Word: usual
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...there’s a complaint to be lodged against Pinback, it’s that the songs all sound more or less the same. Nearly every song was dominated by the lead guitar and bass (the bass much higher in the mix than usual for rock bands); vocals are buried beneath each song’s few riffs to the point of unintelligibility; no song strayed far from its studio version. None of this is particularly bad in itself, but it can get tiring after 90 minutes...
...addition, carving a concentration system out of electives, as Florida has proposed, subverts the supposed objective of making high school more interesting. Electives are, by definition, optional courses designed to sweeten high school’s somewhat bitter cake with a refreshing break from the usual grind. Replacing electives with an academically intensive major transforms these invigorating breaks into further academic hoops to jump through, making the overall educational experience less stimulating for many students...
Rush Limbaugh recently called the Democrats the "party of death" because of many Democrats' view that some moral decisions, like the choice to have a first-trimester abortion, should be left to the individual, not the cops. Ann Coulter, with her usual subtlety, simply calls her political opponents "godless," the title of her new book. And the largely nonreligious media have taken the bait. The "Christian" vote has become shorthand in journalism for the Republican base...
Thanks to warmer average temperatures, however, plants in some parts of the Netherlands are flowering an average of 16 days earlier in the spring. The birds in West Africa don't know that; they still leave more or less at the usual time. And while the early spring they encounter in the north has induced them to move up egg laying a bit, they're still producing offspring nearly a week behind prime caterpillar season. Inadequate nourishment means dying birds and falling populations. "We think this is the first time anyone has really shown that an insufficient response to climate...
...Goss then talked with Bush before the departure announcement, where they were seated in front of the fireplace the White House uses for photo opportunities with visiting world leaders. Although Bush put his hand on Goss's arm as journalists were herded in, the President betrayed none of his usual reluctance at a high-level departure. "This morning, Director Porter Goss offered his resignation as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; I've accepted it," Bush said matter-of-factly. "I've established a very close, personal relationship with Porter, which is very important for the Director...