Word: presented
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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There are several factors in Elvis' "inexorable decline," none of which, as Guralnick emphasizes in his introduction, provides a "simple or monolithic" explanation but which make his death seem all but inevitable. His life is presented as a round of silly escapades with his seemingly ever-present "Memphis Mafia," a group of employees/syncophants/friends whose main purpose was to indulge Elvis' whims, trysts with multiple girlfriends and performances in movies and concerts of varying quality. This was all fueled by a constant stream of drugs, mainly amphetamines, to which he became addicted in Germany while serving in the Army and which...
...least her radio singles would be absurd. Throw in her characteristic wail, a newly discovered inner-harmony and the ability to whip out a harmonica or flute in mid-song, and Alanis proves that she has sufficient tools to do more than just please the masses. The pieces were present, but there was no emotional glue to cohere the songs and melodies, the lyrics and messages into a significant, moving whole...
...intensely aware of its own absurdity and constantly pokes fun at itself and its form. The songs are catchy ("Houdinis of Whodunit") or endearing ("Blue Suede Blues"); and the cast appears to be genuinely enjoying itself on stage. Furthermore, (as these things go) the plot is compelling. (Present-day presidential candidate General Lee Aliar (Jason Mills) threatens to ban Rock 'n Roll in exchange for campaign funding from disco-freak Hal Elujah; in order to save Rock 'n Roll, Elvis impersonator Al Shookup (Seth Fenton) travels back in time from the year 2099 to Philadelphia in 1787, where he elicits...
...line, Ocean Sea centers around four lost souls staying at a seaside inn, each hoping that the ocean's therapeutic power will heal their spiritual wounds. The characters are a mixture of precocious children and wizened adults who all offer trite commentary on the book's constant effort to present deep and soul-searching questions. Perhaps the most ridiculous characters are the two men: Professor Bartleboom, who tries to measure the end of the infinite sea, and Plasson the painter who tries to paint where the sea begins. As Bartleboom combs the beach with his measuring stick and Plasson paints...
...novel begins with a translator'snote, convincingly signed by "Jakob Haarhuis,Arnold Rusoff Professor of Japanese History, NewYork University." The story begins from there asthe ever hopeful, bitterly realistic voice ofSayuri takes over, and the reader finds himself sotaken by the enveloping prose, quietly blendingthe "superlative degree of comparison" present inDickens's opening in A Tale of Two Citieswith the seducing party-haze of wealth and a longafternoon that Fitzgerald so successfully employsin The Great Gatsby, that he soon sheds hiscritical eye and sinks deeper into the sofa for along, delicious read. This, of course, is exactlywhat Golden wanted...