But that was Cramer, agree his friends, an occasionally shambling presence who was also a keen observer, a raconteur, a baseball fan, a master of ceremonies. (He served the latter role at Pakenham's wedding.) Ward imagines him in another time, another place, holding court with some other witty friends.

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But there is widespread expectation that Francis will soon name a new master of liturgical ceremonies more in line with his priorities of bringing the church and its message of love and service to ordinary people without the "high church" trappings of his predecessor.

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Behind a dazzling colonnaded facade sat a gold-and-ivory statue of Zeus, divine master of ceremonies a stone god so huge that, had he stood up, his head would have gone through the temple roof.

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He was speaking in Kurdish before a hall filled with dignitaries, at a glitzy ceremony complete with swirling spotlights and a bleached-blond Turkish female master of ceremonies.

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And part of the lobby had been transformed into a TV studio where David Frei, Westminster's director of public relations and on-air master of ceremonies, was doing live feeds with competing canines and their owners back to morning shows or newscasts in their home media markets.

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Sandler is Robbie Hart, who was once the lead singer of a high-school rock group and six years later, circa 1985, has risen only as far as playing master of ceremonies at Connecticut weddings.

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