Monday, June 23, 2008

So long, George

George Carlin would have probably hated this blog. First, it has a golf theme and he once said all golf courses are a waste of space and should be converted into housing for the homeless. He didn't have much use for political discussion per se, preferring to think all politicians were the same and voting was a waste. He hated religion and the notion of God and was just as tough on the concept of America as the Reverend Wright or Ward Churchill.

But he was tough on anyone he thought wasn't genuine, including feminists, Hollywood types or those resorting to political correctness. He was liberal but never seemed to desire being pigeon-holed as such in case he needed to open fire on them at some point. Given time he would have pissed off everyone on the planet.

But in my view his genius was in dissecting the language. For instance, he might condemn the title of this post as meaningless in his present state and even make fun of the use of 'pigeon-holed' above. And although he was known for the seven words and paved the way for a raunchier brand of humor in the culture, ironically he was just as funny without the profanity, in stark contrast to some of his contemporaries who use it as a crutch to hide their lack of talent.

But the way he could take apart the language will endure for me, such as describing the difference between "taking a s**t and giving one, or the use of "near miss" to describe two planes that didn't collide. It made you think, even if you didn't like it.

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