Word: witness
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...fact, most talking to oneself involves a low order of business--pettiness, self-justification, improvised rants or what the French call l'esprit d'escalier, the things that you should have said a moment ago, lines you think of while coming down the stairs. (The British call it "taxi wit," which may prove that the French think faster than the Brits.) This debased muttering is directed at salesclerks, ticket-writing cops and even would-be muggers: "You know, son, when I was in Nam .." Talking to oneself is inherently a private act, not meant to be shared, and as such...
...heard you had an ear and were ready to lend one, and if the mood was right and there was a bottle of Scotch in the neighborhood, he could talk about music far into the night. "A Johnny Mercer lyric," he said once, casually, "is all the wit you wish you had and all the love you ever lost." Music was the one subject that could make Sinatra drop his guard. He talked about music as he sang it: with diligence and respect and a passion that left no doubt that this above all was what mattered most...
...Dyke Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H*--never made it to No. 1, while plenty of junk did ascend to that pinnacle. As fun as it would be to go against the conventional, middlebrow wisdom and say The Beverly Hillbillies possessed a sly, Twain-like wit, recent viewings confirm that it was as crude as everyone has always said. The Happy Days-Laverne and Shirley era is another sorry one. So it could be argued on behalf of Seinfeld that it has combined quality and popularity in a way that is very impressive...
...these allegations are unfair of almost any film project, and certainly fail to acknowledge what Kopple has accomplished in Wild Man Blues Nothing here will make anyone forget Harlan County USA, the landmark documentary she made about union strikes among Kentucky coalminers, but craftsmanship and wit are as present here as in her more socially-minded, dramatic work...
...applaud not only his wit and humor, but his insight into that most peculiar aspect of the Harvard experience, section. It is a gem worth reprinting in future years. MICHAEL E. DRISCOLL...