A post from almost two years ago:

I wrote in my little private paper journal a while back, writhing in a fit of angst and doubt about whether We will turn It around, "...and where's the Hunter S. Thompson of my generation? Probably off somewhere blogging..."

Kos is on my wavelength for this one too -- "Hunter S. Thompson -- the world's first blogger." -- and it's a meme I'd like to popularlize. As I wrote:

More than any of the excesses or eccentricities of his life, Thompson is a widely known and loved public figure because he has got game with words and ideas and the human spirit. If he were less of a Freak, he'd probably still be a best-selling novelist (or perhaps a successful politician). Instead he's what every lefty blogger wishes they were, someone who took the notion of first-person reportage to the limit and emerged with shining gems of quality and insight.

Beyond the quality of his prose, the thing that I found so consistantly compelling about HST was his committment to the ethos which underlied his existence. The successful outlaw is more moral in his or her own way than the straightest by-the-book player ever could be, for they live by their own code. It is taking on somewhat more responsibility to carve your own path. More dangerous, yes. More descructive, possibly, but finally more brave. Down the path less traveled (or off into the wilderness) lie the greatest treasures in life. May we all live as great explorers and tellers of truth.