Breaking Bad Tribute

Like many people, I’ve been completely sucked into the popular AMC TV show, Breaking Bad.  With the final episode of the final season in the horizon, I wanted to share my favorite articles, videos, and podcasts that I’ve come across.  Some are entertaining, some are funny, and some actually enhance the show.  But, keep in mind – almost all of the links will include some kind of spoiler if you’re not caught up with the last season!

Also like many people, I “binge watched” Breaking Bad starting in 2012.  I flew through the first 4 Seasons to catch up before Season 5 started in July of that year.  It’s amazing how addicting the show is and yet it has still gotten better every season.  Without further ado…

Breaking Bad Links

• Comprehensive yet funny recap of the first five season on Honest Trailers.
• The Breaking Bad Podcast – I’ve only listened to two episodes, but they were very interesting.  Vince Gilligan and other people involved in the show discuss how they write it and how they shoot it.  Very much behind the scenes, but no spoilers.
• This video explains why I can’t stop telling people about Breaking Bad.
• Hilarious, yet accurate, breakdown by The Oatmeal on what significance hair plays in Breaking Bad.
• Can you name all of the characters who have been in Seinfeld AND Breaking Bad?  There’s probably more than you think!
  
• After I watched this video, I couldn’t stop singing the new version of this song.  And despite the protests from my kids, whenever it comes on the radio, I sing this new version!  “Breaking Swift” – Taylor Swift song parody “We are Never Ever Going to Cook Together”
• Another parody – very clever!  Jimmy Fallon: Joking Bad
• One of my favorite websites, Quora, has numerous topics and questions on Breaking Bad like What are the best Breaking Bad memes and Breaking Bad (TV Series).

Breaking Bad Recaps on Grantland.com

Last, and certainly not least are the recap articles that Andy Greenwald writes on Grantland every Monday.  I simply can’t recommend these articles enough.  He dissects each episode and interjects some brilliant insight, all while waxing poetic.  Unfortunately he didn’t start until Season 5, but for your reading pleasure, I’ve listed them all here.  I would suggest going back and reading some of the old ones!

• 501 – Live Free or Die
• 502 – Madrigal
• 503 – Hazard Pay
• 504 – Fifty-One
• 505 – Dead Freight
• 506 – Buyout
• 507 – Say My Name
• 508 – Gliding Over All
• Final Season Preview
• 509 – Blood Money
• 510 – Buried
• 511 – Confessions
• 512 – Rabid Dog
• 513 – To’hajiilee
• 514 – Ozymandias
• 515 – Granite State
• 516 – Felina

If anyone has any other links they like, please add them in the comments!  I’m sure there’s a lot of other great material out there and once the show is over, I know us fans will be craving anything we can to relive the show.

“I am the one who blogs”…

*Update*

Here are some additional links I’ve come across since the show ended:

• The Walter White version of the Frank Sinatra hit song, “My Way”.  Insane how much time it must have taken to make this.  Fun retrospective, though.
• Nice recap of Felina by SB Nation… especially #7!
• Website Vulture.com recapped their 11 favorite Breaking Bad episodes
• Grantland’s ‘Breaking Bad’ In Memoriam – comprehensive look back on everyone who died.  Sad!

Tough Mudder is Here!

That video gets you pumped up, doesn’t it!?  Or you may think it’s just crazy.  Either way, I’ve been looking forward to trying out the Tough Mudder (wiki) ever since the July 2012 announcement that one was coming to Buffalo in 2013.  When registration opened in September 2012, I signed up the first day.  I don’t know what it is about the Mudder, but it’s drawn me in from the beginning.  Being in my mid-30s and never having been a person who does really crazy things, I feel I have a void to fill, I guess.  I still play competitive soccer and run 5ks, but the Mudder takes competition to a whole new level.  But that’s not accurate either because it’s not a timed race.  It’s meant to be a team-building event as well as a personal challenge.  The competition is within yourself and your preparation, determination, and grit.  I guess my biggest motivating factor is proving to myself that I can do it!

Tough Mudder Buffalo 2013

The Course

This whole thing became real when they published the official “Spectator Map” which shows the layout of the course as well as what particular obstacles they’ve chosen to include.  Click on the image to the right to see a full pdf of the map!

You’re not reading it wrong – over 11 miles through Andover, NY with 15+ obstacles in the way.  Scroll down to the second page of the map to see photos and names of each of the obstacles we’ll be challenged with.  To see even more, searching for the obstacle names on Google returns a ton of videos.  For instance, check out the Arctic Enema, Boa Constrictor, Funky Monkey, or Everest, to see some of the more famous ones.

My family knows how much I’ve been looking forward to this because I’ve talked about it for months.  But, now that it’s finally approaching and I’m seeing the map and watching videos – I’m getting nervous!  But, the good news is, the Mudder is best done with a team and it sounds like I’ll have a good one.  I’m going with 3 of my co-workers and we’re teaming up with a friend of one of theirs as well as 14 others.  My co-worker’s friend is the father of Army Spc. Blake D. Whipple, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.  We’re all running in his honor and will have shirts with “Blake’s Buddies” on them.  I think it’s a little added motivation, plus it should be great to have such a large team to keep everyone entertained and motivated for the 4+ hours we’ll be on the course!

If anyone has any last-minute advice or well-wishes, I’d be glad to hear it!  Otherwise, I’m sure I’ll be writing another blog post after the race to recap the craziness.  Think of me this Saturday (7/27/2013) starting at 8:40am!

Stay muddy, my friends!

P.S.  Yet another great video that gets me excited for this: Tough Mudder 2013

The Newest Adventure for Jerry Seinfeld

My Seinfeld Obsession

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge fan of Seinfeld.  And “huge fan” is an understatement.  Let’s look at the facts:

• There were 180 total episodes of Seinfeld and I taped them all on VHS.  Commercial free.  Every… single… one!  Back in college, with the help of my dedicated roommates, we taped every episode the old fashioned way: combining a CRT TV, VHS, TV Guide, and a sweet Excel Spreadsheet (how else do you know what episodes you’ve taped!?).
• A day doesn’t go by when something in my life reminds me of a Seinfeld episode
• It takes every ounce of willpower I have to not quote the show whenever said occurrences happen.  But, I still quote it often because I can’t help myself!

So, when I heard in 2012 that Jerry Seinfeld was trying out a new type of show, I was all in, no matter what it was.

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

On July 19, 2012 Jerry Seinfeld released his first episode of “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee”.  These are roughly 10-20 minute videos that are released online on comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com, YouTube, and Crackle.  The premise is simple and is clearly explained in the show title – Jerry picks up a fellow comedian in a fancy car and goes to a random coffee shop just to chat.  He has explained that he typically borrows the car and carefully chooses it to match the personality of his guest for that episode.

Some of my favorite episodes from the first season were:

• Larry David
• Ricky Gervais
• Brian Regan
• Alec Baldwin
• Michael Richards

Of course, I’m not that picky – I loved them all – but those were my favorites.  It’s really cool to see Jerry and his guests in a laid back setting where they act pretty normal.  And funny – surprise, surprise – they’re all funny in real life.

There’s More?

The good news was Tweeted by Jerry Seinfeld on March 13th:

Since I enjoyed Season 1 so much, I was very excited when I saw that!  The news was caught in mainstream media too because shortly thereafter there was a New York Times article on the series being renewed (here).  And since it’s taken me so long to finish writing this blog post, the new season actually started yesterday (6/13/2013)!  Go to the aforementioned sites to see Sarah Silverman and others in Season 2!

Regardless, here’s the promo video for Season 2: