mindpollution.org

Jessica wrote about George Carlin’s influence on her life and his recent death for Newsweek Magazine’s website.

Carlin’s philosophy struck a chord with me. How do you tell a story without the freedom to choose the words to tell it? What’s the fun in talking about sex if you can’t actually describe it? How do you learn anything about our language’s history if we’ve banned all of its colorful colloquialisms? And it takes so much more effort to find appropriate non-offensive phrases to exclaim when you’ve been smacked in the toe with a hammer. Or when you find out one of your favorite comedians has died.

While she and I have always differed when it comes to our feelings about Carlin’s comedy, I’ve never argued that he’s one of stand-up comedy’s most influential figures. Jessica’s memoir is a really great assessment of why he deserves a place among the best of them.