Two Irish Catholic boys from New York died recently.
The first attended Catholic schools all the way to his graduation from a Jesuit college. He carried a rosary in his pocket and never missed a Saturday night Mass. That Irish Catholic boy became a well-known TV news show host. His name was Tim Russert. And now you know...the rest of the story.
The Irish Catholic boy who died last Sunday night wasn't so enamored of the faith he was raised in. He broke with his religion and became a well-known and outspoken atheist (though he rejected any attempt to classify his beliefs). That boy became a groundbreaking comedian who had one of the most successful careers any comedian ever had. Of course I'm talking about the great, now late, George Carlin.
George Carlin first enamored me in 1992 when I caught his
Jammin' in New York concert on HBO at a friend's apartment. I'd heard of him before, but from the moment I saw that show I was hooked. Around that same time I decided to make a stab at stand-up comedy myself and bought some of his CD's (
Classic Gold, a two CD set which contains the albums
Occupation: Foole,
AM/FM and
Class Clown, and I also got
Jammin' in New York) to use as textbook material. On the Monday night open mic at the Comic Cafe I began frequenting I asked some of the other never-would-be's why they didn't do more social commentary stuff like Carlin. One of them said, "He earned the right to do that." I don't think George Carlin ever thought he had to earn the OK from anyone to speak his mind.
He cranked out
another few classic HBO concerts that I bought in CD form, as well as his book
Brain Droppings. Pretty soon if anyone asked my opinion on a topic all I had to say was, "See George Carlin." The guy had summed up everything much more eloquently than I ever could. In my Cartersville radio days I even played "Rockets and Penises in the Persian Gulf" on the radio (You Tube below) with my hand poised on the volume knob for key words after Clinton bombed Afghanistan.
Even now, at room temperature, Carlin inspires controversy. Today at the call center I wanted to find out how the news was covering his death, so I asked a caller. The guy sounded late 40's and was in Boston, so I figured he would be a fan.
"Y'know, I don't even care! We have more important things to worry about in this world than that man and his
profane humor!"The USA Today comments on the story about his death were a battleground of the religious vs. the irreligious. It seems like a large part of the population has the misconception that all George Carlin did was say, "Fuck, fuck, fuck! I hate Jesus! Goddamn! Shit!" These surface-skimmers are missing some of the most thoughtful, insightful commentary ever on: sports, war, environmentalism, language, media, and pop culture. Well, closed-minded, reactionary people like that was who George liked to laugh at, so fuck `em.
George Carlin didn't believe in God, but he did believe in a theory of his brother's called the Big Electron. So Big Electron bless George Carlin!
[http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/25/144558/854/208/541847].
He was always amazing, always changing, always Thinking. And always it was about 'giving it to the Man'. There was no one out there who did it as consistently or better for as long. There's pics of him doing standup in the early 1960's, and it's Funny. Very few people can be consistently funny & 'cutting edge' for nearly 50 damn years. He was one of them. And despite not having a HS degree, he was always knowledgeable on almost every topic under the sun. Still Read more than most folks, and enjoyed the new burst of freedom represented by Blogs. And people still noticed: [Via a Huff Post Interview in March]:
[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/01/george-carlin-reads-more-_n_89179.html]
Tim Russert? Yes, Hard working, but still the idiot svant of the 'sabbath gasbags'. Considered himself a 'Personal friend' of Bush. (All of them). Too corrupt by half at the end, and no reporter should be getting millions for essentially sandbagging people he despised (poor people mostly, and people who defended poor people). And then sucking up to power as he did with his 'special list' of pals he'd sit down and pontificate with week after week. Almost all of them were old white guys & the power elites of Washington. No one else need apply. Want an opinion on Mountain top removal in Appalachia? NEVER call on any environmental specialist, but rely on your buds to tell you 'it's OK' cause they're making good money. I could go on.
In a just universe (something Carlin said was proved otherwise daily, if not hourly here on earth), Timmeh is polishing George's shoes in heaven. That after having gotten in on a work release program from hell simply to perform such duties. And there's a few Popes working for George now too.
Carlin was a giant and will be long recalled. Russert will be all but forgotten by the public almost as soon as a replacement is found.
Cheers & Good Luck, 'VJ'
Though you know I respect your political viewpoint, I also know you see things through a hardcore Left lens. Your evil twin, a guy who sometimes posts here but more often posts on Rankin' Rob's page called Jack Straw, said Tim Russert was, "Just another Chris Mathews type carrying liberal Democratic water." On the Free Republic page I checked in to read everyone venting that he "was very disrespectful when he interviewed president Bush in 2004." All you guys need to get together and see if you can suss out Russert's viewpoint. He started off as a aide to Patrick Moynihan and Mario Cuomo, if that tells you anything.
As for his guests being the Washington elite...well, it's a news show about what's going on in Washington. That's who's moving things there. Inviting illiterate people from the projects with zero political knowledge might be inclusive but would also be an instant tune-out.
I will agree, thought, that he obviously had it in for Hillary and loved Barack Obama almost more than his own wife. Why that was I don't know. They say he never forgave and never forgot a slight, so maybe Hillary snubbed him at some point. The Clintons were conspicuously absent from singing his praises with Obama, McCain and Edwards.
I gave up on all the sabbath gas bags well over a decade ago when they were consistently skewering the Clinton's, for well, being Southerners (or not) and for him being a horn dog. Oh to bring back the Simple days, eh? I grew to loathe them all. It was Never about the news, it was all about show biz, and how to bring in the rubes with 'bread & circuses'. It became part of the entertainment divisions of the networks, and that's where they are now to this day.
And yeah, if you want to lay partial blame for how Hillary wound up in 2nd place, look no further than to Timmeh's performance during one of their big debates. The Huff Post caught it:
By Paul Abrams
"How Russert Impacted the Primary: A Footnote to History"
Posted June 14, 2008 | 05:52 PM (EST)
[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-abrams/how-russert-impacted-the_b_107153.html]
Cheers & Good Luck, 'VJ'
And the CBC's :
By George, he did it
Seven reasons to miss comedian George Carlin
Last Updated: Monday, June 23, 2008 | 5:48 PM ET
By Jason Anderson, CBC News
[http://www.cbc.ca/arts/theatre/story/2008/06/23/f-george-carlin.html]
Almost all better in their own ways than most of what you read here. Cheers, 'VJ'
I was out of town and flipped on Today to see the sad news. Heart failure. Many might say that George had no heart, but I really think his material underscored a real concern for humanity that humanity itself lost decades ago. He said it better than I ever could, but he made the statement that we used to not need a catastrophe to pull together and care about each other. Profound and true.
Head over to YouTube and get yourself some Carlin.