By now, you've heard about the bombings at the Boston Marathon, and frankly, there's not much I can add to that. I'm not going to speculate on who, what or why. If I'm right, what have I gained? If I'm wrong, I expose my own prejudices, or at least would appear to. So, I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'm passing along something else you may or may not have seen. It's from comedian Patton Oswalt. I'm a big fan, for several reasons, and this just makes me like him more. From Patton Oswalt's Facebook Page
"Boston. Fucking horrible.
I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, "Well, I've had it with humanity."
But I was wrong. I don't know what's going to be revealed to be
behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of
broken sociopaths.
But here's what I DO know. If it's one
person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a
fraction of a fraction of a percent of
the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and
there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. (Thanks
FAKE Gallery founder and owner Paul Kozlowski for pointing this out to
me). This is a giant planet and we're lucky to live on it but there are
prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One
of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the
species gets snarled and they're pointed towards darkness.
But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood
cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash
away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This
is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity
were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago.
So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just
garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye
and think, 'The good outnumber you, and we always will.'"
This news has been out a couple of days, I'm aware, but I just found it, so apologies if you've already heard.
Many times when a celebrity comes out of the closet, I'm rather unsurprised. Pleased, happy for them. . .but unsurprised. I'm not the only one with functional gaydar, I know. Anybody can spot some of them (George Michael, Ricky Martin). But, there are a few moderate surprises, like Neil Patrick Harris (though he didn't fool everyone) or Portia DeRossi. It's rare though--for me--to find out a famous person is gay, and have been taken by surprise.
Todd Glass is a very funny comedian, who's logged some time on Comedy Central, and participated in a season of Last Comic Standing. He's a big, burly guy. He looks like Huey Lewis crossed with John Goodman. Finding out he's gay is precisely as surprising as if either of them came out! Anyway, good for you, Todd. And if you read this, I hope my comparison doesn't rub you the wrong way! Anyway, I have to take my gaydar into the shop, 'cause it's obviously broken.
[Excerpt]
Todd Glass Comes Out on Podcast
Todd Glass, a stand-up comic, publicly announced that he is gay when he appeared on Monday’s episode of ‘WTF with Marc Maron.’ Glass told Maron that his decision to come out publicly stems from the rising number of suicides by gay youths in America. . .
Since I paid $3.25 in late fees to the library for this read, I figured I ought to at least write about it. George Carlin was one of my favorite comedians, and one of the few celebrity deaths that I felt personally, rather than just dismissively saying, "well, that's a shame." Along with Gilda Radner, Madeline Kahn and (to a degree) Michael Jackson, Carlin was a large part of my childhood and developing adulthood. Unlike the first three, Carlin was at approximately human life expectancy age, particularly considering his history of heart problems and drug abuse.
But that didn't soften the blow. I'd come to expect a new Carlin HBO special every couple of years. So it was terrific to find out that Carlin had been working on an autobiography for around 15 years. Most of it was ready to go, and he'd already asked his friend Tony Hendra to edit it for him. Presumably, Hendra had to fill in a few gaps, and likely wrote in Carlin's style to do it. No matter, as you can almost hear Carlin delivering every line.
Carlin came to my attention (as far as I can remember) when he hosted the very first episode of Saturday Night Live in 1975. I was 9 years old, and plopped in front of the TV that night. We were allowed to stay up as late as we wanted to on Saturdays, so I was lucky enough to see the beginning of the whole SNL franchise, and be in on the ground floor of the "classic" years of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players. When Carlin hosted, the show's format was not yet gelled, and he didn't perform in any skits (apparently at his request). But his monologues during the show turned me on to him.
In Last Words, Carlin chronicles his beginning as part of a comedy team, his first steps at going solo, and his entry into the variety TV shows of the 60s. I'm not old enough to have seen any of that work, from Merv Griffin to Mike Douglas to Ed Sullivan (an experience Carlin hated), but even I remember Al Sleet, the "Hippy, Dippy weatherman." Carlin details the meeting of his wife, his ascendance on TV, particularly as a guest and guest host of The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. He goes into great detail about how he was coasting on happy, smiley comedy that didn't feel true to himself, and how he evolved into a more genuine counter-culture comedian.
Along the way there were drugs, lots of drugs. It was refreshing to read Carlin's unapologetic take on those experiences. He makes no excuses, but at the same time lets you know that on the whole, it was a bad thing. He gradually cleaned himself up (mostly), even acknowledging the value of a 12-step program (minus the "higher power" nonsense). Most interesting is insight into where his humor came from, how he shaped and molded his bits, and how with each new show his humor evolved. He was planning to do a Broadway one-man show, akin to Lily Tomlin's Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe, and it's a pity he died before realizing that dream.
If there is one thing I'd like to have seen in the book, it would be a more effective afterward. There seems to be a span of time missing between when Carlin stopped updating his book, and when he died. I'd like for Hendra to have written at least a small chapter detailing what Carlin had been up to in this time span, the details of his death, perhaps a bit on the funeral. Nothing too morbid, just maybe general impressions of friends, family, contemporaries upon his death. I think it would have provided closure, where as it stands, the last chapter leaves you hanging. I'd also like to know what became of Carlin's copious notes for his next show. That could be another book, I'd suspect.
George Carlin got more cantankerous in persona toward the end of his life, becoming something of an "angry old man" on stage. And while those last shows were more abrasive, I found myself in agreement (in my amusement) with almost his entire point of view. His takes on religion, on politics in America, and on the American populace in general were spot-on. I really miss his perspective. Last Words comes as close as possible to giving us just a little more genuine Carlin in his own voice.
The Other Half and I saw Kathy Griffin live in concert at the Mandalay Bay Theater last night, and I'm still wiping tears from my eyes. To say that she was funny is an understatement. She kept us laughing for almost an hour and a half. Quite a set, and clearly up-to-date.
Living in Las Vegas, I've seen quite a few comedians in person, from George Carlin (RIP), to Louie Anderson, to Kathleen Madigan (hilarious) to the beautifulMargaret Cho. And Margaret would be the comedienne whose style most closely matches Kathy's. Neither of them do jokes in the standard sense, instead offering stories with many laugh-out-loud comments along the way. Both use rough language, both aim to shock, and both do great imitations of their mothers.
But Kathy departs from Margaret in both subject matter and in the speed of her delivery. Sure, they both love "their gays," but Kathy's material is more immediate, more animated, maybe even a bit more inclusive. And her material is obviously evolving and staying current from show to show. There were some classic bits sprinkled in, but most of the show was a stream of consciousness story-telling session. Where Kathy really excels is in getting back on track, after countless (hilarious) digressions.
Much of Kathy's material comes from pop culture pool, and not from the deep end. She revels in the shallower, scum-covered waters, and skewers the swimmers there. I guess they're easy pickings. But even when she was commenting on shows or personalities I have no knowledge of, she was still cracking me up. And her comments on Donny & Marie Osmond (apparently a new show here in Las Vegas) even had the (ex-) Mormons in our group in stitches.
If you've watched any of her comedy specials on Bravo, you have a good idea what this show was like. What was most surprising was that this easily could have been her next televised show. As far as I know, it wasn't being taped for broadcast, but it surely could have aired as-is. Hilarious.
The Other Half and I are off for the evening to see Kathy Griffin at the Mandalay Bay. She's a personal favorite, even when she's nattering on about celebrities I know nothing about. For instance, in this clip, she rips Paris Hilton--a celebutard that I have tried desperately to avoid learning anything about. And Kathy makes it hilarious. See what all the fuss is about. . .
Celebrity deaths don't often affect me very much. They're no worse than anybody else's deaths in the long run. But George Carlin was one of my personal heroes. He presented controversial material in a time when almost nobody else was doing it. I agreed with his views almost 100%. This is very sad. I know he was 71, and that is just a little less than average, but damn we've lost a national treasure here.
I still remember the first episode of Saturday Night Live, back in 1975, which I somehow managed to watch live. Carlin was the host, and he seemed to give the program credibility as anarchist comedy. I'll miss you, George.
Sad.
[Excerpt]
Comedian George Carlin dies in Los Angeles at 71
Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday, a spokesman said. He was 71. . .
