Discomfort, Guff and Ashes Being Shot out of a Cannon

My buddy Pete would always joke with me that if our garage band ever got to play at the West Palm Beach Ampitheater, that I'd allow said band to shoot me out of a cannon.  It was a safe bet for me.  Hunter S. Thompson had it written in his will that when he was to die, he wanted to be cremated and shot out of a cannon.  Death is an even safer bet than mine.  Happy day everyone!

I don't give too much thought to my possible demise, and I'm not going to start now because BAM! FAME! I'm gonna live forever.  I'm gonna learn how to fly, HIGH!  However, I really love Hunter's decision.  Though I was quite disappointed with the way his death occurred, I was always jealous of the private party that was thrown for him afterward where that eventual cannon shooting took place.  There's nothing like a good cannon shooting. 

One evening my girlfriend and I were discussing the effects of what happens to you when you're shot by a cannon at point blank range.  She didn't believe me that the Lollapalooza festival once had a sideshow freak that would be shot with a cannon at point blank range right in his fat belly.  The conversation however was more of what would happen if you were hit in the head with a cannonball and if your head would just shatter, and I figured that was probably true because that sideshow freak DID wear a helmet for safety reasons.  There are many schools of thought on cannonballs exploding and what not, and what I've learned, is it really depends on the cannonball.  It's one of those, "everyone's right" situations.  If you want to further research this subject, you may want to take a trip to your local library. 

Speaking of discomforting this like being hit by cannonballs, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is possibly the most uncomfortable movie I've ever seen in my life on a simple acid flashback-like level.  This was probably the movie that led to my decision to never do mind altering drugs again.  The combination of a drug suitcase, a disdain for society, and a "don’t take no guff" attitude are a dangerous mix, like electronics near a bathtub filled with dirty water and a naked drug consumed maniac.  What does Hunter say, something like, it's okay to turn your back on a man, but never turn your back on a drug.  Even though it's a movie, this discomforting feeling is genuine mostly because you know what you're seeing has happened.  This isn't Luke Skywalker having a light saber fight with Darth Vader.  This is people doing drugs in Las Vegas trying to enter crazy town for the experience.  Why?  No idea, but when you have a contempt for the "normal American life," anything's possible.