June
23, 2008 - RIP, George Carlin
Actually, if there's anyone who isn't resting in peace, no
matter where he ended up, it's probably George Carlin. Along with Lenny
Bruce and Richard Pryor, Carlin revolutionized the limits of what could
be said in stand-up comedy and, more importantly, what it could mean.
It was more than just those seven dirty words; it was all words. And
since this is a site dedicated to the written word, Carlin's passing
deserves some attention here.
Carlin believed in the neutrality of words (they are neither good or bad in and of themselves), but that their context is everything. And boy did he know how to contextualize—to the point of aggravating just about everyone at some point. He tore down some institutions I care for and many more that I don't. Anyone can work blue (and just about everyone does these days), but Carlin's gift was focusing all those "dirty" words and the context he assigned them to get under the skin of anyone who had the temerity to tell him what was appropriate and what wasn't.
But he didn't always have to swear to make his point and, great word smith that he was, Carlin's assault on American euphemisms tells you everything you need to know about his belief in the power of words—dirty or not. (OK, some of this is a little salty, so be forewarned.)
If the point of Carlin's act was just to get away with saying bad words, he wouldn't have been announced as the next recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor last week. Like previous winner Richard Pryor, Carlin was an innovative satirist who helped change the face of comedy forever, and some brilliant comedians working today owe a lot to his trailblazing efforts. As for the other half-witted bums performing so-called comedy today, they can only thank Carlin for being able to swear on basic cable.
June 21, 2008 - Curt Schilling calls it a career
Curt Schilling was one of the more interesting big league players over the last two decades. A pitcher with a big mouth and the game to usually back it up, Schil cemented his legend in 2004 with a bloody sock and a brutal split-fingered fastball that helped bring Boston its first World Championship in 86 years. Those of us from Philadelphia, however, remember him a little differently. Read more at the Philly Sports Blog.
June
20, 2008 - Little birdie brings news of Transformers
2
A friend of mine lives near the old East State
Penitentiary, just north of the Philadelphia Museum of Art,
and he
tells me that the crew of Transformers
2: The Inevitable Sequel
has been shooting around the
abandoned prison, as well as other locations around town, including
Rittenhouse Square and City Hall. He reports seeing Michael Bay
strutting around like a peacock (in slow motion, no doubt), as well as
a bunch of old cars around the prison, indicating it may be some kind
of flashback scene.
Also, a source in the know close to him says that they are actually using Philly as a stand-in for Paris. I guess some of those old buildings have a kind of European look, but I don't really see the connection. I'm sure Bay will just CGI the rest of Paris behind the physical locales... in slow motion.
Check out my review of the first Transformers movie. And for more riveting news like this, stay tuned to Shedding Ink.
June
15, 2008 - Shedding Ink debuts on World
Wide
Internets
It's been a long time coming for sure, but I finally have a
Web site. Who'da
thunk it? I've put a lot of time and effort into this site, so you can
count
on me keeping things up-to-date with fresh content on an almost daily
basis,
either here or over at the Philly
Sports
Blog. You are some of the first visitors, so please poke
around, kick the
tires a little, and let
me know if
you find any glitches, errors or stupid mistakes. If you like it, I
hope
you'll bookmark it and make my little destination on the information
superhighway part of your regular Web surfing routine.