Word: ritual
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Absent father. Melancholy mom. Squall-free adolescence followed by the ritual college degree. But with no draft to face -- no obligations at all, really -- how is a bright, sensitive, well-off young fellow to grow up? Honoring tradition, Alec Stern decides to go abroad to try out maturity. His destination: Tokyo. Bicycle Days, a first novel by a 24-year-old Harvard graduate, is the wry, rueful story of Alec's efforts to cope with his job at a computer outfit and with a vexing foreign culture. Through his adoptive family, the friendship of an old fisherman and a troubling...
...only a matter of time. For seven weeks the world had marveled at the restraint demonstrated by both Beijing's rulers and the thousands of demonstrators for democracy who had occupied Tiananmen Square. The whole affair, in fact, had developed the aura of a surrealistic ritual, with both sides' forces stepping in circles as if they were performing some stately, stylized pavane. Violence, it seemed, was out of the question. And then, early Sunday morning, the dance ended in a spasm of fury, the worst day of bloodshed in Communist China's history...
...many instances, the violence is fueled by easy access to guns, alcohol and drugs, particularly crack. Users often "fall into a sadomasochistic ritual after smoking together," says Terry Williams, a senior research scholar at the New School for Social Research. "They are angry, hallucinating, and get into violent fights." Crack can also leave users sexually aroused. When they do not find a willing partner, Williams asserts, they may be tempted to rape...
Feminist clout also shows up in the book's liturgical section. In the new wedding ritual, for example, the father no longer gives away the bride. Another change in worship concerns the Lord's Supper. The abstemious Methodists specified in their 1966 hymnal that only "the pure unfermented juice of the grape shall be used." Teetotalers attending last year's Methodist conference failed to get that clause inscribed into church law, and the new hymnal omits the rule. So congregations may use wine if they wish, but most Methodists still opt for grape juice. Score one for tradition...
Ubert was far from the only senior athlete with shattered dreams. Sarah Duncan is the proud owner of two Ivy championship rings. For Duncan, a forward on the women's basketball team, playing Dartmouth for the Ivy title in the final game of the season is almost a ritual...