Word: harmless
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...Sung dynasty pottery. But the emblem of his style-and his favorite possession-is a Korean rice bowl, made by a 19th century village potter on an irregular wheel. "That is as it should be," he says, caressing the roughly glazed clay. "The plain and unagitated, the uncalculated, the harmless, the straightforward, the natural, the innocent, the humble, the modest: where does beauty lie if not in these qualities? More than anything else, this pot is healthy...
...persistence, though a solid virtue, still has its limits. One can always allow politicians their endless pursuits; many are harmless, and it's simple enough to ignore them as they make their way to the electoral junkheap. But for political writers one faces a different matter. Literature, even such a frequently-derided form as popular political fiction, is an art--and any pattern of mindless repetition, of going through the motions for their own sake, is bound to do violence to the art, to turn it into a game where some people lose out. Contemporary political fiction suffers from this...
...conversion process looks harmless on the surface. Joy '78-2 said that she was approached by a woman on the street, and they struck up a conversation. The woman was very friendly, andinvited her to the church's Beacon St. headquarters in Boston for dinner. "I had no idea that it (the church) was Moon. In fact, I remember saying to this woman that I had heard that there were Moonies around, and I was so glad I had not been approached by them. She did not really say much of anything. Anyway, when we got there we heard...
...neon sign floats up from the stage, flashes on: SILENCE, it commands. The theatre-goers giggle nervously; Stoppard wants you to feel the tension. This is his show and you are the interloper here. The sign seems a smug reminder. The lights go up to reveal a harmless joke: the set is the public library in Zurich--I don't think you should talk during library hours, sir--especially if Mr. Joyce is over here up right center hard at work on Ulysses and Mr. Ulyanov is down left at work on revolution. But not to the public...
...agree that sex fantasies are normal and should be enjoyed without shame. But some have reservations about Lowndes' advice to act them out; many fantasies are clearly violent and dangerous. Says Lowndes: pray we're not naive. We have to weigh the millions of people suffering from harmless fantasies against the possibility of encouraging a kook like Charles Manson If I found that we produced one violent person with our show, I think we would fold up our tent...