George Carlin (1937-2008) -- wow, who the hell thought he'd make 71 in the first place???
George was my first comedian. My brothers had the "Class Clown" album and the "Take-offs and Put-ons" album, and I ate them up. Yes, at 6 and 7 years old, I had them memorized (which explains a lot). There are still entire Carlin routines floating around my head, ready to spew forth at the drop of a hat.
There were three titans of stand-up from that era (not to slight anyone else, but these three stood a little higher than the rest); George Carlin, Bill Cosby, and Richard Pryor. It's a gross oversimplification, but I think that George's comedy came from the brain, Cosby's from the heart, and Richard's from the gut. They were all incredibly funny, and all had elements of the others, but that's my take on it.
Yes, George got a little less funny, and a lot more pissed off later on, especially in the early 80's. But anyone who used their brain was pissed off in the early 80's.
George Carlin was the first to get me into thinking about words, and how they're used. Even the "Seven words you can't say on television" bit was about the words themselves, not the shock value of just saying them. George was the funniest pedant I've ever heard, and put me well on my way.
So farewell, George. Well done. You made a lot of people laugh, and a lot of people think, and that's not a bad combination.
Or a bad epitaph.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
Again, sorry about yesterday's pity party. It would be very easy to delete it, because self-pity is not particularly attractive.
But there are two ways to view a blog. One is to say "Hey, I want to put my best foot forward, this is like a job interview for the world, I don't want to embarrass myself." The other is to say "This is me -- warts and all."
Therefore, because one of my mantras is "authenticity in all things", I've decided to leave it up. I am what I am, and not all of it is attractive.
I've already had a cigarette today.
Dammit.
But there are two ways to view a blog. One is to say "Hey, I want to put my best foot forward, this is like a job interview for the world, I don't want to embarrass myself." The other is to say "This is me -- warts and all."
Therefore, because one of my mantras is "authenticity in all things", I've decided to leave it up. I am what I am, and not all of it is attractive.
I've already had a cigarette today.
Dammit.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Throes of nic-fittery
Yep, I'm trying to quit smoking.
25 years of 2 packs a day, on average, is very difficult to stop.
Why? 1) I can't afford it, money-wise. 2 packs a day is about $250 a month, and with my monetary cushion gone, I can't really do that anymore. 2) Self-image. I badly need to lose weight, just to feel better about myself, and I can't really exercise when I can't FUCKING BREATHE!!
This has been going on for 8 days now, and while I haven't been able to stay completely off the wagon, I haven't had more than 5 in a day. This can be considered progress, but it still royally pisses me off that I haven't the willpower to just say "I no longer smoke".
There's kind of a vicious circle, when you have a low self-image. The circle goes
1) "I really suck."
2) "Maybe I wouldn't suck so much if I lost weight and stopped smoking, so I wouldn't be so hideous looking and smelling."
3) "That's too much effort to throw into someone who sucks so much."
4) "I really suck."
You know what else sucks? Nicotine fits. And pity parties.
Sorry about this pity party.
take care,
Curt
25 years of 2 packs a day, on average, is very difficult to stop.
Why? 1) I can't afford it, money-wise. 2 packs a day is about $250 a month, and with my monetary cushion gone, I can't really do that anymore. 2) Self-image. I badly need to lose weight, just to feel better about myself, and I can't really exercise when I can't FUCKING BREATHE!!
This has been going on for 8 days now, and while I haven't been able to stay completely off the wagon, I haven't had more than 5 in a day. This can be considered progress, but it still royally pisses me off that I haven't the willpower to just say "I no longer smoke".
There's kind of a vicious circle, when you have a low self-image. The circle goes
1) "I really suck."
2) "Maybe I wouldn't suck so much if I lost weight and stopped smoking, so I wouldn't be so hideous looking and smelling."
3) "That's too much effort to throw into someone who sucks so much."
4) "I really suck."
You know what else sucks? Nicotine fits. And pity parties.
Sorry about this pity party.
take care,
Curt
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Why do we do this to ourselves?
I have a friend (no really, it's not me) who is in the midst of a romantic conundrum. She has someone who she dated for about 4 years, and last year he told her essentially that it wasn't going to work, that he couldn't "love her consistently", whatever that means.
Now, isn't it easy for us to sit and say, "Well, it didn't work out, too bad, move on"? This is no dummy we're talking about here -- she's a super woman, very smart, witty, aware, attractive... if she didn't live 1500 miles away... well, let's not go there... LOL
But she has gone out with this guy to dinner, the theater, etc. in the last few months, and feels "maybe" vibes. Even though he's seeing someone else. Again, isn't it easy for us looking in to say "for God's sake, wake up!" But no, she wants to try and see if the vibes are for real. Sounds nuts, right?
Wellllll, not so fast. Number one, I try hard (and sometimes fail) not to judge people for the simple reason that I am not them. I don't know everything that went in to her feeling the way she does. Number two, haven't we all done something like this or something similar? I know I have pined after a "lost love" that was one-way. and tried to extend it beyond all reason.
That's it. "reason". Who is truly "reasonable" in matters of the heart?
As much as we hate to see friends hurting, we can't really prevent it, can we? All we can do is try to make a point here or there to maybe get our friend to see what we see, and to be there with a hug, a shoulder, and some chocolate when shit goes down. Because the time will come when we're going to do something stupid that our friends warned us about, and the last thing we need is "I told you so!"
--Curt
Now, isn't it easy for us to sit and say, "Well, it didn't work out, too bad, move on"? This is no dummy we're talking about here -- she's a super woman, very smart, witty, aware, attractive... if she didn't live 1500 miles away... well, let's not go there... LOL
But she has gone out with this guy to dinner, the theater, etc. in the last few months, and feels "maybe" vibes. Even though he's seeing someone else. Again, isn't it easy for us looking in to say "for God's sake, wake up!" But no, she wants to try and see if the vibes are for real. Sounds nuts, right?
Wellllll, not so fast. Number one, I try hard (and sometimes fail) not to judge people for the simple reason that I am not them. I don't know everything that went in to her feeling the way she does. Number two, haven't we all done something like this or something similar? I know I have pined after a "lost love" that was one-way. and tried to extend it beyond all reason.
That's it. "reason". Who is truly "reasonable" in matters of the heart?
As much as we hate to see friends hurting, we can't really prevent it, can we? All we can do is try to make a point here or there to maybe get our friend to see what we see, and to be there with a hug, a shoulder, and some chocolate when shit goes down. Because the time will come when we're going to do something stupid that our friends warned us about, and the last thing we need is "I told you so!"
--Curt
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Another webcomic
www.questionablecontent.net
The writing and art have to be good to get me into a "slice-of-life" comic strip about emo/goth 20-somethings (massively oversimplifying there).
But this is one great comic. Jeph Jacques is the author, and damn if he doesn't have me caring about the characters, and laughing on almost every strip.
Well done, sir. I've spent the last couple of weeks reading through the archive twice (he's up to over 1100 strips now), and all I have to do is wait for my eyes to stop bleeding.
--Curt
The writing and art have to be good to get me into a "slice-of-life" comic strip about emo/goth 20-somethings (massively oversimplifying there).
But this is one great comic. Jeph Jacques is the author, and damn if he doesn't have me caring about the characters, and laughing on almost every strip.
Well done, sir. I've spent the last couple of weeks reading through the archive twice (he's up to over 1100 strips now), and all I have to do is wait for my eyes to stop bleeding.
--Curt
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Owned
Allergies suck. Seriously.
I'm fighting them, and my daughter is fighting them a lot worse. This morning, I had to take her to get some blood work done (her mother is sick, so I got the last second call). Now, sticking a needle into a 3-year old will bring a bad enough reaction, and leaving it in to draw blood is that much worse, poor baby.
But she's so sweet... I was holding her tightly, one helper is holding her arm still, and the lady is taking the blood... she's wailing (and dammit, it hurts), and when finally it's over, she gets the piece of cotton and the Daffy Duck band-aid, and turns to me and says (sniffling), "Daddy, I love you so much!"
Think she doesn't own me? Think again.
--Curt
I'm fighting them, and my daughter is fighting them a lot worse. This morning, I had to take her to get some blood work done (her mother is sick, so I got the last second call). Now, sticking a needle into a 3-year old will bring a bad enough reaction, and leaving it in to draw blood is that much worse, poor baby.
But she's so sweet... I was holding her tightly, one helper is holding her arm still, and the lady is taking the blood... she's wailing (and dammit, it hurts), and when finally it's over, she gets the piece of cotton and the Daffy Duck band-aid, and turns to me and says (sniffling), "Daddy, I love you so much!"
Think she doesn't own me? Think again.
--Curt
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