George Carlin, 71, Irreverent Standup Comedian, Is Dead - NYTimes

he probably wouldn't approve of my sentimentality right now, but man this hurts..
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bill cosby was my first taste of live stand-up. my dad treated me to a show when i was nary a kid - it must have been the late sixties, and the venue was the then relatively new 'salle wilfrid pelletier'. i remember the opening act was sarah vaughn; i'll give cosby that credit - he always stood his ground when it came to educating the crowds about jazz, and it sure worked on me. but his comedy wore off - it was too clean and childish, especially once senior high school crept into my life. from then on (monty-python magic-mushroom trips notwithstanding) it was all carlin, and somehow the guy never lost it. ironically i watched 'it's bad for ya' just a few weeks ago. it was to be his last tv special and it was a killer. so try not to cry and watch whatever you can - forever. mm

Flickr: The Commons

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speaking of flickr (previous entry), there's a new(ish) address on their site which features public photo archives from the likes of the library of congress, smithsonian, george eastman house, et al. you can browse some classic stuff here, and flickr is also soliciting descriptions, or 'notes', on the museums' behalf for each image, should you have something to add. i've been getting a particular kick out of the brooklyn museum's vault. definitely sunday morning coffee and a laptop stuff. mm
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courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum