Word: popularity
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...political body that considers itself historic, the election of a victim of Nazism symbolized the enduring European reconciliation to which it is committed. Veil regularly tops the polls as the most popular political figure in France. In Strasbourg, it was hoped that her grass roots appeal could help the untested new Parliament make up with prestige and influence what it lacks in constitutional power...
Gradually the Fiedler formula evolved: lilting semiclassics, what he called gumdrops, or popular tunes, and some serious music: Stravinsky, Handel, concertos. The idea spread to other symphonies, but Fiedler's popularity was patented. Critics called his concerts "the classiest jukebox in the world." Retorted Fiedler: "A Strauss waltz is as good a thing of its kind as a Beethoven symphony. It's nice to eat a good hunk of beef but you want a light dessert too. That's what the Pops is." He had an uncanny ability to gauge the tastes of the times. He orchestrated...
Except for prostitution, which continues to flourish in spite of official efforts to wipe it out, the Soviets have no stomach for "deviant" behavior. Pornography is rare. Oral sex is usually performed only with prostitutes (out of male fears of venereal disease). Popular scorn of homosexuality is so intense that it is "simply passed over in silence...
...monster is stiff-jointed and barely verbal; Mary Shelley's monster is quick on his feet and can speak like a Romantic poet on an off night: "I will glut the maw of death until it be satiated with the blood of your remaining friends." Similarly, most popular dramatizations of the novel have singled out the Faustian side of Frankenstein's quest: the monster is his punishment for seeking too much power...
Publishers, many of whom have been taken over by entertainment conglomerates, should be pleased by these new arrangements. For years, officials in the book business complained that the National Book Awards refused to acknowledge the growth of popular reading habits. In 1971, for example, N.B.A. judges angered sponsoring publishers by rejecting Erich Segal's Love Story as too lightweight for consideration...