Monday, June 23, 2008

Irreverent, Poignant, Rebel, Satirist, Patriot, Gone

I had all kinds of blog ideas tumbling around my head for today's post (my fondness for Gordon Lightfoot, the time I broke my arm, my 16-foot-tall summer reading stack, why a squishy floor around your toilet is a Very Bad Thing), but then George Carlin died. He was only 71, which seems incredibly young to me. J and I never missed his HBO specials: they were EVENTS to us, something to TiVo and look forward to for weeks ahead of time. I even used one of his CDs (the one on euphemistic language) in class with the inmates I worked with years ago, during one of our language lessons.

I loved how Carlin called out the hypocrisies, the ridiculous, irrational, and absurd in American society. He gave us that brilliant and critical gut-check when X, Y, or Z would happen (fill in the blank, the list is endless), and you'd look at your spouse or friend with relief: "Okay, I'm really not losing my mind. This really is happening, and it really ISN'T okay. And somebody is not afraid to actually call bullshit on this, and do so in a way that's simultaneously hilarious, compassionate, and mildly unsettling."

Speaking of which, George? We owe you for calling bullshit on censorship.

One of my favorite Carlin quotes is all over the net today, but I'm going to post it anyway: "I think it is the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."

(My second favorite: "The reason they call it the American dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it.")

George, thanks for the honesty and the laughs. You'll be missed.

10 comments:

  1. Jess, great quotes, the first one I've lived by. I have a post this week about me and George, just waiting for all the hubbub to die down. As it were.

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  2. George Carlin was just totally honest and put hinself right out there for everyone to see.

    He is going to be sorely missed.

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  3. I didn't know he died! My personal favorite was his rant of all the dirty words one can and could say.

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  4. I loved george. He was so real and so brilliant. Here's to George!

    Rat shit! Bat shit! Dirty old twot! Sixty nine assholes tied in a knot! Hooray! Lizard shit! F@(K!
    -George Carlin

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  5. I always remember his riff on "stuff" - that was one of my favorites.

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  6. 71 is too young to die. How about 101? Lets go for that.

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  7. I was just going through my mom's iTunes on her computer, and I found quite a bit of ol' George there. I guess I'll have to listen to some.

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  8. Oh, this was a lovely tribute. Nice job.

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  9. Losing him makes me sad too.

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