George Carlin’s legendary “Seven Words You Can’t Say on Television” isn’t often remembered for its philosophical value. At least my brothers and I couldn’t convince my father that it had any when he caught us playing the album one Good Friday when we were home from school. But before Carlin launched into the litany of the forbidden seven, he made the observation about words that headlines this post. It might be a little bit too much of an absolute, but I agree with him in principle. This video is a snapshot of my own obsession with words — which started before I could read — and a nod to Carlin, one of the greatest word ninjas ever.