In Arkansas, Henderson State University chemistry professors Terry D. Bateman, 45, and Bradley A. Rowland, 40, were charged on Friday with making methamphetamine. They had been put on administrative leave on October 11. From the New York Times:
(Tina V. Hall, a university associate vice president of marketing and communications) said the school’s Reynolds Science Center had been closed on Oct. 8 because of “a report of an undetermined chemical odor.” Testing revealed an elevated presence of benzyl chloride in a lab, she said...
Stephen J. Madison, who is on the chemistry faculty at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., said that benzyl chloride could be used to help make methamphetamine...
It was not clear whether the chemical smell in the school building had prompted the investigation by law enforcement.
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Tatsunori Iwamura, 61, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at Japan's Matsuyama University, was busted for teaching his students how to make MDMA (aka Molly/Ecstasy) and 5F-QUPIC, a cannabinoid agonist. At some point, Iwamura had a license to manufacture illegal drugs for academic purposes but it had expired. From The Guardian:
Local drug enforcement authorities believe 11 students produced the drug (MDMA) under Iwamura’s instruction. Four students, along with an assistant professor, have also been referred to prosecutors, Kyodo said.
The university said it would discipline Iwamura and the assistant professor once the investigation had ended.
“We sincerely apologise for causing serious concern to students and their parents,” said Tatsuya Mizogami, the university’s president, according to Kyodo.
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I can't believe that it's been five years since the final episode of Breaking Bad hit the air. I also can't believe that I could be having breakfast with Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston, thanks to this fun new contest from Omaze.
By making a donation, you'll not only be giving to two exceptional causes--The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Kind Campaign--you'll also have the chance to cook AND nosh the most important meal of the day with Cranston and Paul in the RV from Breaking Bad. What's not to like?
Oh, one thing... Not everyone who lives in an RV has to shit in a bucket. I'm just saying. We have bathrooms. Also, ditches and bushes. Read the rest
In an alliterative homage to Breaking Bad, Binging with Babish shows viewers how to make the dipping sticks that Walter never got, as well as some dangerously delicious candy meth. Read the rest
For the 10th anniversary of Breaking Bad (no, that's not a typo), Peruvian YouTuber Esther Bellido created this Super Mario-like animation that encapsulates the entire series in just one minute.
(Likecool) Read the rest
This is one of those things I wish I had thought up: an incense burner that looks like the RV meth lab from Breaking Bad.
More like Breaking rad, amirite?
It's called the "Krystal Ship" and it's available from ThinkGeek for $29.99.
Set up your own cook lab at home with this Breaking Bad RV Incense Burner. See, you'll be cooking incense, not meth. That makes it okay - unless you have a roommate who's sensitive to Nag Champa.
(The Awesomer) Read the rest
This episode of "Lessons from the Screenplay" analyzes how the Breaking Bad pilot set up the show to be so, er, addictive.
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(UPDATE: Sadly removed from the Internet)
Here's an attempt to transform 62 episodes of Breaking Bad into a 2-hour movie,
What if Breaking Bad was a movie?
After two years of sleepless nights of endless editing, we bring you the answer to that very question. A study project that became an all-consuming passion.
It’s not a fan-film, hitting the highlights of show in a home-made homage, but rather a re-imagining of the underlying concept itself, lending itself to full feature-length treatment.
An alternative Breaking Bad, to be viewed with fresh eyes.
[via] Read the rest
A perfect teaser for Better Call Saul season 3. The show returns this spring with 10 new episodes, and it looks like Gus Fring, the wonderfully evil meth kingpin in Breaking Bad, will play a role. Read the rest
Can't wait for Season 2 of AMC TV's 'Better Call Saul,' the offshoot of the Breaking Bad multiverse in which our protagonist is the beloved underdog scumbag lawyer played so perfectly by Bob Odenkirk. This is my absolute favorite show right now. Don't fuck it up this season, guys, Season One was perfect perfect perfect perfect and this S2 trailer is too.
Better Call Saul Season 2 returns Feb. 15 to AMC.
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“One man takes on all 62 episodes of Breaking Bad in one 3-day marathon. This is what happened.” Read the rest
Just don't ask your barista where they store the cash.
"Bottle episodes" are budget-saving episodes of TV series that are produced on-the-cheap, using as few sets, effects, and even actors as possible. The term came from "ship-in-a-bottle episodes" of the original Star Trek when the crew didn't leave the Enterprise. Read the rest
In which we review the penultimate episode of Better Call Saul’s debut season. Spoilers ahead.
Remember when the idea for Better Call Saul first floated around in television production gossip, and it was conceived as a half-hour comedy? There has been a lot of controversy over the new rules for category eligibility at the Emmys, with Shameless making it into Comedy despite its hour-long runtime and decidedly serious worldview, and Orange Is The New Black finally shifting over to compete in its rightful category as a Drama. I had a screenwriting professor who worked in Los Angeles throughout the 90s and 00s, and was still livid that Ally McBeal got to compete as a comedy when it was an hour-long dramedy that had no business going up against sitcoms.
Those are all semantic arguments about categorizing shows when there’s a lot of mutability. But imagining a world where Better Call Saul isn’t 45 minutes of deliberate, enthralling dramatic irony, holding a hopeful carrot out in front of Jimmy when the audience knows there’s a banana peel waiting to catch his foot, makes me shudder with would’ve been lost.
The cold open to “RICO” is one of my favorites so far this season, because it succinctly encapsulates the futile tragedy of James McGill. Better Call Saul eluded to the fact that Jimmy worked in the HHM mailroom, but here it’s on full display, as he cheerfully delivers mail to everyone around the office, with the added bonus that he knows pretty much everyone’s name. But the reason the show ventures to this moment in McGill history is because it’s the day Jimmy believed his life would change: when he passes the bar and becomes a lawyer in the state of New Mexico. Read the rest
