Word: earnest
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...other big productions of the year, it is neither a sequel nor the launching point of a series of sequels. It is not based on a comic book. It was not designed to spawn a vast array of toys, merchandising, video games and theme-park attractions. It is an earnest and heartfelt work. But the same voices that decry the formulaic commercialism of mainstream Hollywood product do not seem to applaud the studio heads who had the courage to back this unusual film...
...together for 10 wispy, Connick-penned ballads, To See You leaves Connick's modest voice drowning in a sea of strings and lugubrious arrangements. On past records, Connick's vocal limitations usually hid behind strong melodies or brisk rhythms. Here, though, his own billowy backgrounds draw attention to his earnest but colorless singing. Connick probably sees himself as a film star, jazz interpreter and vocalist. He's right--on two of those counts...
...committee ought to consider whether the speaker is challenging. If a sense of challenge were considered to be as good a criteria as the others, we could get earnest political activists instead of politicians. What about wisdom? Why not try to hear from someone who is wiser than us--and not wise in the sense of erudite, but someone who is knowing in the ways of the world, like a distinguished author? Or someone who is able to speak to transcendent values? A religious figure who might be able to give us some perspective on our temporal successes...
When that happens--and some observers say the free-for-all will begin in earnest when Congress returns in January--the anti-Microsoft forces will come packing awfully hefty checkbooks. Even in the digital age, Washington is a Middle Eastern bazaar. The going is about to get tough, and it may be time for Bill Gates to go shopping...
...Gerald Ford is remembered warmly, certainly by Chevy Chase, for tripping over his feet and for announcements like "I always watch the Detroit Tigers on radio when I can." (One especially likes the "when I can.") And even earnest Jimmy Carter evokes memories--of the "attack rabbit" episode on his rafting vacation out West and of his Freud-grounded introduction of Hubert Humphrey at the 1980 Democratic National Convention as "Hubert Horatio Hornblower." Woodrow Wilson, too, could be impressive. "When enough people are out of work," he observed, "unemployment results...