Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Remembering George Carlin - On the Second Anniversary of His Passing

Can you believe it?  It's been two years already...


May 12, 1937 - June 22, 2008

I have always been a big fan of George Carlin. I remember when I was a little kid and first saw him on the Ed Sullivan Show, He Totally Blew Me Away!  - Damn if my age isn't showing.  But I knew even then, this man was something spectacular.  Though he initially presented himself as a conservatively dressed stand-up comic.  You could tell there was something uniquely different about this guy.  Through all his button-down decorum and silly whimsical observations, there was still something rather cutting-edge and avant-garde about him.  He was telling more than just harmless little mother-in-law jokes typical of the times.  He was making social commentary, and I loved it.



As he evolved through the 60's and 70's, an era of Civil Rights Marches, Vietnam Protests and Sex Drugs and Rock 'n Roll.  George Carlin quickly became my Counterculture Hero and my very Favorite Atheist. 

Like me, he was an Irish Catholic born in New York City and raised and schooled in the Church.  And also like me, he questioned and challenged everything.  Quietly and respectfully at first,  but as the Bull-Shit answers became more and more impossible to digest, he began to rebel.



As the years went by.  George Carlin's comic genius became legendary.  He was the very first Host on the Premiere Episode of Saturday Night Live back in 1975.  Hailed not just as a comedian.  But as an actor and writer as well. He became world-famous for his irreverent social commentary and poignant observations on the absurdities of  life and language.  Carlin's jokes constantly breached the accepted norms and boundaries of comedy.  As Reuters news service put it  "His comedic sensibility revolved around a central theme: "Humanity is a cursed, doomed species."



"He was irascible, profane, blasphemous, and determinedly astute" said the Boston Globe.





Whether deciphering the American political scene, dissecting Americans' foibles, or disassembling the English language.   George Carlin had no equal as he demonstrates in this video discussing Dirty Words.  And of course the seven dirtiest that you just simply can't say on TV or Radio. You know the ones (Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker and Tits)...



 He really has fun dissecting the language in this video called Airline Announcements...



Then of course who could forget George Carlin discussing Religion and God... 



Even though, The Great George Carlin has been gone for 2 years now.  I still catch myself saying, "Gee, Carlin hasn't done an HBO Special for awhile.  I hope everything is alright."   And then I remember... 

Which of course, is what I'm doing in this blog post,  Remembering the Genius That Was George.

Rest in Peace My Friend.  Rest in Peace!   

Agnostic Thinking...

Please feel free to comment below, ( just click on the word comments if the panel is not open) or you can e-mail me direct at mailto:eddieoreilly@hotmail.com and your comment will be posted.

And don't forget to check out my original blog...

  Just Thinking 

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Happy Father's Day 2010!

President Obama Gives a Shout out to Gay Dads in This Year's Father's Day Proclamation!

President Obama's second Father's Day Proclamation has a notable difference from his first.  As he did last month for Mom's on Mother's Day he openly acknowledges gay parents, noting that some kids have two Dads...

"Nurturing families come in many forms, and children may be raised by a father and mother, a single father, two fathers, a step father, a grandfather, or caring guardian. We owe a special debt of gratitude for those parents serving in the United States Armed Forces and their families, whose sacrifices protect the lives and liberties of all American children. For the character they build, the doors they open, and the love they provide over our lifetimes, all our fathers deserve our unending appreciation and admiration."

Agnostic Thinking... Please feel free to comment below, ( just click on the word comments if the panel is not open) or you can e-mail me direct at eddieoreilly@hotmail.com and your comment will be posted. And don't forget to check out my original blog   Just Thinking 

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

"Atheists Don't Have No Songs"

From the 2010 New Orleans Jazzfest.  Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers perform their acapella song  "Atheists Don't Have No Songs".   This is fun...



Here's the lyrics, as best I was able to decipher them...

Christians have their hymns and pages, (hymns and pages)
Havah Nagilah is for the Jews, (for the Jews)
Baptists have their rock of ages, (rock of ages)
Atheists just sing the blues.

Romantics play Claire de Lune, (Claire de Lune)
Born agains sing He is Risen,
But no one ever wrote a tune, (wrote a tune)
For godless existentialism.

For Atheists,
There’s no good news,
They’ll never sing a song of faith.
In their songs they have a rule,
The “he” is always lowercase.

The “he” is always lowercase.

Some folks sing a Bach cantata, (Bach cantata)
Lutherans get Christmas trees,
Atheist songs add up to nada, (up to nada)
But they do have Sundays Free.

Some folks sing  - they sing to heaven, (sing to heaven)
Coptics have the book of scrolls,
Numerologists count - they count to seven, (count to seven)
Atheists have rock and roll.

For atheists, there's no good news.

They'll never sing a song of faith
In their songs they have a rule,
The “he” is always lowercase.

The “he” is always lowercase.

Atheists - Atheists - Atheists

Don't Have No Songs.

Christians have their hymns and pages,
Havah Nagilah is for the Jews,
Baptists have their rock of ages,
Atheists just sing the blues.

Catholics dress up for mass
and listen to Gregorian chants.
Atheists, just take a pass
watch football in their underpants.

Watch Football in Their Underpants

Atheists - Atheists - Atheists

Don't have no songs.

Don't Have No Songs.

Please feel free to comment below, ( just click on the word comments if the panel is not open) or you can e-mail me direct at eddieoreilly@hotmail.com and your comment will be posted. And don't forget to check out my original blog   Just Thinking