Word: without
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...that such a striking title because it makes them into reptiles. Empathy is not a reptilian thing. Empathy is a mammalian thing. Psychopaths are capable of taking the perspective of somebody else, but only to take better advantage of you. They're able to play the empathy game, but without the feelings involved. It's like an empty shell. The core of empathy - emotional contagion and being in tune with the feelings of somebody else - seems to be completely lacking. They are like aliens among...
...life form rising from dancing nucleotides. Powers’s books have a propensity to remind the reader of their role, yet nowhere in his oeuvre does he do it so thoroughly, or effectively, as in “Generosity.” Powers manages this postmodern trope without creating an ironic distance. There is the prevailing sentiment that Powers has too much at stake to mask his work in the presumptions of irony. Far from simply instructing the reader, Powers is discovering his truths as he writes. As the book self-consciously asserts itself as a novel being written...
...colorful and too absurd to carry weight as a warning. The soft cries of distress “We’re using up the earth. It’s almost gone,” can’t stand up to Atwood’s showy vocabulary. Without a strong foundation of action and emotion, the novel comes across as more of a literary burlesque than a dystopian drama. There’s no real meat to Atwood’s novel and even the witty funhouse creations leave one hungry for something more substantial than a SecretBurger...
...utilitarian electronic droplets cascading through the background, coupled with a lack of emotion, flattens the piece. And though the vocals rise high in tone at some points, the volume remains fairly equalized. Such lack of emphasis on any one part kills the piece’s potential arch; without this growth and dénouement, we learn nothing. This cycle of promise and disappointment, however, is broken when the sugarcoated elements collide with the newfound thematic darkness. Simple, major key guitar chords create upbeat melodies—but when paired with the chill of lyrics like “uncross...
...Germany prefers to promote its interests behind the scenes rather than to lead in proportion to its size and economic clout. With Merkel or without her, nobody expects much change in Germany's worldview. That means a pro-U.S. and pro-Israel stance, a pragmatic approach in dealing with Russia and China, and a faith in negotiations and sanctions to bring recalcitrant countries like Iran back into constructive dialogue. Just don't look to Berlin for big ideas or robust new approaches to international problems. "There has been a passive consensus on foreign policy issues," says Jan Techau, director...