Meh

I am weary, Nation.  Weary, weary, weary.  Partially it's the ongoing--and worsening--disintegration of the American body politic.  Partially it's just dealing with what has so far been an overwhelming semester.  And partially it's a chronic, low-grade case of writer's block.

I hate to claim writer's block, too.  As a writing teacher, I always tell my students that, if they have nothing to write about, then they aren't paying attention.  But here I am, paying attention, and I, too, can find no inspiration.  What to write about?  The government shutdown?  Ditto the end of "Breaking Bad."  And there are only so many posts I can write about the cats.

With any luck, tomorrow will bring some new atrocity to rant about.  Fingers crossed!

Shocked and Saddened

I'm sorry.  I meant to write a scintillating and blistering piece on the continued intransigence of Republican leaders in Congress, but I just received some tragic news via Facebook.  A close friend of mine went to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival today.  This is a free multi-day concert held annually in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.  Anyway, according to a posting on her page, she was trampled by turtles at the concert.  I have no idea how this happened.  I can only assume that these were abnormally large--and, for that matter, fast--turtles.  I cannot imagine how she could have provoked them to such a senseless act of rage, but it hardly matters.  She leaves behind a husband and a young daughter, who--

What?  A band name?!?  That hardly seems possible.  Hold on. . . .

Oh.  Huh.

Well, never mind then.

Can't We Just Go All "House of Cards" on These Guys?

Democrats have their differences, but in the current standoff with Republicans--a standoff that has led to the wholesale shuttering of the federal government--they remain largely united, if not unanimous:  They remain determined to hang together to deny GOP hardliners any semblance of victory.  The Republicans, however, are not so united.  A number of Republican congressmen in both the House and Senate want this shutdown to end.  They know that the longer this goes on, the worse they and their party look: The American people, on the whole, are savvy enough to know that the Republicans forced this crisis, and whatever negative effects are felt, the GOP will shoulder the blame--Tea Party protestations about how President Obama could end the shutdown--if he would just, y'know, cave in to every farcical demand of the lunatic fringe--aside.  And the fact of the matter is that Speaker of the House John Boehner could end this impasse immediately, if he simply called for a spending vote stripped of any extraneous ideological demands--like the repeal of the Affordable Care Act or a recount of the 2012 presidential election.

Boehner, for his part, has put himself in a no-win situation.  He has to know that, in the end, he will have to cave.  He knows that President Obama can not now negotiate with the GOP--even if on some level the President agreed with one or two of the Republican demands--because that would effectively spell the end of the American presidency--not just the Obama presidency, but the presidency itself, as Obama would have established the precedent that Congress can force the repeal of any legislation it disagreed with simply by throwing a temper tantrum and refusing to do its job until baby gets its ba-ba.  John Boehner, in other words, is royally screwed.

So here's my question: Couldn't a group or Republican House members who want this crisis to end--and there are such people--get together and decide on a new Speaker?  Then they go to the Democrats and say, "Look, we know you'd like to have a Democrat in the position.  That's not going to happen, but will you guys all support Rep. X here, so that we can at least get the government up and running again, and then we can thrash out legislative issues in the forum in which such issues should be decided?"

I have no idea if such a gambit could work, but at this point, isn't it at least worth considering?  Maybe the GOP could get Kevin Spacey to make their case.

Withdrawal Symptoms

"So, when we use this kind of attendance-tracking system, we have to minus the holidays--"

"No, you don't."

"No.  We do.  We have to.  It's the law--"

"No.  No, you don't."

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't 'minus' the holidays.  You know why?  BECAUSE YOU DON'T MINUS THINGS! YOU SUBTRACT THINGS!  AND WHILE WE'RE AT IT, YOU DON'T 'PLUS' THINGS, EITHER!  YOU ADD THEM!  AND YOU DON'T 'TIMES' OR 'DIVIDE' THINGS EI--  Well, OK, you do divide things!  BUT YOU SURE AS HELL DON'T TIMES THEM!  SO STOP WITH YOUR PLUSSING THIS AND MINUSSING THAT AND LEARN TO TALK!!!!!"

"Um. .  ."

"WHAT?!?"

"You're still shaken up about 'Breaking Bad,' aren't you?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do with my life."

Oops

And then suddenly, you look up and it's 11:15 PM. See you tomorrow.

Macmeth: A Tragedy in Five Seasons

I saw a couple of Facebook postings today from people imploring the interwebs to stop spoilering the finale of "Breaking Bad," as they had only gotten up to, like, season three on Netflix.  I have no sympathy!  If people had started watching the show back when we all told them to, then they wouldn't find themselves in this predicament now would they?  Still, good luck with that whole internet shutdown.  Maybe you can get Republicans to attach a defund Obamacare rider to every website. . . .

I don't even know what that means.

Anyway, on to the post: A final consideration/tribute to "Breaking Bad," the indisputably best show on television over at least the last three years or so, and short-listed candidate for best drama of all time.  Last night, of course, was the series finale, and the show went out in a blaze of glory.  I must admit that the opening, while entertaining, was kind of pointless: Why open with a "suspenseful" moment before Walter White leaves New Hampshire on his final trip to New Mexico?  By this time, we know he gets away from the Granite State: We've seen him back home in the flash-forward!

After that point, however, the finale teems with memorable and highly satisfying moments.  Walt's final farewell to Skyler brought a tear to these cynical eyes, especially Walt's confession, arguably his most honest moment in the series, that everything he had done he did, ultimately, because he wanted to: "I liked it.  I was good at it.  I was alive."  The massacre of Uncle Jack and his merry band of Nazis, the ricining of Lydia, and Jesse's revenge on Creepy Todd satisfied on a visceral level.  And of course, Walt's death, surrounded by the tools of his trade, a slight smile on his lips, as "Baby Blue" (which I thought was an Aimee Mann song but which turns out to be by Badfinger--she covered it) played over the soundtrack was just. . . .MWAH (I just put my fingers to my lips and then opened my fingers in a kiss-blowing motion).  The perfect ending to the perfect show.  (And a sort of redemption for executive producer/creator Vince Gilligan, who had a hand in what was probably the worst series finale of all time, "The X-Files.")

The best part of the finale, though, was actually one of the less important moments: the meeting between Walt and his erstwhile partners, the Schwartzes.  This scene presented us with one of the last examples of Walt figuring his way out of an insoluble problem: how to get his money--nearly ten million dollars--to his family without it being confiscated by the DEA.  Not only does he enlist the Schwartzes as his reluctant bagmen, he also manages to put the fear of God--or of Heisenberg, which is probably worse--into these people who foolishly disparaged his abilities--and on national television no less!  Long after he is dead, he will continue to haunt his former friends.

*****************************************
So what's the big deal about "Breaking Bad," anyway?  I've been thinking about this, and the best answer I can give is that "BB" is nothing less than a classical tragedy set in modern America.  As with the finest tragedies, the ending is preordained at the beginning, as a tragic hero--one "like ourselves or better" in the Aristotelian formulation--hurtles headlong to a doom of his own making.  We watch Walter White, confronted with his own mortality, not only rage against the dying of the light, but seize every opportunity to transcend the destiny assigned to him.  We love Walter because he represents something we all wish we could be: a brilliant, invincible commander of his own fate.  That he does this by becoming a conscienceless methamphetamine kingpin only complicates our feelings--it does not diminish them.

Whether you consider "Breaking Bad" the greatest television drama ever, or just one of a handful of flawlessly written, beautifully acted series, one thing is for certain: We are unlikely to see another show like this, or another character like Walter White, any time soon.  Rest in peace, Heisenberg.

Can a Government Shutdown Be Avoided?

Once again, in what by now seems like the political equivalent of "Groundhog Day," Republican extremists are threatening to drive the country over a fiscal cliff, holding serious budget negotiations hostage to unrealistic demands for ideological purity.  As has been pointed out in numerous outlets, even Republican stalwarts like John McCain and Lindsey Graham have grown weary of the theatrics, calling on their party colleagues to accept reality and negotiate seriously with their ideological adversaries, lest they condemn the Grand Old Party to permanent residency in the political wilderness.  Meanwhile, on the Democratic side of the aisle--

Oh, who am I kidding?  Who has time for political nonsense!  The "Breaking Bad" finale will premiere in a few short hours!  And I have to admit, I have no idea what's going to happen.  I mean, Walter pretty much has to die, right? But he has to take out Uncle Jack and Creepy Todd first!  Me, personally?  I'm guessing Jesse takes Walt out, but who knows?  And who's gonna get the ricin?

I'm so not ready for this.