About a month ago I TIVO’d George Carlin’s latest HBO special, It’s Bad For Ya.  I didn’t get to watch it until 2 weeks ago.  It was filmed on his 70th birthday.  There were a couple of moments during the act where he was a bit slower than he used to be, but for the most part it was good old fashioned Carlin and a hilarious act.  Even not at his very best, he was still funnier than almost any other stand-up comedian out there.  He started the show off saying how much he hated Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods.  Who says that?  I can’t stand those guys either, but no one says that.  He explained that he doesn’t want to be told who his heroes are going be by TV commercials or the media.  People should choose their own heroes.  George Carlin died yesterday at the age of 71.  He was one of my heroes.

 

George Carlin didn’t compromise for anyone.  He was from the old Lenny Bruce school of stand up.  He was funny as all hell but he wanted you to think as much as laugh.  He challenged all authority.  The government, religion, education, parents; no one was left off the hook.   He challenged what most people consider the norm or proper way of doing things.  He was in your face, at times very crass and always funny.  His comedy wasn’t always political; he could be silly and tell fart jokes too.  I think that I have seen every one of his HBO specials, many of them I saw a few times.  There wasn’t a bomb in the bunch.  He was my favorite stand-up comic and look forward to watching HBO replay his many specials for years to come.  They’ll never get old.