Eagle flew out of the night

Each Day, A Film:
February 11th 2012 (Retrospective)

I just realised that I didn't put the (retrospective) label on the most recent entries. Is anyone going to complain? No? Good. Let's continue.

That other film with Bil Murray? That was Where the Buffalo Roam.



I don't think I've seen a more entertaining Youtube preview pane for a while, I'll be honest, especially given that it looks like Murray is being gently fellated underneath the aircraft console.

Now, once the fervour of the HST love passed, I would still re-read Fear and Loathing every now at then, but it had become an affectionate thing to do, rather than a source of any kind of inspiration.

Then, after a few years doing Real Work, the whole HST thing tends to take on a new kind of charm - or, frankly, a fervor crossed with a fever - when you realise that your job is never going to involve actual, factual journalism.

So I went through a kind of Thompson Rediscovery Period, and saw the documentaries released after his death, then found out about Where The Buffalo Roam (and, yes, given that it had existed for a long time beforehand, finding out about it meant at least two clicks through Amazon).

And, frankly, Where The Buffalo Roam is not a wonderful movie. Thompson is a character, Murray is a character, but the Thompson / Murray character composite doesn't quite gel - and the Thompson persona, by all accounts, threatened to overwhelm Murray, given that it took him a while to stop acting like Thompson during his stint on Saturday Night Live, but that's deep background as opposed to actual research, so...

If anything, WTBR reminded me of the myriad reasons of why I didn't make any attempt to become a Gonzo Journalist.

So now, while I'm blogging, and behind the daily assignment deadlines, and trying to catch back up while I have the time, I find myself thinking; well, at least I'm not on drugs...