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Grantland revisits a Hunter Thompson classic:
The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved
By Hunter S. Thompson
From Scanlan’s, June 1970
In his upcoming book Who Killed Hunter S. Thompson? Hinckle argues that the true departure, setting Thompson apart from early efforts in “New Journalism” as practiced by Wolfe and Terry Southern, was “Hunter’s hallucinatory stimulant-fueled novelistic attention given, on a sporting assignment, not to the horses but to the outdoor loony bin of boozed-up burgher spectators. It was the first look through the other end of the binoculars usually trained on the four-footed beasts.” The story also offered an early instance of people questioning the literal veracity of Thompson’s writing. His friend William Kennedy said the piece marked “a moment where he used all his fictional talent to describe and anatomize those characters and just make it all up. I’m sure some of it was real.”
“I was sure it was the last article I was ever going to do for anybody,” Thompson said in a 1974 interview with Playboy. “Then when it came out, there were massive numbers of letters, phone calls, congratulations, people calling it a ‘great breakthrough in journalism.’ And I thought, ‘Holy shit, if I can write like this and get away with it, why should I keep trying to write like the New York Times?’ It was like falling down an elevator shaft and landing in a pool full of mermaids.”
I’m sure at least a couple of those mermaids woud sustain pretty serious head injuries.
Michael Chabon lists and discusses his 10 favorite books, part of the same project that gave us the greatest books of all time as voted by 125 famous authors.
Also see Chabon’s ideal bookshelf (along with those of other modern literary icons.)
1. Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges (1964)
2. Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov (1962)
3. Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini (1921)
4. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851)
5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813)
6. Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe (1836–47)
7. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust (1913–27)
8. Paradise Lost by John Milton (1667)
9. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez (1985)
10. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler (1953)
I’ve just finished my Malcolm Gladwell audiobook marathon, so one of these is up next.
I’m really keen to get my hands on Kevin Lyon’s new(ish) book
Here’s a little Arkitip interview with him
Yes yes I know I’m very late on getting on to Malcolm Gladwell. I’ve just finished Outliers and I’m halfway through Blink. He has an amazing talent for connecting seemingly unrelated stories, I’d highly recommend these books. Also I really love it when authors read their own audiobooks, it just conveys a little extra passion that some hungover joe blo day player can’t deliver.
Here he is talking about his newest book David and Goliath, which sounds great, for more info on Outliers watch this interview.
I’d love to get my hands on this new book from Rizzoli, Cinelli: The Art and Design of the Bicycle
Just prior to the release of Rizzoli’s “Cinelli: The Art and Design of the Bicycle” last October, Antonio Colombo sat for a rare interview on the occasion of the Milan edition of the 2012 Bicycle Film Festival. As the president of Cinelli since Columbus tubing bought it in 1978, Colombo has overseen the continued growth of Cino Cinelli’s eponymous company—founded in 1948, upon his retirement from the pro race circuit—through the contemporary cycling boom.
Smaug Flies Round the Mountain — An Illustration by J.R.R. Tolkien.
I managed to get through Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, and thought that the 48 FPS was pretty good, the New Zealand countryside was beautiful and the visual effects were amazing. It just sucked that it never felt like any of the characters were ever in any danger. Have you heard the news that they’re splitting the third film into two more parts!!
Just joking. But it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Even Tolkien’s son Christopher who is 88 just came out trashing the film saying:
“Tolkien has become a monster, devoured by his own popularity and absorbed into the absurdity of our time. The chasm between the beauty and seriousness of the work, and what it has become, has overwhelmed me. The commercialization has reduced the aesthetic and philosophical impact of the creation to nothing. There is only one solution for me: to turn my head away.”
No word on how grumpy this 88 year old guy is.
Read this little essay, it’s pretty funny.
An Unexpected Screening Format Decision
By Martin Azevedo“Two tickets to The Hobbit, please.”
“Which version would you like to see?”
“Which version? What do you mean?”
“At 1:30 it screens in theater seven in 3D with THX sound. At 1:55 it screens in theater one in 48-frames-per-second IMAX 3D with 16 Channel Dolby sound and seat-quake technology, for a special fifteen-dollar admission. At 2:20, it screens in theater twelve in conventional 2D digital projection.”
“What are most people saying about the different versions?”
“Our cinema satisfaction surveys report that they’re long and confusing, with iffy narrative logic and unnecessary backstory.”
”Which version would you recommend?”
“I’d wait for the 4:15 screening in theater fifteen, presented in 2D Action Focus format. It has a running time of 70 minutes with no dwarf songs, Silmarillion flashbacks or long nights of dramatic hesitation experienced in real time.”
“I was hoping to get started by three o’clock.”
“Would 3:05 work? In theater eight, we’ll start the Extended Journey Final Cut version in Hi-Res Digital Cinemascape. It expands each of the epic battle scenes by showing their impact on minor characters who had to stay home.”
“Does Hi-Res Digital Cinemascape require special glasses?”
“They’re optional with the audio guidebook headset package.”
“Will my car be okay through the expanded version? I’m in the downstairs garage.”
“I’m afraid your validated parking would expire during the battle of Azgarroth.”
“I guess that would be okay.”
“There’s also the Enchanted Express version at 3:15 in theater five. It runs ninety-seven minutes, with eight scenes of playful dwarf banter replaced by an extended visit with Tom Bombadil and two dozen enhanced CGI rodents.”
“Which version has more Gandalf?”
“You like Gandalf?”
“Yeah—I’d pay to watch Ian McKellen read the phone book.”
“Excellent. The Shire Directory Special Edition screens once at 3:30 in theater six with premium lounge seating. Online sales only, though.”
“Have you got anything that runs two hours or less, balances character with action into a compelling fantasy narrative, costs eight to twelve dollars, can be seen with the naked eye, won’t trigger my epilepsy, and starts before three o’clock?”
“2:45, theater nine. Swallow this capsule thirty minutes before show time.”
“I’ve got my ten-year-old nephew with me.”
“Oh—my mistake! With your nephew, you’ll want the Frodo Family Edition, playing at 1:45 in theater three. It runs 110 minutes, features two extra dwarf songs, and introduces six animated talking animal characters. Also, CGI safety rails have been added to the treacherous cliff passages. And Gandalf’s pipe blows bubbles.”
“He might like that. Is there a place we can get a drink and discuss our options?”
“Classic, diet, low-sodium, and colon-friendly refreshments are available to ticket holders on level 2, up the stairs. You may also wish to visit Dr. Gluten’s Kosher Java or our Fair-Trade Agave Microbrewery, both in our front lobby.”
“Coffee sounds good. Do you know if they can do something milk-free?”
“Certainly—just take this clipboard and fill out these forms. The barista will call you.”
A final note on The Hobbit, if you’ve got some spare time you should check out this 1985 Russian TV version. It’s got english subtitles created by some unknown comic genius. Bilblo sports a pink polo and is a pot head.
Scott Hocking’s got a new book called Bad Graffiti, I think it should be called Rad Graffiti. Browse what seems to be the whole book at his site or buy it at Black Dog
This guy pretty much made my childhood.
“I want everything I do to look spontaneous. It’s not that I think illustration should necessarily be like that, but this is what I can do.”
—Quentin Blake
In this short interview for the Tate, illustrator Quentin Blake talks about his new book Beyond the Page. Written by Blake, it chronicles his projects over the past ten years, including his works for the walls of hospitals, galleries and other public spaces:
Here’s an example of a great cover and accompanying short film for a what is set to be a great new book. This cropped up over at the great blog A Casual Optimist.
Ian Cobain’s exposure of Britain’s secret history of torture Cruel Britannia is published by Portobello Books. The starkly brilliant cover (on which the video is based) was designed by FUEL.
Grocery store paper signs
“You don’t outline a sign painter’s letter and then fill it in with a Q-tip—that isn’t really sign painting. You use the appropriate size brush and do it in three strokes. Who can do that? My computer can’t.” —John Downer, sign painter
From Sign Painters, by Faythe Levine and Sam Macon available October 2012.
