Rest in peace, George Carlin.
George Carlin died yesterday at the age of 71. Although he was never my favorite comedian, I consider him among a small group of legendary preacher comics. Others include Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Chris Rock, and David Cross. These men have/had medicine to dispense with their spoonfuls of sugar, and they all help(ed) elevate a nightclub diversion to a true form of art. When you grow up listening to the unfunny kind of preacher like I did, their earthshaking “sermons” become wonderful, irresistible discoveries.
Of course, Bruce, Pryor, and Carlin were the pioneers of Power Jokes, the kind that make you shudder, make you question, make you change your outlook. Even this morning, one of the news shows played a clip of George Carlin hosting the inaugural episode of Saturday Night Live, and when he introduced “military intelligence” as an oxymoron, I couldn’t believe I was seeing it on network television.
More than his colleagues, Carlin loved language. I suppose it may be more correct to say that he loved to hate American English. He could turn away from the never-ending train wreck. If language is the basis of civilization, he found us all to be rather uncivilized. You couldn’t get a crutch phrase like “thinking outside the box” or “sounds like a plan” past George Carlin. He wanted people to think about what they said. He wanted people to truly communicate. He wanted people to be alert. He wanted people to be like him.
George Carlin worked hard to be among the most prolific comedians ever. I suspect he was working on new material up to his death. We could all stand to further open our eyes and ears to the world around us. We could all stand to laugh at the horrible cosmic joke that surrounds us. George Carlin believed that death means non-existence, eternal sleep, the most absolute form of rest you can imagine. I suspect he is enjoying it just as much as he enjoyed the journey.
In his honor, I’d like to post a short essay from his book When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? It’s called “Count the Superfluous Redundant Pleonastic Tautologies.”
My fellow countrymen, I speak to you as coequals, knowing you are deserving of the honest truth. And let me warn you in advance, my subject matter concerns a serious crisis caused by an event in my past history: the execution-style killing of a security guard on a delivery truck. At that particular point in time, I found myself in a deep depression, making mental errors which seemed as though they might threaten my future plans. I am not over-exaggerating.
I needed a new beginning, so I decided to pay a social visit to a personal friend with whom I share the same mutual objectives and who is one of the most unique individuals I have ever personally met. The end result was an unexpected surprise. When I reiterated again to her the fact that I needed a fresh start, she said I was exactly right; and, as an added plus, she came up with a final solution that was absolutely perfect.
Based on her past experience, she felt we needed to join together in a common bond for a combined total of twenty-four hours a day, in order to find some new initiatives. What a novel innovation! And, as an extra bonus, she presented me with the free gift of a tuna fish. Right away I noticed an immediate positive improvement. And although my recovery is not totally complete, the sum total is I feel much better now knowing I am not uniquely alone.
as reported in The New York Times
June 23, 1908
CAPTURE FOX IN BALTIMORE.
Dogs and 100 Men Chase Reynard Up Pennsylvania Avenue.
One clue whose answer consists of two rhyming words:
Every time he draws one of those two wild cards, he pushes his finger into the middle of it. It’s a beautiful tell, and I don’t think he realizes he does it! He just can’t help being a…
Highlight here for answer: [Joker poker]
Hairstyles that Mom Won’t Approve
My Lord Tomnoddy is thirty-four;
The Earl can last but a few years more.
My Lord in the Peers will take his place:
Her Majesty’s councils his words will grace.
Office he’ll hold and patronage sway;
Fortunes and lives he will vote away;
And what are his qualifications?—ONE!
He’s the Earl of Fitzdotterel’s eldest son.
Robert Barnabas Brough, My Lord Tomnoddy
EVERY DANG THURSDAY
8:00 PM
Flipnotics at the Triangle
4600 Guadalupe
AUSTIN, TX
(512) 380-0097
www.flipnotics.com
________________________________________________________________
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2008
7:00 PM
Spike Gillespie’s Dick Monologues
Hyde Park Theatre
AUSTIN, TX
www.dickmonologues.com
SOLD OUT!
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TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2008
Cactus Cafe
The Texas Union, 24th & Guadalupe
AUSTIN, TX
CD Release Celebration for CRUELTY!
(512) 475-6515
www.utexas.edu/txunion/ae/cactus/index.php
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©2008 Southpaw Jones. All rights reserved.
I post whatever I want every weekday. I reserve the right to change my opinions. It is not my intention to bore.