Compliments of http://www.wordle.net A fun little visualization of words I’ve that have been part of my vocab.
Archive for the Category »Language «
28 Mar 2009 | By Kat
Everyone needs someone bad to look up to, a filth elder. – John Waters
I watched John Water’s This Filthy World the other night. First of all, if you’re a fan of any John Water’s stuff, I highly recommend this one man show, reminiscent of An Evening With Kevin Smith. It’s incredibly entertaining, and informative. I’ve studied film (and in particular film history) for so many years, but there’s always more to learn. I think that this show gave so much more insight into the early days of vaudeville film making than even the Starz documentary, In The Gutter.
But the the line that heads up this blog is what really caught my attention, when I was watching this show. I think John is 100% on the mark there. We all need a filth elder, a person who introduces us to comedy that your parents wouldn’t necessarily approve of (unless you have parents like me), comedy that pushes boundaries and teaches you to look beyond the surface of the world. For me, it was George Carlin.
Carlin wasn’t my first exposure to ‘blue’ comedy, mind you. I grew up watching all kinds of it. Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, and many others. But George is the first one who made me stop just laughing at the brilliant things coming out of these people, and really listen to what they were saying. He showed me that there was a whole world beneath the surface, a world where people knew that filters and all the bullshit in our lives, didn’t have to be there all the time.
Carlin understood something that a lot of comedians (Bill Hicks in particular) didn’t get. Most of us have to live in that bullshit world. We have to wade through it, and try not to let too much of it stick. But most of us can’t just turn our filters off, and revel in honest true dialogue, 24/7. George taught me that it was OK to live in that world, and I shouldn’t think badly of myself for it, as long as I switched the filter off whenever possible, and spent some time in the world as it should be.
Lenny Bruce said, “The liberals can understand everything but people who don’t understand them.” That makes so much sense to me. I listen to conservative types talking about things like stem cell research, abortion issues and gay marriage, and I just don’t get it! They can’t all be stupid, but why can’t they see something as simple and true as what Carlin, Bruce, and many others see. The world shouldn’t have to live by their definitions of good and bad, by their notions of what is and isn’t acceptable, by the rules of their exalted book. I know right and wrong, because I have a conscience, not because they tell me what’s right. I try not to hurt others, and to help when I can. I do my part to raise a child and be a productive (in a non-consumer fashion) member of society. I don’t need them to tell me how to live, to accomplish that. I prefer to use my own brain.
Carlin’s tied to Lenny are long spelled out. They both knew what it was to speak their mind, and go to jail for it (even together once). I remember, when I first found out about the history they shared, thinking how much sense it made. I also remember wishing I was with them that night, at the Gate of Horn. I wanted to be one of those people, screaming that the first amendment exists, whether politicians want it to or not. And to this day, I still try to teach my son the most important thing that George Carlin ever taught me, there is no such thing as bad language.
Which brings me to another topic, and that’s music. Some people would complain about the kind of language your finding in regular top 40 music today. Hell, Sara Bareilles, Maroon 5, Katy Perry, Pink; these aren’t rappers going on about banging ho’s, but they still put words in their songs that have to get blanked or dubbed out on many major radio stations. But, unlike those people whining that they are screwing with their kids, by introducing them to ‘blue’ language, I say… give us more! I drive my car down the street, singing La Vie Boheme (from Rent), Pink’s U + UR Hand or Cuz I Can, and The Real Slim Shady, at the top of my lungs. And I don’t download the edited versions, and I don’t quiet down when a ‘bad word’ comes up.
You might be one of the handful of people in this world who doesn’t use that language, but I have news for you ‘Joe the plumber’ types, the rest of us fucking do! And if people use a word, it has as much place in any form of media, as any other word in Webster’s big book. I love the English language. I have had a love affair with it since I was a child (even before I won the school spelling bee in 4th grade). I love all of it, the ‘good’ words and the ‘bad’ words. They all have a place in this world, and trying to hide and demonize them, only serves to further the ignorance seeping through our society. And you know what that leads to, ladies and gentlemen. Yep, that’s right, Idiocracy! You know it gave you chills too. 
I’d like to think I would’ve learned all of this on my own, but I wonder sometimes if I would’ve. Thankfully, I had a filth elder who taught me the true meaning of a love of language. I only wish I could’ve met him, and thanked him, for being my ambassador of critical thinking. 
Category: About Me, Just talking, Language, Movies, Music
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30 Jun 2008 | By Kat
(originallly posted on my AFF blog)
I believe that one gift I have, is that I am able to see multiple points of view more readily than other people. Is it something I acquired, or is it something I was born with? I don’t know the answer to that. I didn’t even entirely understand it before, but recently it was brought to light. Again, one of the things I learned since I became a manager. And again, it’s not such a great thing to learn.
That probably sounds strange. It’s a gift, right? Well like any gift, I think there’s a bit of curse attached. You see, it sometimes makes it difficult to find how I feel in it all. You’d be amazed how difficult it is, to sort out your own opinion, when you see so much in all sides of the argument. I have to weight things quite carefully sometimes. And I honestly wonder, if that isn’t something else important I’ve learned about myself. I would never be so crass as to refer to my ability as a learning disability, but I hope no one will take offense at developmental impediment. And the development that was impeded? I honestly don’t know that I have good language for this, so forgive me if I walk around it a bit. Lack of understanding of oneself, lack of ability to communicate oratorically (no, I didn’t say orally, get your heads out of the gutter), difficulty in finding a long standing social circle, and lack of accepting of the value of one’s own opinion.
Ok, that sounds really sad, and more than a bit pathetic. Don’t be alarmed. It was just bits and pieces of each, that I realized are developing more slowly than one might expect. But here’s the really interesting bit, I see more and more people, every day, who seem to share a similar affliction. It seems more and more do I pass similarly forming faces. Grown men and women who just can’t quite figure out what they’re doing yet, but they know it’s on the top of their tongue. I see them, and I have hope, that someone is going to finally say or do something, that is going to make us understand our place in this world, and we won’t feel so bad, that it took us so long, to realize how important we will be to the future. Grandiose? Probably sounds like it, but if you see them too, or you are one of them, you know what I mean, don’t you? There are just so many of us, and you know it’s only going to take one little thing, and things will change quite drastically. Of course, the wrong thing could lead to disaster. If you’ve seen The Mist, you know what I mean.
And please, don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the folks who already got it together. But don’t mistake who those people are. The fanatical anythings, as I like to call them, are just more lost than us, not more found than the truly remarkable folks. Who are the remarkable folks? They have included, but were not limited to; George Carlin, Robin williams, Richard Feynman, Lenny Bruce, Martin Luther King Jr., Susan Sarandon, Solon (look him up), Penn Gillette and Teller (no, he does not have a first name anymore ), Kim Gandy, Bill Gates (hate him I might, but he’s got his shit together), John Lennon, Leon Lederman, Lorna Brett Howard, and the entirety of Monty Python.
You might be surprised I didn’t mention Sam Kinison, or Andy Coffman. These are people I believe were on the precipice. I believe these are examples of people who were truly waking up, and didn’t make it through before the passed on. Bobcat Goldwaith made it, but he got the shit kicked out of him before he was through. Donald Trump is, incidentally, one of the remarkable. However, he has chosen to use his knowledge for evil, instead of good. For my geek friends, he’s somewhere between a G’oald and a Ori. While Kevin Smith is somewhere between an Tok’ra and an Alteran. Kevin doesn’t think he’s one of the remarkable people. He thinks he’s as lost the rest of us. Something tells me the illusion is wearing off quickly.
So what’s my point? Damn, I forgot. Just kidding. 
Does it sound passive to say I feel like my ability to understand different points of view affects my ability to be as fully formed as these remarkable people? No, I don’t believe that, and here’s why. All my life I’ve absorbed as much information as I can and so many subjects it would make most of your heads spin. Because of my ability, I have a deep-seated need to learn more and gather as many opinions as I can. I even took the time to watch the Scientology video of Tom Cruise, to try to learn more about it, so perhaps I can understand why their people subscribe to it. Ok, admittedly, bad call. I understood even less then. Honestly, wtf was all that crap about only a Scientologist being able to help at the scene of an accident? What is that boy smoking? And that just goes to show you, if I can’t see any sense in their point of view… I’m just saying. 
I think that my ability makes me strive to be one of the remarkable. And I think that alone makes it ok that it’s taking me longer than some to find the piece of information that will finally remove the haze from in front of my eyes. So, I’ll keep looking. And to prevent onset of Liberal Fatigue (see the onion.com), I’ll watch some more Penn & Teller: Bullshit. It’s educational and fun!
Night friends.
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Category: About Me, Just talking, Language, Psychology, Random Weirdness
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