George Carlin on hats

[APP Adrian]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iw0MripVxss



Thoughts?

 

[Zombie_61]

For the most part, I agree with him. In fact, some of the rules of hat etiquette are completely contrary to common sense. For example, men are supposed to remove their hats whenever a nation's flag or a funeral procession passes by. Now, the primary reason to wear a hat is to protect your head from the elements--sun, rain, snow, whatever. So if it's pouring down rain and you remove your hat just because a flag or a hearse is driving by, your head is going to get wet and you've just defeated the purpose of wearing a hat in the first place. You could just as easily hold your hand over your heart or bow your head and observe a moment of silence, either of which could be recognized as a gesture of respect with value equal to that of removing your hat, and your head would remain dry. It's a foolish and unreasonable rule.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

The man have some points...

 

[Shangas]

Aaah. The last great comedian. I miss him.

 

[Trapped in T-wilight Zone]

Yes, George was one of the greats. He could play both sides of the political fence very convincingly. And make a lot of sense doing it.
W2

 

[tommyK]

What I always liked about him is that he clearly thought about things. His own unique thoughts. Often about some of the simplest things Like "Why do we drive on the Parkway and park in the Driveway?"

 

[suitedcboy]

Yep, the all too uncommon common sense.

When you come to my house you leave your hat on. If you don't have a hat I'll hand you one to wear.

If you don't want to take it off when you sleep then get one that is crushable. Lots of good vintage hats that can be worn to bed.

 

[fedoracentric]

His points about religion in that video are pretty funny. But, not quite as logical as he assumes. After all, he chides the religious for thinking they understand the mind of God yet his criticism is based on HIS assuming he knows the mind of God! Regardless, the comedy is great.

 

[kaosharper1]

I don't know if on this video but I remember him asking, "How come when I'm wearing my hat I don't notice it, but when I take it off it feels like it's still there?" Or something like that.

 

[Zombie_61]

What I always liked about him is that he clearly thought about things. His own unique thoughts. Often about some of the simplest things Like "Why do we drive on the Parkway and park in the Driveway?"

And he took his work very seriously. Carlin was a wordsmith, and he loved language. For every one of his HBO specials, he usually spent more than a year touring comedy clubs to hone and polish his material. He'd change a word here or there between performances just to see what kind of reaction he'd get, and he'd use the words that got the best reactions.

We had the good fortune of seeing him perform live in 2001 when he was touring the material that would become his next HBO special, Complaints and Grievances. At one point he pulled some paper from his pocket and explained it contained newly written material that he hadn't committed to memory yet, and he apologized for having to read it from those pages. About half-way through the second page it became obvious that he wasn't getting the desired reactions to this new material, so he crumpled it up into a ball and threw it behind him, saying, "Okay, **** it, this bit is out." And when we watched the special two months later, it was almost word-for-word the same performance we'd seen that night. He often made his performances appear to be stream of consciousness, but the reality is that he was very prepared.

 

[mactire]

Now, the primary reason to wear a hat is to protect your head from the elements--sun, rain, snow, whatever. So if it's pouring down rain and you remove your hat just because a flag or a hearse is driving by, your head is going to get wet and you've just defeated the purpose of wearing a hat in the first place. You could just as easily hold your hand over your heart or bow your head and observe a moment of silence, either of which could be recognized as a gesture of respect with value equal to that of removing your hat, and your head would remain dry. It's a foolish and unreasonable rule.

Is it not one of these things that one has to demonstrate one's respect or depth of feeling through being inconvenienced? At least thats what it seems.

 

[skydog757]

He often made his performances appear to be stream of consciousness, but the reality is that he was very prepared.

"Death is easy, comedy is hard."

 

[Shangas]

Carlin was my favourite comedian.

I loved him because...

- He was intelligent.
- He was a wordsmith. He LOVED mucking around with language. Nobody can deny this.
- He kept up-to-date and relevant, despite his age.
- He was controversial.
- He was funny.
- He was brave.

And, in his own words:

"I'm just telling you stuff which you already knew about!...But which you forgot to laugh at, the first time it happened!"

 

[John Galt]

The first rule of comedy is that you have to be funny. George Carlin always was. Irreverence may have been his vehicle of choice, but it ran on good old-fashioned funny.

 

[Zombie_61]

Is it not one of these things that one has to demonstrate one's respect or depth of feeling through being inconvenienced? At least thats what it seems.

That may be the only perspective that explains this particular rule of hat etiquette; it still seems foolish to me. [huh]

 

[skydog757]

Carlin was a huge favorite of mine from my teens into my forties. However, at a certain point his style changed from the amused stoner to the angry old man. I'm sure the change was due more to growth and maturity, was organic and not calculated. Although I still found him funny, intelligent and insightful, he came off more as bitter and p*ssed. I found it off-putting, but most people responded well to it. I owned every album from FM 7 AM to On the Road. Great stuff.

 

[vintage68]

George Carlin was very articulate about how politically correct this country has become. Great stuff.

 

[fedoracentric]

Is it not one of these things that one has to demonstrate one's respect or depth of feeling through being inconvenienced?

That is exactly the point of etiquette, of course.

The only reason it existed is to show due deference to other people, not to act as a personal convenience.

One taking one's hat off when a hearse is passing even if its raining is not "defeating the purpose of wearing a hat" but showing respect for someone else's life even if it might be an personal inconvenience to ones self to show that respect.

Eituette is all about showing deference to others, being nice, being less troublesome to society, and making the world a more genteel and civilized place.

In fact, inconveniencing yourself is rather the point. Disciplining yourself not to talk loudly, eat like a pig, and thinking enough of others to open a door for them, etc. is all about putting some measure of check on personal willfulness.

 

[daizawaguy]

Only starts at 5 min if anyone was wondering...

 

[Zombie_61]

Carlin was a huge favorite of mine from my teens into my forties. However, at a certain point his style changed from the amused stoner to the angry old man. I'm sure the change was due more to growth and maturity, was organic and not calculated...

I'm not so sure about that; it was probably equal parts of both. In his early career Carlin always presented himself as being rather conventional--short hair, clean-shaven, and wearing suits and ties. But in the late 1960s/early 1970s he deliberately grew out his hair and beard, and began wearing faded denim jeans because he realized he identified with the "younger crowd" more than with the "corporate types" he'd previously been aiming his routines at. In the process his material became more "free form" and observational, which was also a deliberate and calculated change. He lost some TV bookings because producers thought his new "counterculture" appearance and on-stage demeanor might be off-putting, but when he performed "The Hair Piece" on The Ed Sullivan Show the general public understood he'd simply reinvented himself and those concerns dissipated. From there, his transition to the "curmudgeon" persona he adopted later in life may or may not have been a natural evolution, but he did profess to experiencing schadenfreude (deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others) so his own self-awareness of this may have been a contributing factor.