Word: bunche
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When you described the Klingon conference, it almost seemed as if those attendees were tortured by the language, which you described as "an ungodly combination of Hindi, Arabic, Tlingit and Yiddish, and works like a mix of Japanese, Turkish and Mohawk." There weren't a whole bunch of people speaking completely fluently, but there were four or five people who were amazingly fluent. Which is not easy. I met several people who had been trying to pass the certification exam for years. The language is like a puzzle. I guess it's no weirder than wanting to be really good...
...struggling to understand how a bunch of ragtag youths in small fishing boats can hijack oil tankers and huge cargo vessels [No Surrender to Thugs, April 27]. The crews of these vessels must be properly equipped and allowed to take the appropriate measures to see off the pirates, or the current ludicrous situation will become a complete farce. As it stands, the pirates stand to gain huge amounts of money in ransom payments, but there is very little downside to their operations, so the piracy is only going to spread. Vincent Bristow, KNYSNA, SOUTH AFRICA...
...families used to be a staple of TV: Eight Is Enough, The Brady Bunch, The Waltons, The Partridge Family. When American families with three or more children were common, these clans weren't outlandish. They were like you, just more so. Lately, TV families have gotten smaller, just like viewers' families. (An exception, the HBO polygamist drama Big Love, is, tellingly, a niche show set in a niche culture...
Idol is a reliable source of platinum talent largely because the talents it produces--Kelly Clarkson, Chris Daughtry, Carrie Underwood--respect the conventions of its genres. They are nice singers who sing nice songs nicely. Lambert, 27, may have the best chops of the bunch (his ability to hold high notes recalls Grace Slick in her prime), but where he really outshines them is in self-awareness. While his peers act as if being plucked from obscurity to sing in prime time is normal, he understands that he's on a television show, where acting normally would be completely abnormal...
...were raised Christian Scientist, but this week you're on a bunch of medications for various throat and ear infections. What happened...