anh...he's fulla shit!

Comedian George Carlin did not pass away this past week.
The man fucking died.
Among the people i never knew, George ranks in the top 10 of those who resonated most deeply in me. He didn't shape my thinking, but he affirmed what i knew, that most people are kinda flat-out fucking nuts. He made me feel less alone, by assuring me that i wasn't the one who was fucking nuts.
I think George lived a life of clown's revenge. I don't know whether that's any kind of actual psychological term, but it should be. He got the attention and acceptance we all crave, by being a foole. But by definition, being a foole is humiliating. Once famous, he gradually shifted his focus from just making us laugh, to lashing out and scathingly skewering the pompous and the pampered, the hypocrites and the holy rollers, the institutions and imbeciles who wield power in this world...in a medieval court, of course, he would have been put to death by the lord who first patronized him.
I heard my first Carlin album when i was a teenager. It was love at first listen. He and Cosby remain unique in how i had to accqire album after album of their stuff. I was always silly and a bit of a prankster myself. Generally a quiet child, i had one year of glory in my elementary years, when during 3rd grade i was THE class clown. Something that no one, but no one, would have seen coming. During my school years, i was never able to capture magic like that before, or after. It was the only grade in which i ever got negative behavior comments: Mrs. Schaffelberger said i had a "smart mouth". But that was the one year i was respected and admired by virtually all my classmates. Admiration is heady stuff, so sorry, Mrs. S., but i'd do it again. I was never drawn to doing comedy when i grew up, but once in a while i'll get a standup idea, and jot it down. My brothers and i shared the Carlin passion, and we all had one of our most memorable moments together when i was driving us through our neighborhood, and in homage to George i slowed down and leaned out the window to shout to an elderly man, "Pardon me, I have nothing to say!" As we passed, the man gave a confused smile and gamely gestured "well, whattaya gonna do?"
In those early years i played George's tapes over and over, and would have supported a "Carlin for President" campaign. I've kept loose tabs on him since then, always glad to get a new dose. I saw him in concert twice, at Rider College in the 80s, and a few years ago in Newark. At Rider, he was brilliant. In Newark, he was lackluster, like he was at the tail end of an exhausting tour. I read his books, saw most of the HBO specials, and watched every episode of his short-lived sitcom. I was sad when it tanked. It wasn't brilliant, but it was better than a lot of the shit out there. For whatever reason, i particularly remember him talking about his electric nose hair trimmer in one episode. I'll have to find out whether the show was ever released on dvd. I loved George.
I loved him, and then we crossed the international dateline.
Meatcake!
Sheriff...I'm gonna fuck ya.
If selling is legal, and fucking is legal, why isn't selling fucking legal?
Ronald Reagan's criminal gang.
Tax those motherfuckers!
Well, he seems fairly intelligent......