George Carlin on Football (vs. Baseball)
 

With the tragic passing of one of the best comedians ever - seems appropriate to share George Carlin's legendary skit - "Baseball and Football"

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YphEUa5LPjM

RIP George

Thanks. :)

While I don't wish for the death of anyone, I found George's anti-Christian diatribe to be full of crap. I would catch him on the toob ever so often, and it seemed like 50% of his "comedy" turned into him telling me how to live and showing how he wishes he was a sociologist. His routine became boring very quickly.

I wish for God to be merciful upon Carlin.

I much prefer the younger talent that's out there now. And that's from someone who use to be a Carlin fan.

JR, 80% of his stuff had nothing to do with religion or politics, or anything like that.

Baseball and Football
A Place to put my stuff
Picky eaters
Foods I won't eat
Dogs and Cats
Seven words you can't say on TV

You're entitled to think his religious routines are full of crap (I personally think they're BRILLIANT). But if you're also willing to turn your back on his entire career because of it, frankly it's your loss.

That is for God to decide, not you and not me. And Religion has caused more wars and killed more people in the world than just about any belief in anything in the world. Just look at this current war in Iraq and all the angles that have been taken as to what should or should not be done in that region. And the heart of all of it is Religious expression or beliefs.

I believe Carlin like many social commentators was just pointing that out to many of us even if I may have personally disagreed with him on his shared beliefs. That does not mean that he was not correct on most levels.

Peace

Thanks Canuck, my wife and I loved it. :D

I saw him live many years ago. I found his live act to be filled with bad language and some filth. I think it's too bad that I have that memory of him because I think he was brilliant in so many other areas. I loved his analysis of the English Language.

His anti-religion content turned me off to him. I think people change and sometimes not for the better. He may have had some bitterness later in his life.

Like other notable entertainers, he seemed to be a very complex person with contradictions.

I have mixed feelings about him.

He was a bitter, nasty, hateful, addict. No surprise that he left "so young" as I suspect it must be hard to keep living when one is so disgusted by life and everyone around him.

The art of juxtaposing his cerebral librettos with his scatological references was often lost on religious zealots. I thought he was a brilliant socialogist who seemed to only want to point out the truth as he saw it.

I didn't always agree, but usually enjoyed. One way or another, it always left me thinking... something we often don't do for ourselves enough.

It's a shame that the cocaine of the 70's took a toll on his heart. It's kind of ironic that it causes similar damage to that done by the after church all-you-can eat Baptist buffets.

I think it is really dangerous to say that he was bitter, nasty and hateful. Just because he presents those things in his act, doesn't mean that it is his personality.
Thinking back to when I was a kid, there was a wrestler in the WWF nicknamed George 'The Animal' Steel. He painted his tongue green and jumped around like someone had fried out his brain and replaced it with a plate of lasagne.
Turns out he was a professor of English (or an English teacher, I don't remember which - but a far cry from the guy who could only grunt on camera).

Addict you would have to accept though. At least he seemed to try to fight it and get better - like a lot of other people.

[QUOTE=JRutledge]" Just look at this current war in Iraq and all the angles that have been taken as to what should or should not be done in that region. And the heart of all of it is Religious expression or beliefs."

Similar to strategy used by the "Wizard of Oz", religious expression or belief is simply a convenient cloak to hide behind to attract and persuade gullible followers. The struggle in Iraq, like so many struggles before, has a lot more to do with a very small minority seeking to control and dominate a very large majority for their own ambitions and personal advancement.

Twisting some religious theme, to suit and support some covert purely political objective is simply a tactical strategy, that over the centuries, has proven to be extremely effective in recruiting and motivating followers.

Whether it is convenient or not it is being used. I for one am not going to question the beliefs of everyone that takes a position. The bottom line is no matter what the real reason is; religion has been at the heart of many things in our society (and history) that have been bad. It should be expected that some would question the heart of that belief. And after all this was a comedian, not a Professor at a college. His role was to entertain and maybe if he wanted to make you think. That did not make Carlin a bad person. And it just illustrates more of why people cannot stand Christians when we make comments about what kind of human being a person is based on their beliefs that differ from ours. If I recall God is the one that does the judging, not us. Carlin died because he had a heart condition, not because he was a bad person. Good people die much younger every day too.

Peace

I hope you are not suggesting I was referring to Mr. Carlin, or his belief system, when I indicated, "Twisting some religious theme, to suit and support some covert purely political objective is simply a tactical strategy, that over the centuries, has proven to be extremely effective in recruiting and motivating followers."

I enjoyed all of his performances especially how he was able to relate the absurd to the everyday. My beef is with those who hide behind some vague religious veil to con the gullible into doing what they want done for purely non-religious purposes.

An askew congruency... (is this possible?)
 

Very good posting here - I come to you from the baseball board.

Perhaps this is "Carlin-esque" of me to point out, but it seems odd that the allegations that Carlin (not necessarily posted here but perhaps implied) used his position in society to promote his ideals as a bad thing comes from those who take part in a system that has done the same exact thing since the advent of Westernized religion (and perhaps farther back in non-recorded history). All one has to do is look back at the Catholic Church and indulgences to see just a tip of this iceberg.

OK, a generalization, but maybe some truth in it. Not a law by any means, but a trend, I think so. It is really just a power struggle with two parties playing the same game. Nobody, and everybody, is right.

At least this is my viewpoint, and others are entitled to theirs. We all look at this through our own set of eyes, our views sculpted by our nurture and nature. What the human mind is capable of is a beautiful thing when you stop and think about it...

Sorry for interrupting, just thought I'd throw a 21 year old History Major point of view in (fair for you to know where I'm coming from with these comments).

Always enjoyable,

Tuss