Carlin's career took him from the stand up circuit to a television career that spanned four decades and included fourteen HBO specials, including 2008's It's Bad For Ya. He also appeared in over fifteen movies, most notably in the "Bill And Ted" franchise and a handful of late-career appearances in the movies of Kevin Smith. He's won a Grammy Award and was named the second-greatest stand-up comedian of all time by the Comedy Central network, behind only Richard Pryor. Carlin was often a deeply dark, deeply cynical, and deeply accurate observer of human nature. You probably should have listened to him, especially with the AP running a story this weekend with the fatalist headline "Everything seemingly is spinning out of control." His death is an irreplaceable loss.
"I'd rather be black than gay because when you're black you
don't have to tell your mother." ---Charles Pierce
