2008 Woodie Awards
Remembering George Carlin
Kenneth Long
Issue date: 6/25/08 Section: Opinion
I've always dreamed of being a stand-up comedian.
Stand-up comedians probably have one of the best jobs in the world (besides being a reporter at the Alestle, of course) because they get to make people laugh for a living.
George Carlin was one of the giants of the stand-up world, and he was one of my personal idols. On Sunday, Carlin died at the age of 71.
I miss you already, George.
Napalm and Silly Putty was one of the first books on CD I listened to with my father. Though some of the jokes went over my head back in 2001, I was still able to follow many of his points, and I agreed with most of them.
One of his most famous jokes involved "The 7 Words You Can't Say on TV." Some of the words are now allowed, but the spirit of the list is still the same today. Not only did I learn some of my favorite words from this joke, I took away an important lesson: never stop challenging authority.
Besides being a legendary stand-up comic, his acting roles come at a close second. Sure, he was no Kevin Spacey, but seeing him as the time-traveling Rufus or the Catholic Cardinal Glick was the icing on the cake for movies. He even made Jersey Girl tolerable.
Carlin almost had a grandfather persona about him. I don't mean the grandfather that would take you fishing, unless he would take you to make fun of the morons waiting on the chance to yank a smelly boot from the bottom of a lake.
But back to Napalm and Silly Putty. His two hour rant opens with a comparison of two of man's greatest inventions and how they are brilliant, but differ far in use.
Even though he was politically active on and off stage, Carlin was one of the few comedians to take something as simple as a "gelatinous, flammable substance used for death and destruction" and Silly Putty, used for "pressing the Sunday paper to get a backwards picture of Popeye," put them both together and make them into a joke. Looking at how absurd life seems to be can feel silly in itself, but Carlin did it with charm while making it sting.
Though it seems out of my reach, I always wished that I could be on stage with Carlin in the audience. I might be unfunny enough that Carlin would find a bit of irony in it.
Still, every great person goes eventually. I'm sure Carlin is now on that big plane in the sky.
I mean in the plane.
George always said it was a bit windy out there.
Stand-up comedians probably have one of the best jobs in the world (besides being a reporter at the Alestle, of course) because they get to make people laugh for a living.
George Carlin was one of the giants of the stand-up world, and he was one of my personal idols. On Sunday, Carlin died at the age of 71.
I miss you already, George.
Napalm and Silly Putty was one of the first books on CD I listened to with my father. Though some of the jokes went over my head back in 2001, I was still able to follow many of his points, and I agreed with most of them.
One of his most famous jokes involved "The 7 Words You Can't Say on TV." Some of the words are now allowed, but the spirit of the list is still the same today. Not only did I learn some of my favorite words from this joke, I took away an important lesson: never stop challenging authority.
Besides being a legendary stand-up comic, his acting roles come at a close second. Sure, he was no Kevin Spacey, but seeing him as the time-traveling Rufus or the Catholic Cardinal Glick was the icing on the cake for movies. He even made Jersey Girl tolerable.
Carlin almost had a grandfather persona about him. I don't mean the grandfather that would take you fishing, unless he would take you to make fun of the morons waiting on the chance to yank a smelly boot from the bottom of a lake.
But back to Napalm and Silly Putty. His two hour rant opens with a comparison of two of man's greatest inventions and how they are brilliant, but differ far in use.
Even though he was politically active on and off stage, Carlin was one of the few comedians to take something as simple as a "gelatinous, flammable substance used for death and destruction" and Silly Putty, used for "pressing the Sunday paper to get a backwards picture of Popeye," put them both together and make them into a joke. Looking at how absurd life seems to be can feel silly in itself, but Carlin did it with charm while making it sting.
Though it seems out of my reach, I always wished that I could be on stage with Carlin in the audience. I might be unfunny enough that Carlin would find a bit of irony in it.
Still, every great person goes eventually. I'm sure Carlin is now on that big plane in the sky.
I mean in the plane.
George always said it was a bit windy out there.
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