Owl Farm Blog

All HST writings © Estate of Hunter S. Thompson
Posted by Anita Thompson at 07:48 PM | Permalink | Email to a friend

This is a stand-n photo of my nephew Ridley, and Athena, practicing for next year's summer X games. I'll post Mj silver win on the Rail Jam contest photo asap. 

love from Woody Creek.

Anita Thompson

All HST writings © Estate of Hunter S. Thompson
Posted by Anita Thompson at 06:40 PM | Permalink | Email to a friend

Our own MJ Mirano, eleven, is competing in tomorrow's X-games! MJ is the first athlete to be sponsored by Gonzo Store. MJ's mom is the post mistress of Woody Creek and MJ is a local hero. He competed and won the silver in last year's competition!

Again, he's not from Aspen, he's from Woody Creek. We are so proud of him and wish him the best at the half-pipe tomorrow. We love you, kiddo.

I'll keep you posted.  Go MJ go!

Off to the Woody Creek Caucus meeting,

Anita Thompson

All HST writings © Estate of Hunter S. Thompson
Posted by Anita Thompson at 05:34 PM | Permalink | Email to a friend

The New York Times reports that recovery is not around the corner. The Federal Reserve said today that it was likely to raise interest rates at the end of 2014, which adds 18 months to the longest-running response to the financial crisis of 2008. By holding short-term rates near zero beyond mid-2013, its previous estimate, the Fed hopes to hasten that process somewhat by reducing the cost of borrowing.

The recovery here, at Owl Farm, on the other hand is reaching the Seven-year-mark. As I create a strategy to turn Owl Farm into a place for people to visit and share in the magnificent natural beauty of Owl Farm's Red Cliffs and Hunter's work space, the the grueling task of letting go and forgiving is an ongoing process.  A coincidence of supermarket DVD left me happily inspired to forgive.

For you, who deal with issues of having been blindsided by the suicide of a loved one, I recommend a movie: Seven Pounds. I bought the DVD at the grocery store for no other reason than a long line by a discount movie bin (well, there was the issue of the alluring face of Will Smith). The DVD cover reveals nothing of the content. I've watched it several times in the last few weeks and have recommended to those who were crushed by Hunter's suicide. The character Dan Morris, played by Barry Pepper has helped me enormously to understand why anyone would assist a suicide of a loved one -- something that has pushed some of us in the gonzo family to bitterness and unforgiveingness, if that's a word.  I'm not cured yet, and forgiveness is not complete yet, but I can't praise Barry Pepper enough for helping us understand the mind of a the person who would assist a suicide of a loved one. Director Gabriele Muccino, the exquisite Rosario Dawson, Will Smith, and writer Grant Nieporte are amazing..  Thank you so much guys: You can't imagine how much this helps us in what has been a relentless Odyssey.

Apparently the movie was released the same year the financial crisis hit wall street, echoing down the economic line (2008, three years after Hunter died). And now as year 7 approaches, and it's time to forgive and let go, so the movie was a welcome surprise. Thank you again Muccino et al.

your friend counting and letting go of the years.

love,

Anita Thompson

All HST writings © Estate of Hunter S. Thompson
Posted by Anita Thompson at 06:07 PM | Permalink | Email to a friend

I like the sing-song Wobblies-style video of how the iEconomy works, and how the natural order of things shifts and obliterates the Middle Class in America. There are several layers of consequences to the cheap crap flowing from China that says "made in china" to the fancy iProducts.

The New York Times is doing an interesting series on the iChina syndrome:

Apple employs 43,000 people in the United States and 20,000 overseas, a small fraction of the more than 400,000 American workers at General Motors in the 1950s, or the hundreds of thousands at General Electric in the 1980s. Many more people work for Apple’s contractors: an additional 700,000 people engineer, build and assemble iPads, iPhones and Apple’s other products. But almost none of them work in the United States. Instead, they work for foreign companies in Asia, Europe and elsewhere, at factories that almost all electronics designers rely upon to build their wares.

Another excellent read is Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs , if you haven't already, you'll notice that he doesn't go into great detail about Apple blooming in China, but there is a brilliant focus on the mega-personalities in the computer, music and cinema & Wall Street world. It's a great read and demystifies the industry and the people surrounding our nation's love affair with iProducts.

With Walter's insights lack of insights into that world, it looks like we will wait and see how China fares if the American Middle Class is completely eliminated. Good luck getting the 1%ers to fill up their Gulfstreams with Walmart shopping bags. 

The only thing I can be sure of at the moment is that the eggs in my refrigerator were not made in China. Or were they?

I'm off to Detroit -- be back in a jiffy.

I remember my first iPod -- it was so fascinating to me, that I wrote about the possibility of a WePod. Still think about it.

Anita Thompson

All HST writings © Estate of Hunter S. Thompson
Posted by Anita Thompson at 04:13 PM | Permalink | Email to a friend

Flying dog has been such a great supporter of gonzo that i must post the link again -- and the ad is too weird not to wonder...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQo3tbkESRg

All HST writings © Estate of Hunter S. Thompson
Posted by Anita Thompson at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Email to a friend

Apparently the national Enquirer has a font page article that Johny and Vanessa are splitting up. I'm sorry that everyone thinks that I would know, or would tell if I did know. Vanessa is a really beautiful woman and Johnny and I don't sit around talking about pesonal problems or anything at all. And the people who work for him don't like me. We've locked horns over some gonzo matters. again, I wouldn't say if I did know.

But if the family is in trouble, I wish them the best of luck. I'm sure they'll work it out or split up amicably. I've never heard of a couple that doesn't squabble -- at least not if they're made of flesh and blood.

Which makes a good time to answer question #7: Does Johnny Depp still have a room downstairs?

Answer: It's true that Johnny DID live in the basement bedroom of Owl Farm while he was studying to be Raoul Duke in FLLV. I still call it Johnny's room bc of the affection that Hunter had for Johnny. But please understand that Johnny doesn't every stay here. Your letters, screenplays, movie-ideas, gifts, phone calls etc are not passed on to Johnny. They are sent back. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I'm not a portal to Johnny -- He has an agent in Hollywood. I don't have the number handy, but you can look it up on google.

I even had a wrestling match in the doorway a few summers ago with a very tall man who had a music idea to over with Johnny -- he was convinced that Johnny still still lived here. Thank god I had Athena that day. The intruder ended up with a gushing hole in his thigh from a warning bite. Other intruders might look down the barrel of 12 gauge shotgun.

years ago, Hunter and I moved the gun powder keg out of Johnny's room bc of the instability of gun powder. I've kept the living areas of the house frozen in time because it brought me comfort. But now, I'd like to open it as a public museum, but the way the Gonzo Trust is written, Hunter was the most protective husband a woman could ask for. I'm to live here in this house until I die, or sell have the right it for money. So, I'm working to find another solution before Hunter's birthday on July 18th.  I'm suck a unpopular nag when it comes to Hunter's legacy, which annoys the trustees and many other people who would rather have the cash than a proper legacy going forward. i understand how difficult the economy is -- I feel it in my bones. But again... you know the story

I'll keep you posted. As Hunter's readers do indeed have a right to know what the future of Owl Farm holds.

Anyway, was Amber Heard on Carson Daly last night? I sort of miss the TV. I've said before Amber Heard looks like a shimmering jet engine in the Rum Diary film. Gorgeous woman.

Also, read Rory Feehan's review of the Book of Conflated Hunter S. Thompson writing... Thanks Rory, I'm so glad you posted. Never a dull moment.

I'll get to more Q&A later -- it's a cloudy, gloomy day, and I've got a ton of work that I didn't finish yesterday. I'm off to build a fire and get to paperwork --urg.

lots of love from Owl Farm,

Anita Thompson

All HST writings © Estate of Hunter S. Thompson
Posted by Anita Thompson at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Email to a friend