Justin, me too, that is what I love.

much of the writing seems a mask for a deep sadness and disconnect. At times he seems to be working very hard to make a kind of case for himself as a human being in a world he viewed as decaying…

Nice line/perspective.

He’s probably reading and getting tragically off

hahaha, okay, I’m all done if you are.

True, Thomspon seemed to have fun living some of his life, but much of the writing seems a mask for a deep sadness and disconnect. At times he seems to be working very hard to make a kind of case for himself as a human being in a world he viewed as decaying, while in his deepest parania is was likey he who was the world decaying. And it was all very much like propaganda, from day one. He MADE himself a star, or it’s probably better to say he made himself a noted personality. From his teenage years on. The massive two volumes of letters are very telling. He saved a copy of EVERY letter he EVER wrote to anybody, planning from the very beginning on publishing them all eventually.

But I certainly don’t mean to overstate a Thompson/Ford parallel. Too reductive.

I can definitely see the Warhol angle too. That’s interesting. God, we’re talking about this guy too much. He’s probably reading and getting tragically off.

I have seen the porn site, and then I lost it. Probably best that way.

The very right wing stance makes sense. It would explain the “Mark” schtick. But it’s funny Luke, your line about how all the other alter egos eventually talk about Luke Ford. Hahaha!

Justin, the Hunter Thompson stuff is interesting as a comparison; the boundary pushing, etc. I see more of that decadent Warhol hanger on mascot of the adults thing in Luke’s writing. Urban decay and ennui. Thompson seemed to have had much more fun. Then of course there were the drugs. Do you like Bukowski? I do.

I’ll have to check out the message boards, I haven’t even looked at them.

Hope the screening is a big success this weekend.

May you have a gazillion offers!

You’re tellin me. There’s a few four-letter ones out there that others hold dear to their heart too!

Leigh–I understand everything you are saying. I’ve no real position. There are a fair number of writers I’ve come to enjoy that live a life vastly different than mine, and hold philosophies that have no kinship to my own, but there is a thing to the work I can’t put a finger on. I am a huge Hunter S. Thompson reader, a person who had a vast catalog of political, personal, cartoonish, and outright terrifying pieces, and who lived a troublesome, questionable life, and I keep thinking of Luke as some kind of right-wing, modern version of this style & character. I just like his writing style. I like the chaotic nature of his work. I might not feel the same after a while, but it’s a ridiculously absurd ride. Or maybe I like that it is something of a car crash. Being male too maybe I can disconnect in a vital way that makes a difference. While much political vitriol on the web gets to me, I don’t take Luke’s writing in a personal way at all. But again, I hear ya.

Blah. I guess I don’t spend that much time reading him. He’s just been a recent fascination.

He probably thinks such musings are pretty hilarious.

Note: I was recently taken with interest in Henry Darger too.

Speaking as probably the only person here who has met LF in person, I’ll note that he is a very friendly individual, prone to saying really inappropriate things really loudly (and repeating online every inappropriate thing you say, unless you tell him otherwise in advance). He is also about as far right as this Mark character politically. On the other hand, about 90% of what he puts out there is deliberate provocation to get a rise out of people.

If he is Mark, he’s done a better job than usual of not giving himself away. Most of his online personas have very obvious tells — for one thing, they always end up talking about him eventually.

Has either of you seen his porn blog, lukeisback.com?

When I first discovered Luke F’s stuff, I really dug in, especially with the Hollywood profiles. The Dada Orthodox Jewish stuff and porn stuff, after a while, bores me. That is why I called it nihilistic, it just seems so equivocal and performance art-like, and after a while, dispiriting. Maybe in real life he is charming and fun, but there is this underlying contempt in his writing, where nobody seems real. Everything is projection. There is also a theme of looking for new parents through hobbled together affiliations. Cathy is his Mommy and Dennis Prager is his Daddy. And when not looking for a submissive female, he is looking for one to pay the bills. I read his site, but like a bunch of other stuff I read, wish I didn’t. The last bit about his girlfriend, revealed this creepy, creepy disdain for women. Comparisons to the inside of an asshole. Stomach turning contempt for everyone, Jews, porn girls, everyone. Self contempt externalized. Even Lewis, according to Cathy, was repelled. The commenter on Cathy’s site who said he is many things, but not an orthodox jew, seemed right on to me.

Luke T, if this thread is annoying to you, let me know and I won’t write about it anymore here.

Lukeford.net has become one of my favorite things to read online. I can’t figure out why.

Jaye, that is just why I need to stop. I am much too reactive lately. When it stops being fun, then I feel a need to regroup. Losing my balance. And it is fragile enough to begin with.