Breaking Bad -- an AMC series about an average middle-class American father/husband, a chemistry teacher in ABQ, who learns he has lung cancer and less than a year to live. To leave his family (a wife pregnant with an unexpected child fairly late in her child-bearing years, and a son with cerebral palsy) with some financial security, he turns to the methamphetamine trade. This is one of the best television shows of the decade; the character studies are amazing -- what happens when you strip a man of all of his virtues but loyalty to his family? How far will he go? The writers and producers of the show very clearly know what it is like to have a loved one suffering a chronic illness, and for those of you who have had to prematurely become caretakers for terminally ill family members, or who have become unexpectedly disabled and lost your independence due to an illness, this will be gut-wrenching in its authenticity. It was for this reason that I found the show so compelling, as well as difficult to watch; when I first showed signs of the illness I have been battling the last few years, my doctors considered many possible diagnoses, one of which was cerebral vasculitis. I am happy to say that that hypothesis has been ruled out (by virtue of my still being alive, among other things), but there was a period of several months where my wife and I had to seriously consider that I might have had less than six months to live. Even if you haven't had a first-hand experience with this sort of thing, the character of Walt is hard not to like, or to identify with on some level, despite the immoral and horrendous things he comes to accept as part of his new identity. The show is, in many ways, a contest between a man's desire to do what is right, vs. his need to do right by his family, and the many moments when he is faced with a fork in the road, a decision requiring him to mortgage his soul in the hopes of providing for those he cares about, are likely to leave the viewer cold. I highly recommend this to just about everyone.
The Old Man's War series, by John Scalzi -- the first book in this series is one of the best science fiction war novels I have ever read, along side Starship Troopers and The Forever War. It's hard to pick a favorite among the books in the series, though if pressed I would have to say The Last Colony would get my vote. If any of you believe that treason is never the right course of action, this book offers a strong counterpoint to that view. "I might not have the authority, but I do have the right." Doing what is right for one's county and one's people does not always mean obeying one's government; sometimes, defiance is the only moral course of action.
The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman -- a fairly bleak future war story, both a reflection on Vietnam, in which the author served, and a timeless criticism of war in general, and the deceit that military leaders perpetrate upon the civilian population. Its applicability to present-day war politics is depressing, in that it reveals just how little the military-based economy has changed, and how little we've learned about the willingness of desk-jockey generals and pencil-pushing accountants to destroy the lives of thousands of people, soldiers and civilians on both sides of a conflict. This book should be required reading for anyone considering enlisting in the US Army -- perhaps it will make them think twice about joining such a corrupt and immoral institution, or at least prepare them for the lies they will be fed.
The Global Frequency (TV Pilot) -- an adaptation of Warren Ellis's brilliant graphic novels, it sadly never aired. I can't say I am terribly surprised, as it was greenlit by the WB, not exactly known for its intelligent programming. I have slim hope that another station might pick it up, but it's been four years since the pilot, so it is likely dead. A pity -- as a fan of the comics, I was wary of a TV adaption, but it showed immense promise.
Permutation CIty, by Greg Egan -- a rather interesting book exploring themes of virtual reality, the nature of consciousness, and most interesting to me, the Mathematical Universe Hypothesis, aka the Ultimate Ensemble Theory. I have spent the last several years contemplating the nature of consciousness, lately from information theoretic and algorithmic information theory standpoints, and a lot of my own theories line up with the MUH ideas, of which I had previously been unaware. I have more reading to do.
Meta Math!, by Gregory Chaitin -- I have read most of Professor Chaitin's academic papers and technical books, though they are likely not very accessible to people without at least a basic level background in complexity theory or information theory, and a knowledge of LISP concepts helps. This is his popular science (or pop math?) book, aimed at a broader audience, and it is exceptionally well written and quite accessible. I believe Chaitin to be the most important scientific thinker of our time, carrying the torch passed from Leibniz to Godel, Turing, Church, and even Einstein. It is Chaitin's mathematics that will bring the MUH paradigm into general acceptance if it is ever to be generally accepted. If you want to know where the frontiers of math and reality lie, read this book.
Gran Torino -- Clint Eastwood's unexpected return to acting, this movie makes an excellent coda for the actor's career. It is a movie about redemption, self-sacrifice, and overcoming one's prejudices. The production values of the film are superb, the acting amazing, and the authenticity above reproach.
