Wishing you and you family a very, very happy holiday season. And if you don’t relate to an established holiday, may I suggest Festivus?

Popularized by Seinfeld in the 1990s, it has become a holiday meme of all memes. Years ago, my roommate and I hosted Festivus parties, featuring nearly all of the required elements:

- Metal pole

- Wall of Grievances (instead of telling everyone, you wrote them on the wall…brilliant!)

- Feats of strength

- A distinct lack of tinsel

Maybe one day we’ll dust it off again…

In fairly recent times, you contacted your friends and family by calling their home phone.  And if they weren’t home, you left them a message on their answering machine.

When they returned from their errand or event or outing, they would return the call immediately.  If it took longer than a day, you would assume the person was out of town on business or vacation.

I was reminded of this “old school” mentality over the weekend.  My wife called her grandfather Saturday morning and left a message.  He returned the call when he got home Saturday evening.  She didn’t answer her cell phone, as we were at a dinner party.

On Sunday morning, a scant 12 hours later, he called again.  It was REALLY early in the morning, so she didn’t answer, and he left a message about how we must be out of town since we didn’t return his call.

When I heard the message, I giggled.  Like many people right now, we’ve consolidated phone lines, using our cell phone in lieu of a land line.  In short – we can NEVER be out of town when it comes to phone calls, since the phone comes with us everywhere.  And the phone is our e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, web browser, GPS and more.

So here we are in 2011, everyone instantly accessible by everyone.  We live under a new paradigm of communication.

We take our everything everywhere.  And, for the most part, we look at it as more convenience and safety-driven than an opening act to a dystopian future. But “big brother” ramifications aside, it is amazing how wired we are, 24/7/365.  A miracle of science and a curse of technology all at the same time.

My question to you is how in the world do you unplug?  CAN you unplug?  And do you even want to anymore?

It’s happened to all of us before.

Maybe you’ve waited for hours for a table at a Chinese restaurant, while other parties get seated ahead of you.  Maybe you forgot the name of someone you’re dating (Delores, BTW).  Or maybe your answering machine message sounds like a cover of a TV theme song.

We call these “Seinfeld Moments,” because they intricately mimic situations from “Seinfeld,” the popular TV comedy.  (Note – “Seinfeld” was compared to Twitter on this site earlier.)

Imagine my shock, then, when I arrived in Nashville this morning and went to pick up my rental car, and the following “Seinfeld Moment” happened nearly word-for-word:

I won’t name-drop the car rental company, because they did provide excellent customer service and usually provide terrific vehicles for me to use on my trips.

Needless to say, it was quite strange to live a “Seinfeld Moment.”

What moments from the show have you lived?

Note – You may not be able to handle this post.  That’s OK.  It’s not for everyone.

I throw around the word “awesome” quite often.

However, I feel I have let you down by not defining it, in a pop culture context.

“Awesome” things in pop culture are things you see and your only thought is “DUDE, THAT WAS AWESOME!”

Whew.  Glad I got that off my chest.

So now, to further clarify, here are some videos that are AWESOME.

And let’s end this list right about where we started it:

Was there really any other image I could use here?

A few weeks ago, our cable and Internet went out for a few days. We usually watch some TV before bed, so with TV not an option, I popped in a Seinfeld DVD. Then another. And another. And another.

Over the past 14 nights, I’ve seen about 35-40 episodes of one of the greatest TV shows in history. Of course, I’ve seen them all before several times, but not for a few years.

My conclusion – Seinfeld is Twitter. And Twitter is Seinfeld.

Seinfeld was a TV show about everyday life.

Twitter allows us to share everyday life with an audience (who is also experiencing it).

Think about it, how many Tweets a day are about something funny you overheard, waiting for public transportation, little annoyances or…waiting to be seated at a Chinese restaurant?  MILLIONS!

Is Twitter so popular because we can all share “Seinfeld” moments together?

Here are some examples of how popular Seinfeld exchanges would go on Twitter (note, the handles are fake):

CantStandYa: @PuffyShirtJerry How did it go with the girl? #FlavorOfTheWeek

PuffyShirtJerry: d CantStandYa It’s over. Apparently, they’re real…and they’re spectacular

CantStandYa: d PuffyShirtJerry can’t win em all, my friend

———————

MsElaineBenes: @KosmoKramer @CantStandYa What are you doing for lunch today?

KosmoKramer: @MsElaineBenesAll I can think about is Roasters! KENNY ROGERS ROASTERS! FTW!

———————

REAL_SoupNazi: @MsElaineBenes You are banned! SIX WEEKS!

MsElaineBenes: @REAL_SoupNazi I hate you!  And your soup!

PuffyShirtJerry: It’s THE BEST!  I love you @REAL_SoupNazi

———————

PuffyShirtJerry: Anyone around for a Christmas/Hanukah shindig?

CantStandYa: @PuffyShirtJerry You know I have Festivus dinner with my parents

KosmoKramer: @CantStandYa Ohhh…I’m feelin that! Feats of strength…eeeyah! cc @PuffyShirtJerry

——————–

Mailman69: Hello @PuffyShirtJerry

PuffyShirtJerry: @Mailman69 Hello, Newman.

——————-

I could go on, but you get the point.

Back to the theory though: Seinfeld was so popular because it covered our common culture.  Yes, it was a show about “nothing,” but it was really a show about EVERYTHING.  Love, work, friends, the city – nothing was off limits.  The show could take us inside a shower (who could forget the low water pressure episode?) and around the world (I remember a trip to India in there somewhere…).  It took us from dietary preferences (everyone loves muffin tops!) to strange diseases (Bubble Boy, anyone?).

Sounds strangely like a popular mobile social network, right?

Twitter can be profound and profane, mundane and megalomaniacal.  We complain when we can’t find a place to park.  We TwitPic bad haircuts.  We  share random observations of the world.  We are real.

And that reality, Seinfeld’s and Twitter’s is what is so compelling.  A reality where nothing really is everything.

Let me leave you with two of my favorite moments in Seinfeld history. Enjoy!

It does not get much better than this.