Arriving late and not knowing where to begin, I probably shouldn't.   But what the hell............

I loved Lenny. He was far more stand-up philosopher than comedian. He never did what is generally referred to as a routine as they continually changed with every performance and their was nothing "routine" about them. Some can be thought of as "bits" or "routines" simply because they operated on the same vague outline in his mind and they pointed off in the same general direction, sometimes but not always, ending in similar places.

The general direction of the "bit" Jim quoted above was, like most, multifold. We are sensitised to words to the point that they can completely stop any thought process relating to discourse. Words carry power. Certain words carry excessive power. The question is, should they? The next question is, can we take away the power of a word by using it in all sorts of forms and show just how stupid it is and by that usage can we remove the sensitivity.

Lenny had a lot of material along similar lines and also along religious lines, sexual/sexist lines..........Lenny Bruce may have been the ultimate free thinker and believer in complete integration of ALL things. Sadly, we tend to remember Lenny, if at all, for bringing "dirty words" to the stage instead of remembering the depth of thought and ideas he brought there instead.

As to Michael Richards, I too would need to see more and hear better to judge but if he thought of Lenny, the thoughts were pretty fleeting and he was allowed to be sidetracked it seems. Lenny had plenty of walkouts but he had an audience wrapped up overall and took whatever time he needed to develop his thoughts. Like Sins, I've been to some of the clubs where the heckling is brutal for even the most seasoned vets. A longer tape with better quality would be great.

We don't seem to have one though do we? So I can't judge. As Lenny said, "There is only what is; what should be never existed."

Spaw