"He loved explosions."

That’s Anita Thompson discussing the memorial ceremony for her late husband, Hunter S Thompson (Books), whose remains were this weekend blasted out of a fist-cannon taller than the Statue Of Liberty.

Hunter S Thompson shot himself in the head six months ago and, according to his wishes, his ashes were packed inside a giant fibreglass gonzo fist on top of a 15 storey-tall dagger and blasted into the sky in front of a bunch of Hollywood celebrities as they drank champagne.

Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, Lyle Lovett, Bill Murray and John Kerry were
amongst the guests invited to watch the ceremony, which took place five
miles outside of Aspen, Colorado. Murray is quoted as saying "This was
like his life. It’s gonzo. He wrote about this and it’s happening. It
was what he predicted."

Perhaps Hunter would have also approved of the 50 fans being kept from the ceremony by up to 100 security guards as they chanted "Hunter this is fucked". Perhaps he wouldn’t.

Read more:
Going, going, gonzo: Hunter S Thompson blasts off – The Independent