Word: distress
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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HOME FIRES (Showtime). Most TV family dramas are so slick and reassuring that this bruisingly realistic portrait of a middle-class clan in distress looked as if it had come from another planet. From the lack of attention it received, it might have...
...distress call came from Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 halfway on its run from Los Angeles to San Francisco, flying at 22,000 ft. Two minutes later, the British Aerospace commuter jet shrieked toward earth in a nearly vertical dive and disintegrated as it slammed into a hill near Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County. All 43 aboard were killed, including four executives of Chevron Corp. From that baffling beginning, other messages gradually unraveled the mystery of what had happened...
...Jerry Falwell. In 1983 Hustler magazine had portrayed Falwell in a drunken rendezvous with his mother. Although a lower-court jury cleared Publisher Larry Flynt of libel because the statements were so ridiculous that no one took them as fact, it awarded Falwell $200,000 for his "emotional distress." Despite Hustler's sleazy nature, other publications have joined in support of the appeal. Reason: the legal concept of "emotional distress" might allow public figures to sue the authors of any critical commentary based on their hurt feelings rather than the press's wrongdoing. A ruling is expected by next July...
Novelty acts go down best with the crowd. The hot-and-heavy numbers are just too perilous. Artist No. 5 knows how to dance, but does the hand gliding down the torso suggest desire or gastrointestinal distress? Artist No. 7 wins points for wearing fishnet stockings, studded belts and a torn, painted neon cape. But for a terrible moment as she writhes on the stage, it looks as if she has got tangled in her costume. Also the sunglasses are crooked. There are no Michael Jackson imitators. You cannot compete with a big-time video, and anyway, the word upstairs...
Therefore I am sending out a distress signal to the world. Please answer my call, save me from the terrible fate that awaits an ignoramus admitted into the company of educated men and women. The list of things I cannot figure out is long-ranging, from problems of organic chemistry to why we get no credit for missed meals in the dining hall. But at least if I can get a few items answered I will have made some progress...