George Carlin

I refused to blog about it as soon I found out, I told myself I'd wait. I'd be too big of a downer otherwise, probably am going to be regardless but so be it. I found out last night, late. I had been hanging out with a few comic friends of mine, we went to the Solstice Parade in Seattle, got some Pho for dinner and then rented a movie.

Ironically enough at one point in the day I was at my friend's apartment and there was a Kurt Vonnegut book sitting on the couch. I said, "man, this is one of my favorite comedians, I remember when I found out he died." This sparked a conversation on the deaths of different icons and people that played inspirational roles in our lives even though we never met them.

So, I called my comedy friends when I found out Carlin died, they had just left my apartment so I knew chances were they hadn't heard yet. After that I watched clip after clip, and then I kind of just sat on my couch until I knew I was tired enough that I could actually fall asleep.

I don't want to get overly sentimental here, I get annoyed when I see people speaking of celebrities and public figures as if they actually knew the person. But seriously, just look at these last 5 years:
Johnny Cash
Kurt Vonnegut
Hunter S. Thompson
and now of course George Carlin...

Four voices that not only are gone, but gone at a time when they are needed more than ever, especially Vonnegut, Thompson, and Carlin.

It's hard to have a pleasant day when we need to deal with the realization that George Carlin is dead and george w. bush is still the president.

I encourage everyone to do something today that they enjoy doing, go to the lake, spend time with friends and family, make a few long-needed phone calls, we've all earned it.