Today is the day iconic gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson's ashes will be fired from a cannon as 250 friends and family members look on from his Owl Farm estate in Woody Creek, Colorado. The send off for the late Thompson was spearheaded by Johnny Depp, who portrayed Thompson in the movie adaptation of Thompson's book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and became a close friend. According to Depp, Thompson's wish was that his remains be fired from a cannon of his own design. Thompson was credited with developing a new form of journalism where the writer made himself the center of the story, an approach later used by other "alternative" journalists who didn't always understand that Thompson's choice had little to do with ego, but more to do with the fact that by fictionalizing things, you can often uncover a deeper, more profound truth.