Word: drivel
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...know what reading leads to...that's right, knowledge and an aptitude for the verbal section on standardized tests. Okay, maybe kids won't find the words poltergeist, Quidditch or transfiguration on the SATs anytime soon, but the Potter books have a larger vocabulary than most of the drivel that is published for children nowadays. Compare the Harry Potter series to the last fad in children's books, that formulaic series called Goosebumps, and you'll see what I mean...
...deeply at odds with a more vital function of rock music, that of political, social and cultural protest. As Liebert observes, it's a shame that Germans have dropped Schubert to adopt Fiona Apple. However, the true shame is that Germans (and Americans, too) listen to the inane drivel pushed on MTV and Top 40 stations instead of listening to music which would express their frustrations or increase their sensitivity to beauty or pain. Rock music is as adept at this function as Schubert...
...Remember when they used to make good romantic comedies? When Harry Met Sally, Pretty Woman, Tootsie, etc. Now we get abominable drivel like You've Got Mail and Picture Perfect. Thank goodness for Julia Roberts. When she finds the right role, she can wrap even the most bitter of cynics around her finger. But in general, Julia gets offered good roles, so the results should be consistent, right? The problem, of course, is that Julia Roberts is nothing without her hair (her hair speaks for her--pay attention, this is subtle). Why did Mary Reilly, Michael Collins, I Love Trouble...
...movies will begin in the next six to seven months as Hollywood execs try to capitalize on the trend (i.e. rapid filming, diehard editing, rush to theaters). Last time that happened, Scream planted the deadly seed in the mind of studio heads. As a result, we had lame-O drivel like Urban Legend, Idle Hands, I Know What You Did Last Summer, etc. etc. polluting our theaters for months. Don't go see scary movies next spring. I promise you, they will be very...
...started off wanting to write this, my final column before classes end, about how I've been a terrible Harvard student. I wanted to sarcastically mourn the fact that I never learned to talk throughout a lecture, monopolize a section with pointless drivel, or mockingly intimidate my fellow students. I wanted to complain about all the people who have taken on these infuriating habits, and how I wish them nothing but empty and meaningless success for the rest of their life...