TRIBUTE: George Carlin

You know sometimes how there are these iconic personalities that have been with you for as long as you can remember? Someone who for the length of your lucidity has always been there, doing their thing, and you think that they just have to live forever--they have been in your life like the stars have been in your sky. George Carlin was that personality for me. Yet even more notable is the fact that he was the first host of Saturday Night Live, and the show is exactly my age. It's like the two, for me, have been everything about comedy. And now one half is gone.

What I liked about George is that he was right up my alley: unafraid, unapologetic, unabashed, always pushing the limits of what he is told he can and cannot do, political, intelligent, energetic, prolific and sound. He was very expressive with his words but also with is face. He was almost angelic with his ability to go over to the edge, push you over, but bring you back with his brand of realism that made you forgive some of the things he said that may have been out of your limit of taste. Once he got on a roll, he wouldn't stop...I liked his motormouth....

I cannot say that he was one of my top favorite comedians, but I can say that I respected him immensely and I do know that he had inspired generations of comedians with his brand of humor. I can honestly say that Dennis Miller or Bill Maher have almost certainly taken much from George. Lewis Black has a lot of George in him. And I would argue that Bobby Slaton has some of George's spirit in him. And not just that kind of humor has George inspired, but across all genre's of comedy has he inspired some of my favorite comedians. Although George was not one of my favorites does not mean he wasn't on my list. And I will miss him tremendously.

Heaven is not going to be the same......

Brooklyn Pride!!

Saturday, 14 June was the Brooklyn Pride parade, going down the 7th Avenue strip in Park Slope. It would have been even better than the fun parade it already was if it hadn't kept raining and raining on the....well, parade. And of course, sometimes I can be a little obtuse--I thought I had missed the parade from earlier in the day and was a bit bummed about it. However, thank god I carry my camera with me everywhere as I was able to squeeze off a few snaps as I realised that the parade had started to happen and also before my battery went dead!! Yet another misfortune that could have put a cloud over the celebration, but I was gratetful for the few pictures I got to post here, as well as for the fact that they were throwing favors off the floats Mardi Gras style. I am like a kid all over again when I get fun glowy necklaces, rainbow colored spongy balls, T-shirts and other fun stuff!! I nabbed two glowy necklaces. Well anyway, here are the pictures I got....

This was an awesome marching band that was playing the festive happy marching music of any parade Americana. I loved it. They played so well!!

Here is another group who marched together, but they weren't playing any instruments. Still they marched and were smiling and festive so I snapped them.

This picture pretty much explains itself.

This is my favorite. This lively character was twirling a glowy baton and doing it exceptionally well. I was amazed!! I haven't seen baton twirling for a while and I happen to be a fan of the talent. It was really amazing how he twirled and even cooler is the exact moment I caught him in this pose, almost like he knew exactly when to throw up his hand, flash his pearly whites and pose so dramatically for my camera eye. I wish I had gotten a chance to speak with him.

Now here is another great picture with a drag queen and I also happen to be a great big fan of drag queens too!! There were really not enough in the parade. I like drag queens because they have so much creative energy to put together so many awesome outfits. Not to mention the kick ass make-up. This particular queen actually started to do a high-pitched scream and ran right up to me hoping to scare or rattle me. But I didn't even blink. He said he was amazed that I didn't even flinch. Then I gave him a hug and he ran off. I wanted to talk to him too....

Here is one of the the last big floats that pretty much rounded up the parade. I was sad to see it end so quickly, as I am used to the Manhattan parade which goes on and on and has so many great floats. But I am not going to complain. Brooklyn will get bigger and bigger and then we will one day rival the Manhattan parade.

HAPPY PRIDE EVERYONE!!!

Is It Just Me?

I have never denied the magnitude of my dorkosity...and now is no different. I do not watch sitcoms. Well, in first run anyway. I seem to have gotten into a few that are now in syndication (because they're on all the damn time) and Home Improvement is one of them. Not that I had really any prior knowledge of what the show was about, but I started watching it, not turning the channel when it came on, because I think Tim Allen is so great looking. Yeah, I said it--he's handsome. (Look at him!!)

However, I have come to realise that his show is so very middle American that it kind of makes me insane. The show seems to explore gender roles a lot, and what has kept my attention is that his wife on the show doesn't let him get away with anything, which is cool by the feminist standard. However, she is a stereotypical wife, in which she is very naggy, hard headed and talks considerably....and fast, with almost a high-pitched squeak. And the rest of the family are all men--three boys and Tim--and they have the typical woman cracks about her that are just too much. They make fun of her cooking, they make fun of her telling stories to the boys about being a little girl (instead of a boy), they make fun of her not being able to handle a dead rat, they make fun of her lack of fix-it skills (although I don't know of any woman that has three boys that can't fix a thing--puhleeeze!!). And yet also, she is working, going to school and still has time to get home, have dinner on the table (also cooking breakfast in the morning and sending the boys off to school), do the laundry and cleaning and take care of the boys and Tim. Wow. I have no kids nor a man in the house and I can barely have time for my little dog just because of one nine to fiver!! Either that woman was like Hermione and had some kind of time travel device or this show was just flagrant fantasy. I opt for the latter.

But yet also there was the next door neighbor Wilson, who for some strange reason you could never see his face. And he was the sort of hippie of the fray. He was world traveled, very educated, spiritual, philosophical and wise. Why couldn't we ever see his face? I could get into some kind of analysis about that, but I don't think the writers were ever really that deep. I think the blatantly wanted to kind of have this hippie-ish man as a peripheral personality. He acted as counsel to Tim in times of strife or confusion. And he always had an answer for Tim for his problems. Now it seems that Tim's character was always in need of something from Wilson, but I almost went nuts when they would make fun of Wilson for doing things like rain dances or writing poetry or having an African mucous cup. They went to a "beat" performance that Wilson did one time in which there was a lot of experimental art and poetry, music and performance and the family was there (again, how Jill the wife has all this time goes beyond the realm of believability) making faces and cracking on the performers. It was really kind of annoying.

That's when it hit me that this show was totally geared toward middle America. It was like they were on the cusp of breaking through the closed-mindedness of many middle Americans when it comes to different people or even art for *bleeps* sakes, but they never crossed over. And it's weird because they are so close to crossing over that I still keep watching the show!! And I happen to have seen some of Tim Allen's stand up from when he was young and I don't get the sense he was like that. He was a lot edgier. But of course, getting your own sitcom really is like selling your soul. And for what? To make fat housewives laugh?

To be honest, I may watch the show some more, but now that I realise what it is for what it is, the realisation has kind of spoiled the lighthearted care by which I let the show stay on the tube. But then that is why I really don't watch sitcoms at all. They are so ridiculous and all have the same stupid storylines and everyone fights then makes up with these Disney-like conclusions about why they were fighting and preaching to the viewer. UGH!! My skin is crawling just thinking about it now. The only sitcom that I find is outside of this realm, which also I didn't watch in first run is Seinfeld. Oh how so very not middle American!!