Word: traction
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Last time out, our singing rodents followed the guidance of their perplexed owner Dave (Jason Lee) and became international rock stars. This time Dave, in traction in Paris, sends them back to Los Angeles, where their caretaker is Toby, a PlayStation addict and all-around loser played by Zachary Levi (star of TV's Chuck). His main function - except for failing in public, then being romantically rewarded for it - is to make sure the chipmunks go to ... high school? Affirmative action in California admission policies now apparently applies to 8-in.-tall brown animals...
...theaters. Fantastic Mr. Fox, the stop-motion animated feature that picked up awards this past week from the New York and L.A. film critics' groups, actually dropped 57% in ticket sales; the power of the press continues to be impotent. The critics' darlings, if they're to gain traction at all, must wait for the free publicity they may receive from next month's Golden Globe awards and the Oscar nominations...
...attacks before the runoff against Gene Locke, a former city attorney. A group of African-American pastors criticized her supposed "gay agenda," and a conservative activist distributed flyers featuring her and her partner and asking, "Is this the image Houston wants to portray?" But the attacks did not find traction; a Houston Chronicle/Zogby poll found that Parker's sexuality mattered to just 18% of likely voters...
Late Wednesday, the Indian government announced it would approve the carving out of a separate state known as Telangana from Andhra Pradesh. The movement for Telangana secession is virtually as old as the Indian republic itself, but it gained traction this month after its main political leader, K. Chandrashekar Rao, commenced a week-long fast. Rao's deteriorating health as well as coordinated protests - some violent - across the 10 districts of Andhra Pradhesh's 23 that comprise Telangana, including the influential high-tech capital of Hyderabad, seemed to force New Delhi's hand. But it could open a whole series...
Long past dreams of Beltway comity, Obama is now in a political tight spot, wedged between sky-high unemployment and lingering concerns over government spending and debt. That choice pits the President's left flank against his moderate supporters. Meanwhile, Republicans have found some traction on the economy, for which Americans traditionally blame, for good or ill, the guy who calls 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue home. As soon as Obama finished speaking, his foes pulled out their knives too. South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint called Obama "delusional" and "out of control...