Word: formulaic
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Casey’s rare combination of size (6’7) and athleticism (he has a 42 inch vertical leap) is part of the formula that has allowed the freshman to succeed at such a young...
...ritual, in a sense, to the way conversations play out. You identify stages that conversations go through. When people meet each other for the first or second time, there is a sort of architecture in their talk. People are tentative at first. There's a certain kind of greeting formula that takes place as things develop. People become aware of things in common. Sometimes it's meaningless, like they both spent a week in the Ukraine, or neither of them has ever seen a football game. But it establishes, even speciously, common ground. And then after that what happens...
...when you do a category like that, the discussion often deteriorates in a good way into actual substantive conversation. But it takes work to talk to a bore. And you have to save yourself at some point. I always say, Keep an empty glass - that's an old formula. If you're standing up, make sure your glass is near empty at all times. That can lead to drunkenness, though...
Thirty-one years since the downfall of the U.S.-supported Iranian dictatorship of Shah Reza Pahlavi, the Islamic Republic has developed a formula for celebrating the anniversary of the revolution. The government buses in massive crowds from all over the country, who then parade down Tehran's avenues, which are decorated with patriotic-themed paintings by schoolchildren, while crack military units perform maneuvers and politicians make rousing speeches laced with anti-American rhetoric. But this year, Iran's opposition movement wants to change the script...
...same time, however, the band prove that sticking to a formula, if the method of choice is strong enough, can produce stunning results. And when all is said and done, “Heligoland” subscribes to a pretty good method. Nobody does the bleak soundscapes and skittering breakbeats that characterize trip-hop, which Massive Attack themselves helped pioneer, to greater effect than Del Naja and Marshall. So for the most part, the songs of “Heligoland” are highly successful. These ten tracks are united around a dark, chilling vision that completely absorbs the listener...