Word: thrill
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...major retailers reported dismal revenues for the month of October. One hard-hit firm, J.C. Penney, said its sales fell 6.3% from the same month in 1989. Shoppers are particularly avoiding such discretionary items as clothing and furniture. At a time like this, consumers are apparently finding that the thrill of shopping is nothing compared with the satisfaction of paying off some debt on an overburdened credit card...
...this a healthy trend? Psychologists generally give it their blessing. They see homemade erotica as a safe way to spice up a couple's sex life; there's the thrill of the forbidden but none of the danger of, say, an affair. "Frankly, I'd wonder about anyone with a camera who hadn't thought of doing it," offers Kate Wachs, a Chicago psychologist. "It's usually a fun thing done by people who have absolute trust in each other, are relaxed about their sexuality and adventuresome. It's the equivalent of making love on the beach or the kitchen...
Updike includes these details in what is obviously a well-researched summary of contemporary American culture. Rabbit is supposed to astound us with his oblivion. He sexual exploits, for example, are shocking, but he reacts passionlessly to them. The thrill of Updike's prose lies in its wit in describing the most outrageous events in the most non-commital tone...
...these teams, the thrill is in finishing first, not fast. In a pennant race, closeness is all, and 1990 could boast a crucial series: Toronto-Boston last weekend, with brilliant, battered Roger Clemens appearing - to pitch the Sox to a tangy win. Early autumn abounds in such epiphanies. But then what? The survivors, already winded like nicotine addicts in a marathon, will have to consider a more daunting task: facing the Oakland Athletics...
...Long Island during the '40s, Woodbury caught roller coaster fever at Coney Island, which then boasted no fewer than five coasters. After conquering the legendary Cyclone, Woodbury was hooked, and ever since, when his travels allow, he dashes off to an amusement park to try out the local thrill machine. Woodbury figures he has had innumerable rides on some 25 different roller coasters over the years. As a journalist, he chronicled the evolution of the roller coaster for TIME a decade ago. Woodbury found on this trip through the turnstiles that technological advances have made the chills even bigger...