RIP George Carlin

Carlin's records were really important to me in my teen years, and I went through a period of revisiting them last year, finding much to be fond of; sometimes when I leave my class at school to walk the hall and squeeze out a few farts before returning to teaching - so as not to pollute the classroom, you understand - I think of his philosophy of "controlled release," as explained on Toledo Window Box. My friend Michael and I went to see him at River Rock Casino not too long ago - being somewhat surprised that he had a big book of notes that he referred to, and was treating it, it seemed, like a practice gig. I frankly don't remember any of his jokes, but was looking forward to revisiting the material when he put out a new HBO special (his previous focused almost entirely on death and dying); turns out that it aired in March, and it looks like it will be the last such show to come out, because George Carlin died yesterday of a heart attack at age 71. We salute you, George.