"Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good," is a Superb Book About Larry David and His Works

Author Josh Levin has published, via ECW Press, a fantastic book all about Larry David and his works. Titled, "Pretty Pretty, Pretty Good: Tlary David and the Making of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm," it is a bit of a biography, a bit of an episode guide, and 100% full of Larry David--in all his positives and negatives! I had a ball reading it over the holiday season when I needed a break from all the hustle and bustle. There is a bit of a focus on young Larry and the creation/massive popularity of, "Seinfeld," is discussed, but the majority of the book focuses on his other masterpiece besides, "The Show About Nothing," his improv-heavy joy, "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

The early inspiration, the creation, and the gleeful nastiness of, "Curb," are all covered. We learn about how the cast formed, to where the jaunty jingle at the open and close of each episode came from, how HBO was quite at David's mercy in regards to when exactly seasons got made, and so forth. Controversies are not skimmed over (a chunk of the cast did face some scandals later on from Jeff Garlin being accused of inappropriate remarks on the set of another show he did, to how Larry's fictional wife, Cheryl Hines, later married a known vaccine-denier/danger to society's well-being, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Even with certain depressing elements taken into account, that does not take away from how amazing, "Curb Your Enthusiasm," is and why the show is worth spending a large chunk of this book covering.

"Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Good," has a guide to every single episode of, "Curb," which can be handy if you don't quite remember which season features a particular bit or just want an enjoyable trip down memory lane looking at highlights. It does not seem as if David plans to make more, "Curb," although he does have a new project in the works for HBO (a mysteriously untitled, six-episode American history sketch comedy series). Reading all about Larry David, "Seinfeld," and especially about, "Curb Your Enthusiasm," is great fun in Levin's book. I'd encourage you to ask your local store to order you a copy, ask your library to get a copy, or you can visit the ECW website for plenty of purchasing options.

5 out of 5 Stars.

December 2025 Links, News, and Other Goodness

We're into December now, and a variety of interesting things continue to happen. Some of this news doesn't need a whole post, so why do a bit of a round-up? It gives you something to read between all the storms, at least.

Alan Moore is launching his own record label, "Other Shoe." The first featured band with a release will be a group called 72%. As much as I'd like for Moore to craft comics, I know the industry in general did him dirty and he'd rather write novels or do other fun projects such as this, so I'm happy for him.

The, "Postal," series of games has a messy history. I legitimatley enjoyed the surreal open world of, "Postal 2," and found the Boss Fight Books history of the franchise fascinating. A new game was just announced within the brand and then canceled within a few days due to controversy over AI generation being used in the game. I guess even those who enjoy the anti-PC/edgy/"Anti-woke," humor of Postal have their limits. As it is, "Postal: Bullet Paradise," is now DOA.

More gaming news, with it noted that, "Animal Crossing: Wild World," came out 20 years ago and was arguably the game that took the brand from being somewhat popular to a huge name.

The screenwriter behind, "Dude Where's My Car?" wrote an intriguing essay examining his time in Hollywood and how some of the movie holds up well, and other aspects are a bit cringe-inducing today. It is far from a perfect movie, but it definitely is fun.

Comics had a great year in 2025, by many accounts. Getting raw data has proven tricky these days, however. Tangible metrics would be helpful.

"The Beauty," was an interesting comic about a sexually transmitted disease that causes people to become good-looking and otherwise seems harmless, but (obviously) is not. Ryan Murphy has turned it into a show that'll be hitting FX and Hulu this January 21st. Murphy is incredibly hit-or-miss, but I'll check it out.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is insanely unqualified to be our Health and Human Services Secretary, but he continues to do that job and harm our country. His latest move was getting an advisory council he picked much of to vote against giving a perfectly safe Hepatitis B vaccine to newborns.

I greatly enjoy watching, "Plur1bus/Pluribus," and cracked up at a recent celebrity cameo in the most recent episode. If you have AppleTV, it really is worth checking out.

Finally, this article by Katie Rife discusses how the re-release of both, "Kill Bill," flicks as, "Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair," illustrates the best and worst of Quentin Tarantino. It is a movie with some definite highlights and issues, that's for sure.

Aaron Rodgers: Fun & Quirky Guy With Eccentric Beliefs or Dangerous Conspiracy Zealot? Both?

The most dangerous thing about Aaron Rodgers is he's someone who feels easy to like. He has an easy-going and fun air about him that resulted in folks enjoying him temporarily hosting, "Jeaporady," when the show needed a new host and was trying people out. He's an amazing quarterback who will end up in the Hall of Fame when he retires and he is the best chance The New York Jets have to get anywhere near a Super Bowl in the foreseeable future. Aaron Rodgers also seems to believe in conspiracy theories about mass shootings and has a distrust of vaccines that is less based in science than utter nonsense--the kind of  views that can get people killed when they get sick with easily prevented illnesses. We know these things because Aaron Rodgers likes to talk. 

Aaron Rodgers enjoys discussing fun things even if they are a bit out there (he has a UFO story) with folks on television or podcasts just as much as he likes to ramble about things that make him sound like he stepped well over the line of, "Eccentric," into, "Unhinged," awhile ago---saying that the COVID-19 vaccine alters your genes, for example. He gets away with a lot because he's weirdly charming and because the Jets need him. This leads to, as Nora Princiotti of The Ringer puts it, "The Curious Case of Aaron Rodgers." If he's, "Just," a quarterback he is allowed to have any beliefs he would like. After all, we as humans can think whatever we want and tell our friends or even strangers those views. When does he go from a guy with some eccentric beliefs to dangerous, however? If he runs for political office (RFK Jr. apparently considered Rodgers for his Vice President pick during his ill-fated run)? If people take him as some kind of expert on vaccines even though he clearly is not? 

One must also ask if the, "Step too far," goes back a couple steps the better he is at football? Meaning, can an Aaron Rodgers who somehow helps the Jets win a Super Bowl (hey, it could theoretically happen) get away with a lot more than an Aaron Rodgers who can't even get them to the playoffs? I don't think anyone can say for sure what's too much until Rodgers does make that one statement that breaks everything.

Rodgers does know people listen. He does regret some things he says. Is an affable personality and playing football really, really well going to be enough to keep Rodgers out of hot water, however, or will this metaphorical pot eventually boil over? We've just started this NFL season, so we've got a ways to go to find out.