Chris Brandrick

Curb Your Enthusiasm is a show I have a lot of love for. 

I can't entirely recall when I first got into the HBO show, but I started picking up the DVDs around the time of season three or four I think. The fact I'm even talking about DVDs at all should give you a good idea of how long ago we're talking about here.

Anyway, the show, fronted by the now 76 year old Larry David, is finally coming to an end after a two decade plus run. 

As with any show, some seasons are better than others, and Curb is no different — but on the whole its presence has been an occasional fun distraction and something of an indulgence to the question of "what if I said what I was really thinking here?".

With the show wrapping up, two of the stars have come together for the inevitable tie-in podcast. Jeff Garlin and Susie Essman are running through the 120 episodes of the 12 seasons. I've just got done listening to the first, and it's looking like it's going to be a treat for any die-hard fan. 

The rewatch podcast is called 'The History of Curb Your Enthusiasm', and there's also a related YouTube channel if you'd rather watch things. 

I dig it. Here's hoping the new season is pretty, pretty good. 

I've been following Mr Bingo for years now — he's an artist who does whatever he pleases (having decided to stop taking client work and instead just do whatever amused him). 

I've got a few pieces from him, including this tea towel (bought when I was still angry at those who bought about the fundamental, awful change to the UK that is Brexit), and his concrete gravestone reminding me to have fun — something I need to listen to more. 

Anyway, all of this is to say that Mr Bingo took last year (2023) off — and instead just went traveling, with no plan. It's a serendipitous approach to seeing the world that I'd like to replicate. 

He's recently just shared a bunch of observations from his travels (55 to be precise) and they're worth checking out I'd say. Who doesn't like a list. 

Here are a few that spoke to me:

• The wrong decision is better than no decision.
  
• The limited options of a village can be kinder to your brain than the often stressful ‘choice paralysis’ of a city.
• It’s nice to spend your money while you’re alive rather than constantly save for an uncertain future.
  
• If you go travelling for a year, you might not ‘find yourself’ but you will certainly find out quite a few things about yourself.
  
• There is no such thing as a boring person, you just don’t know how to extract the right information from them.