Today is a very sad day, indeed. One of the greatest masters of all time has left the planet, joining the other late comic geniuses in what must certainly be the only true heaven, where laughter reigns supreme.Those of us of a certain age surely feel as if George Carlin was one of our dearest friends. My own memories of George are long and deep, dating back to when he burst onto the scene for good in the 70s, with his breakthrough album containing the taboo-shattering "Seven Dirty Words."
I recall vividly the whole brouhaha over those fucking obscenities. I can hear that album - and it was an ALBUM, scratchable vinyl and all - in my head right now. I was technically too young to be listening to it, but my siblings were playing it, much to my glee.
As I think back, I remember being impressed all those years ago by Carlin discussing product names for condoms or other birth-control devices, one of which he deemed "Baby Maybe!" and another "Junior Miss!"
George Carlin's impact is multigenerational. Even my little boy knows George from the cartoon movie "Cars." Carlin was the voice of Fillmore, the hippy VW bus who used organic fuel and said, "It's a conspiracy, man!" and "Respect the classics, man!"
And that description perhaps sums up George Carlin best - Classic.
A true sage who unblinkingly examined reality without blinders on, George Carlin dripped with enlightenment and wisdom, brilliantly using comedy to help the human race along in its evolutionary path. With all the talk about "spiritual masters" who deserve our reverence, in my opinion Carlin was a real master who truly loved the world and worked to better it by raising up the issue of individual freedom and personal creativity. In fact, I hold George Carlin in such high regard that I like to "joke" that he is my prophet (pot be upon him).
With all that is happening in the world today, including the end of the fossil-fuel era with serious deprivation on the horizon, I'm thinking that George's passing truly signals the end of the era - the end of the party, in fact.
Rest in stitches, George, my friend. We love you, man.
(Note this awesome bit was used in the hit internet movie "ZEITGEIST," seen by 10s of millions worldwide. At a certain point Carlin talks about being a "sun worshipper." In keeping with the Egyptian theme of ZG, Part 1, and my book Christ in Egypt, George Carlin is now the Osiris, the deceased pharaoh who rises again as the newborn sun, Horus of the Horizon. He is risen!)
26 comments:
Wow,
What a fantastic blog! Well said!
The US Constitution is my sacred scripture and George Carlin is my prophet p.b.u.h. (pot be upon him).
Religion is bullshit, nobody said it better than George Carlin.
I love it!
22
Why am I NOT SURPRISED that you revere this man as much as I do...
I am in such deep mourning today, as much or more than if I'd lost a blood relative, perhaps because I too had chosen him for my own.
I always say that I have accepted Bill Hicks as my comedic lord and savior, but let's be honest, I doubt there would have been a Bill Hicks without George.
Jon Stewart once told George in an interview with him that the Holy Trinity of Comedy was comprised of Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor and George Carlin. As ironic as it is to say this about such a devoted Atheist, I can't help believing that all of Heaven is laughing today, now that the Triune are in tha house together.
I will miss him so, so very much!
I first heard George Carlin in the Album AM-FM (or was it FM-AM) where he mocked the styles of the DJ's and the music they played in the 60's.
Any stand up comedian has a spiritual connection to a plane of existence that sees the unworkable things: the elephant in the living room, the sacred cow, the blind agreement to mass folly. A great comedian spends much time there.
George Carlin lived in that plane of existence as surely as he lived in this one. He saw from that viewpoint more clearly, spoke more willingly and gave us plenty to laugh about.
George Carlin makes for a good entertainer if you like comedy like this but are you willing to bet your soul that he is right?
Words cannot quantify the impact against superstition and absurdity that George Carlin had on the world, nor the hit to reason and rationality his absence means for the future.
I guess God finally struck him dead. Were are going to miss you George
Peace
Well said. It's a sad day to hear someone one likes, identify with, has left us. George Carlin is still with us in spirit. He has left his mark..a record we can look back on for inspiration and laughter. However, it would be more satisfying to have him still here in the flesh. (Pot Be Upon Him!).
I'm so bummed. Of all the comedians I've heard over 43 years, George takes the top spot. I still have his "Indecent Exposure" album from the late 70's, and I occasionally use a line to embellish my chats with others. Losing George is like losing a family member.
I'll be watching two of his DVD's tonight as a tribute. This great man had a way of cutting thru the bullshit of everyday life, and did it with a style unmatched. He really made me THINK with his bits on religion, and for that, I am forever changed.
Rest well, George. Ya did good, man.
PH
Comical or political commentary? no one deserves a standing ovation more George!
In my heaven George is the headline act every night
our planet is wiser for his time here....
I'll miss you GEORGE
Troy, Australia
George Carlin makes for a good entertainer if you like comedy like this but are you willing to bet your soul that he is right?
To the anonymous person who wrote the above statement, if you can prove we even have a soul, this is something science still hasn't proven. I for one want to live my life for the betterment of the human race, and I know the human race is far better off than had George never existed, I know he was one of my heroes, and I do idolize his knowledge and humor. George loved the world and I agree with his take on not hurting anyone especially those less fortunate than yourself that require help. George may you have the fun and laughter where you end up that you gave everyone here on Earth that were willing to listen to you. You left the world a much better place than it could have ever been without you.
Let's celebrate the life of
George, and not mourn like he would have wanted us to, he always wanted people to be happy, so let's be happy George left his wisdom here and celebrate the life of George Carlin the master of the English language as well as the chaser of myths like christianity!!!!
Published by Bill Russell of Norwich Atheists
Lenny Bruce copycat.
Among the people I will always wish I had known will be George, and you Acharya S...
Thanks for the terrific tribute. I remember when Carlin went "hip". I had loved him as the clean-cut satirist-in-a-suit of the Ed Sullivan days and was shocked and disappointed when he sold out (I thought) to cater to the kids. It gradually dawned on me that he was serious and was the prophet of a true paradigm shift. May his spirit live on and lead the world out of it's self-inflicted misery.
Oh, and as for that "are you willing to bet your soul that he's right" business: it's not really a "bet" if it's a sure thing. The real question is: are you willing to starve your heart, mind and spirit by feeding them superstition?
So sad... I dont believe for this news... For me, he is always alive... Bygone bygone then... He should rest peacefully
A wonderful blog Acharya- and so true. I, too, remember watching/listening to George when I technically wasn't allowed. Those were the good times, and when my husband told me yesterday that George Carlin had passed before I even saw the news or my emails, I just couldn't believe it. My comic idol was gone. Though he will never again make me laugh with anything new, I have all that I came of age with and that will have to be enough. Indeed, rest in stitches George. The world is a lot less funny without you.
George Carlin gave us TRUTH in his own words!
No religious or political leader has yet done so.
He sent me an autographed photo with an alien drawn on it.
He opened my website:
www.stargate-chronicles.com
He realized the TRUTH!
Clark C. McClelland, former ScO, Space Shuttle Fleet, Kennedy Space Center, Florida 1958 to 1992
clark0003@gmail.com
He was an entertainer but he also had a mission to inform. He didn't waste a minute. He was also intelligent he knew what was happening to our country and found a way to inform. I knew he spent a lot of time researching what is going on in America he had to for he had information he used in his routines that did not come from the TV media for sure.
Inform he did and changed my life for sure.
Thanks, everybody, for the kind words on my tribute page for a great man who will be missed sorely as the social gadfly pointing out human folly.
A special note to Clark: Thanks for posting here - sounds like you've had an interesting life! "ScO," for those of you who don't know - as I didn't until a few minutes ago - is a "Spacecraft Operator."
Thank you Achara for the lovely tribute!
Just wanted to he was a great guy... And will be very,very missed... Rest in peace my friend. A end of a era
p.s.
He spoke the truth
This is really interesting:
"(Note this awesome bit was used in the hit internet movie "ZEITGEIST," seen by 10s of millions worldwide. At a certain point Carlin talks about being a "sun worshipper." In keeping with the Egyptian theme of ZG, Part 1, and my book Christ in Egypt, George Carlin is now the Osiris, the deceased pharaoh who rises again as the newborn sun, Horus of the Horizon. He is risen!)"
Carlin died on the summer solstice didn't he? The part of Carlin's bit that was used in Zeitgeist was fantastic! I always enjoy it and laugh whenever I see it. Nobody said it better than Carlin.
I'm going to start praying to George Carlin (pot be upon him) from now on...
I remember when they were digging holes in the yard of our house and all the houses in our neighborhood on Long Island in Levittown NY in 1975 to have cable tv installed.
The company was called Cablevision and the very first program I saw was on HBO.It was George Carlin's
7 Dirty Words routine and from there George Carlin was my idol from 1975 to the day he passed on.
Thank you for this tribute Acharya.
George Carlin EXPLAINED Religion to the human race!
It is GREED Incorporated!
He was RIGHT!
At least George now knows IF a GOD exists or NOT!
George said what needed to be said in regards to religion. In his honor, we need to be BOLD and confront the religious zealots. Why? Because religion is facilitating the current environmental and social destruction of our world. Just like with Easter Island, the Incas, and the Aztecs, it's all happening again. Religion serves a convenient prop for delusion and denial. It's much easier to wait for Mr. Christ Man to come and do a rescue mission than actually having to take responsibility for the world's ills. The Christ Return myth is one of the most destructive lies ever forced upon the human species. THANKS GEORGE for telling it like it is. And as for the Pope and Roman Catholic Church, their policy against family planning is bringing more misery, suffering, and environmental ruin than one could ever imagine. The "good" works that all religious organizations do is massively outweighed by the bad. Oh little starving children, PRAY AND THANK GOD before eating your bread. Give me a break. May George's memory and spirit live forever.
Yes, George Carlin is my favorite comedian of all time.
But is it sad, he died just recently and do you know why? He was addicted to Diet Cola's and drinks of the like (I read on the web), and the aspartamine and ravaging metals inside those drinks slowly and eventually killed his vital organs. Surely, that is a lesson in itself for all of us who don't take enough effort to watch and manage our intake.
I frequently watch him on YouTube, just to get somebody else's opinion for what they perceive this convoluted and stupid, ignorant oligarchal world is really all about, and to know that there is someone else who also feels the same frustration that needs to be expressed in a way that reaches out with the truth to people who can't see and to show them, and to laugh along with a very funny master comic who was able to put the big picture into smaller ones and make it simple and humorous enough to be able to observe the insanity of his everyday, common man, human subject material.
How often do I watch his shows and grin along with them, and nod at the tv screen and say yes, yes, George, you are so right. All he ever had was a microphone, his body, and his words, or use of them, and nothing more. He was simply a master comic word-smith magician with an incredible range of written and performance poetic text ('I'm a modern man...'), with highly creative sensitivity, timing, image, body language, expression, voice, tone, subject matter, delivery, projection, and all done in an incredible comic style (e.g. 'Kyle...') that no-one may ever be able to match on stage.
Bravo George Carlin, a brilliant, ingenious, truth-shattering, iconclastic comic...a voice much needed in our pathetic, awkward, stumbling, ignorant, and deceptive times.
I would like to buy the complete set of his live performance DVD;s - ('All My Stuff'). His dialogues are so satirically stabbing and bittersweet, highly creative and incredibly observational, and so indecently and creatively rational in an increasingly deniably irrational world like ours, especially with material like his against the people at the top who control it.
He will be more than sadly missed. He had the conviction to be able to speak his mind about all sorts of everyday things 'that were just pissing him off', and to perceive and to deliver his simple human observations like no-one else I have ever seen do. He was a role model for many other comedians and audiences for many, many YEARS, and a man who wasn't scared to challenge the status quo and get in YOUR face and tell YOU about it.
Thank you George Carlin, for ever turning up at all to participate in the show we call life here on Earth. You made my life better by helping me laugh along with your view of the stupidity of it all. You may not be here now but you will not be forgotten.
one more atheist he can now burn in hell tit pretending he is clever and KNOWS
he will go to hell just like every one else who doesn’t believe in god
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