Shame that so few people in the UK had heard of George Carlin. Especially odd since Bill Hicks is so well known here (better than in the US I think). Sure, every obit focused on the "7 words", but when I think of Carlin, I think not only of the
Class Clown era ("
...but then it crosses the international date line!!"), not only the funny-because-true observations ("
Everyone who drives slower than me is an idiot, everyone who drives faster than me is a maniac"), but also the guy who remained crotchety (in a smart way, not a get-off-my-lawn way) right to the end, such as George talking about
bullshit, and
the American Dream.
I caught an HBO special, George's last one last night. His closing bit about "human rights" being a fairy tale was beautiful. Dressed in black form head to toe, I could see - for the first time - how really Old he looked this year. HBO did a lovely montage of George from the 70s up to present day. 71 is not young, and though I am sad we won't hear new material from him, he's produced volumes to be cherished for generations to come.
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