Writing about Dennis Hopper last week started me thinking about mavericks, and my favourite maverick writer, who would have turned 73 earlier this month.
I'm talking, as those of you who've read this column for a while might guess, about Dr Hunter S Thompson, rebel journalist, political commentator, the man who brought the term ‘Gonzo' into common use and who fearlessly documented his elusive search for the American Dream.

Since the good Doctor took the Hemmingway option in 2005 – as he had long said he would – a veritable industry has grown up of documentaries, books and other writings about his life and work. The most interesting, however, have been the films made by Wayne Ewing, who released a new one two weeks ago to celebrate what would have been Hunter's birthday.
Wayne Ewing himself is a fascinating guy. Ewing is a history graduate from Yale who made his name making political documentaries for America's PBS (Public Broadcasting Service – the sort of thing it would be wonderful to have in New Zealand), including the groundbreaking If Elected… (1972), A Journey To Russia (1982) about the last days of the Brezhnev era and the Emmy-nominated Blood's of ‘Nam (1985). He's made over 40 documentaries for American TV.
But perhaps his biggest contribution to the changing style of TV was the work he did on the early nineties cop show Homicide: Life on the Street where he used his documentary experience to design a style of handheld camerawork that was unique to television at the time and has since become the norm for lending immediacy to drama, be it ER, Grey's Anatomy, The Wire or any other gritty show wanting to add a layer of ‘reality'.
But Ewing has also lived for the last 25 years in Aspen Colorado, celebrated location of Dr Thompson's Owl Farm headquarters.
His first documentary about Hunter was released in 2004, called Breakfast with Hunter and still about the best record we have of the man. It is loose and sprawling, much like the good Doctor, and captures something of the man's freewheeling spirit. More films followed after his death: When I Die (2005) followed the making of the huge two-fisted Gonzo monument that was built to fire Thompson's ashes into the sky as per his wishes; Free Lisl: Fear and Loathing in Denver explored the law case that was Hunter's last public battle, to free the unjustly jailed Lisl Auman.
Now Ewing has a new film, Animals, Whores & Dialogue: Breakfast with Hunter Vol. 2. Again it's wonderful stuff though, as his films have never been available in New Zealand, you'll have to track it down on the filmmaker's own website. You can find it at www.hunterthompsonfilms.com
We have our mavericks here in New Zealand society of course, but they tend to be of a slightly lower-profile variety. One I've long kept a vague eye upon is alternative weather watcher Ken Ring who follows his own system – involving movements of the moon and tides – to predict future climatic conditions.
And I must admit I've always been a bit sceptical about Mr Ring. But that's the way I tend to approach such things: I'm happy to be convinced but I need evidence up front. However, I know more than a few people – people who tend to be as sceptical as I do – who have checked out Ken's work and believe it accurate.
I mention this because a kind of meteorological showdown is going to occur over the next couple of months. The boffins who predict weather in the usual manner (cloud patterns, wind systems etc) tell us that August and September will remain calm and mild, much as the winter has been so far. Ken Ring, on the other hand, is of the opinion that it will turn unseasonably cold, especially down south and we will finish winter on a real low.
It's not often you get such a clear diversion of opinion so I'll be watching carefully. And, while the sceptic in me doesn't think it will happen, there's a little part of me that I think is somewhere in most Kiwis that longs for a win by the lone rebel against the forces of the establishment.
Next week, back to music.