Word: preening
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Vision, delights to the eyes, the narcissism of seeing and being seen guides those who converge on Boston for the Head. People preen, primp, look, laugh and wave at old friends, newly discovered even if the name ("Cape Cod, right?") escapes. But not too self-conscious, now. Look as if you belong here. Smile...
...elementary school in New Haven, Conn., uniforms are just being inaugurated for this school year. Detroit's Mumford High School is raising a ruckus by handing down a get-tough dress code aimed at eliminating flash. The code's language is starchy enough for a military academy ("Misdirected students preen about, modeling flashy, expensive clothing and exerting little energy in their academic pursuits"); on the proscribed list are leather coats, jogging outfits, shorts, designer glasses, designer jeans and "custom-made briefcases...
...finer points in the performance, the kids jump up to argue with the assistant director, Mali Hlatshwayo, in rapid-fire Zulu. He thumps his chest. "Emotion," explains one of the cast. At the stage door, starstruck American youngsters gather for autographs, but the kids of Sarafina! don't preen like the show horses of your average chorus line. The girls are mostly hefty. The boys tend toward skinny. Plain faces, remarkably ordinary. Bopping and hopping onstage, they maintain a wary reserve off-hours. Their English is lilting, halting, and political questions are turned aside for fear of reprisals back home...
...shell with a thin wire rod. The percussive duet lasted 52 hours, until a hole the size of a quarter had formed. A few hours later, the team carefully removed the remaining fragments and Molloko emerged. By week's end bird handlers were using a condor puppet to preen the rambunctious youngster and feed it 70 minced baby mice, or "pinkies," daily...
...look and talk tough. Chest heaving and frowning become measures of character. Entrapment, humiliation, accusation and scorn rise above sympathy and understanding. The debates and their breathless aftermaths demand a winner. If there is none on first viewing, one will be created. One contender is expected to exult and preen, the other to scowl and slink out of town, like Floyd Patterson after his K.O. by Sonny Listen in Chicago. It is the heavyweight championship of politics, and in the ensuing days the air waves are filled with videotape highlights. It is a lousy way to choose a President...