Word: instrumentality
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...While it has taken scientists years to figure out the clinical pharmacology and neurological impact of ecstasy and other designer drugs like ketamine, methamphetamines are a blunt pharmaceutical instrument. The drug encourages the brain to flood the synapses with the neurotransmitter dopamine?the substance your body uses to reward itself when you, say, complete a difficult assignment at the office or finish a vigorous workout. And when the brain is awash with dopamine, the whole cardiovascular system goes into sympathetic overdrive, increasing your heart rate, pulse and even your respiration. You become, after that first hit of speed, gloriously, brilliantly...
That won't be enough to bring Shanghai up to Hong Kong's speed though. Before Shanghai can become a world-class financial center, it will need a fully convertible currency, and there's still no indication when China intends to make its renminbi a truly international instrument. Mainland China lacks a reliable legal system and widespread use of the English language, both mainstays of international commerce. Hence many multinationals are hedging their bets. China operations may be moving to Shanghai, but companies like Coca-Cola and Philips have kept their formal Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong. That...
Charlie Parker famously said that the key to playing jazz was to master your instrument thoroughly, then forget all that stuff and just play. The same is true for the listener: While curiosity and an open mind are essential attributes for the knowledgeable consumer, it's what ends up playing on your stereo all the time that determines your musical worldview. Thus old-school tunesmithery prevails here, as it did on my CD player all year. Herewith, a selection of 20th-century music that rang my bell...
...undistinguished. Forrester’s path of emotional evolution in the film seems forced, each of its extremes a protest against the brusque and wry tendencies that Connery has honed for so long. Thus, when Forrester rails against his life’s misfortunes, his attitude seems unreal, an instrument of the plot. When he cries, he’s positively painful to watch. And when he shouts at Jamal to “Punch the keys, for God’s sake!” as he types, it’s a meaningless snatch of adrenaline meant...
...holidays tend to highlight certain deficits in modern child rearing that aren't so obvious the rest of the year, when we're sharing pizza by the slice and eating burgers out of the bag. "What is this strange, many-pronged stabbing instrument?" our kids inquire at the holiday table, examining their forks. Finger bowls, napkin rings and the other trappings of formal dining are as mysterious to them as the relics of forgotten religions...