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28064212
Special Agent Dale Cooper




Registered: 01/15/11
Posts: 12,115
Loc: Twin Peaks
Last seen: 2 years, 8 months
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Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! 2
#22117589 - 08/20/15 04:53 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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He wrote this letter like at 22ish years of age before becoming famous
I found it awesome and surprised I had never read it before being a big geek for 
And if you reply "tl;dr" your a filthy savage animal and don't deserve to have learned the great gift of reading 
April 22, 1958 57 Perry Street New York City Dear Hume, You ask advice: ah, what a very human and very dangerous thing to do! For to give advice to a man who asks what to do with his life implies something very close to egomania. To presume to point a man to the right and ultimate goal — to point with a trembling finger in the RIGHT direction is something only a fool would take upon himself.
I am not a fool, but I respect your sincerity in asking my advice. I ask you though, in listening to what I say, to remember that all advice can only be a product of the man who gives it. What is truth to one may be disaster to another. I do not see life through your eyes, nor you through mine. If I were to attempt to give you specific advice, it would be too much like the blind leading the blind.
"To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles … " (Shakespeare) And indeed, that IS the question: whether to float with the tide, or to swim for a goal. It is a choice we must all make consciously or unconsciously at one time in our lives. So few people understand this! Think of any decision you've ever made which had a bearing on your future: I may be wrong, but I don't see how it could have been anything but a choice however indirect — between the two things I've mentioned: the floating or the swimming.
But why not float if you have no goal? That is another question. It is unquestionably better to enjoy the floating than to swim in uncertainty. So how does a man find a goal? Not a castle in the stars, but a real and tangible thing. How can a man be sure he's not after the "big rock candy mountain," the enticing sugar-candy goal that has little taste and no substance?
The answer — and, in a sense, the tragedy of life — is that we seek to understand the goal and not the man. We set up a goal which demands of us certain things: and we do these things. We adjust to the demands of a concept which CANNOT be valid. When you were young, let us say that you wanted to be a fireman. I feel reasonably safe in saying that you no longer want to be a fireman. Why? Because your perspective has changed. It's not the fireman who has changed, but you. Every man is the sum total of his reactions to experience.
As your experiences differ and multiply, you become a different man, and hence your perspective changes. This goes on and on. Every reaction is a learning process; every significant experience alters your perspective.
So it would seem foolish, would it not, to adjust our lives to the demands of a goal we see from a different angle every day? How could we ever hope to accomplish anything other than galloping neurosis? The answer, then, must not deal with goals at all, or not with tangible goals, anyway. It would take reams of paper to develop this subject to fulfillment. God only knows how many books have been written on "the meaning of man" and that sort of thing, and god only knows how many people have pondered the subject. (I use the term "god only knows" purely as an expression.)
There's very little sense in my trying to give it up to you in the proverbial nutshell, because I'm the first to admit my absolute lack of qualifications for reducing the meaning of life to one or two paragraphs.
I'm going to steer clear of the word "existentialism," but you might keep it in mind as a key of sorts. You might also try something called "Being and Nothingness" by Jean-Paul Sartre, and another little thing called "Existentialism: From Dostoyevsky to Sartre." These are merely suggestions. If you're genuinely satisfied with what you are and what you're doing, then give those books a wide berth. (Let sleeping dogs lie.) But back to the answer. As I said, to put our faith in tangible goals would seem to be, at best, unwise.
So we do not strive to be firemen, we do not strive to be bankers, nor policemen, nor doctors. WE STRIVE TO BE OURSELVES. But don't misunderstand me. I don't mean that we can't BE firemen, bankers, or doctors — but that we must make the goal conform to the individual, rather than make the individual conform to the goal. In every man, heredity and environment have combined to produce a creature of certain abilities and desires — including a deeply ingrained need to function in such a way that his life will be MEANINGFUL. A man has to BE something; he has to matter. As I see it then, the formula runs something like this: a man must choose a path which will let his ABILITIES function at maximum efficiency toward the gratification of his DESIRES. In doing this, he is fulfilling a need (giving himself identity by functioning in a set pattern toward a set goal), he avoids frustrating his potential (choosing a path which puts no limit on his self-development), and he avoids the terror of seeing his goal wilt or lose its charm as he draws closer to it (rather than bending himself to meet the demands of that which he seeks, he has bent his goal to conform to his own abilities and desires).
In short, he has not dedicated his life to reaching a pre-defined goal, but he has rather chosen a way of life he KNOWS he will enjoy. The goal is absolutely secondary: it is the functioning toward the goal which is important. And it seems almost ridiculous to say that a man MUST function in a pattern of his own choosing; for to let another man define your own goals is to give up one of the most meaningful aspects of life — the definitive act of will which makes a man an individual.
Let's assume that you think you have a choice of eight paths to follow (all pre-defined paths, of course). And let's assume that you can't see any real purpose in any of the eight. THEN — and here is the essence of all I've said— you MUST FIND A NINTH PATH. Naturally, it isn't as easy as it sounds. You've lived a relatively narrow life, a vertical rather than a horizontal existence. So it isn't any too difficult to understand why you seem to feel the way you do. But a man who procrastinates in his CHOOSING will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.
So if you now number yourself among the disenchanted, then you have no choice but to accept things as they are, or to seriously seek something else. But beware of looking for goals: look for a way of life. Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living WITHIN that way of life. But you say, "I don't know where to look; I don't know what to look for."
And there's the crux. Is it worth giving up what I have to look for something better? I don't know — is it? Who can make that decision but you? But even by DECIDING TO LOOK, you go a long way toward making the choice.
If I don't call this to a halt, I'm going to find myself writing a book. I hope it's not as confusing as it looks at first glance. Keep in mind, of course, that this is MY WAY of looking at things. I happen to think that it's pretty generally applicable, but you may not. Each of us has to create our own credo — this merely happens to be mine.
If any part of it doesn't seem to make sense, by all means call it to my attention. I'm not trying to send you out "on the road" in search of Valhalla, but merely pointing out that it is not necessary to accept the choices handed down to you by life as you know it. There is more to it than that — no one HAS to do something he doesn't want to do for the rest of his life. But then again, if that's what you wind up doing, by all means convince yourself that you HAD to do it. You'll have lots of company. And that's it for now. Until I hear from you again, I remain, your friend, Hunter
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28064212
Special Agent Dale Cooper




Registered: 01/15/11
Posts: 12,115
Loc: Twin Peaks
Last seen: 2 years, 8 months
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: 28064212]
#22117637 - 08/20/15 05:07 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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READ IT YOU SWINE
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Dest
Roller-Derby Coach

Registered: 06/14/09
Posts: 2,444
Last seen: 6 years, 5 months
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: 28064212]
#22118828 - 08/20/15 09:31 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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Makes ya want to go out and jump a Vincent Black Shadow on fire High on acid.
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Janky Tits

Registered: 06/19/14
Posts: 4,037
Last seen: 5 years, 6 months
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: Dest]
#22118839 - 08/20/15 09:34 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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This is bat country
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akira_akuma
Φύσις κρύπτεσθαι ὕψιστος φιλεῖ


Registered: 08/28/09
Posts: 82,455
Loc: Onypeirophóros
Last seen: 4 years, 1 month
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: Dest]
#22118847 - 08/20/15 09:36 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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Hunter S Thompson was awesome.
he seems very succinct and knowledgeable here.
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Cowb0yNeal00



Registered: 06/05/13
Posts: 11,059
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: akira_akuma]
#22118871 - 08/20/15 09:39 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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what does "tl;dr" mean?<<<
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28064212
Special Agent Dale Cooper




Registered: 01/15/11
Posts: 12,115
Loc: Twin Peaks
Last seen: 2 years, 8 months
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: Cowb0yNeal00]
#22127405 - 08/22/15 02:55 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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It what lazy illiterate assholes respond to long posts
It means too long, didn't read
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Janky Tits

Registered: 06/19/14
Posts: 4,037
Last seen: 5 years, 6 months
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: 28064212]
#22127411 - 08/22/15 02:57 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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I read your post bro :-) Unfortunately I was so stoned I could only think to respond with a quote from Fear and Loathing
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole


Registered: 02/11/04
Posts: 81,741
Loc: Fractallife's gym
Last seen: 7 years, 7 months
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: Janky Tits]
#22127459 - 08/22/15 03:07 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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I read it. Frank Herbert distilled it to "I will bend like a reed in the wind".
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Enjoywho
Rags to Bitches



Registered: 07/06/09
Posts: 20,880
Last seen: 2 years, 6 months
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: zappaisgod]
#22127561 - 08/22/15 03:34 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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Pretty thoughtful it makes me want some mushrooms.
-------------------- "I don't give nothin' to nobody, I just pay the cost to do business." - Riley "Young Reezy"-Boondocks "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." "In the days of kings and queens I was a jester." "And then the great lord created bears... too many bears... shoulda really dialed back on the bears." Squidbillies "Can you start speaking words instead of your damn filthy lies!"- Louise "Bobs Burgers"
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Cowb0yNeal00



Registered: 06/05/13
Posts: 11,059
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: Enjoywho]
#22128374 - 08/22/15 07:31 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Enjoywho said: Pretty thoughtful it makes me want some mushrooms.
thats weird lol
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thizzlemaniac
राम राम



Registered: 03/27/12
Posts: 2,240
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: 28064212]
#22128719 - 08/22/15 09:22 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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I read it, makes me wonder wtf am I doing with my life...I like how he mentions we all strive to put our abilities in with our desires, or something like that. 
Basic stuff he really dug deep into...maybe it's not so basic once you start digging.
-------------------- Hi how are you? How high are you?
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Sham87
mashAllah


Registered: 05/16/11
Posts: 9,818
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: thizzlemaniac]
#22128764 - 08/22/15 09:39 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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Subbing for later reading
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   ...once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest places if you look at it right...
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drr

Registered: 05/20/09
Posts: 8,444
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: Sham87]
#22129154 - 08/22/15 11:25 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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I've seen this before. Good read 
Quote:
Every now and then you run up on one of those days when everything’s in vain . . . a stone bummer from start to finish; and if you know what’s good for you, on days like these you sort of hunker down in a safe corner and watch. Maybe think a bit. Lay back on a cheap wooden chair, screened off from the traffic, and shrewdly rip the poptops out of five or eight Budweisers . . . smoke off a pack of King Marlboros, eat a peanut-butter sandwich, and finally toward evening gobble up a wad of good mescaline . . . then drive out, later on, to the beach. Get out in the surf, in the fog, and slosh along on numb-frozen feet about ten yards out from the tideline . . . stomping through tribes of wild sandpeckers . . . riderunners, whorehoppers, stupid little birds and crabs and saltsuckers, with here and there a big pervert or woolly reject gimping off in the distance, wandering alone by themselves behind the dunes and driftwood. . . .
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Cowb0yNeal00



Registered: 06/05/13
Posts: 11,059
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: drr]
#22129205 - 08/22/15 11:40 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
drr said: I've seen this before. Good read 
Quote:
Every now and then you run up on one of those days when everything’s in vain . . . a stone bummer from start to finish; and if you know what’s good for you, on days like these you sort of hunker down in a safe corner and watch. Maybe think a bit. Lay back on a cheap wooden chair, screened off from the traffic, and shrewdly rip the poptops out of five or eight Budweisers . . . smoke off a pack of King Marlboros, eat a peanut-butter sandwich, and finally toward evening gobble up a wad of good mescaline . . . then drive out, later on, to the beach. Get out in the surf, in the fog, and slosh along on numb-frozen feet about ten yards out from the tideline . . . stomping through tribes of wild sandpeckers . . . riderunners, whorehoppers, stupid little birds and crabs and saltsuckers, with here and there a big pervert or woolly reject gimping off in the distance, wandering alone by themselves behind the dunes and driftwood. . . .
you eat mescaline?
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drr

Registered: 05/20/09
Posts: 8,444
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: Cowb0yNeal00]
#22129231 - 08/22/15 11:55 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
myles33 said:
Quote:
drr said: I've seen this before. Good read 
Quote:
Every now and then you run up on one of those days when everything’s in vain . . . a stone bummer from start to finish; and if you know what’s good for you, on days like these you sort of hunker down in a safe corner and watch. Maybe think a bit. Lay back on a cheap wooden chair, screened off from the traffic, and shrewdly rip the poptops out of five or eight Budweisers . . . smoke off a pack of King Marlboros, eat a peanut-butter sandwich, and finally toward evening gobble up a wad of good mescaline . . . then drive out, later on, to the beach. Get out in the surf, in the fog, and slosh along on numb-frozen feet about ten yards out from the tideline . . . stomping through tribes of wild sandpeckers . . . riderunners, whorehoppers, stupid little birds and crabs and saltsuckers, with here and there a big pervert or woolly reject gimping off in the distance, wandering alone by themselves behind the dunes and driftwood. . . .
you eat mescaline?
what do you mean, regularly?
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Cowb0yNeal00



Registered: 06/05/13
Posts: 11,059
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: drr]
#22129249 - 08/23/15 12:07 AM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
drr said:
Quote:
myles33 said:
Quote:
drr said: I've seen this before. Good read 
Quote:
Every now and then you run up on one of those days when everything’s in vain . . . a stone bummer from start to finish; and if you know what’s good for you, on days like these you sort of hunker down in a safe corner and watch. Maybe think a bit. Lay back on a cheap wooden chair, screened off from the traffic, and shrewdly rip the poptops out of five or eight Budweisers . . . smoke off a pack of King Marlboros, eat a peanut-butter sandwich, and finally toward evening gobble up a wad of good mescaline . . . then drive out, later on, to the beach. Get out in the surf, in the fog, and slosh along on numb-frozen feet about ten yards out from the tideline . . . stomping through tribes of wild sandpeckers . . . riderunners, whorehoppers, stupid little birds and crabs and saltsuckers, with here and there a big pervert or woolly reject gimping off in the distance, wandering alone by themselves behind the dunes and driftwood. . . .
you eat mescaline?
what do you mean, regularly?

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brokentv

Registered: 03/02/12
Posts: 2,417
Last seen: 6 years, 8 months
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: 28064212]
#22129286 - 08/23/15 12:26 AM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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That was just the thing I needed to read. Very reasonable advice. Hunter S Thompson
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Cowb0yNeal00



Registered: 06/05/13
Posts: 11,059
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: brokentv]
#22129294 - 08/23/15 12:31 AM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
brokentv said: That was just the thing I needed to read. Very reasonable advice. Hunter S Thompson 
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theRealrollforever
I DID-DENT



Registered: 08/31/13
Posts: 12,736
Loc: Bada-Bing!
Last seen: 2 days, 23 hours
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: Cowb0yNeal00]
#22130999 - 08/23/15 01:46 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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Subs for when I'm feeling aimless
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sunshine said: The order has to be secret and no one is sure.
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pfxtc
RUEXP?


Registered: 11/15/08
Posts: 21,166
Loc:
Last seen: 8 years, 5 months
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Re: Hunter Thompson's advice about life to a friend- a very good read! [Re: theRealrollforever]
#22131008 - 08/23/15 01:49 PM (8 years, 5 months ago) |
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Funny I just read this a few months ago. HST was a troubled dude, but I really appreciate his early works.
-------------------- koods said: Young male going by the name "Bassfreak" entered Worcester General complaining of a sharp pain in his buttock region after attending EDM event. Attending physician considered a possible diagnosis of acute rave anus, but upon further investigation it was determined there was nothing cute about patient's anus. Life-long trip report
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