George Carlin, one of the greats

Well, I am definitely filing this one under Complaints and Grievances. After all, George Carlin was the one who first taught me about such a thing. I take that back, I already knew. George was the one who encouraged me to just put 'em out there and that yelling obscenities out loud would make me feel better. He was a comic who paved the way for other true comics, like my friend Jamie Kilstein, not these assholes who do full 30 minute sets about how their wife won't let them buy a Playstation. Are you serious? I don't want to pay $50 for that shit. NO, George told us that not only was it alright, alright to be angry, but that it was funny, too. George told us to take one good look at "The Man," just stare him down and tell him to suck it.
Thank God I saw George in 2005 in Las Vegas. We hadn't intended on it. It just kind of fell in our laps. I laughed to tears.
We lost Richard Pryor nearly three years ago. I was raised on his comedy. He was my dad's favorite and, even though his material was definitely too edgy for an 11-year-old, my early exposure to Richard's humor no doubt influenced me, in part, to the person I am today.
I always credited Richard in my early years for my love of comedy and George Carlin was on the top of that list. Very top.
George died yesterday from a heart attack. He was 71.
This is the set that made him famous, "Seven Things You Can't Say on Sunday."