[I Drive Too Fast]

ping

[ExSoldier]

I always liked him, but as I aged and found Jesus myself, I finally heard the bitterness and rage he felt towards Christianity. That took the humor off his schtick for me. I guess he's explaining himself right now ... although it's waaaay too late. ~sigh~

[KDD]

George Carlin Besides, there is nothing wrong with the planet. Nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine. The PEOPLE are fucked. Difference. Difference. The planet is fine. Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. Been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We've been here, what, a hundred thousand? Maybe two hundred thousand? And we've only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over two hundred years. Two hundred years versus four and a half billion. And we have the CONCEIT to think that somehow we're a threat? That somehow we're gonna put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that's just a-floatin' around the sun?

The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles...hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages...And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet...the planet...the planet isn't going anywhere. WE ARE!

We're going away. Pack your shit, folks. We're going away. And we won't leave much of a trace, either. Thank God for that. Maybe a little styrofoam. Maybe. A little styrofoam. The planet'll be here and we'll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet'll shake us off like a bad case of fleas. A surface nuisance.

You wanna know how the planet's doing? Ask those people at Pompeii, who are frozen into position from volcanic ash, how the planet's doing. You wanna know if the planet's all right, ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble, if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. Or how about those people in Kilowaia, Hawaii, who built their homes right next to an active volcano, and then wonder why they have lava in the living room.

The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we're gone, and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself, 'cause that's what it does. It's a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if it's true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new pardigm: the earth plus plastic. The earth doesn't share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the earth. The earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place. It wanted plastic for itself. Didn't know how to make it. Needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old egocentric philosophical question, "Why are we here?" Plastic...asshole.

So, the plastic is here, our job is done, we can be phased out now. And I think that's begun. Don't you think that's already started? I think, to be fair, the planet sees us as a mild threat. Something to be dealt with. And the planet can defend itself in an organized, collective way, the way a beehive or an ant colony can. A collective defense mechanism. The planet will think of something. What would you do if you were the planet? How would you defend yourself against this troublesome, pesky species? Let's see... Viruses. Viruses might be good. They seem vulnerable to viruses. And, uh...viruses are tricky, always mutating and forming new strains whenever a vaccine is developed. Perhaps, this first virus could be one that compromises the immune system of these creatures. Perhaps a human immunodeficiency virus, making them vulnerable to all sorts of other diseases and infections that might come along. And maybe it could be spread sexually, making them a little reluctant to engage in the act of reproduction.

Einstein said the following on the subject of the existence of God and I think it fits rather well here:

"If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed."

Someone can be agnostic/athiest and still not run rampant murdering people. Just because they don't fear godly retribution doesn't change their motivation to be good, well-meaning members of society... they just find that imperative from a different internal place. The same goes for belief in anything, really. George Carlin had a God given talent...He was but the clay...just as you and I are.

[4yearlurker]

Rest in peace Al Sleet. You made me laugh many a time. I even bought your early records.

[SkyPilot]

I always thought he was a brilliant comedian.

His material about food had me laughing for days.

"I don't have any beliefs or allegiances. I don't believe in this country, I don't believe in religion, or a god, and I don't believe in all these man-made institutional ideas," he told Reuters in a 2001 interview. Carlin told Playboy in 2005 that he looked forward to an afterlife where he could watch the decline of civilization on a "heavenly CNN."

Strange, and sad. I wonder who he thought created the afterlife where he could watch this "heavenly CNN."

Poor guy.

[Thrownatbirth]

In Baltimore, it will always be 6:15.

[theDentist]

Ah George. Thanks for the laughs.

I recall hearing that George once walked out on stage and told the audience he'd forgotten his notes, then just basically stood on-stage for 5 or 10 minutes, said 'Thank You' and walked off.

[mkjessup]

A little known fact about George Carlin is that for a few years (within the past 10 or so), he provided the narrator's voice for a very popular children's program 'Thomas the Tank Engine' (Thomas & Friends), I happened to be flipping the channels and discovered it quite by accident, I thought "that voice sounds familiar" and at the end of the program, sure enough: "Storyteller's Voice: George Carlin" and he was quite good at it.

http://www.thomasandfriends.com

Rest in Peace George. Don't use those 7 dirty words up there, ok?

[Chi-townChief]

R.I.P. George Carlin (altough I have to say that his earliest bits were the best and he went downhimm from there)

[BallyBill]

Favorite was when he did 2 minutes of absolute silence on the Tonight Show. Came out and put his hands in his pockets and just stood there. A very uncomfortable audience that finally just broke into laughter.

Brilliant.

[Gay State Conservative]

It was all downhill after Hippy Dippy Weatherman.He struck me as being a breathtakingly bitter and contemptful guy.Let's hope he made peace with his Creator in his final hours.

[Wolverine]

I'm a Modern Man

 

            George Carlin

[raccoonradio]

He was Mr Conductor on Shining Time Station for awhile.
“Hey boys and girls, do you know the seven words you
can’t say on television? Let’s find out!” (Naaw, just
kidding)

[aculeus]

With his record he’s surely been sent to heck.

[P.O.E.]

RIP - he brought laughter to millions, which is a blessing in any era.

[Tabula Rasa]

I am thinking that a lot of folks are talking past one another in this thread.

Few conservatives, I suspect, have paid close attention to Carlin over his long career.

Some of us remember some funny moments (some of which were really funny but some of which we just THOUGHT were funny because we were young ourselves and a little rebellious).

Others of us have caught some of his really angry, America-hating, nihilistic bile, which I think was more a product of his later years.

I wish to weigh in with those who feel that the profound nastiness and bitterness of this man completely outweighed his humor.

I urge those who are remembering him affectionately to be sure that they are aware of the full range of his material before they go too far in celebrating him, even for the laughs he gave. Anyone who thinks that his dark side was nothing more than seven dirty words and a bit of biting political humor has no idea.

I don’t think there is anyone in mainstream American culture — not Sean Penn or Natalie Maines or Michael Moore or Jane Fonda or Alec Baldwin — none of them have poured more bitter bile on America than this man. I can not feign sadness at his passing.

[Scarchin]

He was a very talented man who lost his mind near the end.

His anger and hatred towards conservatives and Christians was not funny at all.

I loved Brain Droppings but returned a later book after reading the first few pages of it - offensive psychotic rantings.

RIP

[Jersey Republican Biker Chick]

RIP George.

You always made me laugh, even at times when I thought i would never be able to laugh again because of the things going on in life.

[Reaganesque]

I didn’t always like his politics but, there is no denying that his was one of the truly great comedic talents of all time. He was one of a kind and he will be sorely missed.

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

Does anyone remember his bit about dying from the album “on the road”?

The comedian KILLS the audience with his FRACTURED humor. He BREAKS the up. SLAUGHTERS them.