Big Daddy Gouda

I’ve been feeling a bit blue lately. Nothing helps me up when I’m down more than taking solace in the troubles of others. It helps when you see others who have it worse off than you do. For me, even when those “others” are fictional characters, it still seems to do the trick.

I believe Lisa Simpson once accused  Homer of this behavior after he seemed delighted that Ned Flanders was depressed after the Leftorium faced bankruptcy.  She called it Schadenfreude.

Lately, I’ve been sucked in to the pain and misery that is Walter White, the main character in the AMC show Breaking Bad.

Breaking Bad follows  White (Bryan Cranston, the dad from Malcolm in the Middle), a chemistry teacher who lives in New Mexico with his wife (Anna Gunn) and teenage son (RJ Mitte) who has cerebral palsy. White is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of two years left to live. With a new sense of fearlessness based on his medical prognosis, and a desire to secure his family’s financial security, White chooses to enter a dangerous world of drugs and crime and ascends to power in this world. The series explores how a fatal diagnosis such as White’s releases a typical man from the daily concerns and constraints of normal society and follows his transformation from mild family man to a kingpin of the crystal meth drug trade.

I’m completely enamored by this show. It only took two episodes to completely suck me in. Season one is available on DVD. Season two is currently two episodes deep on AMC and runs Sunday nights at 10 p.m. I highly, highly, recommend it.

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I’ve also been reading A Million Little Pieces, the semi-autobiographical memoir from James Frey, a 22-year-old alcoholic and drug abuser, sent to rehab by his parents, where he is told if he uses drugs and alcohol again, he will, in all likely hood, die.

One chapter in the book deals with James in the dentist office, getting his teeth repaired and, because he is an addict, is not allowed anesthesia or pain killers. They have to strap him in to the chair as his gums are drilled and his teeth are torn out. James believes he deserves this torture because he is “An alcoholic. A drug additct. A criminal.” I honestly got nauseous reading it.

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So if you’re looking for the next big thing on TV, pick up Breaking Bad  season one on DVD and if you’re looking for a book, I can’t speak any “higher” of A Million Little Pieces.

If you’re having a bad day, week, month, or life in general, the story of a dying meth dealer and a recovering crack addict will surely brighten your spirits and maybe you’ll think twice before complaining because the temperature outside isn’t just right.

This entry was posted on March 19, 2009 at 3:18 am and is filed under Stuff . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.