injecting himself and his views into his stories. That's not always a perfect tactic, but it can be used to great effect, especially if the writer keeps a sense of perspective; many sports bloggers bring their fandom to their writing and use it to elevate their work, rather than detract from it. Thompson also told a lot of the stories that weren't being written elsewhere, such as his great work on the Hells Angels and his analysis from Richard Nixon 's campaigns. Sp...