George Carlin May 12, 1937 - June 22, 2008

He was my favorite comedian. The only ones to come close are Steve Martin (when he was still doing stand up) and Groucho Marx.

I was shocked last night to hear he'd died.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080623/ap_on_en_tv/obit_george_carlin

He will be missed by many, though I can only speak for myself. He wasn't just ONE of the best, he was THE BEST. An influence on how I think of Comedy as well as an influence on my Atheism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_carlin

My favorite quote would probably be this:

"Religion has convinced people that there's an invisible man…living in the sky, who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn't want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer and burn and scream until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you and he needs money."

http://blogzarro.com/?p=226?fk

But this one is pretty good too:

"Here's another question I've been pondering -- what is all this shit about angels? Have you heard this? Three out of four people belive in angels. Are you fucking stupid? Has everybody lost their mind? You know what I think it is? I think it's a massive, collective, psychotic chemical flashback for all the drugs smoked, swallowed, shot, and obsorbed rectally by all Americans from 1960 to 1990. Thirty years of street drugs will get you some fucking angels, my friend!"

and:

"The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a courthouse: You cannot post "Thou shalt not steal," "Thou shalt not commit adultery," and "Thou shalt not lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges, and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment."

http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/carlin.htm