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Gone But Not Forgotten By George, He Was Funny
In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.

In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! — I hope I'll be safe at home!

George Carlin has died at the age of 71.

The above baseball/ootball rant was just one of the many lines in one fo the great monologues (the whole bit is here) brought to us by a man who truly could lay claim to being, at least arguably, the greatest American stand-up comedian ever.

That a bit like saying "Babe Ruth is the greatest baseball player ever" ...



... in that nobody can deny there's a good case to be made for that position, but you'll have your Willie Mays guys and your Alex Rodriguez guys and even your Walter Johnson guys and ... well, you get the idea.

Declaring someone the greatest at something that thousands of people have done or are doing smacks a bit of arrogance and a bit more of reverence. I admit, there are times I watched a Carlin bit and was horribly offended. But I never ... never ... watched a Carlin bit without, at some point, laughing out loud.

I think George would have liked to hear people say that about him. But then again, as he surely would have intoned, what the hell do I know?

I searched for an appopriate obituary online to link to, then realized that all of the best ones widely quoted Carlin's "Seven Words You Can't Say on Television," so here instead I just offer an invitation ... link to something you particularly like about Carlin, or better yet, BY Carlin ... and join me in hoping he's now safe at home.

Thanks, George.

Posted by Mick Doherty on Monday, June 23 2008 @ 08:04 PM EDT.
By George, He Was Funny | 12 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Mike Green - Monday, June 23 2008 @ 08:36 PM EDT (#187934) #
You're absolved of any sins committed while listening to Carlin, Mick.  Three Santamarias, wheeee.
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Rob - Monday, June 23 2008 @ 09:23 PM EDT (#187941) #
"It's called the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it."

Mick has often described how he grew up with stories/memories of the other Mick and Joe D. For some of us with aging boomer parents, it was tales of George and Richard P. I remember listening to Class Clown at a very young age...true genius doesn't care about the reasonable restrictions of child-appropriate language.

"Baseball and Football" is a little too tame to top my list, much like "Here Comes Your Man" is a respectfully accessible song, but you're really there to hear "Debaser." But I'll compromise and put forward the ten commandments riff as the cap Carlin will wear into the Hall (hey, for him, it's pretty restrained...).
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King Ryan - Monday, June 23 2008 @ 10:55 PM EDT (#187944) #
Damn.  I knew this day would come but wasn't expecting it so soon.

I identified with all of his anti-religion stuff and the 10 commandments bit that Rob mentioned.  I thought that he was at his best, though, when making fun of language.  My favorite is probably his bit on Airline Announcements. (warning, naughty words blah blah etc.)

Much as I loved all of his work, I did think that in his age he was becoming more and more bitter and less and less funny. I think he was ready to go.
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Mylegacy - Monday, June 23 2008 @ 11:24 PM EDT (#187945) #

He was a very funny - very angry man. I loved his stuff.

He was angry because Americans - as he saw it - are just so stupid (actually they aren't stupid - it's just that so many of them are horribly ignorant of anything outside their hometown - state - country).

Among his best - most lasting work - was his excellent exposure of the insanity of religion. He and Bill Maher (among others) are the comical end of the Dawkins/Hitchens etal group(s) that are exposing the rediculousness of religion to everyone that has the brains to chew bubble gum and tie their own shoelaces. 

George, been good to know ya.

[ Reply to This ]
owen - Tuesday, June 24 2008 @ 12:02 AM EDT (#187946) #
Among his best - most lasting work - was his excellent exposure of the insanity of religion. He and Bill Maher (among others) are the comical end of the Dawkins/Hitchens etal group(s) that are exposing the rediculousness of religion to everyone that has the brains to chew bubble gum and tie their own shoelaces.

Love the arrogance.  You misspelled ridiculousness.
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Mylegacy - Tuesday, June 24 2008 @ 01:32 AM EDT (#187947) #
What do you mean I mispelled redicalutious?
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Magpie - Tuesday, June 24 2008 @ 01:36 AM EDT (#187948) #
I can remember when I was young that poor people lived in slums. Not anymore. These days, the economically disadvantaged occupy substandard housing in the inner cities. It's so much nicer for them.
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jgadfly - Tuesday, June 24 2008 @ 01:46 AM EDT (#187949) #
...and here are the scores from today's games... 7 to 3 , 8 to nothing and in a squeaker 3 to 2 in extra innings
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Matthew E - Tuesday, June 24 2008 @ 07:42 AM EDT (#187952) #
And a partial score from the west coast: 3.
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Paul D - Tuesday, June 24 2008 @ 09:30 AM EDT (#187954) #
If you liked Carlin, and want to see some more 'angry' comedy, try finding some Bill Hicks stuff.  That's brilliant.
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GrrBear - Tuesday, June 24 2008 @ 09:44 AM EDT (#187955) #
What made Carlin great was his grasp of the idiosyncrasies of the English language, and how words can shape ideas and opinions.  There may have been a few comics with a higher peak (Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks), but none can match Carlin's career value.  We were lucky to have him, and I hope wherever he is now, for once it's a pleasant surprise.
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King Ryan - Tuesday, June 24 2008 @ 01:04 PM EDT (#187966) #
There's a condition in combat. Most people know about it. It's when a fighting person's nervous system has been stressed to its absolute peak and maximum. Can't take anymore input. The nervous system has either snapped or is about to snap. In the first world war, that condition was called "shell shock". Simple, honest, direct language. Two syllables -- shell shock. Almost sounds like the guns themselves. That was seventy years ago. Then a whole generation went by and the second world war came along and the very same combat condition was called "battle fatigue." Four syllables now. Takes a little longer to say. Doesn't seem to hurt as much. Fatigue is a nicer word than shock. Shell shock! Battle fatigue. Then we had the war in Korea, 1950. Madison avenue was riding high by that time, and the very same combat condition was called "operational exhaustion." Hey, were up to eight syllables now! And the humanity has been squeezed completely out of the phrase. It is totally sterile now. Operational exhaustion. Sounds like something that might happen to your car. Then, of course, came the war in Vietnam, which has only been over for about sixteen or seventeen years, and thanks to the lies and deceits surrounding that war, I guess it's no surprise that the very same condition was called "post-traumatic stress disorder. " Still eight syllables, but we've added a hyphen!
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By George, He Was Funny | 12 comments | Create New Account
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