Michael Offutt's Blog, page 152

I vote for Russell Edgington as the new Jabba the Hutt

Sunday night's True Blood episode was the second to the last in the season, and it sucked balls (no pun intended). Why would I say that? Because of this fairy pictured below among other things too numerous to list. Like seriously, what the f*ck is this?
You are looking at a picture of the oldest and wisest fairy in the world of True Blood. She's thousands of years old, has untold powers, has experienced life as many beings and traveled to many realms of existence. Sookie has sought her out to get answers about a mysterious contract involving vampires and her father. In case you aren't taking this fairy seriously, here's another shot of her, looking very powerful and very serious.
Okay, maybe not powerful. But she's serious.  Serious about what people think of Boys2Men and John Cougar Mellencamp. I'm not kidding.

So what does this fairy do? She does this crazy dance on a stage and asks Sookie about KE$HA. Like seriously? I thought maybe this character could have been somewhat interesting when she shuddered at hearing that the oldest vampire in the world, Russell Edgington, was alive. For the record, Sookie didn't know who Ke$ha was.
"Ke$ha, for or against?" She asks the
important questions.So the fairies come up with a plan to trap Russell and gang bang him with all their powers. But the elder fairy steps up and says, "I got this!" with confidence. "You all just stay back here and watch." So all the fairies do just that, and the most powerful fairy struts out there, blows away Steve Newlin and then...misses Russell.

Then Russell sucks her until her face caves in. The only thing good about Russell is his overacting. It's as good as Mama Firefly in "The Devil's Rejects." In case you haven't watched, "The Devil's Rejects" it's a slasher film that manages to be hilariously funny. Mama Firefly all tied in a chair laughs hysterically "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA," and it's just craaaazy cause it goes on way too long. Russell's the same way.  "I'M SUCKIN' ON HEAVEEENNNN!!"
Mother Firefly. Don't feel sorry for her. She's a psychopathic murdering
serial killer that has a serious case of overacting-itis. That's the inflammation
of the overacting gland that afflicts actors who star in bad movies.It's the stupidest thing I have seen since the movie Dragonslayer.  For those of you who don't know, Dragonslayer is one of the worst, one of the stupidest, one of the most horrible fantasy films ever made (some thirty years ago). In the first five minutes, we get introduced to a wizard of great power. He lights some fires, has a formidable appearance, is being followed by a kid who wants to learn to be a wizard too. It's a great setup.

Then some men show up on horseback. The wizard goes out to greet them, and they want him to kill a dragon. Okay...so this might get good. Then the wizard and the warrior don't see exactly eye-to-eye. The warrior pulls a knife on the wizard and the wizard says (just like the eldest fairy in True Blood) "Your weapons can't hurt me!" So we're expecting some magic, right? We're expecting this wizard to show up the warrior.
The wizard looks cool, right? He dies in the first five minutes after
uttering the famous words, "Your weapons can't hurt me." Yeah right. Loser.Well the warrior stabs the wizard and...the wizard dies.

Let me phrase this another way. This would be just like Gandalf saying to the Balrog, "YOU CANNOT PASS!" and then having the Balrog kick him off the bridge and everyone standing around saying, "uhhh...did that demon just kick that senior citizen off the bridge? We all need to run, yo!" And then have Legolas all snap  his fingers Lafayette style.

WHAT THE HELL? I gaze at my watch? Ten minutes into the movie and the wizard is f'ing dead. Then the rest of the movie just drags ass to a stupid ending with a dragon that doesn't even look like a dragon anyway.

So yeah...oldest fairy in the world walks out to Russell Edgington and...is dead.

Please HBO, redeem yourself by giving us a season finale that has a final shot of a blood soaked Russell sitting atop a mountain of faeries, werewolves, shapeshifters, and the entire population of Bon Temps. He'd laugh like Jabba the Hutt and have Steve Newlin as his Salacious Crumb and Eric as his Dancing Leia Slave.
Okay replace the image of Jabba with that of Russell Edgington all gorged in blood.
Leia needs to be Eric Northman, shirtless, and Salacious Crumb should be Steve Newlin.Minus Lafayette for lines like this (don't kill my Lafayette): I think I could be on board with that. So raise your hand if you too are voting for Russell Edgington as the new Jabba the Hutt. A little Star Wars could only improve the writing in this show. Hell bring on Jar-Jar Binks. I could be entertained as he says, "Meesa wanna have a slumber party with young naked vamps."
Oh and HBO, could we have one episode where Sam and Luna are not naked? They have been naked this ENTIRE SEASON. They were even naked when they went to get their daughter. Guys who don't watch this show, I'm not exaggerating. Sam and Luna really have been naked all season.
At least they knew to show Alcide shirtless whenever a scene cropped up with him in it. Altogether, I think he may have gotten at least five minutes of time this season.
Why oh why do I watch this sh*t? I'm gonna go facepalm now as I am truly disgusted with myself.

Weighted Release Day Blitz

I love this cover! It's like a Nationwide insurance commercial where the guy talks
about "vanishing deductible" and makes a huge boulder hanging over a
woman's head disappear.Today, I'm participating in the Weighted release day blitz written by critically acclaimed author and fantastic blogger, Ciara Knight. At right, I've included a picture of what she looks like:
This is Ciara Knight. She writes great books.
Ciara writes to ‘Defy the Dark’ with her fantasy and paranormal books. Her debut novel, The Curse of Gremdon, was released to acclaimed reviews, securing a Night Owl Top Pick and five stars from the Paranormal Romance Guild. Also, book I, Rise From Darkness, from her debut young adult Battle For Souls series, secured glowing reviews and won July Book of the Month from Long and Short Reviews.

Her first love, besides her family, reading, and writing, is travel. She's backpacked through Europe, visited orphanages in China, and landed in a helicopter on a glacier in Alaska.

Ciara is extremely sociable so please feel free to connect with her at her blog, website, Twitter, Goodreads, or Facebook,

Weighted (Prequel Novelette)

The Great War of 2185 is over, but my nightmare has just begun. I am being held captive in the Queen’s ship awaiting interrogation. My only possible ally is the princess, but I’m unsure if she is really my friend or a trap set by the Queen to fool me into sharing the secret of my gift. A gift I keep hidden even from myself. It swirls inside my body begging for release, but it is the one thing the Queen can never discover. Will I have the strength to keep the secret? I’ll know the answer soon. If the stories are true about the interrogators, I’ll either be dead or a traitor to my people by morning.

Want to know more about Weighted? Please go read THIS excerpt right now.

Here is where you can find Weighted today. Don't "wait." LOL...punny, right?

SMASHWORDS
AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE 

It will be up on all online retailers soon, including iBookstore, Kobo, AReCafe, etc…
If anyone has a second to ‘like’ or agree with tags on Amazon, that would be awesome.

Upcoming books in The Neumarian Chronicles:
Escapement (Book I) - Early 2013

Pendulum (Book II) - Mid 2013

Balance (Book III) - Early 2014

Other books by Cara Knight:

Battle for Souls Series

Rise From Darkness

Fall From Grace

Ascension of Evil - Coming in October

The American Horror Story Asylum Teaser

In my opinion, the first season of American Horror Story broke new ground in a tired genre of cliche stereotypes. I was held spellbound by the tale of a family that had moved into a haunted house. I told myself, there's no way you can kill off main characters in the first season. Yet that's exactly what they did. They killed off the entire family by the finale and wow, was it ever epic.
Season two is an entirely different story, set in an asylum. Some of the same actors and actresses are returning, only they are cast in different roles. Season one and season two are unrelated.
This approach is absolutely brilliant. And because the writing was so good in the first season, I will be right there for the premiere in October with my popcorn and DVR ready.
Anyway, here is the first Asylum teaser trailer that got released last week. This is the perfect example of a great hook only in video form and not written down.In this short clip, here are the elements that we get. 1) We hear a ringing bell. That could be a church service in the background or a call to prayer or just the time of day. But it's kind of creepy. 2) There's a nun in a habit walking away from the camera carrying two buckets.  What's in the buckets? Body parts.  We hear birds chirping which might mean that this is meant to be food for the local animals. 3) The nun is not panicked in any way. It's obviously a duty that she does often.
Creepy Nun! What's in the bucket? Body parts?! OMGHoly crap! I'm hooked. I've got to know more. What's going on here? Are nuns feeding people to the local animals? Why are the human bodies all chopped up? Who put the body parts in the buckets? Do we actually see the bodies getting chopped up? Are they gonna go there? AHS is dripping in blood and gore so, maybe. They showed kids getting blown away last year in a Columbine type massacre and women getting horrific abortions that resulted in their deaths. So many questions, so few answers.
Tomorrow I will be participating in Ciara Knight's takeover of the blogosphere with "Weighted." Have a great Monday.
EDIT: I was mistaken on the interview posting date. I will be featured on Brinda's blog next Monday.

The wonderful world of Mondo posters

All of my extended family lives in Texas. The home of George W. Bush, the home of Rick Perry, the state that is so conservative it makes me wince just a little thinking that I should visit there.
But is Austin different? You betcha. I could live in Austin. For one, they have the Alamo Drafthouse and that means Mondo.
Mondo is the Alamo Drafthouse's collectible art boutique, featuring designs from world famous artists based on licenses for popular TV and Movie properties including Star Wars, Star Trek & Universal Monsters. Championed for their limited edition screen printed posters, Mondo focuses on bringing art back to movie posters by working with artists such as Olly Moss, Tyler Stout, Martin Ansin and others. Besides creating stunning works for beloved classics and contemporary films.

Here are my current love affairs. They are posters that (if I owned my own house) I would collect and display. They are so pretty. Click to Embiggen. Are you impressed by the wonderful world of Mondo posters? Have a great weekend my writer friends. And remember, a half finished book, is a half finished love affair.

Mind control is the most troubling super power

Kahlil Gibran who lived from 1883 to 1931 was a Lebanese-American writer, poet, and artist. He has many famous quotes, but the one that I remember is this:

“If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were.”

But what does this mean? Well, aside from the fact that there is no force in the universe that can make someone love another, I think it also implies that freedom of choice is one of the most intrinsic and important human values. Fair enough, right?

However, as much as you might think this is beautiful and true, it flies in the face of actual human nature. We are internally programmed to seek out and reward those who agree with us, and to punish those who do not. In other words, in practice, we really don't like choice UNLESS that choice agrees with us. Allow me to explain by telling you about the research of Professor Karen Wynn of Harvard University.

Dr. Wynn has found (by studying babies) a kind of preferential mental processing that begins before the first birthday. As children grow older, things as simple as the likes and dislikes of food to the color of an individual's skin lead to decisions of inclusion and exclusion, growing ever more complex. These biases and preferences sometimes assert themselves in the rise of regimes that demonize and dehumanize "others" who are outside their own group. This lies at the root of catastrophic human events like social ostracism, genocide, and slavery.

On Monday night, I watched the newest episode of "Alphas." The lady in the picture at the top of this post is Nina, and her special power is mind control. Monday's episode was all about Nina, and how she abused her "mind control" power all of her life. As a young girl, her parents were going to split up, and she mind controlled her father to make him stay. The result was the fighting between mom and dad continued, and it eventually led the father to kill himself.
Charles Xavier is a mutant with powerful mind control abilities.The boy she fell in love with disagreed with her and she "almost" mind controlled him but stopped herself just before she went through with it. But it frightened the boy so much, it damaged their relationship forever. She never forgot him and looked him up years later.  A young man, he had become a father and husband. What did Nina do? She mind controlled him again so that he would leave them and run away with her. She eventually realized that she had done a terrible thing and let him go. After that, she tried to commit suicide. "I am a bad person," she said.

No. Nina, you are not a bad person. Humans in general are bad. You just got an ability that accommodated your natural desire.

All week I've been shaking my head and wondering why mind control is even a super power? It's a curse. If you had mind control, the only result would be to use it to get your way. This is what all of us want. Yet it defies what Mr. Gibran would call one of the most important and intrinsic human values. Choice.

And the real rub in this thinking, is that many of us want both of these conditions at the same time. We want absolute freedom, yet we desire the company of those who share our same beliefs and visions.

In comic books, none of Superman's powers have drawbacks. Super speed, strength, agility, eyesight, hearing...all of these things are useful. None of them have a negative side. I think the history of mind control studies point to a clear fascination by humans who have desired this ability. In America, freedom has been packaged, sold, and labeled in red, white, and blue. But I ask the question, how many Americans would secretly love to have Nina's mind control ability if they could? And how many would use it while wearing t-shirts that tout "home of the free and land of the brave?"

I think mind control is the most troubling super power.

If you could have mind control as a super power, would you take it? And how do you think you would use it? Would you be able to keep it under control the moment you didn't get your way in something? I look forward to reading your comments.

Oh magical tea, how I love you

Have a great Wednesday. Thank you all who noticed I had a birthday :)
Yes it was wonderful. I ate at my favorite restaurant with my brother and went to a live jazz concert afterward. And when I went home, I had a cup of tea. All is now right with the world.

Dead Freight was truly horrific

NO NO NO...arrrggghhh. This is the adorable little kid that was murdered
by Walt and his gang in Sunday night's episode called "Dead Freight. I
hate shows that feature murdered kids. And the cuter they are, the more
traumatic it is for me. Why did this child have to die? So angry.Since this is the final season of "Breaking Bad", I can't help myself but to speculate over every episode. Forgive me if you are not into this show like I am, but this Sunday's episode sunk to new lows. I don't mean it's terrible...but just when I thought it could get no worse...it got worse.

I've seen bodies dissolved in acid. I've seen Jesse having sex with a strung out hooker on meth. I've seen a girl asphyxiate on her own vomit form a heroin shot and die while Walt watches and does nothing. I've seen half a man's face blown off with the eyeball exposed. There have been throats cut, people burned alive, and a decapitated head attached to the back of a tortoise shell.
This is the bastard that killed the kid. Todd. He's the new guy from
the "Vamonos Pest" employer which works with Walt and Jesse to
give them houses in which they can cook their meth. I so want Jesse
to kill this jerk. Out of Walt, Jesse, and Todd, Jesse is the only one who
knows that this is incredibly wrong. He's the only one that still has the
vestiges of a moral compass.
But last night, Todd (Walt's new "guy") shot and killed an innocent boy who had just waved to them. This boy was perfectly cast...skinny, on his dirt bike, and he'd just shown his compassion by handling a tarantula in his palm and putting it safely into a glass jar that he'd punched holes in so it could breathe.

And they blew him away, because he saw them rob a train.

I felt Jesse's pain as he screamed, "Noooooo!" and tried to stop Todd from killing the kid.

But yeah, I was stunned.

Walt is evil and needs to be put down fast. But how is that going to happen? It's clear he's becoming the new Kingpin, and the clues from next week's episode is that he's a self-proclaimed emperor of all things meth.

Will Skyler break and finally spill the beans, thus dooming herself and her children? With two parents in prison for hundreds of felonies (or possibly dead), what legacy do the children have except one of poverty and ridicule by others who blame their parents for the death of hundreds of people affected by their meth manufacturing?
Here's Jesse robbing the train of the precious methylamine.  This part of
the episode was fantastic. The timing, execution, and Hitchcock-like
troubles they overcame had me on the edge of my seat biting my
nails in nervousness. Especially when the big truck showed up and
Walt refused to stop filling the tank until he had it all. Jesse almost got
run over by the train and had to lie flat on the tracks.
Will Jesse survive? I have a feeling that Todd is being groomed by Walt at this point as a replacement. Todd follows orders and isn't as emotional as Jesse. He isn't a good person (which Jesse really is). Walt didn't even move a muscle as Todd shot and killed the boy on the bike. Heck, he almost smiled. Like he was indifferent that a child died.

If ever I had a doubt, Walt's complete transformation into a sociopath who cares nothing for human life is now complete. Though I feel for Skyler, she's just as culpable by allowing this evil bastard to continue without blowing the whistle.

I also want to know what's up with Lydia? That woman can talk herself out of anything. And I almost see her as a perfect match for Walt. Are these two going to hook up? It'd be like two snakes in a basket. I think they'd love each other.

Hank Schraeder, do the world good and put a bullet in your best friend Walter White. It needs to be done. The episode "Dead Freight" was truly horrific. Walt's product is killing people every day. But something about allowing a child to die and Walt being okay with it makes me hate you, Hank, for every day you allow it to continue.

Bill Finger and the Batman

As a boy, I collected Detective Comics for years. You would see me flipping through back issues in obscure comic book shops in every city I visited.  Nearly every great writer in the industry has done some work on this superhero.  The Batman's entire mythos has been penned by such notable names as Marv Wolfman, Samm Hamm, Grant Morrison, Alan Moore, or Frank Miller. They invented "the Rogue's Gallery" which seemed to take on a life of its own as more and more villains joined that infamous group. We have Ra's al Ghul, the League of Shadows, the Joker, the Riddler, the Penguin, Catwoman, the Scarecrow, Bane, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, and the list goes on and on.

Green letters on the cover denote
a first edition print. I own this issue.Truthfully, I've forgotten the names of so many good comic writers, but I still remember my favorite story lines. Who can forget "A Death in the Family"?  Who can forget the blood streaked corpse of bad boy Jason Todd (Robin) which basically started all of this "Dark Knight" stuff. After Jason's death, the Batman was never the same. He became brooding, blamed himself, and embraced a life of dark isolation. Who can forget the iconic "The Killing Joke" where Barbara Gordon "Batgirl" gets paralyzed? This character is later scene in the television series "Birds of Prey" which lasted only one season (but deserved more).

One of the darkest graphic novels I have ever read is "Arkham Asylum." Its art is flat out, unforgettable. And I unknowingly attributed ALL of this great creation to Bob Kane who I thought created "The Batman." But recently, I realized that I am wrong. DC has hidden a substantial truth from the eyes of the world. Bob Kane had a friend and co-worker named Bill Finger who is responsible for half of everything that IS the Batman legend. I wanted to talk about that today, because I think no recognition for something as big as "the Batman" is wrong.
A Death in the Family. Jason Todd killed by the Joker.
As the story goes, DC commissioned Bob Kane to come up with a new superhero after their success with Superman. Kane met Finger at a party and hired him to help.
These are Bill Finger's contributions to the Batman legend as identified in the new book Bill the Boy Wonder: the Secret Co-Creator of Batman by Marc Tyler Nobleman:He named Gotham City.He named Bruce Wayne.He designed the Batman's cape and cowl costume.Kane wanted to call the character "Birdman". It was Bill who said, let's call him "the Batman".Bill came up with the concept of Robin by saying that the Batman needed a companion with whom he could converse.Bill wrote the first story featuring "the Joker".Bill Finger came up with the story that as a child, Bruce Wayne witnessed the murder of his parents, and this was the catalyst that started him down the superhero/vigilante path. A single panel from the graphic novel, Arkham Asylum. This artwork by artist Dave McKean and story
by writer Grant Morrison blew me away. I had never been treated to a story that was darker and more
riveting that this particular one. There's an unforgettable scene where the Batman shoves a shard
of broken glass through his palm and I thought the blood and the glass looked real.Kane went on to become very wealthy. Bill Finger died poor because his name is on none of this. Does that seem right to you?
Here's a great fan-made video called Batman: Puppet Master. Why am I including this? Well 1) it's great entertainment but 2) it shows you just how ingrained the whole "Batman" experience is with American pop culture. It's filmed in the spirit of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight franchise. I think it's pretty good, but rather long. Give it a watch if you have the time. And the next time you talk about the Batman, know that there is a silent co-creator of this superhero that got absolutely no credit and hardly any money.

What would you do if someone took all of your ideas, got rich from it, and gave you no credit at all?

Provex City by Michael Pierce

This book is an offering in the paranormal/contemporary MG/YA genre and is pretty good.

It's told in first person from the perspective of a boy named Oliver. There's plenty of angst, the boy is the focus of the attention from two girls, and I liked the experimentation with drugs like alcohol (this is what kids do, right?) In one scene Oliver gets plastered from Jell-O shots, and it reminded me of the first time I had Jell-O shots (mine, however, weren't made from Bacardi 151). I think he had a much funner time with it though as Oliver was with a girl at the time. That made the whole getting drunk thing that much racier and more interesting.

There is a ghost in the story, but it isn't a particularly scary ghost. And I never really thought a screwdriver would make an effective weapon, but you see it used in this story in some interesting ways.

The most incredible portion of the story involves Oliver's discovery of Provex City, a place he's able to travel to using what can only be described as a paranormal power. Provex City is a remarkable place populated by people as varied as the ones on Earth, but with more impressive technology (or magic), most notably being the ability to heal others.

Now that I've had a little more time to think about it (I finished it a few days ago), Provex City is the first book I have ever read that uses "Interludes". This is a chapter that explains things that are going on that the narrator would have no idea on his own. I don't think they were jarring, just different. And I think in this situation, were necessary.

I give this book a full five stars out of five and would recommend this read to anyone that is looking for a fast contemporary read told from the boy's perspective. Mr. Pierce is a great writer, and I can't wait to see another offering from him.

Go HERE to mark Provex City "To Read" and be supportive.
Go HERE to purchase the book directly from Amazon for only $2.99.
And visit his BLOG if you would like someone new to network with.
Have a great weekend!

Analyzing Breaking Bad's Fifty One

On Sunday night I was reminded of why I think "Breaking Bad" is the best show on television by a superbly written episode aptly titled "Fifty One". I've been thinking about it all week, and it's really one of those dramas where you have to notice everything. You can't take your eyes off the screen because, what's being discussed or what's being shown is always important. So if you're a fan, I'm analyzing "Breaking Bad's" Fifty One (spoilers ahead):
Notice how short the "1" is. Totally a wish on Skyler's part for Walt to just die.
Skyler hates Walt so much that it's both tragic and awesome at the same time
because she can't do anything about it. She sold her soul to the devil now
and there's no going back from that.1) First off we have this new character Lydia that Mike stopped short in killing. We know she works at Madrigal which was helping Gus' operation by supplying barrels of Methylamine. But who the hell is she really? Mike says she's dangerous and Jesse Pinkman stops him from killing her (which for the record I think is a big mistake). I think Lydia is Gus' wife, and I would trust Mike's instincts. If anything, the dude is a super lethal assassin. But he's loyal. And he knows character. Lydia should die.
Lydia and Jesse. In this scene, they're looking at a tracker on the bottom
of a barrel that Lydia claims the D.E.A. must have put there. Mike thinks
she put it there and wants to kill her for it. Mike kills lots of people in
this show.2) The arrangement of the bacon on Walt's birthday. I looked back to the season 1 pilot, and they did this ritual only with veggie bacon. Now one year later, Skyler arranges real "cholesterol clogging" bacon on Walt's plate to spell out 51. Only she cuts the "1" in half, symbolism that she really wants him to die this year. That's just frickin awesome. She does correct the "one" at Junior's insistence but takes a piece from his plate. This is the statement, "If you want your father to live through this year, it will take life away from you." Now the beginning episode of this season had Walt alone in a diner arranging bacon on his own plate to spell out "52." So we know he lives a full year, and we have the entire season to figure out what happens up to that point. How does he come to buy the huge gun and what does he intend to do with it?
Skyler sitting on the bottom of the pool, content in knowing that even
though she may run out of breath, it's better than listening to Walt
talk about himself.Walt is so evil now. And I do kind of feel for Skyler. However, she's just as culpable as he is, being seduced by greed and money and the power that came with that. Her fate and Walt's are irrevocably intertwined the same as Persephone and Hades. Walt is going to hell and Skyler is too. But that doesn't mean she has to like him. That becomes even more apparent in a crucial scene-stealing moment when Walt is going off at the table about how Skyler saved him from the cancer and did this and did that for him. She gets so sickened by it that she just "walks into the pool". She sits on the bottom with her dress floating up around her and is smiling cause she can no longer hear him. That's just amazing.

3) The ticking watch. Jesse gave it to Walt for his birthday present but the end of the episode has a zoom in on the watch and the ticking is very pronounced. I recall an earlier scene where Mike calls Walt "A ticking time bomb". Once again, great symbolism.
Here's Jesse presenting a watch to Walt for a gift. Tick Tick Tick4) Walt sells the mint green Pacer for fifty bucks. This car has been Walt's stable transportation for four years of this show. It's been through everything with him. The mechanic that fixes it compliments the car and says, "It will probably go another 200,000 miles." You can see the distaste on Walt's face as he savors this information. He immediately offers it to the mechanic for fifty bucks. THIS represents one dollar for every year of his life. I was blown away by the symbolism of that. A year ago, Walt lived in fear of his cancer.  He lived in fear of men like Tuco, Mike, and Gus, and in fear of losing his job because he wouldn't be able to pay his bills. He's a new man, having defeated ALL of his enemies. He's killed people, poisoned children, and outwitted anyone that thought they were smarter than him (including his D.E.A. brother-in-law, Hank). So Walt flushes the old life down the toilet, and embraces the new life by buying muscle cars for both himself and his only son "Junior".

There was so much to think about in this single episode. If you are a writer, I think that you would be well served to take one hour of your time each week and watch "Breaking Bad" and see how masters of storytelling can unfold a tale. It's absolutely brilliant.

So my questions for you (if you watch the show):
1) Do you think Lydia is Gus' wife?
2) Do you think that Jesse and Lydia might be working together or that they might have struck some kind of deal?
3) There's a part of the episode where Skyler is smoking cigarettes heavily. Do you think that the cigarette that Walt has with the poison in it will come into play this season and that he'll poison Skyler? I sure as hell wouldn't be smoking cigarettes around Walt.
4) What do you think Walt needed the gun for in the trunk of the season opener? I've been trying to figure that out for four episodes now.
5) Do you think Jesse should have just let Mike kill Lydia? Do you think she's dangerous?