In case you missed it, our podcast came out late last night. It’s a marathon, clocking in at 1:47, but everybody wanted to talk in this episode, not the least of which was Jim and I.
A bit of meta-news for the world of BrBa, this article from Forbes talking about the health of AMC. While their stocks are up, the report is pessimestic about them spending money on their original programming and is concerned about the impact Netflix is having on non-sports channels.
Lucas High from TVGeekArmy writes about the “Jesse” rule. He basically roots for whoever is allied with Jesse at the time. I fully endorse this rule, and have been sub-consciously following it for most of this season.
This article ponders whether Breaking Bad is bad for the reputation of Chemistry. “Unfortunately, though, the show plays into our preconceived notions that chemists are mad scientists and that chemicals are bad for you,” Hartings said. “This reinforces some people’s belief that chemicals are things to be avoided when, in fact, we eat, breathe, sleep, and work in a world of chemicals.”” Ah, bullshit. Chemistry doesn’t have a reputation. It’s true that the word “chemical” has a bad rep, but people don’t understand what chemistry is all about. Water is a chemical. Smart shows like Breaking Bad actually promote awareness of what the science is all about and make people think. This cannot be a bad thing.
BTW, audience of Breaking Bad? On it’s best night, less than 3 million people. Total people in the United States? Over 300 million. I don’t think BrBa is really influencing chemistry’s rep all that much, good or bad.
I mean, is this guy’s suggestion a prime time version of Bill Nye the Science Guy? Hell, I’d actually watch that, but I don’t think many people would. His five bullet point suggestions for improving chemistry communication are ridiculous. Chemists making blogs?! Yeah, so all the other chemists can subscribe to him? “Frame key messages to prompt engagement. Because chemistry is a broad, complex field and can appeal to numerous publics, chemists need to learn [to] frame their messages to encourage public engagement (present a specific issue in a way that shows people the issue’s relevancy and application to their lives).” Yeah, that sounds engaging. Ah, academics.
That’s it for today. If you want to reach out to us, you can email us about the show, Tweet at us, or like us on Facebook. We always appreciate positive reviews and subscribers on iTunes. Remember, anytime you buy something off Amazon using our amazon.baldmove.com link, we get a tiny kickback, at no cost to you. It helps us to pay for the bandwidth to run the podcast and our site. All the feedback, reviews, and support helps us out immensely, and we thank you so much for all of your support thus far. See you tomorrow!
