the passing of greatness
George Carlin died yesterday at 5:55 pm from heart failure. When I first started writing I phrased it as "George Carlin passed away...." However I immediately rephrased it. If I learned one thing from George Carlin it is that pussy footing around with convoluted wording is a fucking waste of time. He wouldn't want me to say he "passed on..." or that "we lost a great man" or that "he's pushing up the daisies" or some other metaphoric or convoluted bull shit. He would want to be reported as dead..... cold, stiff, and soon to be decomposing. In regards to his fate post mortem, his view on spirituality and religion, as reflected in his comedy, is pretty scattered and cynical. So, I won't presume to extrapolate on possible afterlife scenarios be they white and fluffy or full of fire and brimstone. I will simply be confident in knowing that if he is in some state of after life and has not simply ceased to be, he won't be wasting time smiling down on the living like some idiotic ass hole when he could be drinking, fucking, or simply taking it easy on a cloud some where. So, since his afterlife is a moot point, I would like to focus on the things I learned from his actual life.
We've already covered the Carlinian pearl of wisdom that pussy footing around with convoluted sugar coated phrasing is a waste of god damn time (time that could be better spent with exuberantly excessive profanity). However, I would like to emphasize that George Carlin's teachings weren’t just arbitrary punctuations in my life, but a constant molding force ushering me from young age to adult hood. As a child I sat wide eyed as he shared tales from the island of Sodor, tales that taught about friendship and sharing, and above all that trains are people too (unless they are diesel engines, in which case they are fucking bitches). When I grew out of the teachings of Mr. Conductor, he came into my life as a commentator on society. He taught me about joy and laughter and how it can be found everywhere even in rape and terrorism as long as you remember that the fine line between being funny and being a sick twisted asshole is what you exaggerate. He also taught me things practical in daily life, like how to cure cancer with broccoli and how administering sewage to your children is an investment in a healthier tomorrow.
As I moved on in life, taking these lessons and teachings with me, I found myself on the road to an environmental science degree. Even here he provided guidance. He managed to bring understanding and insight to a concept struggled with by me and my fellow enviro majors by summarizing the concept of consumerism in 5 minutes and 9 seconds.
Now, no matter how versatile and vast his wisdom is, there are a few things I learned from him I keep closest to my heart.
One.... it is always a good idea to call people out on their bullshit. It's important, it's fun, and it should be done with as much profanity as possible.
Two.... exaggeration of epic proportions is the key to a good joke or story and is fun for the whole family.....especially when it includes as much profanity as possible.
three.... never be placated, satisfied, convinced, or "go with the flow" when the “flow” in question is the idiotic masses. If you stop asking questions, criticizing, exploring, explaining (and of course swearing) you'll end up wasting time, energy, and resources whiles trading away bits of your personal freedom and brain while you coast along with society until we only drink things with electrolytes cause "its what plants crave!"
Four.... swear creatively and often.
Now, my personal reminiscences aside, this is a man that the world will grieve, and here is why. George Carlin was the rough and uncensored voice of his generation, a cantankerous and tenacious instillation in society in general, and fucking shinning example to independent free thinking people everywhere…..Also he was a fucking hilarious. Maybe he wasn't a god damn hero (like those cancer children) but he will be missed.
We've already covered the Carlinian pearl of wisdom that pussy footing around with convoluted sugar coated phrasing is a waste of god damn time (time that could be better spent with exuberantly excessive profanity). However, I would like to emphasize that George Carlin's teachings weren’t just arbitrary punctuations in my life, but a constant molding force ushering me from young age to adult hood. As a child I sat wide eyed as he shared tales from the island of Sodor, tales that taught about friendship and sharing, and above all that trains are people too (unless they are diesel engines, in which case they are fucking bitches). When I grew out of the teachings of Mr. Conductor, he came into my life as a commentator on society. He taught me about joy and laughter and how it can be found everywhere even in rape and terrorism as long as you remember that the fine line between being funny and being a sick twisted asshole is what you exaggerate. He also taught me things practical in daily life, like how to cure cancer with broccoli and how administering sewage to your children is an investment in a healthier tomorrow.
As I moved on in life, taking these lessons and teachings with me, I found myself on the road to an environmental science degree. Even here he provided guidance. He managed to bring understanding and insight to a concept struggled with by me and my fellow enviro majors by summarizing the concept of consumerism in 5 minutes and 9 seconds.
Now, no matter how versatile and vast his wisdom is, there are a few things I learned from him I keep closest to my heart.
One.... it is always a good idea to call people out on their bullshit. It's important, it's fun, and it should be done with as much profanity as possible.
Two.... exaggeration of epic proportions is the key to a good joke or story and is fun for the whole family.....especially when it includes as much profanity as possible.
three.... never be placated, satisfied, convinced, or "go with the flow" when the “flow” in question is the idiotic masses. If you stop asking questions, criticizing, exploring, explaining (and of course swearing) you'll end up wasting time, energy, and resources whiles trading away bits of your personal freedom and brain while you coast along with society until we only drink things with electrolytes cause "its what plants crave!"
Four.... swear creatively and often.
Now, my personal reminiscences aside, this is a man that the world will grieve, and here is why. George Carlin was the rough and uncensored voice of his generation, a cantankerous and tenacious instillation in society in general, and fucking shinning example to independent free thinking people everywhere…..Also he was a fucking hilarious. Maybe he wasn't a god damn hero (like those cancer children) but he will be missed.