I've found him much more capable when working in his own worlds with his own characters and unique magic systems. You should try the Mistborn trilogy sometime (though I feel Way of Kings is his strongest book to date).

You should! It's a quick read at only 300 pages, and I found it pretty satisfying.

Breaking Bad is a fantastic show. I was hesitant to watch it at first, because I had the idea that it was a show where drug dealers were the good guys, but that's not it at all. It's strongly written, strongly directed, and strongly acted. Bryan Cranston is incredible.

And yes, baseball can fade to the background when I need it to. It's a slow game with lots of breaks, so it works great for writing. I watch it on the computer, though, because I can't stand commercials anymore. I dislike commercials so much, I don't even subscribe to regular tv. For the most part, my television has become a dust collector.