Oh no. I have Age Assisted Being a Cynical Asshole. AABCA.

I liked it. Jessica Chastain's character makes the film worth watching. It's like Kathryn Bigelow took characters from Sunshine and mixed them into a Discovery Channel documentary. I say this as a positive.

I agree with everything Bullet said only I'm less in love with it.

Ehhh. I doubt anyone cares about this movie in 30 years. I posted this article on my Facebook  - http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011 … t_schmidle - and if you've read it (plus a couple others on the topic) you get ZDT's script. Like, almost to the beat. There were no surprises in this film aside from a handful of character moments. In the four or five conversations I've had about the movie today I keep coming back to one thing: a really well done Discovery Channel documentary. But the virtues of that are limiting.

I don't know how non-political junkies feel about All the President's Men, but ZDT occupies the same space in my brain. I'd never watch ATPM for anything other than an interest in the material. Whereas I watch Apocalypse Now for the artistry of the damn thing. There is a lot of craft in ZDT but not a lot of art, ya know? Since that's my premise for judging the longevity of ZDT, I think its appeal dies with the interest in the OBL manhunt. Which I think is pretty quick. 20 years maybe? Certainly not as long as the downfall of an American president. And of course I'm pulling all of this out of my ass. I have no idea. But there's my guess.

The more I type the less I agree with what I'm saying. But I'm leaving it here for posterity and my biographical historians. 

Bottom line: the movie is a good blow-by-blow account of how they nixed OBL. Not much more. If you think that makes for a Great Movie, there you go. For me it was just a good movie. And I don't know why I say that like it's a bad thing. Not like I'm knee deep in good movies over here. Everyone go see it.

This was the dumbest movie I've seen in years. Comically bad. So overwheliming bad that I don't know how to approach it. Like. Look at it. It should be self evident.

EDIT: 94% on Rotten Tomatoes!? Wow. I'd have guessed 60-65%.

Right now I'm reading 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created. It's sort of dry, but it's also thoroughly explaining how the Columbian Exchange changed the world. Literally and figuratively. Like, did you know there were no earthworms in north america pre-1500? Me neither. And that introduction has huge implications. Stuff like that.

Congrats, Dave!

An outtake from Return of the King.

Lincoln

Skyfall

And, by all accounts, Zero Dark will end up on this list.

I agree for the most part. Though, like you indicated, that wasn't exactly the movie they were making. I'd love to see a movie that focuses on Lincoln's transition. I'd also love to see a film about Brown. Dude was a madman. In a good way.

The movie makes the point (and this *is* accurate) that once the war was over, any support for freeing slaves by amendment would have been severely diminished in the north and the especially the south. There is a misconception that the north was somehow vastly more progressive than the south because its economic interests weren't as tied to slavery. Not true. Racism was just a prevalent in the north and a lot of Lincoln's public statements on slavery were poorly received in the north. There were riots everywhere, some very significant ones on NY. Capitalizing on lame duck representatives DURING war was integral. And since the war very easily could have been over by March, once the new class was sworn in, building a coalition with enough votes would have been much harder. Was the race against time amped up for cinematic purposes? Sure. But it wasn't an invented urgency. And it NEVER would have passed had the south been involved. So don't say time wasn't a factor. It was. And I can't wait for the sequel that focuses on the 14th, because boy howdy.

I'm not a parliamentary historian. I know that the rules of the house have changed drastically since 1865. Hell, they've changed drastically since 1960. So the order of roll call? I have no idea what it was. So that slipped by me. But point taken.

*side-eye*

Huh. Didn't know that.

The 13th Amendment was not a foregone conclusion. The fight over slavery had been in NEW territory. Not existing. The 13th killed that argument for states like Wyoming and Washington and Idaho. Furthermore, the Tennessee and Virginia constitutions that abolished slavery? I've heard this argument before and it has problems. For example, it fell under that pesky "uncertain legal status" and was not recognized as one of the iterations of the Virginia state constitution. It was meaningless. Additionally, the slave states that didn't secede may not have abolished slavery. Maybe you can point to those reformed state constitutions as proof of changing tides, but in no way does an unrecognized iteration of a state document translate into federal law for all states. They could either act immediately and secure freedom for the entire nation or let it linger for another 75-100 years in a state-by-state process.

This also ignores half of the fight over slavery and why was it such a big deal to get it passed. In terms of what kind of fight it was, it was like The New Deal, The Great Society, Prescription Drugs, and ObamaCare all rolled into one.

Truth.

You'll have to explain. Because I didn't see anything inaccurate.

Generally speaking, I don't read fiction. So my suggestions are non-fiction.

Any David Mccullough. But I'm especially partial to Path Between the Seas.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Path-Between- … 671244094/

Edmund Morris' series on Teddy is great, Rex in particular:

http://www.amazon.com/Theodore-Rex-Edmu … 812966007/

Incognito is a TON of fun. It's all about your brain and how it ticks. You wouldn't expect a neuroscientist to have such a light and easy writing style. Sounds similar to one of the books Mike mentioned:

http://www.amazon.com/Incognito-Secret- … 307389928/

Gideon's Trumpet is one of those books I had to read for a con-law class in college. But it has become an all time favorite:

http://www.amazon.com/Gideons-Trumpet-A … 0679723129

Finally, like Mccullough, anything Bill Bryson. Walk in the Woods is hilarious.

http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Woods-Redisc … 307279464/

Also. Your theories are the worst kind of popular tripe, your methods are sloppy, and your conclusions are highly questionable. You are a poor scientist, Mr. Gladwell.

First, that's not a point or a thesis. You're weaseling out and it's obvious. At no point in this thread until now have you bemoaned the general ignorance of people re: copyright.

Second, you have a hardwired misunderstanding of copyright. Not us. My gf, who is a lawyer, is looking over my shoulder right now and can't make out anything you're arguing either.

No it's not. How can it be fraud if the ideas are everyone's? It was never the original creator's idea. It's the public's. Duh.