Caballo Sin Nombre

The 1972 America hit "A Horse with No Name" was featured in the beginning and the end of this week's episode of "Breaking Bad". Consequently, it's been in my head for the past four days.



It's a sweet tune to hum for the first day or so -- then it rapidly sours. When the "la laaaaa laaa la la la la la la laaa laaaaa la" chorus rolls around, I think about a college roommate shout-singing it. He liked to wear an Allmann Brothers "Eat a Peach" T-shirt.


"Breaking Bad" is terribly good. They break so bad on that show. During this week's discomforting scenes, I found myself looking away from the TV as family members argued with each other. I exhibited the same behavior when watching "A Serious Man" on DVD Monday night.

Why would I do that? I've been watching and enjoying gritty, realistic drama for many years, and I haven't turned away in the past. I hypothesize that reality television is to blame. When some reality star coot crosses the line from "entertainingly dumb" to "embarrassing example of the humanity's worst", I wonder why I turned it to "16 and Pregnant" in the first place and refocus down at my laptop. My brain has lost the ability to distinguish excellent dramatic acting from horrific real-life behavior.