After I wrote my first Things That Make Me Cringe post calling Succession The Big Cringe. I heard from my friend Mr. Cosmic Ray:

“Succession” has nothing on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” in the cringe department! Still the king of cringe, Mr. David.

It’s hard to argue that point after the season finale in which Alexander Vindman plays himself in an episode that parodies Trump Impeachment 1.0. I am not making this up. Here’s a clip as proof:

Curb Your Enthusiasm is the only show I can think of that could benefit from a 9-year gap between season-8 and season-9 followed by a 3-year gap between 9 and 10. That’s a lot of numbers and many, many gaps.

Speaking of gaps:

Neither Larry David nor JB Smoove came up with that song title, but they could have. They’re forever dropping bombs on people. They’re assholes for our time. Most importantly, they make me cringe.

I made myself cringe by forgetting this cringey post from last fall about a cringey kids book written by a cringey wingnut:

All The Children Cringe

My ability to self-link is the stuff of legend in what my old pal and former work wife Liprap calls the blogpocheh. I let down the side. Oh well, what the hell.

You’re probably wonder where this post is going. In addition to straight to hell, it’s time for more things they make me cringe. The cringiest stuff is presented in cringey bullet points, which make me, uh, cringe:

• The inability of political Twitter to take a break from politics. They should follow the example of former presidents Reagan and Obama who took the time between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day off. The news cycle may churn 24-7, but sometimes one needs a break. Overexposure is one thing that doomed the 2020 Trump campaign.

Pete Townshend got it right:

Bad Company missed the mark:

• The way the media gives exposure to rude assholes like Jared Schmeck aka the Let’s Go Brandon guy. After being rude to Joey B Shark, this cretin went on the contemptible Mr. Bannon’s podcast. Schmeck is a schmuck. I’ll let Los Lobos dispatch him:

• The continuing bible banger support for Trumpism even though Trump Junior proclaimed that “the teachings of Jesus have gotten us nothing.” I guess they really think that Pennywise is the second coming or some such stupid shit. Barack Obama was right when he said that some people cling to their guns and religion. They’ve added the Impeached Insult Comedian to the list. The notion of that moron as the messiah makes me sigh-a…

I don’t think Jeff Lynne had false idols in mind when he wrote this song snippet, but I love ELO so here it goes:

• I wish the cringiest event of the week was that short, but they played the whole damn game. My New Orleans Saints were obliged to play and lose a home game with 21 players on the COVID list. It was a farce, which nearly got rookie 4th string QB Ian Book killed because of the makeshift offensive line “blocking” for him. It was as bad as watching Billy Joes Tolliver and Hobert quarterback the Saints during the dismal Ditka days. I am not making the Billy Joe thing up.

My friend Clancy DuBos mock-volunteered to fill the gap. There’s that word again:

So you’re Kamikaze Clancy now?

— Shecky (@Adrastosno) December 28, 2021

FYI, Clancy is one of the sanest, least cringeworthy people I know.

That concludes this cringe-fest. The last word goes to Nick Lowe and Rockpile with a song dedicated to bruised and battered Saints QB Ian Book: