My Zen Arcade

When I was 11 or 12, I had two comedy albums.  One was by Bill Cosby (it had the Noah bit on it which is still brilliant) and the other was George Carlin’s “A Place For My Stuff” (I think that was the title).

These are two great albums to have, because the illustrate two very different kinds of comedy.  Say what you want about Bill, but he’s a master storyteller.  I mean, how do you beat “Now, I told you that story so I could tell you this one”?

George, however, was very different.  Much more observational, much more out there on the edge (especially back then, and earlier).  Borderline absurdist.

I’m thankful to both these men.  I love comedy.  I love humor.  I love breaking it down and trying to figure it out.  I love the choice of words, the timing, the emphasis.

Everything.

And, to be honest, much of what I do know and understand about comedy I owe to these two men, in some manner or another.

Thanks George.  I’ll miss you.

Its OK, we killed our daughter because of our religion.  Shouldn’t we get a free pass?

A day before Madeline died, according to the criminal complaint, the father wrote an e-mail with the headline, “Help our daughter needs emergency prayer!!!!.” It said his daughter was “very weak and pale at the moment with hardly any strength.”

Fuck you.

They called their church the night before

On the night before 11-year-old Madeline Kara Neumann died of complications from untreated diabetes, her parents did not call a doctor. Instead, Dale and Leilani Neumann prayed over the telephone Saturday with the founder of a religious Web site named americaslastdays.com

So lets make sure the record is straight. She was very sick. The parents knew she was. Experts say she’d probably been getting sicker and sicker for a month.
The parents knew it was bad.
So they prayed instead of getting her medical attention.
Criminal.
Child abuse.
Schitzophrenia.

One Higher Power: Why does the media only cover when prayer goes wrong

Where is the ABC News report of the higher power saving my grandfather’s life from a diabetic episode based on a “hunch” - a “still, small voice” my uncle heard and heeded?

Well, first off, the media often does these kind of human interest stories, so lets not act all oppressed.
Second, I’m sorry, exactly how is this comparable to a little girl being murdered by her parent’s craziness?
Third, does it not strike you as, perhaps, contradictory that god saved your grandfather but not this little girl?
Oh, wait, perhaps neither event is related to god whatsoever!
W00t!
A breakthrough!

Yeah, why aren’t they covering all sides of everything?
A kid drinks drano and dies.
Why doesn’t the media show how well draino unclogged my pipes?
A person dies in a car accident.
Why doesn’t the media cover everyone who walks away from an accident?

Look, you can have your crazy. Thats your business, so long as you don’t push your crazy on others.
But lets not expect the media to go covering all your ‘miracles’.
(oh, and for the record, the media gives a free ride to religion, as a rule…but when it kills someone, well, it has to be called to task.)

The old school is leaving us…

Author Arthur C. Clarke dies - CNN.com

Author Arthur C. Clarke, whose science fiction and non-fiction works ranged from the script for “2001: A Space Odyssey” to an early proposal for communications satellites, has died at age 90, associates have said.