Word: comedownance
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...Abandoned" seems a little strong to describe what we have done to excellence. But of course a note of elegy always haunts discussions of excellence and quality. It is human nature to imagine that our present reality is squalid, diminished, an ignominious comedown from better days when household appliances lasted and workers worked, and manners were exquisite and marriages endured, and wars were just, and honor mattered, and you could buy a decent tomato. The lament for vanished standards is an old art form: besieged gentility cringes, indignant and vulnerable, full of memories, before a present that behaves like Stanley...
True, ostensibly decent people turn up now and then in literature, but they almost never get depicted as being swept away by impulses to sweetness. They are more often set up for a comedown. On one end of the literary spectrum, Hamlet might have been a pleasant fellow if Shakespeare had not handicapped him with that belief in ghosts, plus suicidal and homicidal tendencies. On the other end, given the way authors are, Jack is bound to wind up falling all over himself every time he tries to fetch a pail of water. In truth, the world's literary...
...There was a coat of grease on the windows to keep them from getting scratched. Every time I got a cup on, it would slide after about ten seconds." Goodwin's victorious arrival at the top of the 110-story Sears building proved a bit of a comedown-he was arrested for disorderly conduct. After being released on $35 bail, he vowed: "There will be more stunts to come...
...strengths of the album lie not in the cover songs like Rockpile, but instead in the writing of Schwarz himself. It must be a comedown to go from a band with Nick Lowe and Ian Gomm named after oneself to front a band always known as "Graham Parker and the" of "Garland Jeffreys and the", but Brinsley has held up fine. The mix of his Brylcreem look and Martin Belmont's paunchy, fish-blowing-bubbles look are reflected in their complementary guitar styles, crafted pop and raunchy reggae...
Playing the role of the spoiler, however, could backfire. Some polls give Marchais a mere 15% of the presidential vote-a huge comedown from the 20% the Communists achieved in 1978. If Marchais's showing proved to be that poor, the chances are that his leadership of the party would be challenged soon after the election. As it is, Marchais's support inside the party is hardly unanimous. Members of the rank and file are unhappy with his strict, sometimes overbearing control of party machinery. Many intellectuals have bolted over his obdurate refusal to allow internal debate...