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George Carlin Dead of Heart Failure

ashamanq was one of many who noted that comedian George Carlin has died of heart failure. Most famous for his "Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV" routine which resulted in a landmark supreme court ruling, he was a true voice against censorship, and also one of the funniest men ever. He was 71.

34 of 583 comments (clear)

  1. Smiling down. by davidpack01 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think he's up there now, smiling down at us.

    1. Re:Smiling down. by TapeCutter · · Score: 5, Funny

      "I think he's up there now, smiling down at us."

      And God is patting him on the back saying: "Thanks for trying to clear up the 10 commandments thing".

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    2. Re:Smiling down. by Gordonjcp · · Score: 5, Funny

      Obviously, his soul is smiling down from Joe Pesci's roof, where it got stuck.

    3. Re:Smiling down. by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Informative
      "Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck."

      --George Carlin

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    4. Re:Smiling down. by Verteiron · · Score: 5, Funny

      Smiling? I bet not, but if he's got that kind of view, he's probably doing something on us.

      Sure wish it'd stop raining.

      --
      End of lesson. You may press the button.
    5. Re:Smiling down. by Aadomm · · Score: 5, Funny

      We sure do...

      --
      Mention the Lord of the Rings one more time and I'll more than likely kill you.
    6. Re:Smiling down. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Reminds me of Vonnegut talking about Asimov:

      I am honorary president of the American Humanist Association, having succeeded the late, great, spectacularly prolific writer and scientist, Dr. Isaac Asimov in that essentially functionless capacity. At an A.H.A. memorial service for my predecessor I said, "Isaac is up in Heaven now." That was the funniest thing I could have said to an audience of humanists. It rolled them in the aisles. Mirth! Several minutes had to pass before something resemble solemnity could be restored.

    7. Re:Smiling down. by gnick · · Score: 5, Informative

      Carlin was of Irish descent and was raised in the Roman Catholic faith.[22][23][24] - Wikipedia

      Anybody who mentions athiesm in a thread about a Christian's death should be modded flamebait or troll. Have a littlke respect, for God's sake.

      I'm not sure whether that's just a weird joke or not, but here.
      From the same Wikipedia article:

      Although raised in the Roman Catholic faith, Carlin often denounced the idea of God in interviews and performances, most notably with his "Invisible Man in the Sky" and "There Is No God" routines. In mockery, he invented the parody religion Frisbeetarianism for a newspaper contest. He defined it as the belief that when a person dies "his soul gets flung onto a roof, and just stays there", and cannot be retrieved.

      Carlin also joked that he worshipped the Sun, because he could actually see it, but prayed to Joe Pesci (a good friend of his in real life) because "he's a good actor", and "looks like a guy who can get things done!"[40]

      Carlin also introduced the "Two Commandments", a revised "pocket-sized" list of the Ten Commandments in his HBO special Complaints and Grievances, ending with the additional commandment of "Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself."[41]

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    8. Re:Smiling down. by tritonman · · Score: 5, Funny

      What? George Carlin Dead? I only have 7 words to say about this... SHIT PISS FUCK CUNT COCKSUCKER MOTHERFUCKER and TITS!

  2. Sad :( by TimeForGuinness · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A philosopher who was funny...he will be missed. (lifts glass) Cheers, TFG

  3. We'll see him again by Nursie · · Score: 5, Funny

    He's just gone into the future to the time when the Wyld Stallyns music forms the basis of society.

  4. A great man is lost by thegrassyknowl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We held a little ceremony here before. Carlin was a truly great man. A voice against censorship and generally against rampant stupidity as well.

    May his memory live long and someone crop up and continue on in his great tradition of telling the 'system' to go fuck itself.

    --
    I drink to make other people interesting!
  5. Re:Those seven words... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    speak for yourself buddy...

    _I_ still appreciate tits.

  6. Re:Those seven words... by suso · · Score: 5, Funny

    Tits is now depreciated.

    Only your mom's are.
  7. Best Summary of Religion by copponex · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You will be missed, pal.

    "In the Bullshit Department, a businessman can't hold a candle to a clergyman. 'Cause I gotta tell you the truth, folks. When it comes to bullshit, big-time, major league bullshit, you have to stand in awe of the all-time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims: religion. No contest. No contest. Religion. Religion easily has the greatest bullshit story ever told.

    Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man -- living in the sky -- who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time!

    But He loves you.

    He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can't handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more. Now, you talk about a good bullshit story. Holy Shit!"

    -George Carlin

    1. Re:Best Summary of Religion by elrous0 · · Score: 5, Insightful
      One of the few comedians who stayed completely relevant over the span of many decades. He was also able to reinvent himself on several occasions, and each time very effectively. In the early 60's he was part of a vanilla Lewis and Martin-type comedy team, in the late-60's/early 70's he became a cutting edge counter-culture comic, and in the 80's he became a great comic actor. Truly amazing.

      I was watching him in Dogma just this weekend. That opening with him introducing the "Jesus Wow!" campaign still cracks me up.

      He'll be missed.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  8. Other words... by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Funny
    "Tonight's forecast...........dark, continued mostly dark throughout the evening with widely scattered light in the morning.

    Temperature at the airport is 73......which is stupid 'cause I don't know anyone that lives at the airport..."

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  9. In vein of the man himself... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    With nothing but contempt for modern humanity and politics, I highly doubt he'd want anyone to mourn.

    So I'll tell it like it is.
    Today an great man died.
    He was a foul-mouthed rat-bastard hippy conspiracy theorist.
    May his soul be blessed by whoever gives a damn.

  10. If I were in charge of the networks by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm tired of television announcers, hosts, newscaster, and commentators, nibbling away at the English language, making obvious and ignorant mistakes. If I were in charge of America's broadcast stations and networks, I would gather together all the people whose jobs include speaking to the public, and I would not let them out of the room until they had absorbed the following suggestions. I'm aware that media personalities are not selected on the basis of intelligence. I know that, and I try to make allowances for it. Believe me, I really try. But still ⦠There are some liberties taken with speech that I think require intervention, if only for my own sake. I won't feel right if this chance goes by, and I keep my silence.

    The English word forte, meaning "specialty" or "strong point," is not pronounced "for-tay." Got that? It is pronounced "fort." The Italian word forte, used in music notation, is pronounced "for-tay," and it instructs the musician to play loud: "She plays the skin flute, and her forte [fort] is playing forte [for-tay]." Look it up. And don't give me that whiny shit, "For-tay is listed as the second preference." There's a reason it's second: because it's not first!

    Irony deals with opposites; it has nothing to do with coincidence. If two baseball palyers from the same hometown, on different teams, receive the same uniform number, it is not ironic. It is a coincidence. If Barry Bonds attains lifetime statistics identical to his father's it will not be ironic. It will be a coincidence. Irony is "a state of affairs that is the reverse of what was to be expected; a result opposite to and in mockery of the appropriate result." For instance:

    * If a diabetic, on his way to buy insulin, is killed by a runaway truck, he is the victim of an accident. If the truck was delivering sugar, he is the victim of an oddly poetic coincidence. But if the truck was delivering insulin, ah! Then he is the victim of an irony.

    * If a Kurd, after surviving bloody battle with Saddam Hussein's army and a long, difficult escape through the mountains, is crushed and killed by a parachute drop of humanitarian aid, that, my friend, is irony writ large.

    * Darryl Stingley, the pro football player, was paralyzed after a brutal hit by Jack Tatum. Now Darryl Stingley's son plays football, and if the son should become paralyzed while playing, it will not be ironic. It will be coincidental. If Darryl Stingley's son paralyzes someone else, that will be closer to ironic. If he paralyzes Jack Tatum's son that will be precisely ironic.

    I'm tired of hearing prodigal being used to mean "wandering, given to running away or leaving and returning." The parable in the Book of Luke tells of a son who squanders his father's money. Prodigal means "recklessly wasteful or extravagant." And if you say popular usage has changed that, I say, fuck popular usage!

    The phrase sour grapes does not refer to jealousy or envy. Nor is it related to being a sore loser. It deals with the rationalization of failure to attain a desired end. In the original fable by Aesop, "The Fox and the Grapes," when the fox realizes he cannot leap high enough to reach the grapes, he rationalizes that even if he had gotten them, they would probably have been sour anyway. Rationalization, that's all sour grapes means. It doesn't mean deal with jealousy or sore losing. Yeah, I know you say, "Well many people are using it that way, so the meaning is changing." And I say, "Well many people are really fuckin' stupid too, shall we just adopt all their standards?"

    Strictly speaking, celibate does not mean not having sex, it means not being married. No wedding. The practice of refraining from sex is called chastity or sexual abstinence. No fucking. Priests don't take a vow of celibacy, they take a vow of chastity. Sometimes referred to as the "no-nookie clause."

    And speaking of sex, the Immaculate Conception does not mean Jesus was concieved in the

    1. Re:If I were in charge of the networks by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 5, Informative

      excerpt from George Carlin's book, Brain Droppings.

  11. Re:Semantics by Alzheimers · · Score: 5, Informative

    Good choices, though I was always a fan of the Baseball vs. Football routine.

    And he's right on about Hockey:

    Hockey comes to mind. People think hockey is a sport. It's not. Hockey is three activities taking place at the same time: ice skating, fooling around with a puck, and beating the shit out of somebody.

    RIP man.

  12. Re:Stern by elrous0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The last 8 years have made a lot of us angry. He's hardly alone.

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  13. Re:Cock-Sucker by oahazmatt · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well fuck. Who's going to call everyone on their bullshit now?

    And suddenly, Jon Stewart feels millions of expecting gazes turn towards him, as he mutters unto himself "Oh, fuck."
    --
    Those who believe the Internet is private,
    find their privates are on the Internet.
  14. Re:More info for those of us who aren't in the US. by Ogive17 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Here is a cookie.

    --
    "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
  15. I wonder if he got his two-minute warning? by wcrowe · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Two minutes... get your shit together..."

    May he rest in peace.

    --
    Proverbs 21:19
  16. Re:de mortuis nil nisi bonum but ... by dotancohen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I am prepared to defend the qualitative difference between the rants of Carlin and those of Hicks, but I should stay on topic. What is this, the fucking Debian list? Go on and rant... George would want it that way.
    --
    It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
  17. And for those who don't get the Joe Pesci referenc by oneiros27 · · Score: 5, Informative

    And here's something else, another problem you might have: Suppose your prayers aren't answered. What do you say? "Well, it's God's will." "Thy Will Be Done." Fine, but if it's God's will, and He's going to do what He wants to anyway, why the fuck bother praying in the first place? Seems like a big waste of time to me! Couldn't you just skip the praying part and go right to His Will? It's all very confusing.

    So to get around a lot of this, I decided to worship the sun. But, as I said, I don't pray to the sun. You know who I pray to? Joe Pesci. Two reasons: First of all, I think he's a good actor, okay? To me, that counts. Second, he looks like a guy who can get things done. Joe Pesci doesn't fuck around. In fact, Joe Pesci came through on a couple of things that God was having trouble with.

    For years I asked God to do something about my noisy neighbor with the barking dog, Joe Pesci straightened that cocksucker out with one visit. It's amazing what you can accomplish with a simple baseball bat.

    So I've been praying to Joe for about a year now. And I noticed something. I noticed that all the prayers I used to offer to God, and all the prayers I now offer to Joe Pesci, are being answered at about the same 50% rate. Half the time I get what I want, half the time I don't. Same as God, 50-50. Same as the four-leaf clover and the horseshoe, the wishing well and the rabbit's foot, same as the Mojo Man, same as the Voodoo Lady who tells you your fortune by squeezing the goat's testicles, it's all the same: 50-50. So just pick your superstition, sit back, make a wish, and enjoy yourself.

    --George Carlin

    --
    Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
  18. Re:Those seven words... by dotancohen · · Score: 5, Funny

    And tits shouldn't even be on the list..I mean, it sounds like a snack!! For some men, it is.
    --
    It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
  19. Words to live by by InadequateCamel · · Score: 5, Insightful

    He's moved on, departed from the Big Electron. He was a giant and will be missed. I have taken one of his phrases to heart:

    "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that."

    RIP Mr Carlin.

  20. And now for something completely different... by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Funny
    ...back to Carlin Quotes (one of my favorite):

    "But I do mean that. I mean, I think the word fuck is an important word. It's the beginning of life, and, yet it's a word we use to hurt one other, quite often. And uh, people much wiser than I have said, I'd rather have my son watch a film with two people making love than two people trying to kill one other. And I of course agree. I wish I know who said it first, and I agree with that. But I would like to take it a step further. I would like to substitute the word fuck, for the word kill in all those movie cliches we grew up with.

    'Okay Sheriff, we're gonna fuck ya now. But we're gonna fuck ya slow.'

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    1. Re:And now for something completely different... by Mister+Whirly · · Score: 5, Funny

      Go fuck yourself asshole. And I mean that in as nice of way as possible!

      --
      "But this one goes to 11!"
    2. Re:And now for something completely different... by Zakabog · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Swear words are the equivalent to howling in pain or rage. They're degenerate, and they evoke emotional reactions in other people, causing those other peoples thoughts to also degenerate into mindless, primitive emotional reactions, overriding their capacity to reason things through and act effectively.

      I hope you're not serious. You realize the word "fuck" is as much a word as is the word "existentialism."

      If I was visiting a tribe in Africa where no one spoke English and I went up to the chief with a basket of various gifts, and offered this basket to the chief while smiling and saying in a calm polite voice "I hope you fucking choke on a bucket of cum you worthless pile of shit" the chief would not take offense. He wouldn't know what I said and would only be able to guess that it was something nice, since I said it with a smile, in a calm polite voice, while offering a basket of gifts.

      Now, if I went up to the same chief, screaming to the point where my face was red "Hello Sir! I hope you live a long and prosperous life!" He would take great offense to that, he would think I was angry with him.

      Swear words are just words, they aren't magical, they don't bring down society. If a 5 year old boy never heard the word "fuck" before, hearing it isn't going to turn him into a mindless degenerate. He's only going to know the meaning of the word based on who said it, the context, and how they said it.

    3. Re:And now for something completely different... by Thaelon · · Score: 5, Funny

      Good sir, I'd like to interrupt you if I may? I think it would be in the best interest of several parties if you would cease this particular discourse on the subject at hand. Specifically, it would be in the best interests of myself, yourself, and the general slashdot reading populace if you were to cease and desist your discussion of this matter. The reason I suggest this, kind sir, is that there are valid emotional reasons for using "swear words" as you call them. Further, it can be argued - nay, has been argued - that the only people who are harmed - that is to say, offended by - swear words are people who have chosen to take offense at such things. As such, the burden for negating the harm resulting from "swear words" lies solely with those offended and not with the perpetrators of said offenses. Furthermore, the concision with which the person swearing can convey their point through swearing is considerably increased over that of more intellectual discourse. For example, if you were to drop a hammer on your toe. Would you stop, think about it rationally and attempt to compose a proper message to convey your pain, frustration or anger? Or would you swear, get it over with, and resume your work? Ponder these points for a few moments, I implore you...

      Translation: Shut the fuck up, asshole.

      --

      Question everything

  21. 71 - he must have died happy by rcw-work · · Score: 5, Funny

    "69 with two fingers up your ass"