Bringing the TPE

Them Crazy Veeps: I Do Mean Crazy

And here we are. End of the road. Bottom of the barrel. As you read this, keep in mind all three of these men were elected to the second highest office in the land. One of them came in second place for the top job, losing to the great Thomas Jefferson by a very thin margin and some political maneuvering. The other two actually became president. Pay close attention not only to the damage they caused but the quality of their characters. These men were able to do the damage they did because We The People, elected them. (12 of 12)

#3 - Aaron Burr (former Senator, Democratic-Republican-NY) 1801-1805 (1 term, dropped) Pres: Jefferson

The scariest thing about Aaron Burr is how close he got to the presidency. A brilliant political strategist and creator of the machinery that would become the Democratic Party, Burr nearly convinced the House to choose him over Jefferson. He shot Alexander Hamilton over an insult. Imagine if Hamilton had insulted him while he was president. By all accounts, he did a fine and even-handed job running the Senate. but who cares? He was insane. Oh, and he got himself charged with treason. While in office, he allegedly tried to raise an army with the goal of annexing Florida or gathering up some western territories to secede. He managed to avoid conviction, but it couldn't have been fun for him, or the country.

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Kris and Adam Discuss AFI’s Top 100: Filling in the Gaps

Kris Jenson, with whom I've had the best discussions of my life, is an old friend of mine from Boston. We had been talking about the American Film Institute's Top 100 when he got a job at Dig Boston, writing about just that. Instead of letting the conversation end just because he's a big, fancy writer now, I'm going to write responses to his articles. I can't keep up with his movie watching, so I'm only responding to the ones I've seen.

I've fallen off writing these responses. It's a combination of a few things, but some of these movies I just don't have an essay's worth to write about. Seeing no reason to just fill space with words unnecessarily, here's a word or two on the films I've skipped. I can't wait to read what Kris has to say about "Rebel Without a Cause" because I already have a jumping off point, but I don't like putting my thoughts together until I read what he has to say.

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Unexplained List: Star Trek

5) VOY
4) ENT
3) TOS
2) TNG
1) DS9

Summer Comic Movie Update: Captain America & Green Lantern

After lukewarm reviews of the other two comic movies I wanted to see, my motivation to write these reviews waned considerably. Having now seen "Green Lantern" on a plane, I'm finally ready to deliver my verdict on the summer of comic adaptations. These four represent only the ones I was willing to sit through, and that says a lot considering how universally panned "Green Lantern" was. Real quick, here's the final list:

#1 - X-Men: First Class
#2 - Captain America
#3 - Thor
#4 - Green Lantern

No surprises there, which is why I want to move on and talk about these films. After seeing "Captain America," I thought about doing one of these essays for it, but I just couldn't. I didn't realize why until I saw "Green Lantern." Both films are unbelieveably tough subject matters to hang a movie on nowadays. Audiences don't like squeaky clean heroes anymore, and these guys are about as squeaky as they come. "The Dark Knight" turned movie-Batman into a morally ambiguous anti-hero and became one of the highest grossing films of all time. "Captain America" is about a guy who wins by being as single-mindedly heroic and honest as possible, and "Green Lantern" speaks an oath where he denounces evil not once, but twice. Neither of these were easy movies to write, but the difference between the two is simply that "Captain America" is well written, whereas "Green Lantern" is not.

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Them Crazy Veeps: The Top 3

The Veeps are ranked and ready to go. We've now arrived at the top 3, best Vice Presidents in history. For the dirt, you'll have to wait until next month. For now, soak in some of this awesome. (11 of 12)

#3 - Walter Frederick Mondale (Senator, Democrat-MN) 1977-1981 (1 full term) Pres: Carter

Throughout the 20th Century, the Vice Presidency changed drastically. Ever since Truman gave the office more of a position in the executive branch, VPs have been drifting away from their Senate duties. Walter Mondale was the turning point and the mold for all future VPs. Before Mondale, VPs were mainly hatchet men, sent out to do the president's dirty work in the Senate or in the media. He established himself as senior advisor to the president, a president-in-waiting instead of a seat filler. From Mondale's example, the American people expect the VP to be able to take over at a moment's notice, to the extent they should be as presidential as the president. With the exception of Dan Quayle, modern VPs have risen to Mondale's model. Had he not been so closely associated with the failed Carter presidency, he easily would have had a chance at the White House.

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Them Crazy Veeps: 5-4

The Veeps are ranked and ready to go. Starting at the middle, as the green numbers get lower, the guys get better, but as the red numbers go down, we get into some crazy-ass mother-fuckers. (10 of 12)

#5 - Alben William Barkley (Seantor, Democrat-KY) 1949-1953 (1 full term) Pres: Truman

The perfect combination of Truman's horrid experience as VP and his supreme confidence in his running mate, he allowed Barkley to became one of the best in his position. Truman invited him to all cabinet meetings, made him a member of the NSC, and ordered the creation of a VP's coat of arms. Had he not been too old and rundown, he could have made a run at the White House. He was the first true 20th Century VP.

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Kris and Adam Discuss AFI’s Top 100: Forrest Gump

Kris Jenson, with whom I've had the best discussions of my life, is an old friend of mine from Boston. We had been talking about the American Film Institute's Top 100 when he got a job at Dig Boston, writing about just that. Instead of letting the conversation end just because he's a big, fancy writer now, I'm going to write responses to his articles. I can't keep up with his movie watching, so I'm only responding to the ones I've seen.

I'm sort of glad Kris ripped into this movie (particularly this movie) because it means finally, I get to be the voice of reason. When I was in high school, I made a list of my 30 favorite movies, and periodically I'll update it. "Forrest Gump" has consistently stayed in my top 20. While I can totally understand everyone's problems with this movie, I still love the shit out of it, and I think the haters hate this movie simply because they don't have a healthy relationship with joy. I wonder if people who don't love "Forrest Gump" will ever be able to find happiness in life.

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Them Crazy Veeps: 7-6

The Veeps are ranked and ready to go. Starting at the middle, as the green numbers get lower, the guys get better, but as the red numbers go down, we get into some crazy-ass mother-fuckers. (9 of 12)

#7 - John Adams (Ambassador, Federalist-MA) 1789-1797 (2 full terms) Pres: Washington

If after his years of public service, John Adams somehow ended up in hell, the devil would most likely make him be Vice President for all eternity. Adams was a man of action, and in 1789, no government office was more ineffectual than his. Washington kept him out of most cabinet meetings, and after he suggested we call the president "His Excellency," the Senate took away his talking privileges. Maybe if they'd let him speak, he wouldn't have had to cast a still unbroken record 29 tie-breaking votes. Still, he gets a lot of points for doing the job extremely well. He supported his president and managed to hold onto enough popularity and power to win the presidency.

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UFL Update: Schedule CORRECTION

I take the accuracy of my writing very seriously, which is why the UFL is on my shit list (for now, I can't stay mad at them). When I posted a few weeks ago about UFL games being played at 4am, I swear it's because that is what the UFL web site said. The times were all in AM, and they were all in EDT. Now, it would seem, the web site finally has more clearly reasonable times.

Except for a few late afternoon weekend games, all games will be played roughly 7:00 PM, local time. That kind of sucks for Virginia fans who will have to wait until 10 PM when the Destroyers go to Sacramento and Vegas.

So yeah, sorry about that, UFL. Your schedule seems fair enough, and not laughably ridiculous, like I thought.