Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Released 1998

Brandon received a respectable "B" for his speech on Languages, posted elsewhere in my blog.

Following are memorable passages from hubby's favorite movie, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a twisted, outlandish venture into the mind of a warped junkie, a reporter who is traveling to Nevada in order to cover a Hells Angels motorcycle race, along with his Samoan attorney Dr. Gonzo.

Brought to the screen by Terry Gilliam ("Monty Python and the Holy Grail," "Brazil"), one can only expect the movie to be strange, but it is severely distorted to the point of insanity. What is even more intriguing is Gilliam's use of his camera, cinematography and backgrounds -- the camera essentially takes on the role of a third person, as it is constantly moving, positioned at awkward angles against harsh, dizzying backdrops, wallpapers and carpets.

Written by Hunter S. Thompson, the book is an account of Thompson and his attorney's trip to Las Vegas during early 1971, perfectly matched by the acting of Johnny Depp and Benicio del Torro.



I have been to San Francisco twice. I was 19 years old when me and my sister decided to take a trip, just because. San Francisco, just because.

We were both living at home at the time and had lots of money to spend, no boyfriends and we were both skinny at the same time. Usually one is fat, one skinny, the other skinny and one fat, long hair...short hair. It is difficult to keep up the twin appearance.

On the airplane down from Vancouver, we met two other girls, Maureen and Irene...and if anybody hit on us, the "oh sure" looks we received on introducing ourselves as Maureen, Irene, Corinne and Colleen. They were 21 years old and also decided to take a trip, just because.

We met up several times during our stay in San Francisco, but on one thrilling night we all took a taxi to Oakland, where Jefferson Airplane...Starship were playing at a local pub, a very small venue. I desperately wanted to see the band play, as I actually was a fan of their music, but because we weren't 21 years old the pub owner wouldn't allow us in, which was a shame, because across the border in Canada we were legal age.

The second time I was in San Francisco I went with hubby and we sailed down from Vancouver on a spectacular cruise ship. However, this spectacular ship also had a spectacular casino, where I lost our trip money spectacularly. Thank God we pre-purchased our rental car, where we ended up sleeping for a few nights.

I was 21 years old, making desperate phone calls to the wire service to ask when the money would arrive from my folks. Again, across the Golden Gate Bridge, we were stranded in Oakland because we didn't have fare to pay the toll.

And despite being down and out, cold, hungry and without cigarettes, my memories of my trip with my sister flooded me, covering me like the San Andreas winds, thinking how I am of age now....and DAMN!...wouldn't it be nice to see Jefferson Starship.



I searched through YouTube to find the best memory I had of Jefferson Airplane and found lots of the reformed Jefferson Starship stuff, yet even though I wasn't at Woodstock and was too young to understand it or it's musicians at the time...like most of us now, we were somehow there.