Virginia Breeze

Larry David is getting a divorce from his wife in real life. So what does he do? He writes this same scenario into his HBO series and is having marital problems there. Here’s what happened back in July:

David’s TV wife, Cheryl Hines, is also an environmental activist. Since his art imitates his life, does that mean she won’t be back for another season? Turning to Hines, David teased, “Oh, it’s too bad you’re going to be off the show in the seventh season. What a shame! It’s a good idea for the seventh season, by the way.”

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20046151,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines

What a guy! I wonder how much pain something like this causes a guy who is in David’s situation. I can remember the problems associated with divorce quite well. Whether it has to do with money or the children the pain is intense and it lasts a long time. But I watched an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm last night and the feeling I got was that it’s not painful so much as it is an inconvenience. What if your cleaning lady goes with your wife? You have to find another one!! Oh, God I don’t know if i can make it.

On the show all of Larry’s friends are choosing his wife and her new boyfriend instead of him. Now there’s a surprise! I want to see if his agent, Jeff, decides to go with his wife on the show. That’s the only thing that isn’t going to be totally predictable. Jeff knows enough to agree with Larry on most issues and sometimes he doesn’t have to try too very hard because he is a jerk in his own right. When the two of them are together you hardly notice that each one of them is insane. They sort of cancel each other out.

So it appears that Larry’s divorces aren’t slowing him down at all. Big Hollywood guys have a line of girls waiting to date them and it’s the same for the girls. This is so different from the reality of the average person it just boggles my mind sometimes when I think about it. We went to a James Taylor concert awhile ago and were talking about him after the show. I told Beth that his life was so different from mine I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like over the past thirty years. I am envious to some degree. But I also realize I am much happier being the person I am today than the one I was thirty years ago. And if it hadn’t been for a lot of pain I never would have changed. That is how we change most of the time. Isn’t it true? Or do we suddenly go through major changes in our personalities and our thoughts and habits without pain?

I am pretty tired of Larry these days and don’t think I would watch him except that Beth likes the show. I have already baled out on her and Survivor. And I don’t watch the dance reality show or the band reality show. I really don’t watch much television and stay glued to the computer where I can fight back and write negative things about Hollywood guys with 200 million dollars. Or 100 million after the divorce. Whatever. It’s still quite a chunk of change and enough money to have anything you want delivered to your house while you relax inside.

I just wonder what it’s going to be like when Larry and the rest of the Hollywood crowd gets really old and suddenly finds its not so easy to buy your way out of your problems. There are medical conditions out there that really don’t respond to anything cash can do. Sure there is medicine but it doesn’t cure anything and things still hurt. And eventually there is the grim reaper who isn’t at all impressed with Hollywood guys or anybody else.

So enjoy it while you can. But what if we really are here to learn something on this earth? What if it matters in some way? I guess it is too much to hope that Larry might do an episode some day where he actually learns something. So that his character is slightly different after that. Because I am getting tired of Larry. And his wife and all his friends are getting tired of him. The world is tired of him but it still tunes in to watch and make him more millions of dollars.

There’s something very odd about all of this. He obviously has figured out something on his way to the bank. And I still don’t have a clue what it is. Do we tune in just to laugh at Larry and pat ourselves on the back because our social skills are more advanced than his? Or do we just want to slow down and watch the human train wreck go about his business? I don’t know. Maybe I’ll try to find an article about Jerry Seinfeld or Kramer and see what they have to say about it. Oh wait. Nix that last thought. We might discover something if we listen to Jerry. But Kramer has his own problems.

Comedians! Can’t live with them. And can’t live without them.

Update: (From TrustedAdvisor associates)

“The fun, of course, is that David is merely more honest than the rest of us. We can laugh at him without directly facing the social pain that his behaviors cause us when we commit them—which we do, all the time. He is our public court jester. He speaks the truth in a socially acceptable manner—as comedy, with a subtext we needn’t publicly acknowledge. But we know it. He’s doing public self-psycho-analysis, and we’re along for the ride.”

“That’s why he’s a hit with mental patients—and with the rest of us too. We’re not qualitatively different—it’s just a matter of degree. “Sanity” is a wispy line; it’s hard to say where the hill ends and the mountain begins.”
. –Charles H. Green

Well there you go! Mr. Green has written an insightful and fascinating essay about Larry. If you are a tortured fan of his show like I am or just a fan you probably will enjoy this article. It can be found in its entirety here:

http://trustedadvisor.com/blog/271/Larry-David–Seinfeld-and-Social-Networking

Jordin Sparks is on the American Music Awards program tonight. I don’t think she has performed. I hope to God they let her perform.

The Redskins lost again after putting up a decent fight against the Cowboys. They had a chance to win as the fourth quarter rolled around. But their young quarterback Jason Campbell threw an interception to end all hope. He threw it right to the guy. You could tell he was going to give the ball up. He had that deer in the headlights look. “OMG, what am I doing here. I have a chance to win?? That’s too much pressure. Maybe I will just give the ball to the Cowboys and go hide somewhere. ” And that’s what he did. The Redskins are about three players short of having a great team. One of those positions is the quarterback.

I filled the tank up after dinner tonight. Gas is three dollars a gallon now. It cost forty dollars to fill ‘er up. That seems like a lot of money for a tank of gas. We are probably going to have a recession of gas stays up here or goes up more.

It sounds like Satan is singing on the music awards show in the next room. It might be Neyo. That’s what Beth is telling me. We are trying to talk to each other through the wall. I don’t want to go in there if Satan has taken over our family room.

It’s time to start thinking about Christmas shopping again. Right now is the time to decide. Is it going to be smart shopping this year or business as usual? I can’t decide. Maybe I will decide tomorrow. Or maybe I will wait until December 20th to decide.

Waiting that long is basically making the decision isn’t it? Why do we have this holiday? I like the food and the Christmas lights. But the gift giving is too weird. Everything is too commercial.

We watched Larry David and Curb Your Enthusiasm last night. Larry is having marital problems. It has never been clear why his wife puts up with him alienating everyone week after week. Unless it’s the money. He has 200 million apparently. They should put that in one of the scripts. They did hint around about it when he died and went to heaven to see Dustin Hoffman and Marilyn. But they should come out with it very soon and quit dancing around the issue. Larry, you have a much younger wife because you are rich and now after a decent interval she is going to divorce you and get half of the 200 million. Nobody wants to be around you. Your friends dislike you. Maybe your father likes you. But that’s about it.

And this is one of my favorite television shows. Pitiful. But we are moving beyond television in the 21st century. It’s time has passed. We are too busy and we all have computers when we are not running around. When you relax where do you go most of the time? To your computer or your television?

Thankfully television is losing its power over us. We are fighting back with our keyboards. We will win this battle.

That’s about it for now. Maybe Jordin will sing soon. Her CD is coming out in two days. But I have to wait until someone gives it to me for Christmas. Jordin you looked remarkably like an angel on the show but all you got to do was read a few lines. And you were the best thing in the show. If you see Satan back stage would you do me a favor and slay him with a bolt of lightening. He gives me migraine headaches once in awhile and I know they would stop if he was gone.

Also do you think maybe I could interview you for this weblog? I’m sure at least fifty people would see it. I will fly out. Just tell me where and when.

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More Writing

http://davidnotes.com/2008/01/26/mr-spock-did-not-complain/

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My wife loves Larry David. And that’s fine with me. Because she thinks I am Larry David. And I can see some slight resemblance especially when I have to stand in line behind someone who feels they must cash a check while buying their groceries.

We both enjoy watching his show on HBO. It’s an unusual comedy.

In any case there is an interesting article in The New Yorker about Larry. It goes into some detail about his life before Seinfeld. It is not surprising to find out that he had some difficulty along the way when it came to fitting into the activities of daily living. He was somewhat of a stain on the social fabric.

But he persevered. And he got along well with Jerry Seinfeld. They were friends and Jerry fits in very well. If he hadn’t run into Jerry he probably would still be driving a cab in NY City instead of enjoying fame and 200 million dollars out in Hollywood.

If you like Curb Your Enthusiasm you will probably enjoy this article.

Maybe I should work Larry David and Davidlind into the blog title together?

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/01/19/040119fa_fact

Further Entertainment/ Dr Davidlind……..

Takes On A Migraine Headache

http://davidnotes.com/2007/10/04/entertainment-dr-davidlind/