Hunter S Thompson: Literary Outlaw

Hunter S Thompson, novelist, activist, political junky and creator of "Gonzo" journalism - electrified America with stingy sharp wit and snappy language that's spanned over four decades and inspired the counter-culture generation of the sixties and seventies, giving birth to a style of prose that turned on an entire nation. His first book, Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, became an instant bestseller, branding himself on the literary map of an outlaw journalist. Below are Thompson's personal photographs of the original Hell's Angels along with quotes and other various photos that chronicle his self-imposed hell of a great violent life.

Thompson's portrait after the brutal beating by Hell's Angels

"The hard core, the outlaw elite, were the Hell's Angels... wearing the winged death's-head on the back of their sleeveless jackets and packing their "mamas" behind them on big "chopped hogs." They rode with a fine unwashed arrogance, secure in their reputation as the rottenest motorcycle gang in the whole history of Christendom." (source Hell's Angels - Hunter S.Thompson)

"Filthy Huns Breeding like rats in California and spreading east. Listen for the roar of the Harley's. You will hear it in the distance like thunder. And then, wafting in on the breeze, will come the scent of dried blood and human grease ... the noise will grow louder and they will appear, on the west horizon, eyes bugged and bloodshot, foam on the lips, chewing some rooty essence smuggled in from a foreign jungle ... they will ravish your women, loot your liquor stores and humiliate your mayor on a bench on the village square ..." (source Chapter 3, p. 36 Hell's Angels Hunter S. Thompson)

"The Edge... There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over. The others- the living- are those who pushed their luck as far as they felt they could handle it, and then pulled back, or slowed down, or did whatever they had to when it came time to choose between now and later." (source Hell's Angels - Hunter S.Thompson)

Fire breathing monster, Airbrush experiment

 This piece is not quite a dragon, but it was inspired by dragons. Consider it an alien dragon, or one that spent a little too much time with a nuclear reactor. The mutated look is deliberate, I wanted it to make the viewer think.

William S Burroughs Paintings and Quotes

“It is to be remembered that all art is magical in origin - music, sculpture, writing, painting - and by magical I mean intended to produce very definite results. Paintings were originally formulae to make what is painted happen. Art is not an end in itself, any more than Einstein's matter-into-energy formulae is an end in itself. Like all formulae, art was originally FUNCTIONAL, intended to make things happen, the way an atom bomb happens from Einstein's formulae.” ― William S. Burroughs

"Artists to my mind are the real architects of change, and not the political legislators who implement change after the fact." - William S. Burroughs

"I see painting as an evocative magic, and there must always be a random factor in magic, one which must be constantly changed and renewed." - William S. Burroughs

"Nothing exists until or unless it is observed. An artist is making something exist by observing it. And his hope for other people is that they will also make it exist by observing it. I call it 'creative observation." - William S. Burroughs

"In the magical universe there are no coincidences and there are no accidents. Nothing happens unless someone wills it to happen." - William S. Burroughs

"In my writing I am acting as a map maker, an explorer of psychic areas... a cosmonaut of inner space, and I see no point in exploring areas that have already been thoroughly surveyed." - William S. Burroughs

"I don't care if people hate my guts; I assume most of them do. The important question is whether they are in a position to do anything about it." - William S. Burroughs

"Modern man has lost the option of silence. Silence is only frightening to people who are compulsively verbalizing." - William S. Burroughs

Polynomial Opal Abstractions

Who Brutally Murdered Poughkeepsie Police Officer Gary Coffey?

This social awareness article of true crime reviews the puzzling facts and mystery involving the violent and brutal murders of a police officer and a resident within the city of Poughkeepsie, NY. The twenty year old murders are considered to be cold cases and open investigations by New York State Police in Millbrook, NY.

It's been a long twenty years since the violent and mysterious murder of City of Poughkeepsie police officer, William Gary Coffey. The cold case has been generating some recent attention by paranormal investigators and parapsychology research groups looking into the circumstances surrounding his murder. According to police and local news reports back in 1991, Officer Coffey was accused of sexually attacking Sharon McZeal, believed to be a criminal informant in ongoing drug investigations within the City of Poughkeepsie. McZeal checked herself into St. Francis Hospital and was released after an examination stemming from this alleged sexual attack. She then made an appointment to check herself into a drug rehabilitation clinic, but upon inquiring, police authorities and rehab counselors stated that she failed to admit herself and she was then reported as a missing person on December 13, 1991. It is widely believed that Officer Coffey did not rape or attack Sharon McZeal, as she told authorities conflicting accounts of the supposed incident. On December 13, 1991, in the very early hours of the morning, Police Officer Coffey was reported to have attended a police squad party where he then left to socialize at the local bowling alley in Poughkeepsie. It was then reported that Officer Coffey drove down to the Hudson River (for unknown reasons), the location where he was brutally murdered and heaved into the Hudson River. Extremely puzzling is the fact that Police Officer Coffey's personal possessions - police badge, wallet and gun were found on the front hood of his truck and his gun holster was found fifty feet from his personal vehicle.

On January 6, 1992, Sharon McZeal's body was found strangled to death along the railroad tracks on the Hudson River. Police in the City of Poughkeepsie named Police Officer Coffey as their number one suspect in the strangulation death of McZeal, yet Officer Coffey was officially still missing since December 13, 1991, the very same date McZeal was reported missing. In the Spring of 1992, May the 20th, Police Officer William Gary Coffey's body was found battered on the river's edge of the Hudson River, five and a half months after his mysterious disappearance and brutal murder. Family, friends and Poughkeepsie residents were stunned and angrily unsettled upon getting the news of Officer Coffey's death. Rumors and insinuations of racism, drug-use, prostitution, corruption, distrust and widespread accusations of a cover-up swirled wildly amongst the community residents causing more chaos and speculation within the community and no doubt, adversely effected the investigation. Officially, the case is still open and deemed a cold case amongst investigators at State Police Headquarters, Troop-K, Millbrook, NY. Now, twenty years later, family, friends and residents here in Poughkeepsie are left with the bitter taste of these unsolved murders as the perpetrator (s) still roam amongst society and go about their daily lives while two other families grieve over these confusing and ugly crimes of brutality, murder and mystery.

http://www.myspace.com/williamgarycoffey

The Beast From Poughkeepsie, NY Kendall Francois

In a small city just over an hour north of Manhattan, New York City, lurked a macabre and frightening serial killer between 1996 and 1998, Kendall Francois. Residents and police investigators from Poughkeepsie, NY in Dutchess County were being terrorized and mystified between 1996 and 1998 by the disappearances of eight women, Wendy Meyers, Gina Barone, Kathleen Hurley, Catherine Marsh, Mary Healy Giaccone, Michelle Eason, Sandra Jean French and Catina Newmaster, all thought to be prostitutes. Nevertheless, still human beings who had unknowingly become victims of a violent and terrifying demise by the hands of Kendall Francois within his house of horrors.

The pathology of serial killers can be categorized by investigative profilers as either Organized/nonsocial offender's, who usually have high IQ's similar to that of Ted Bundy and the Disorganized/asocial offender's defined by the serial murders of Kendall Francois. One universal element that should be noted when trying to look into the mind of a serial killer is their need for domination, usually in the form of a sexual manner. Here is how this true crime of a serial killer unfolded. On a cold and dark December evening in 1996, Gina Barone walked the lonely and drug infested streets of downtown Poughkeepsie to unfortunately cross paths with her killer, Kendall Francois. As a few nights turned to days, Gina's Mother, Patricia Barone, reported her missing, as she had disappeared into the frightening night. Two months previous in October of 1996, Wendy Meyers had been reported missing, too. Then in January of 1997 a pattern had emerged with another disappearance of Kathleen Hurley, last seen on the mean streets of downtown Poughkeepsie. The FBI were then contacted. As investigators followed leads and realized the possibility of a serial killer emerging, their focus seemed to lead to 99 Fulton Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY, the home of serial killer Kendall Francois and family just a few blocks away from Vassar College. Investigators biggest stumbling block was no apparent crime scene and due to lack of tangible physical evidence, a search warrant couldn't be issued yet. The disappearences continued as did the investigation.. In September of 1998 a prostitute reported a strangulation and was able to flee the scene of that crime located at 99 Fulton Avenue. This sparked investigators to apprehend and question Kendall Francois about that report and after a few hours of questioning, Kendall Francois confessed to the abductions and eventual murders of all eight victims. What he told investigators was truly disturbing and shocking. A warrant was obtained to search the residence and the mystery to these lost woman unraveled into the revelation of the macabre and insane acts of a serial killer, Kendall Francois. When investigators obtained the warrant to enter the home and proceeded, they were greeted by the confused mother of Kendall Francois. When she opened the door, police were just about knocked over by the stench of death emanating from the home. As they entered, it was immediately apparent that these women were most definitely within the home and after a brief search, the house was taped off and deemed a crime scene. Most of the women found inside the home were located up in their attic covered with blankets and also showed evidence of the killer moving them around, as to make room for more victims. There was also evidence of necrophilia after forensic testing had been done a short time after. The cause of death determined by forensic evidence and the coroner's report was strangulation and blunt force trauma. The most puzzling aspect to investigators was the obvious stench of death within the home and questions were raised as to how the rest of family members were unable to recognize something just wasn't right. Investigators did mention to local press that the home was very unkempt and quite filthy with garbage, household items strewn about and very unsanitary. Maybe their lifestyle prevented them from realizing what was really happening. Although it still seems very strange and disturbing. Through the course of their investigation, it was also revealed that Francois had contracted the deadly HIV disease and a theory had emerged. It's quite possible that these abductions and murders were an act of vengeance toward the prostitutes that he most often had encounters with. In any event, these victims died a horrible death and family members of the victims were extremely grief stricken beyond what any parent should have to face. This monster had preyed upon the weak and impoverished people of the seedy underbelly within society. Another disturbing fact had emerged as well. Kendall Francois was employed at the Arlington High School, just a few miles from the city. He was a hall monitor that was well known for inappropriate conduct among students and eventually let go from employment at the school. One can only imagine what potential that implies. Kendall Francois was convicted of his heinous crimes and In August of 2000, Kendall Francois was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at Attica correctional facility for the rest of his natural life.

The Tragedy of Oscar Wilde

Many people these days know of Oscar Wilde due to his tragic masterpiece Dorian Gray. Very few however are aware of the man himself. I suspect that has to do with the fact that during the final part of his life, he was basically an outcast of both his hometown, and the era in which he was spawned.

It is a pity when people are remembered more for their sins than their successes. Even more pitiful though is when someone is reviled, even in the grave. I am not defending Oscar's lifestyle by any means, however, I am saying that the man was far more than just his excesses and scandals.

He was a skilled, if tortured artist, and while he had his share of faults, and indeed his share of sin, there is no denying his contributions to the literary world are vast. The tragedy of Oscar Wilde is that he was, when all is said and done, a victim of himself.

He set out to be his own best work of art, and ended up being instead his own worst enemy.