Monday, June 23, 2008
Another one bites the dust (George Carlin)
Source: The Globe and Mail
People die every day. It certainly is a strange and fascinating phenomenon; death. Everybody's lives ultimately revolve around death. Whether people choose to produce memes, spread genes, or sit around eating nachos and wanking and playing World of Warcraft all day, people do everything they can to make life worthwhile until time runs out. Since death is such a natural part of life, it's never surprising to hear that somebody dies. No one is guaranteed much in life. They may not be guaranteed wealth, fame, the spouse they want, kids they like, or even happiness. Though, at the end of it all, everybody can rest assured that they will rest in peace. But yet, I'll take this moment to comment on the death of George Carlin. I just discovered this news, and find it very unfortunate.
From The Globe and Mail:
LOS ANGELES -- Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday, a spokesman said. He was 71.Carlin, who had a history of heart and drug-dependency problems, died at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica about 6 p.m. local time (9 p.m. ET) after being admitted earlier in the afternoon for chest pains, spokesman Jeff Abraham told Reuters.
Upon discovering the news, I said to myself, "This is a joke, right?" But, it settled in that it was the real deal. I can literally list the few stand-up comedians I actually like: George Carlin, Bill Maher, Bill Hicks, and Dave Chappelle. Michael Richards split my sides with his grand performance in November 2006. But that's only one act he had. But George Carlin was one of the greatest of the greats, in my opinion, and it's only that.
I found his acts hilarious and incisive. With his barbed wit, he tackled one of the most prevalent threats to our environment; bullshit. From dissecting silly semantics, to tearing the absurdity of faith and religion to shreds, to ridiculing the banality of life and consumerism, to skewering the political circus with his stark skepticism. And of course, his doses of vitriol were always seasoned with "shits", "fucks", and dirty jokes.
He was one of the true free thinkers, and a man who wasn't ashamed to admit he didn't believe in anything.
I got to see him perform almost exactly two years ago. I got my fair share of knee slappers. There was a lot I have learned from his technique and from his bluntness, though I of course will never be able to carbon copy it, nor would I want to. As I said of Kurt Vonnegut, as I've said of many, as I hope someone will say of me, I don't think George Carlin will miss this place very much. It's interesting while it lasts, but once it's over, there's no need to go back for more.
George Carlin (May 12, 1937 - June 22, 2008)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Grimm Fandango!
So my friend [Drilbitt Darko] notified me that a game titled American McGee's Grimm is coming out on July 31st on Game Tap (and hopefully Xbox Live Arcade). It's apparently going to be an adventure game split into 24 weekly episodes where you revisit the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Only, things have gone horribly wrong; everything in the world has become PLEASANT! It will be up to the player to restore darkness and misery to the world. It seems like it will be fun and hilarious, though I admit, I will be cautious with my hopes. American McGee as a gaming "auteur" is pretty hit or miss. I liked his debut project "American McGee's" Alice mostly for its dark atmosphere. It had great environments and great music. A dark, demented, and surreal take on the classic tale. The game was lacking though. The gameplay was absolutely pedestrian, and it was devoid of humour. It was basically something pretty to look at, and not much else. It's now in the works of being made into a movie which promises to be a nightmare, but for the wrong reasons. It's currently set to be directed by whitebread director Marcus Nispel. He's known for directing the forgettable remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
He made a few other games which did little to tickle my fancy. The latest one I played was Bad Day L.A. My brother got it from who knows where. But the game tried to be too funny and came across as obnoxious doing so. The gameplay was a joke, funnier than the ones that they tried to execute in the game, but that's not saying much.
So I'll see about Grimm. I will at least try one episode out. I owe them that much. I'm a huge Brothers Grimm fanatic. Needless to say, I take great influence from them. They're the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grand daddies of black humour. Reading their stories tickle me black and blue. Their utter imagination, the way things don't always workout for the characters, the way the... grimmest things can happen yet still be told with the sweetness and elegance of a gingerbread house is legendary. I can only wish I had their skills in crafting wickedly funny tales of woe and wonder. From stories of dimwits taking men off the gallows and sitting them by the fire because they look cold, to stories of mice jumping into soup only to stop short and have their fur and skin singe before making it in, to stories of women requesting their husbands be buried alive with them if they die before them, to the original versions of the sanitized Disney animations. Yes, the original version of Cinderella where her wicked step-sisters chopped their toes off to fit into the glass slippers, and where in Little Red Riding Hood, the big bad wolf is hacked to death and his brother drowns trying to seek vengeance upon Red.
As my co-worker [Olga Leichenbestatter] once said, "Everybody dies in German Fairy Tales"
Nobody can beat them. The only person I can think of who, in the last century, came close to them was Roald Dahl. Edward Gorey could do it too, but he had his flavour. Tim Burton can capture it in his movies, when he's on the ball.
Speaking of movies, I refuse to watch that movie Terry Gilliam did of them starring the late Heath Ledger. It looks atrocious, way too... silly. Terry Gilliam, like American McGee, is really hit or miss. But again, I'll find out at the end of July.
Finding out about this has been in good time, because just a few weeks ago, I pulled out my collection of Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales and have been reading a tale or two a night, laughing myself to sleep. The game will hopefully be just the right amount of chocolate to go with the blood.
In other news, I have a somewhat complete draft of [Obscure Opus] done. This is my umpteenth draft, and I'm fairly confident in it. I am going to need to go back and fill in some gaps. A lot of parts I left myself little "will finish later" chunks, so I need to polish those over, and I also need to do some more research and legitimize those parts which feature facts, or quasi facts. Amazing what happens when you write about characters who know things you know absolutely nothing about. But as one character in the novel would say, "It's a business."
But at least, the way I have it now, is that if I were to drop dead, somebody could pick it up, and have a grasp of the story.
Oh, and to follow up with this entry's politically charged predecessor, I should express my elation that my "homeboy" Barack Obama won the nomination. It was the inevitable, I'd say 4 months ago, but now it's all but concrete. A few hours ago, he got the much awaited nod from Al Gore. I don't think John McCain has much of a chance. I was right on my speculation that his primary platform is not being Barack Obama. He's modelled his website to resemble Obama's logo, and he even plagiarized his slogan. Where Obama's slogan is "Change we can believe in", McCain's is, "A leader we can believe in." On Barack Obama's nomination night, McCain gave that atrocious speech in front of a lime green background where he punctuated his lines with, "that's not change we can believe in! Heh! Heh! Heh!" He also can't resist messing up. Whether it's mistaking Sunni and Shiia, or direly contradicting himself. He's a disaster, and I sort of feel sorry for him... when I'm not laughing.
As well, I was close to right with my speculations about Bob Barr, he was my second choice of who I thought would win the nomination for the Libertarian party. He's got a very low chance of winning, but I hope he will suck away votes from John McCain, and also help increase the viability of the Libertarian party, even if it's just by a bit. Ron Paul's apparently having a rally of his own which will be held on the direly dismal convention for the Republican Party this year. It's being held for disenfranchised republicans who have little in common with what the party stands for these days. I'm not sure, but I think it may also be working as a rally for the Libertarian party, boosting Barr. The only thing I ever liked about the party was its emphasis on fiscal conservatism, but that's been sent down the crapper. I sure as hell didn't care for the paradoxical philosophy of admonishing aborting fetuses but condoning the slaughter of people of other nations for unjust and uneconomical reasons. And of course, the evangelical pandering was rather nauseating. They've become way too fascistic and paradoxical. From having people like William F. Buckley and George Will as their leading intellectuals, they've turned to ignorant blow hards like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and the whole Fox Brigade. It's my theory that those dimwits don't actually believe in what they're saying and they're just irresponsibly saying what their crazy viewers want them to say to generate ratings.
Oh well, "It's a business!"
See everyone in hell!
