Word: humdrum
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...know that work does not have to be humdrum. We know that it takes time, and usually solitude, to write and to think. Reich understands us. He knows that it is not an easy thing to drop one's work, even for one's family. Ultimately, though, he chose to spend more time with his family, and he clearly feels good about this. Still, there is a hint of desperation and ambiguity in his voice; we get the feeling that there's more going on here than meets...
...little guy vs. established power. To a large extent, both the FBI and the press were justified in their actions, though nothing perhaps can justify the frenzy with which they went about their work. At the same time, Jewell has not been entirely powerless. While he saw his humdrum life demolished by the press pack, Jewell could also suddenly command a microphone at any time, and he began to put out his own bits of spin. Now he has hooked up with lawyers who plan to sue a growing list of people. The lesson may be, for these modern times...
...nature? For one thing, it's something we can all relate to and be in awe of. "Severe weather is the great equalizer," says Bob Potter, director of home video for National Geographic Television. Watching people getting manhandled by violent storms, moreover, adds a little excitement to our own humdrum battles with the elements. (Better bundle up--and take that umbrella!) Perhaps, too, it makes us a little more comfortable in our own good sense. Those crazy storm chasers may get some neat pictures, but at least we know enough to come in out of the rain...
...lately Turek can't shake the feeling that the world has gone melatonin mad. Based on the flimsiest scientific evidence, the subject of his research is now being trumpeted in books and magazines and on television as a cure for everything from autism to aging to schizophrenia to a humdrum sex life...
DIED. DUANE HANSON, 70, sculptor; of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; in Boca Raton, Florida. Hanson's popular, Pop-influenced sculptures captured humanity at its most humdrum--a gawking tourist or a burdened shopper, each life-size, dressed in real clothing and rendered with such realism that passers-by were often unaware they were in the company of art, not life...