Is E.R. Dietz really Raoul Duke?

This week, specifically March 21st, is the 50th Anniversary of the publication of Hunter Thompson's masterpiece "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". The tale of the adventures of Raoul Duke and Dr Duke has one of the best opening lines I've ever read:

Quote:

We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like “I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive…” And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas.

So with this in mind, I find myself reading (on March 21st no less!!) the opening lines of a new post on this forum:

Quote: redietz

My cousin, E.R. Dietz, back from hiatus on the astral plane, demonstrated his March Madness methodology 20 days ago. I had just seen Syracuse at 360-1 to win the title. I didn't have the courage of my convictions, but E.R. decided he would meditate and cogitate on it. He retreated to his room, a la Sherlock Holmes with his violin and pipe, except E.R. uses new high strength weed and wall posters of Nastassja and the Snake to focus his chi. I heard him "Om'ing" for hours on end, and I became a bit concerned when smoke started pouring out from under the door of his room, but when I knocked, his voice assured me it was a smoke test by the local utility company, forcing smoke though various pipe systems in our neighborhood. The marijuana smell was strong, but as with most things, I assumed E.R. knew whereof he spoke, so I didn't panic.

Now I understand that some think this is an attempt at trolling but I see it as a timely literary tribute. How say you?

Can it not be both.

Quote: TumblingBones

This week, specifically March 21st, is the 50th Anniversary of the publication of Hunter Thompson's masterpiece "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". The tale of the adventures of Raoul Duke and Dr Duke has one of the best opening lines I've ever read:


So with this in mind, I find myself reading (on March 21st no less!!) the opening lines of a new post on this forum:


Now I understand that some think this is an attempt at trolling but I see it as a timely literary tribute. How say you?

A big-time salute to TumblingBones! Some folks have literary awareness.

TumblingBones, if you wonder if I have any appreciation for "The Greatest Opening in American Literature," please check out (after adding www. in front) of it:

theskepticalgambler.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-greatest-opening-in-american.html

Just consider the bats metaphorical stand-ins for Retrumplicans.

So some people at WoV appreciate great literature and the occasional homage. Other people, like maybe the site adjudicator, don't do much reading. I mean, c'mon, the multiple mentions of Wild Turkey were dead giveaways as to the homage.

Now here's the kicker, and it is curious. I have had PMs with MDawg over the last year, and one thing I can say for certain -- as much as I love HST, MDawg is at least as much an aficionado as I am, and probably more. So Mdawg had to get the homage, and the dates. Now did he complain about it anyway? LOL. That would be beneath him, wouldn't it?

Now, as to being suspended: (1) MDawg was never mentioned in my post, (2) the post stands on its own as a homage, and (3) unlike some posts, the superficially unlikely probabilistic elements of my post are absolutely true and can be verified.

For example, the Syracuse at 360-1 wagered on by E.R. -- was available three weeks prior to the tournament (as mentioned in the post) at Bookmaker.eu. Any interested parties can contact Bookmaker and ask them for the future odds history for Syracuse. Second, somebody named Dietz did cash nine consecutive online poker tournaments with an average of about 150 players while recording a second but no wins. The hand history is kept for 30 days, so still verifiable.

Third, that smoke coming in through the pipes and filling the room -- it happened here in my house awhile back. Evidently towns still pump smoke through pipes to check sewage leaks, and they never informed me. So my house was filled with smoke so thick and fast that you really could not see two feet in front of you -- pretty scary. Verifiable? Yes, I had fire trucks in my driveway.

I have, on occasion, written up stories that are absolutely factual except for one event, and I have presented them as fables about how confirmation bias and perceptual bias can lead one down a primrose path to narratives that are wrong and bizarre, but that incorporate all the data in a logical way. For example, you might enjoy my story about my trip to Las Vegas in August, 2019.

theskepticalgambler.blogspot.com/2019/08/travelogue-eighth-plague.html

The two entries that follow this one are similar -- all but one detail in these three entries is true, and all of the math is true.


In summary: 'When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." And WoV has definitely gotten weird. I recommend ether...and some bat repellant...and a library card for certain wanna be adjudicators.

Quote: redietz

Quote: TumblingBones

This week, specifically March 21st, is the 50th Anniversary of the publication of Hunter Thompson's masterpiece "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". The tale of the adventures of Raoul Duke and Dr Duke has one of the best opening lines I've ever read:


So with this in mind, I find myself reading (on March 21st no less!!) the opening lines of a new post on this forum:


Now I understand that some think this is an attempt at trolling but I see it as a timely literary tribute. How say you?

A big-time salute to TumblingBones! Some folks have literary awareness.

TumblingBones, if you wonder if I have any appreciation for "The Greatest Opening in American Literature," please check out (after adding www. in front) of it:

theskepticalgambler.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-greatest-opening-in-american.html

Just consider the bats metaphorical stand-ins for Retrumplicans.

So some people at WoV appreciate great literature and the occasional homage. Other people, like maybe the site adjudicator, don't do much reading. I mean, c'mon, the multiple mentions of Wild Turkey were dead giveaways as to the homage.

Now here's the kicker, and it is curious. I have had PMs with MDawg over the last year, and one thing I can say for certain -- as much as I love HST, MDawg is at least as much an aficionado as I am, and probably more. So Mdawg had to get the homage, and the dates. Now did he complain about it anyway? LOL. That would be beneath him, wouldn't it?

Now, as to being suspended: (1) MDawg was never mentioned in my post, (2) the post stands on its own as a homage, and (3) unlike some posts, the superficially unlikely probabilistic elements of my post are absolutely true and can be verified.

For example, the Syracuse at 360-1 wagered on by E.R. -- was available three weeks prior to the tournament (as mentioned in the post) at Bookmaker.eu. Any interested parties can contact Bookmaker and ask them for the future odds history for Syracuse. Second, somebody named Dietz did cash nine consecutive online poker tournaments with an average of about 150 players while recording a second but no wins. The hand history is kept for 30 days, so still verifiable.

Third, that smoke coming in through the pipes and filling the room -- it happened here in my house awhile back. Evidently towns still pump smoke through pipes to check sewage leaks, and they never informed me. So my house was filled with smoke so thick and fast that you really could not see two feet in front of you -- pretty scary. Verifiable? Yes, I had fire trucks in my driveway.

I have, on occasion, written up stories that are absolutely factual except for one event, and I have presented them as fables about how confirmation bias and perceptual bias can lead one down a primrose path to narratives that are wrong and bizarre, but that incorporate all the data in a logical way. For example, you might enjoy my story about my trip to Las Vegas in August, 2019.

theskepticalgambler.blogspot.com/2019/08/travelogue-eighth-plague.html

The two entries that follow this one are similar -- all but one detail in these three entries is true, and all of the math is true.


In summary: 'When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." And WoV has definitely gotten weird. I recommend ether...and some bat repellant...and a library card for certain wanna be adjudicators.

i would be disappointed if i were you.... only one person understood your game

What's disappointing is that the arbiter of a site called "Wizard of Vegas" was completely unaware that March 21st was the 50th anniversary of Fear and Loathing.

Fear and Loathing is the most famous of all books taking place in Las Vegas. It's iconic.

It's a little bit sad that the arbiter didn't recognize the homage, but I guess I needed to hammer the point home with some references to "the shape of his skull" or using ether. But I thought those kinds of references were too blatant. I figured the Wild Turkey mentions, which are in every HST book, would be plenty of clue.