Word: downrightness
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Sensual Fire. Plisetskaya's Odette is all shimmering ice; her Carmen is sensual fire. By and large, this version of the Prosper Mérimée story is downright ludicrous. Set to a percussive rehash of Bizet melodies (some from Carmen, some not), the choreography by Cuba's Alberto Alonso must have seemed madly daring when it was first shown in Moscow seven years ago. In fact, it is full of dated psychological posturings. Moreover, despite strong dancing by blond young (24) Aleksander Godunov, one of Plisetskaya's favorite partners, and Sergei Radchenko, the roles...
Though the chances of an average person's getting his views into print or on the air have unquestionably increased recently, some editors wonder whether the quality of public debate has improved much. A few are downright begrudging. "You give space to some of these jerks just because it establishes your credibility," says John G. Craig Jr., executive editor of the Wilmington papers. Cleveland's Vail is somewhat milder: "It's not right to allow everyone to say anything he wants. It becomes an imposition on our readers...
...then there's that venerable institution known as the Harvard Band, which mixes those traditional fight songs of eras past with suggestive (and sometimes downright lewd) halftime formations, as well as biting sarcasm about the state of the University, the nation or the world...
...proves successful, thanks to the caliber of the interviewees; unlike Rex Reed, Shenker doesn't have to resort to bitchy observations to spice up vapid quotes. Inevitably, some of the conversations are not all that fascinating, and at least one--a piece on Noam Chomsky as a linguist--is downright boring, an object lesson in how words can get in the way of an explanation. But the book as a whole is remarkably rich; most of the interviews can stand rereading, and the lighter pieces in between make enjoyable breathing spaces...
Ohio Congressman John Ashbrook, who ran against the President in several 1972 primaries, argues that "there is not much support for the President below the surface of conservatism. There is a lot of grumbling and downright hostility. For the average conservative, it has been a question of digesting so much stuff: Agnew, the 18-minute gap in the tape, the President's taxes, the missing deed for his papers. It is a litany of events that seems not to cease, and no demagoguery of trying to blame it on the press and on the left is going to work...