Word: loudnesses
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...When I first visited China in 1981, I went to the People's Park in Shanghai with two traveling companions. Our obligatory Foreign Ministry "guide" ushered us through a special gate reserved for "foreign friends." A knot of young Chinese had gathered outside. As we passed, a few made loud comments about the unfairness of having parts of the People's Park reserved only for foreigners. One of my companions, a Mandarin speaker, agreed volubly in Chinese. Immediately a group of young Chinese men and women surrounded us and peppered us with questions that mixed naiveté and aspiration...
...operative word, however, was guy. Like many revolutions, this one liberated the men first. The shows focused on male antiheroes and their loud, angsty Y-chromosome dramas: Tony, The Shield's Vic Mackey, Rescue Me's Tommy Gavin, Dexter's serial killer Dexter Morgan, Deadwood's Al Swearengen, 24's Jack Bauer. These shows made TV more complex and challenging, but their definition of serious drama had a pronounced silverback streak...
...laugh at the McDonalds, which closes by 7 p.m. every night. Then we watch as it comes to life on the weekends, when military personnel come home to visit their families. The pool became the apparent loud and vibrant social center for this group last Saturday, while several weeks ago, a ceremony was held on the main quadrangle featuring bagpipes, a band, and squadrons marching in rank and file...
...business, an industry that treats DUIs like parking tickets, stand-up comics manage to stand out as problem performers. Lots of them are moody, prickly and perfectionistic; many struggle with depression and substance abuse. And, as evidenced by the March suicide of comic Richard Jeni, some comics never get loud enough laughs to bring them peace...
...certainly accomplished the first. Within a few days, we hit all the Fleischer family landmarks, snapping photographs in front of bewildered Romanians who were probably wondering why the loud foreigners were so fascinated with every little bridge and house...