May 23rd, 2008 · Europe indulges in its annual festival of pop this weekend, when the Eurovision song contest takes place in Belgrade, Serbia. The competition is a rather cheesy contest to choose the most popular pop song in Europe. In its 52-year history, it has become an outrageous celebration of pure kitsch, filled with banal songs, accusations of political interference and collusion between voting nations. Reporter Vicki Barker
Jun 8th, 2007 · Some 4 million Iraqis have fled their homes over the past four years. For those still in the country, the war is at once terrifying -- and terrifyingly banal. People get up every morning, go to jobs, tend to chores and raise their children. Some are defiant and trying to take back what they can of their lives.
Oct 13th, 2005 · British playwright Harold Pinter, who juxtaposed the brutal and the banal in such works as The Caretaker and The Birthday Party and made an art form out of spare language and unbearable silence, won the 2005 Nobel Prize in literature Thursday.
Oct 13th, 2005 · English playwright Harold Pinter is awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is the author of plays such as The Birthday Party and The Caretaker. Pinter has earned his own adjective, "Pinteresque," which refers to his use of spare dialogue and banal settings to create a sense of dread and implied violence in everyday relationships.