"My job is thinking about goofy sh--," declares George Carlin, the ever-reflective absurdist and star of "George Carlin Again". The second in Carlin's long string of HBO specials since 1977, "Again" (1978) finds the once buttoned-down comic performing in the round and musing, as is his wont, on many vital issues of the day. What, for example, do restaurants do with the rest of a frog after cooking its legs? Who empties the coins out of wishing wells? To the delight of his Phoenix audience, Carlin also takes a detour into pop philosophy with a look at our relationship with time ("There is no 'now.' It could be the middle of last month for all we know.") and death ("Everybody gets a two-minute warning. Try to use yours to die big."). Oddly, a nostalgic reprise of the Hippie-Dippie Weatherman from Carlin's early career falls flat; the comedian senses it and segues into a more trenchant and daring bit about dirty words and American law. This is not a monologue for the faint of heart, but Carlin fanatics will be pleased. "--Tom Keogh"