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George Carlin
Carlin speaks up about what's wrong with Mickey Mouse, baby boomers, private property, and political activism.
George Carlin wanted to be Danny Kaye when he grew up. Instead, his straight-arrow career was hijacked by the counterculture, and he became the angry voice of a generation. Today, he laments that generation's loss of idealism, but he does so driving a BMW and luxuriating in his private flotation tank, which he calls "Our Lady of Good Salt." After decades of misanthropic stand-up, Carlin promises that a newfound grace infuses his book Brain Droppings, which Hyperion is publishing this spring. "There's a surprising amount of innocence and sweetness in it," he says. And even though he excoriated Mickey Mouse when the "imaginary rodent's" 65th birthday became a news item, the comedian wants you to celebrate when he turns 60 in May.
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Continued From Above
Q: Let me read you something from your own act: "I hope Mickey dies. I do. I hope he goddamn dies. I hope he gets ahold of some tainted cheese..."
A: "...and dies lonely and forgotten behind the baseboard of a soiled bathroom in a poor neighborhood with his hand in Goofy's pants."
Q: What did Mickey Mouse ever do to you?
A: That's not how these things generate themselves. What Mickey Mouse did to me was to represent something -- in this case, meaningless shit on the news, the way they fill our minds with all this stuff to distract us from the real tragedy. He's a symbolic figure.
Q: This spring marks your 20th year on HBO, your 40th year in show business, and your 60th year on the planet. What makes your birthday different from Mickey Mouse's?
A: I hope they don't ever use my birthday as a news item. That would be one distinction. I would also hope to tell people I'm 60 because it's a nice human fact for a guy like me to make it all the way to 60.
Q: Do you exercise?
A: I use a treadmill because I've had three heart attacks. My father died at 57. His first symptom of heart trouble was a trip to St. Raymond's Cemetery.
Q: Do you have any of the appliances or equipment that you make fun of in your comedy routines: camcorders, pasta makers...?
A: I have no pasta maker. I probably have a device at home that would take pictures of moving images and would pass for a camcorder, but I don't know where it is.
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Comments
I can not believe that as long as he has been around he still has nothing of substance to say. If you look at his possibility for an honest reply he makes a joke of it so you have no idea what a true personal response would be. It is complete "a-typical" BS with nothing given from how he think without the schtick. He IS the person he jokes about and he still is some back room comic people only want to go see if they have un-resolved anger issues. In his words don't use the best tool this country has ever had to keep the democratic experiment going (politics) - people dead is the only solution for good ole George. It still remains sad to see yet another product of the 70's who can not give something of substance from themselves. I would bet two years pay if he ever gave to a charity it was only for a tax break - IF EVER.
Carlin was a genius. The first time I saw him live was at a college campus in the 1970's and the last time was two years ago in Las Vegas. I actually missed a chance to see him in Vegas earlier this month and now I am paying.
I also agree with his position on Mickey Mouse--but not for exactly the same reasons. Mickey Mouse is NOT funny. He is a brand, without distinguishing character otherwise, (like McDonalds, 'Bush' or 'Clinton'). The rodent represents much of what is rotten at the core of our society. "Monkey-see monkey-doo-doo". To poverty children who can not go to the theme park and who's only interaction with Mickey is the rats in their empty kitchen, the mouse is a cruel (and unfunny) hoax.
Now enough morning--lets all go out and have a few beers in Carlin's name and move on.
George Carlin on the corporatism, consumption & the Ownership Class:
http://thiscanadian.typepad.com/this_canadian/2008/06/the-american-dr.html
"money you don't have, on things you don't need"...
"the owners of this country don't want that, the Real Owners... forget the politicians... you have no choice... they *own* everything... they spend billions of dollars every year to get what they want. & we know what they want...
... what they don't want: a population of citizens capable of thinking... well informed people capable of critical thinking...
...they want *obedient workers*... "
There is no 'we' in corruption.
http://thiscanadian.typepad.com/this_canadian/2008/03/there-is-no-we.html
I suspect if he *could* 'look down on us from Above', that he'd be disappointed. I mean, I suspect that in recent months, he was grateful that he wouldn't be around to see what self-absorbed screw-ups we were becoming & the mess we are about to discover we've generated both domestically & internationally...
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I took drum lessons from George Carlin's road manager back in the day. He told me that George had been using a lot of cocaine to the point where the blood vessels in his forehead broke. They took him to Stanford University hospital and saved his life that day. Regardless of the truth to the above story Mr Carlin is one of my all time favorite comedians, up there with Richard Pryor , Lucielle Ball, Steve Martin, Bill Cosby, Jonathan Winters/Robin Williams, Jerry Lewis, and Carol Burnett.
george carlin's comedy and the faces he made and the gestures,made my entire family pee in our pants, roll on the floor. I tried never, ever to miss any of his specials and watched him for over forty years. I will truly miss him!
Goerge will be badly missed. In the owrld of Political correctness bulls.....
in America, yuppism ,rich baby boomers and their phoney lifestyles,Goerge was the face of reality and the voice of truth in a truly screwed up world.
Uncle George, ty for being a part of my life. I will always remember the trip we took in Alaska and I will always remember you and feel your presence around me even more now. NOW you have a BIGGER place for your stuff. Love you.
John -- You must not have listened to Carlin's routines or you must love the ugly side of America that George poked fun at. George Carlin was the Lenny Bruce of our generation, but more versatile and durable. I see no likely successor, though we sure need one in these monstrous times.
Carlin...thanks for all the great big 'belly' laughs you brought to so many people. Your humor was too cynical for me to have a very steady diet of, but when I listened, it was funny and cynical has its place ever so often. Hope you were pleasantly surprised to find the beautiful Heaven you were convinced did not exist!
hey george,
i first heard of you when i was about 12.
you were making the funniest fart jokes i ever heard.im 39 now.and im cutting farts that would kill a canary. (ha-ha)
anyhow george, just wanted to say, you were practically my guru.
im getting a photo of you and your going up right next to my paramhansa yogananda photos.
Good questions
Submitted by دردشه صوتيه (not verified) on Wed May. 13, 2009 1:33 PM PDT.
good veery good
