A sad day for those of us who loved that genuinely funny, brave, honest, authentic man, George Carlin.
The first time I saw him was on Johnny Carson doing his hippy dippy weather man bit and I followed his comedy ever since… an inspiration to all comics, and man who always told the truth whilst making you laugh your abs into a six-pack… we used to re-enact his routines as teens… I, for one, shall miss him dearly… he was, quite al frankenly, THE BEST.
For all who admired him as much as I, please share your memories and your favorite Carlin memories and or bits.
I hope the energy that was Mark Twain is passing him some tau pork chops and fine neutrino wine.
I hope the energy that was Mark Twain is passing him some tau pork chops and fine neutrino wine.
That’s funny, I was just commenting in another forum about how much I’d like to picture Carlin, Twain and H.L. Mencken having a fine old time somewhere.
Besides being wonderfully honest and funny, I always admired his Karl Kraus-ian way of approaching language. For him it wasn’t a tool - it was a medium.
He also inspired me by just getting better with age. Certainly his sobering up helped, but that knife just got sharper and he wielded it more deftly year after year.
mp: “That’s funny, I was just commenting in another forum about how much I’d like to picture Carlin, Twain and H.L. Mencken having a fine old time somewhere.”
Great minds think alike, aye?
mp: “Besides being wonderfully honest and funny, I always admired his Karl Kraus-ian way of approaching language. For him it wasn’t a tool - it was a medium.”
Excellent observation. And you know what they say [actually, only McLuhan said it] : the medium IS the message.
Although he did sober up, I don’t suppose he’d mind my raising a cold, big-ass beer in his honor tonight, do ya?
Since it’s only you and me, mp, how goes the “comdedy” in Austin these days?
. . . For all who admired him as much as I, please share your memories and your favorite Carlin memories and or bits. . . .
Back in 1972 or so, I remember watching him perform at a Milwaukee Summerfest, then actually get dragged off the stage not by a vaudevillian hook, but by police. No one I was with had any idea what the hell was going on. I still don’t, as Carlin was by far the most gifted comic since the beginning of broadcasting/recording. Unfortunately, the cops weren’t laughing that night.
Hey homunculus, it was probably because of he was doing his “seven dirty words you can’t say on TV” bit.
He was quite proud of his “footnote” in case law in favor of free speech. How fortunate you were able to see him in ‘72… I’m jealous… but then again, what the goddamn fucking shit in hell would I be doing in Milwaukee at age ten? (well. I got two of the FCC forbidden words in there!)
For anyone interested, they’re re-playing an interview Art Bell did with him on Coast to Coast in the last hour of the program.
(I know, I know, give me shit for listening to Coast to Coast…. but I do like to laugh…. )
Hey homunculus, it was probably because of he was doing his “seven dirty words you can’t say on TV” bit.
I know about this controversy, but I still wonder at the foolishness of city officials, literally dragging someone off the stage for being brilliant if a bit provoking.
Since it’s only you and me, mp, how goes the “comdedy” in Austin these days?
Well, more have joined in - but since you asked I’m spending more time as musician than comedy guy these days - although I’ll be headed up to the Twin Cities Improv Festival this weekend.
Sorry for the interrupt; back to Carlin. I always loved “words that don’t belong together” like “military intelligence”.
I love how George was able to completely revise the Ten Commandments down to two (with one additional) commandments (in the process he wrote off the first three commandments as “spooky language”). George’s commandments are:
“Thou shalt always be honest and faithful to the provider of thy nookie.
&
Thou shalt try real hard not to kill anyone, unless of course they pray to a different invisible man than you.
Two is all you need; Moses could have carried them down the hill in his fuckin’ pocket. I wouldn’t mind those folks in Alabama posting them on the courthouse wall, as long as they provided one additional commandment:
