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For years I spent a lot of time working on things that I thought were important but that nobody else seemed to really care about. There was no success involved

For years I spent a lot of time working on things that I thought were important but that nobody else seemed to really care about. There was no success involved in doing this. Procrastination was irrelevant. There's no correlation between working hard and 'success' in terms of revenue generation. As far as Seinfeld, he was pretty tepid and his work didn't threaten the corporate heirarchy and so he was 'successful'. Has he ever done anything memorable? People are still watching George Carlin. Seinfeld will be forgotten in a few years. He just found a niche that the corporatocracy liked. Now, the whole thing I was so interested in 20 years ago is really taking off. I feel rather vindicated, so I guess that's success? I never really felt that 'success' had much to do with revenue generation. {edit: the fundamental nature of comedy can be seen in the old 'the emperor wears no clothes' routine. Seinfeld would never dream of doing that routine - that's why he made so much money. The Emperor likes that kind of comedy...}

imgabe 4y ago
> Has he ever done anything memorable? Yes, his sitcom influenced a generation of TV and was one of the most highly rated and watched shows of all time. It introduced a number of phrases that are still part of the common lingo. He was at the forefront of the "observational" style humor. You don't have to "threaten the corporate hierarchy" to be funny, you just have to be funny. I love Carlin too, and Bill Hicks and a lot of other comedians that are known for criticizing the establishment. They're funny too, but that's not the only way to be funny. Comedy is about being funny, not just being edgy.
- BLKNSLVR 4y ago
  This is through rose-coloured glasses because I was at the right age for Seinfeld to be televised during my defining youth period - where music, movies, TV shows, etc. are remembered fondly forever. I've recently watched a few Seinfeld episodes again, after a long Seinfeld-hiatus and a lot of TV experience throughout that time, and Seinfeld as a TV show holds up magnificently today. The density and weaving of the story-arcs is unbelievably clever, but also consistently unbelievably clever through so many episodes. Seinfeld makes most other TV shows seem boringly linear, even 20-odd years later. Rick and Morty is competitive with Seinfeld on density of story-arc, and that's saying something. (all of this is subjective, and, as I disclaimed above, through my rose-coloured glasses memory of Seinfeld)
- owlninja 4y ago
  Well said. I appreciate the disruptive, philosophical, or societal-norm breaking comedians - but Jerry stuck to his bit and executes it well. I also really appreciated his respect for the art of comedy after watching his 'comedians in cars getting coffee' series. I imagine the Seinfeld show will stream into perpetuity. I still watch it occasionally and laugh despite being able to quote every line.
- photochemsyn 4y ago
  Seinfeld never threatened the interests of the advertisers and owners, that's why he made so much money. And, that's why he's forgettable.
  - imgabe 4y ago
    Well, most people remember who Seinfeld is and millions of people still quote the show, so reality disagrees with you on what is and is not forgettable, but go on raging against the machine, I guess.
  - knorker 4y ago
    Forgettable in the same way that The Wizard of Oz or Citizen Kane is forgettable. That's to say: only to the extent that you don't even understand how it shaped so much else. People today don't even know when they're using expressions from these (we're not in Kansas anymore, not that there's anything wrong with that), when they've not even seen the original material. tl;dr: to a fish, water is forgettable.

imgabe 4y ago

> Has he ever done anything memorable? Yes, his sitcom influenced a generation of TV and was one of the most highly rated and watched shows of all time. It introduced a number of phrases that are still part of the common lingo. He was at the forefront of the "observational" style humor. You don't have to "threaten the corporate hierarchy" to be funny, you just have to be funny. I love Carlin too, and Bill Hicks and a lot of other comedians that are known for criticizing the establishment. They're funny too, but that's not the only way to be funny. Comedy is about being funny, not just being edgy.

BLKNSLVR 4y ago
This is through rose-coloured glasses because I was at the right age for Seinfeld to be televised during my defining youth period - where music, movies, TV shows, etc. are remembered fondly forever. I've recently watched a few Seinfeld episodes again, after a long Seinfeld-hiatus and a lot of TV experience throughout that time, and Seinfeld as a TV show holds up magnificently today. The density and weaving of the story-arcs is unbelievably clever, but also consistently unbelievably clever through so many episodes. Seinfeld makes most other TV shows seem boringly linear, even 20-odd years later. Rick and Morty is competitive with Seinfeld on density of story-arc, and that's saying something. (all of this is subjective, and, as I disclaimed above, through my rose-coloured glasses memory of Seinfeld)
owlninja 4y ago
Well said. I appreciate the disruptive, philosophical, or societal-norm breaking comedians - but Jerry stuck to his bit and executes it well. I also really appreciated his respect for the art of comedy after watching his 'comedians in cars getting coffee' series. I imagine the Seinfeld show will stream into perpetuity. I still watch it occasionally and laugh despite being able to quote every line.
photochemsyn 4y ago
Seinfeld never threatened the interests of the advertisers and owners, that's why he made so much money. And, that's why he's forgettable.
- imgabe 4y ago
  Well, most people remember who Seinfeld is and millions of people still quote the show, so reality disagrees with you on what is and is not forgettable, but go on raging against the machine, I guess.
- knorker 4y ago
  Forgettable in the same way that The Wizard of Oz or Citizen Kane is forgettable. That's to say: only to the extent that you don't even understand how it shaped so much else. People today don't even know when they're using expressions from these (we're not in Kansas anymore, not that there's anything wrong with that), when they've not even seen the original material. tl;dr: to a fish, water is forgettable.