The movement toward realism is not manifest in a continuous evolution, however, but in a series of stylistic fashions, each starting from different artistic premises and achieving sometimes a greater degree of realism but sometimes merely a different sort of realism.
It's possible to dismiss such behavior as merely irrational, but sometimes these players offer the explanation that they enjoy the excitement of risk.
But sometimes a merely above-average athlete becomes a star thanks to a single, invaluable weapon that opponents just can't stop.
Sometimes the acts are merely inappropriate, sometimes they're immoral, sometimes they're illegal or even violent.
I suspect most of the BOYBN panels have had a roughly similar experience: the first five, 10, even dozen places fill themselves pretty quickly with writers whose talents would make their omission merely bizarre, sometimes because of the sureness and quality of their early writing, sometimes because they have, by a comparatively young age, built up an impressive body of work – and sometimes both.
The companies are not closing down, they point out, but merely reorganizing, sometimes leaving hundreds of jobs with the new, bigger company.
Sometimes the characters merely sing along, sometimes they change the words; Cole Porter's "Another openin' of another show" becomes "the occupation of old Tokyo".
Such casualties often occur not on the battlefield but after it — or, sometimes, merely in its proximity.
But finishing failed the Americans, sometimes merely out of hesitation.
