Just a few random notes that came to mind today.
First off, the passing of comedian George Carlin. I wasn’t a huge fan of his. A lot of his humor stemmed from the ubiquitous striving among comedians to be the “dirtiest”, the most outrageous, and the most ribald joke teller. But Carlin was one of the wittier ones. He could also work into his routine a delightful, almost innocent weirdness. So it was with some regret on driving to work this morning that I recalled, after some inner confusion about the issue, that I never did see him live. I almost did. He did a show at my college (New Jersey Institute of Tech) back when I was a sophomore, right about this time of year. I wanted to go, but it turned out to have been on the night before a final exam in an important course. So I stayed home and studied. And I don’t regret it. What did upset me was that for a minute or so today, I DID think that I had seen him. It took some effort to break thru the early morning fog in my mind as I was waiting at a traffic light in Newark, listening to “Morning Edition” on NPR.
Second. I found out today that the Roman Catholic priest who baptized me had passed away earlier this month. I never knew Father Ed as a child, as he left my home parish while I was still a toddler. But thru some odd coincidences, I got to meet him about 16 years ago. He seemed a bit upset about the fact that I had moved over to the Anglican side of Christianity. Perhaps he would have been even more upset had he known that I would later give up all forms of organized religion. But that never meant that I don’t take seriously the ideas and ideals of theology and faith. And today we found out that at least 1 in 5 atheists also do so! (I.e., the just-released Pew Forum’s Religious Landscape Survey indicates that 21% of those who call themselves ‘atheists’ also claim to believe in God).
Third. This past Thursday was June 19, or “Juneteenth”, a traditional African American day of remembrance marking the end of slavery in America (it took until June 19, 1865 for Union enforcement of Lincoln’s Emancipation to reach Galveston, Texas, one of the last corners of the former Confederacy to receive the news). I rather expected Barack Obama to have taken advantage of the fortuitous proximity between this date (an official holiday in 29 states) and his defacto nomination as the Democratic Presidential candidate as to have made a significant speech on race, history and the American future. His Philadelphia speech made back in March, however candid by political standards, still only scratched the surface. There’s yet a whole lot remaining that whites, blacks and everyone in between needs to hear and say. And Barack Obama appears to be in a very good position to keep the discussion going.
Well, there is a brief note in barackobama.com acknowledging Juneteenth. But it looks as though Senator Obama had bigger fish to fry that day . . . such as sinking the Presidential campaign fund, because it got in the way of his fundraising juggernaut. Is this change we can believe in? Or is it just the usual brand of change, change that forgets the past and is ultimately condemned to repeat it?
Jim,
I always liked George Carlin. His potty mouth never bothered me; in fact, I often tho’t he was right. To this day, I still do not understand the purpose of the “bleep” on TV. Everyone knows exactly what is being said, the bleep does not hurt anyone’s “virgin ears”; I simply don’t see the point of the bleep. On the other hand, I am NOT saying that every other word in general should be a word that “can’t be said on TV.”
Carlin could always get me chuckling. Another comedian who can get me chuckling–sometimes (when he’s not being misogynistic)–is Craig Ferguson. For instance, last night he did a piece on the Mayan Calendar. Now I ask you, when was the last time you heard a comedian say funny, yet intelligent, things about the Mayan Calendar which is to “end” on 12-12-2012? As Ferguson himself says now and then, “just another late night comedian discussing Plato’s philosophy.” Aren’t many who do that kind of thing–and can make one truly laugh.
Anyway, I was sorry to see George Carlin die; I always got a chuckle out of his work–and who can say that of what passes for comedy nowadays with pumped up laugh tracks and fake “fun.”
As to Obama missing “Juneteenth”: Perhaps he is not too conscious of the day because, when one thinks of it, he was raised by white people–when one really thinks about it. In addition I think that young Black people today have little clue of what “old” (my age) Blacks remember of a time when “separate but equal” was strictly enforced, Blacks sat in the back of the bus in the South, and a Black didn’t dare drink from a “white” fountain.
And as to Obama and his campaign fund: It’s exactly such a point that had me thinking Hillary would have managed the manipulation of the political world so much better; for all his idealism–and maybe just because of his young idealism–Obama simply does not have the political savvy that Hillary would have exhibited as the Dem candidate. Perhaps if he chooses her as his VP, she may have some influence on him and help him with the experience she has and that he lacks.
MCS
Comment by MCS — June 26, 2008 @ 11:36 am
Jim,
I always liked George Carlin. His potty mouth never bothered me; in fact, I often tho’t he was right. To this day, I still do not understand the purpose of the “bleep” on TV. Everyone knows exactly what is being said, the bleep does not hurt anyone’s “virgin ears”; I simply don’t see the point of the bleep. On the other hand, I am NOT saying that every other word in general should be a word that “can’t be said on TV.”
Carlin could always get me chuckling. Another comedian who can get me chuckling–sometimes (when he’s not being misogynistic)–is Craig Ferguson. For instance, last night he did a piece on the Mayan Calendar. Now I ask you, when was the last time you heard a comedian say funny, yet intelligent, things about the Mayan Calendar which is to “end” on 12-12-2012? As Ferguson himself says now and then, “just another late night comedian discussing Plato’s philosophy.” Aren’t many who do that kind of thing–and can make one truly laugh.
Anyway, I was sorry to see George Carlin die; I always got a chuckle out of his work–and who can say that of what passes for comedy nowadays with pumped up laugh tracks and fake “fun.”
As to Obama missing “Juneteenth”: Perhaps he is not too conscious of the day because, when one thinks of it, he was raised by white people–when one really thinks about it. In addition I think that young Black people today have little clue of what “old” (my age) Blacks remember of a time when “separate but equal” was strictly enforced, Blacks sat in the back of the bus in the South, and a Black didn’t dare drink from a “white” fountain.
And as to Obama and his campaign fund: It’s exactly such a point that had me thinking Hillary would have managed the manipulation of the political world so much better; for all his idealism–and maybe just because of his young idealism–Obama simply does not have the political savvy that Hillary would have exhibited as the Dem candidate. Perhaps if he chooses her as his VP, she may have some influence on him and help him with the experience she has and that he lacks.
MCS
Comment by MCS — June 26, 2008 @ 11:36 am