Word: actualizes
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...first few novels were met with "rapturous acclaim," especially her Oranges are Not the Only Fruit (1985), and she had written three books and won Bafta Prize by the early '90s. Yet her actual writing ability has been eclipsed by her personality. Some episodes of her obnoxious self-righteousness include entering a dinner party to insult a journalist who gave her a bad review and her claims that she writes as well as Shakespeare. Other tales of conceit include her self-nomination as "favorite living author," with her choice for the 1992 Book of the Year, her own Written...
...this summary form, The Elementary Particles does seem to promise a fairly interesting read. But it is the actual prose of the novel which contributes to its generally unbearable nature. Houellebecq simply refuses to let his characters be real human beings. They can exist only as generational archetypes or the embodiments of philosophical speculations. "Was it possible to think of Bruno as an individual?" muses Houellebecq's narrator. "The decay of his organs was particular to him, and he would suffer his decline and death as an individual. On the other hand, his hedonistic worldview and the forces that shaped...
Houellebecq further evades adequate characterizations of the two men by assigning them pat philosophical summaries of everything from Kant to Huxley in lieu of giving them actual thoughts. It is not rare that one encounters such grand generalities as, "He was surprised at how miserable he felt. Far removed from Christian notions of grace and redemption, unfamiliar with the concepts of freedom and compassion, Michel's worldview had grown pitiless and mechanical." Such a statement flounders in the context of a work of fiction, and unfortunately is not redeemed by any breathtaking originality...
...however, is a poor word to describe Finding Forrester, a film deathly afraid of being overly cerebral in word or action. Instead, the film’s creators continue Hollywood’s long trend of patronizing the general public, making unhealthy use of a popular mainstream substitute for actual intelligence: an insubstantial and insufferable haze of hackneyed philosophizing...
Unlike some of his opponents, Gusmorino understands that an agenda made up of vague generalities and lofty promises of "bringing people together" rarely translate into actual accomplishments. Driskell and her favored successor, Stephen N. Smith '02, have yet to demonstrate to the council or to the student body how they can make such hazy promises result in anything of concrete benefit to students. While it is sometimes appropriate for the council to speak for student on important political issues, the council's most important and most effective role in student life is to provide student services...