Word: famed
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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About 10 years ago in L.A. there arose a band, seemingly out of nowhere, which would go on to rise to world-wide fame in only a few years. The band consisted of a phenomenal group of musicians--one of the most explosive and expressive guitarists ever, a brilliant drummer whom many rate as one of the absolute top of all time and a bassist who stubbornly held down infernal, demonic grooves. They were fronted by a singer who knew exactly what buttons to push and how to make people notice and who possessed a voice that simultaneously conveyed complete...
Then came a century of explosive growth in tourism worldwide, growth in Harvard's international fame and, most importantly, growth of the University's indoor plumbing system, which cleared the Yard grass for more genteel uses...
While the mass media fetishizes fame in the persons of actors, elected officials, musicians and similar sorts of people, the popular attitude toward these objects of secular worship is nowhere near uniformly positive. No matter how good the economy is and no matter how few Washington peccadilloes have come to light in a given year, there always seems to be an undercurrent of "throw the bums out" sentiment among the electorate. Incumbents often try to present themselves as reformers or agents of change so as to avoid the public's perennial dislike of the current power structure...
...American dream, that perennial occupant of this country's collective unconscious which causes us to love the rags-to-riches, Horatio Alger, class of 1852, sort of underdog who beats the odds and from poor and humble beginnings acquires vast wealth. If we love successful underdogs as they approach fame and fortune, why do we not continue to love them as they attain ever-higher pinnacles of achievement, whether it be by doubling and redoubling their billions or by winning an increasingly ridiculous number of consecutive championships...
...even apart from the hedonistic excess sometimes associated with fame and fortune, there seems in many cases to be a certain finite lifespan of public popularity due to achievement, irrespective of the behavior of the successful party. The vilified purple dinosaur, after all, has never been caught with a stash of illegal drugs, firearms or prostitutes, and indeed did nothing more offensive than continue to preach his universal message of goodwill. The Bulls, who we are so pleased to see falling in the standings, are guilty only of playing excellent basketball for many years...