MPA Awards

I only caught a bit of the Oscars lead-in… the ABC host said with a smile on her face “Barbara Streisand just called us on her cellphone to say.. she’s running a bit late….” unless her home was in the process of falling into the Pacific, who really cares? I loved the report of the billboards in the L.A. area thanking Hollywood and the Entertainment Industry for their efforts in re-electing the President. From the FNC All-Star Panel, 4 in 10 (D) planned on watching, while only 1 in 8 (R) planned on tuning in. Don’t worry, even though I’m in CA, I haven’t switched sides. I relinquished control of the clicker at the Fitness Center… The Replacements was unwatchable from a technical standpoint (2 delay of game penalties moved the line of scrimmage from the 20 yard line back to the 8… some Supreme Court Math took place there…. After all it was set in D.C….. interesting)

Hunter S. Thompson in the Media

I followed the coverage of Hunter S. Thompson’s suicide the past week and can’t say that
a) I am surprised by the event or
b) the coverage of it.

My only exposure to his work is his column on ESPN’s Page 2 since the subject generally was short-term investing. Over time his columns were as much about politics as they were about wagering. If he had an account at Tradesports.com investing on politics, that may have been a factor in his demise. His writing was entertaining, but its generation seemed to require chemical consumption, alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs. I can’t see how that should be glorified. I think the number of glorification columns regarding his work and life is telling. Yes, it’s a great to celebrate constant intoxication and disregard for the rules of society. One thing that resonates in my mind is his prediction (in agreement w/ the MSM) that the current Democratic Party platform is a winning one.

HST 11/2/04: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=thompson/041102

SF Chronicle 2/26/05: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/02/27/INGLPBGC6S1.DTL