Most people I know, when I've mentioned that I like George Carlin, reply that they think he's annoying. I think he's kind of a hero. In 1972, George Carlin uttered "seven deadly words" at a show in Milwaukee and was subsequently arrested for disturbing the peace because he said: shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits.

When this routine was played on a New York radio station in 1978, it resulted in a Supreme Court ruling upholding the government’s authority to sanction stations for broadcasting offensive language. In 1978 the Supreme Court ruled that the words cited in Carlin's routine were indecent, and that the government's broadcast regulator could ban them from being aired at times when children might be listening.

I don't know about the rest of the world, but I heard way worse things on the playground at school than I ever heard on television or radio (notice that I didn't say movies--because, at the tender age of 11, my dad made me watch Basic Instinct because he said, and I quote, "It was a good movie. You need to watch it.").

Kids are way dirtier, and way more resilient, than adults give them credit for. I lived with a dad who was literally a sailor, so I heard the words shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits, over and over again, and, just because I was around those words didn't mean I used them and it also didn't strip me of my innocence (which my friends from Michigan can attest to because they were dumbfounded at how much I didn't understand when I was 18 years old). So, hearing those words, even all strung together, is not going to strip a child of anything.

Regulating free speech is a dangerous business. If you don't like what's on, then change the fucking channel.

So here are my seven reasons why I'll miss George Carlin:

1. “So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I’m perversely kind of proud of."


2. When asked about the fallout from the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show that ended with Janet Jackson’s breast-baring “wardrobe malfunction,” Carlin told the AP, “What are we, surprised? There’s an idea that the human body is somehow evil and bad and there are parts of it that are especially evil and bad, and we should be ashamed. Fear, guilt and shame are built into the attitude toward sex and the body. It’s reflected in these prohibitions and these taboos that we have.”


3. "I don't have any beliefs or allegiances. I don't believe in this country, I don't believe in religion, or a god, and I don't believe in all these man-made institutional ideas."


4. "I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death."


5. "The very existence of flame-throwers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done."


6. "Religion convinced the world that there's an invisible man in the sky who watches everything you do. And there's 10 things he doesn't want you to do or else you'll go to a burning place with a lake of fire until the end of eternity. But he loves you! ...And he needs money! He's all powerful, but he can't handle money!"
   
7. "I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."

Labels: george carlin, news

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It's my goal to try to lolcat an ANTMism every day. I don't know how long I can keep up that kind of momentum, though.



moar funny pictures

Labels: america's next top model, lolcat

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at June 21, 2008 5:45 AM  Lindsi said...

These are great!

 

moar funny pictures

Labels: america's next top model, lolcat

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I have been slacking off. I've been trying to get back into being disciplined, but it's been really hard. Monday was the first day I tried, but I only finished half of what I had set out to do. So, I think I need to finally make a list. And I decided to post it to my blog to hold myself accountable for the things on that list, plus my blog is prettier to look at than Notepad or MS word.

Things to Do:

1. Italian: translation homework assigned in class, start working on translating the first 10 pages of an article written in Italian.


2. Reading for my Field Exams in Victorian Literature, Media Studies and Gender Studies.


3. Create a finalized book list for the course on cyborgs I'm teaching in the fall.


4. Apply to the Center for Feminist Research appointment (due June 30th).


5. Write the Comic Studies Forum paper for the Comic Arts Conference at Comic-Con (due July).


6. Write the Chobits paper for the History and Film Conference in Chicago (due in August).


7. Send out stories for publication!!


8. Send out seminar papers for journal publication!

Labels: getting motivated, getting organized, grad school, real life

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at June 12, 2008 10:27 PM  Natalia said...

Hi Jilly!

Your blog is always a pleasure to read. Don't forget that this summer shouldn't be about doing EVERYTHING. Make sure to relax and have fun with B. Lots and lots of fun. Give yourself time to have fun around LA. After all, you can do some of this stuff (like sending out stuff for publication) during your year away from LA. A lot of this stuff has to be done this summer, but some of it doesn't have to. I just want to make sure that you don't burn out before you have such a great opportunity in NY! Take it from me, once you've burned out, it's soooo hard to get motivated!

XOXO

 

at June 13, 2008 12:05 AM  jillydreadful said...

Did you get burned out with all the stuff you were doing for like 2 years nonstop? Did you still feel burned out just taking the Prospectus class? I'm wondering how much more I can take before I feel sapped of all motivation and collapse under the weight of overwhelm-sion. I know it's not a word, but it ought to be.