didn’t work! [but get one here] “no W”
Despite the fact that our twice-elected Crusader-in-Chief is a haiku president.
I didn’t find much consolation in the pomp of this Inauguration Day. Indeed,
given the state of our politics, I felt the need to be especially politically-incorrect.
And, you know what? I had myself quite a few belly laughs (and cheek spasms).
First, I listened to all of George Carlin‘s newest book, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?,
and then I ended the evening thumbing through my John Callahan cartoon collection.
George Carlin has done it again with Pork Chops, and I even forgive
him for usurping some of my favorite topics — e.g., euphemisms, politician-speak, and the
Virgin Birth. I know this book has sold a lot of copies in hardback, but I have no doubt
that listening to Carlin’s delivery on audio cassette or audio CD will enhance your
experience. [I found that the least funny or insightful parts of Pork Chops center on
merely being vulgar, but it was well worth getting through those passages to hear the rest.]
It recently came to my attention that a lot of people have not yet experienced
the work of John Callahan — our most famous, most wickedly-funny paralyzed cartoonist.
[Warning: As the back cover of Best of Callahan (Ballantine Books, 2003) notes: “This book
is not for the timid, the easily offended, the politically correct, or your grandparents” — unless
lawyers. And, check out a few pages from his newest collection Levels of Insanity (2004), which
deal with politics.
Sigh. With Charlie Rose on tv interviewing Newt Gingrich as I type, I just put Jan. 20, 2005,
behind me. I do so with a smile and hope. With Carlin and Callahan around to point out our foibles,
prick our consciences, and make us laugh, America can surely become all it says it wants to be.
the great lord
forced off his horse…
cherry blossoms
the great lord’s wood fire
rises
first
