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| "So, Vonnegut and Jesus are playing Gin up in heaven; Carlin shows up - wants to play the winner..." |
| 06.23.08 (8:52 am) [edit] |
Good morning Boys and Girls.Just saw that George Carlin has died of heart failure at 71 years old. This saddens me deeply. I've always enjoyed his work, and respected him immensely. Over the years I got a real kick out of the way he skewered the status quo, pushing arbitrary boundaries that never accurately reflected our society in the first place. Plus, and more importantly, as he grew older, his own world view shifted - or at least the one he allowed us to peek into - until, during the last couple of decades, he became a voice for common sense. I mean, certainly, he was - first and foremost - just a comedian, but he jammed his routines full of truth nuggets that, first, I never heard anyone else articulate anywhere near as effectively, and secondly, always made me feel like I was listening to a kindred spirit. Like Kurt Vonnegut who died this past year too - another favorite who used words so incredibly effectively, often masking his message within the confines and context of totally unrelated verbiage - if you were willing to hear what Carlin was saying, there was a lot more going on there than just the laughs he generated so effectively. His wife of over forty years died a few years ago, and though he kept at it, working and writing all the time, the was a distinct change in his demeanor; not bitterness or even a profound sadness that lingered in his work, but perhaps just a realization that, for him, like the rest of us, there are some things we can't do a damn thing about, except to deal with them as best we can. Evidently, he'd just been notified a week ago that he'd be the eleventh recipient of the Mark Twain Comedy Award with a presentation celebration in November at the Kennedy Center. The show will go on as scheduled - a good thing. I'll watch it if it's on television, and I'm sure I'll cry over the loss of a friend; one I only knew from his work. In his last HBO special, he dealt a lot with getting older - the pros (-can't remember shit,) and cons (-can't remember shit). Later he wonders how long you're supposed to keep the info for friends who've died in your address book. Six weeks, he decides. Then he talks about how, now that he stored everything in his computer, he maybe ought to create a folder just for such info. That way, when you want to, you can open the folder and see your friends! Funny man. Can you imagine getting your hands on the hard drive for his computer? --reading through all the stuff he never got around to using, or material he hadn't flushed out well enough yet? Zowie. -Talk about a treasure trove. I'm tired of people dying before I'm ready for them to go. Get on that God, would ya? Be good to everyone. |
posted by: fractalmom (reply)
post date: 06.23.08 (6:11 am)
i too will miss his mind. i always subscribed to his 'square states' theory. put all the ppl who cannot survive in normal society in the square states (can't remember them all, but utah, nevada were in there....fence them all off with a BIG wall and throw away the key.
posted by: surrogate (reply)
post date: 06.23.08 (6:19 am)
Reply to: fractalmom
I like the "And these people so worried about plastic screwing up the planet? How arrogant. Maybe that's the whole reason people showed up on the planet. Maybe the planet felt like it needed to become a new amalgam; the earth - plus plastic! No, the earth will be just fine; it'll be around a longgg time. (It's just us people that are f*cked!)"
Clever.
posted by: OldSchool (reply)
post date: 06.23.08 (7:06 am)
LOVED, loved, loved George Carlin. As with any passing, it always reminds me that you must appreciate what you have while you have it because you never know how long that will be. He will be sadly missed, but at least we have his comedy to remember him by. I was going to write something on this, but you did it much better. Thanks and have a good one.
posted by: PirateGirl (reply)
post date: 06.23.08 (7:11 am)
Wow! - Sure will miss him
They gave a "Mark Twain" to Steve Martin too - the show was great, and I know they will do George proud!
posted by: bawdy (reply)
post date: 06.23.08 (12:11 pm)
He will never be forgotten at least. He left behind so many clever musings. He was definitely one for the ages.
posted by: auntconi (reply)
post date: 06.23.08 (11:35 pm)
Oh no!
Great post, surrogate!
posted by: PastorDave (reply)
post date: 06.24.08 (10:15 am)
Yesterday I watched a video of his 10 Words routine. It was nasty, and of course tame by today's standards. I guess he at least makes the point that one can use profanity and still be quite expressive with the English language. The humor of vulgarity and profanity. I can do without it. Having said that, I remember George Carlin all the way back to when he would guest on variety shows like Ed Sullivan, and he has always been funny.
posted by: surrogate (reply)
post date: 06.24.08 (10:23 am)
Reply to: PastorDave
Even that routine wasn't "about" vulgarity, really.
Truly a funny man.
posted by: fractalmom (reply)
post date: 06.25.08 (4:45 pm)
Nigflot blorny quando floon
Cost of the War in Iraq
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