BrainFarts from Carlin…
For many of my generation, comedy was largely defined by Shelley Berman, Bob Newhart, and George Carlin. Each had and have their own unique style, their own personna and presence. But they shared a commonality that perhaps more than any other single trait, provided a departure from the the slapstick vaudevillian nonsense that preceded, and set the stage for the raw, bare-assed vulgarity that would follow. They, and others of their ilk, simply pointed out the absurdities of our everyday lives, finding and nurturing comic relief in little slices of our daily grind by getting us to laugh at ourselves. Carlin ventured a step further with his Seven Dirty Words routine, which even now, over 30 years later, marks the rough boundaries of what is considered acceptable language in broadcast television and radio.
As a teenager and young adult, I wanted to have the “button-down mind” of Newhart, the brash cool-on-a-stool of Berman, and a mind as quick and random and synaptically incorrect as Carlin’s. Over the years, I have come to identify more and more with the hippy-dippy irreverance that is George Carlin. He speaks loudy so many of the thoughts that I would like to shout out. But as long as George is still kicking and having brain-farts, I don’t have to…
Here is a small Carlin sampler…
- George Washington’s brother was the uncle of our country.
- Isn’t a smoking section in a restaurant like a peeing section in a swimming pool?
- I went to the Missing Persons Bureau. No one was there.
- If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea…does that mean that one enjoys it?
- If you can’t beat them, arrange to have them beaten.
- Why are there no B batteries? There aren’t even any A batteries.
- A LIMERICK:
A flatulent actor named Barton
Had a lifestyle exceedingly spartan,
Till a playwright one day
Wrote a well-received play
With a part in which Barton could fart in.
11 Comments so far
if you want a good time..read his books..carlin’s mind is spookie..i remember as a kid watching richard pryor on the ed sullivan show…he was fantastic..and i loved george’s hippy dippy weather man…i actually have a album of his..along with the smothers brothers, bette midler and buffalo bob and howdy doody…im also suggesting that if you want alot of insight, giggles and deep thoughts..read willie nelson’s new book the tao of willie….i love it..have read it about 4 times already..is only 200 pages or so…great read…trust me…
Thanks, Winston. This made my day. One can never have too much Carlin and ilk.
I love these three guys….George Carlin is my favorite all time wacko…love that guy…what a mind. Thanks Winston.
One of my favorite monologues by Carlin is about how we must have a place for our “Stuff” and how much “Stuff” we have to take when we travel. Does anyone know if that piece is printed in one of his books?
I hate to be that guy who ruins everybody’s fun…
So I won’t not yet. George Carlin is one of my favorite comedians. Really Right up there with Lewis Black and Dennis Leary, and Christopher Titus.
That said… There ARE A and B batteries. They were used in old radios. The A batteries were 1.5v and ran the tubes in the radio (I said OLD radios) and the B batteries ran the rest of the radio, and were goof for either 90v or 47.5v
From C to shining C…
Winston remembers this sample of George Carlin’s brain gases: Why are there no B batteries? There arent even any A batteries. Being the old electronics person I am — and……
I love Carlin! And Newhart. And Berman. And Lewis Black. It is important to laugh at authority and other absurdities.
bonnie that is where all of his things are ’stuff’ and everybody else’s things are ’shit’…one of my favorites…and i think it is in one of his books..
Thank you from a severely depreseed person who just manages to live each day.
[...] Posted by Winston on 10 Aug 2006 at 06:13 am | Tagged as: Realities In my recent post about comics that had a profound effect on the face of American comedy … and on me … I mentioned Newhart, Berman, and Carlin. That was by no means an exhaustive list, and indeed, some of you mentioned others in your comments. One that did not come up, but one that helped to paint the bawdy face on modern comedy, carrying on the edge-cutting tradition of Moms Mabley, is the inimitable Rusty Warren, full-bodied and with knockers up. For those not familiar with Rusty, that phrase, knockers up, became her signature line, along with her theme song, Bounce Your Boobies. [...]
My fave Carlin is “Vu ja day” - the feeling I’ve never been here before.