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Hunter S. Thompson Quotes - Page 10

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And that, I think, was the handle--that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn't need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in

And that, I think, was the handle--that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn't need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting--on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark--the place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.

Hunter S. Thompson
Beautiful, Military, Mean
"Fictional character: Raoul Duke". "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", 1998.

Paranoia is just another mask for ignorance. The truth, when you finally chase it down is almost always far worse than your darkest visions and fears

Hunter S. Thompson
Ignorance, Vision, Paranoia
Hunter S. Thompson (2011). “Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the F”, p.220, Simon and Schuster

Who said anything about slicing you up? ... I just wanted to carve a little Z on your forehead-- nothing serious.

Hunter S. Thompson
Fear And Loathing, Littles, Serious
Hunter S. Thompson (2010). “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream”, p.61, Vintage

Things are no longer what they seem to be. My telephones are haunted, and animals whisper at me from unseen places.

Hunter S. Thompson
Animal, Unseen, Telephones
Hunter S. Thompson (2011). “Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the F”, p.338, Simon and Schuster

These things happen. One day you run everything, and the next day you run like a dog.

Hunter S. Thompson
Running, Dog, Next Day
Hunter S. Thompson (2011). “Generation of Swine: The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist”, p.110, Simon and Schuster

The world is still a weird place, despite my efforts to make clear and perfect sense of it.

Hunter S. Thompson
Perfect, Effort, World
Hunter S. Thompson (2012). “Songs of the Doomed: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream”, p.253, Pan Macmillan

If you can't make yourself understood by your friends, you'll be in trouble when your enemies come for you.

Hunter S. Thompson
Enemy, Trouble, Understood

There is not much mental distance between a feeling of having been screwed and the ethic of total retaliation, or at least the kind of random revenge that comes with outraging the public decency.

Hunter S. Thompson
Revenge, Distance, Feelings
Hunter S. Thompson (1967). “Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga”, Ballantine Books

Because the writer must be a participant in the scene, while he's writing it — or at least taping it, or even sketching it. Or all three. Probably the closest analogy to the ideal would be a film director/producer who writes his own scripts, does his own camera work and somehow manages to film himself in action, as the protagonist or at least a main character.

Hunter S. Thompson
Writing, Character, Cameras
"The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time".

I wanted to take off all my clothes and never wear them again.

Hunter S. Thompson
Clothes, Wanted
Hunter S. Thompson (2011). “The Rum Diary: A Novel”, p.129, Simon and Schuster

In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upward mobile - and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: Not necessarily to Win, but mainly to keep from Losing Completely.

Hunter S. Thompson
Winning, Sheep, Pigs
Hunter S. Thompson (2012). “The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time”, p.98, Pan Macmillan

We have bigger things to brood on and enormous reasons for wallowing in terminal craziness until we finally hit bottom.

Hunter S. Thompson
Reason, Craziness, Enormous
Hunter S. Thompson (2012). “Hey Rube: Blood Sport, the Bush Doctrine, and the Downward Spiral of Dumbness”, p.23, Pan Macmillan

There is no fool like a careless gambler who starts taking victory for granted.

Hunter S. Thompson
Victory, Fool, Granted

It was wonderful, a stunning happy ending to what began as another tragic rock & roll story, as if Bob Dylan had been arrested in Miami for jacking off in a seedy little XXX theater while stroking the spine of a fat young boy.

Hunter S. Thompson
Boys, Rocks, Miami
Hunter S. Thompson (2011). “Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century”, p.150, Penguin UK

The car suddenly veered off the road and we came to a sliding halt in the gravel. I was hurled against the dashboard. My attorney was slumped over the wheel. “What’s wrong?” I yelled. “We can’t stop here. This is bat country!

Hunter S. Thompson
Country, Car, Bats
Hunter S. Thompson (2011). “The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time”, p.535, Simon and Schuster

we left about midnight and walked down the hill in silence. the night was muggy, and all around me i felt the same pressure, a sense of time rushing by while it seemed to be standing still. whenever i thought of time in puerto rico, i was reminded of those old magnetic clocks that hung on the walls of my classrooms in high school. every now and then a hand would not move for several minutes -- and if i watched it long enough, wondering if it had finally broken down, the sudden click of the hand jumping three for four notches would startle me when it came.

Hunter S. Thompson
Wall, Moving, School
Hunter S. Thompson (2011). “The Rum Diary: A Novel”, p.101, Simon and Schuster

Some people will tell you that slow is good - but I'm here to tell you that fast is better.

Hunter S. Thompson
People

Jesus! Did I SAY that? Or just think it? Was I talking? Did they hear me? I glanced over at my attorney, but he seemed oblivious.

Hunter S. Thompson
Jesus, Thinking, Talking
Hunter S. Thompson (2011). “The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time”, p.532, Simon and Schuster

[Richard M. Nixon was] a foul caricature of himself, a man with no soul, no inner convictions, with the integrity of a hyena and the style of a poison toad.

Hunter S. Thompson
Integrity, Men, Soul
"Pageant" Magazine, July 1968.

I'm a relatively respectable citizen. Multiple felon perhaps, but certainly not dangerous.

Hunter S. Thompson
Epic, Fear And Loathing, Citizens
"Fictional character: Raoul Duke". "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", www.imdb.com. 1998.

Gonzo journalism is a style of reporting based on William Faulkner's idea that the best fiction is far more true than any kind of journalism.

Hunter S. Thompson
Ideas, Style, Fiction
The Great Shark Hunt "Jacket Copy for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1979)

I have never believed much in luck, and my sense of humor has tended to walk on the dark side.

Hunter S. Thompson
Dark, Luck, Sides
Hunter S. Thompson (2011). “Fear and Loathing in America: The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist”, p.33, Simon and Schuster

Justice is expensive in America. There are no Free Passes... You might want to remember this, the next time you get careless and blow off a few Parking Tickets. They will come back to haunt you the next time you see a Cop car in your rear-view mirror.

Hunter S. Thompson
Blow, Mirrors, Views
Hunter S. Thompson (2012). “Hey Rube: Blood Sport, the Bush Doctrine, and the Downward Spiral of Dumbness”, p.88, Pan Macmillan

There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge. It makes you behave like the village drunkard in some early Irish novel. Total loss of all basic motor skills, blurred vision, no balance, numb tongue - the mind recoils in horror, unable to communicate with the spinal column. Which is interesting, because you can actually watch yourself behaving in this terrible way, but you can’t control it.

Hunter S. Thompson
Loss, Men, Skills

The importance of Liking Yourself is a notion that fell heavily out of favor during the coptic, anti-ego frenzy of the Acid Era--but nobody guessed back then that the experiment might churn up this kind of hangover: a whole subculture of frightened illiterates with no faith in anything.

Hunter S. Thompson
Hangover, Ego, Favors
Hunter S. Thompson (2012). “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72”, p.48, Simon and Schuster

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