1.   An annual mating ritual of New York singles is on.

2.   And so it has gone since January, when accountants started gearing up for the annual ritual of tax preparation.

3.   And there was nothing that could prevent the Legislature from repeating -- one last time -- the debate that had become an annual ritual of unfulfilled emotion.

4.   Around Yankee Stadium, cynicism about this annual ritual could not run higher.

5.   As part of this annual ritual, a plethora of investment books are out to help guide you to that golden retirement.

6.   A few days after the Oscars, another annual ritual, the International Best Dressed List, was announced.

7.   A strange man tries to hire Monaghan to unmask the Poe Toaster, but she refuses, only to decide to try to observe the annual ritual.

8.   Absent from the game when Blefary played, the presentation is now an annual ritual.

9.   But for the Washington social elite, it is an annual ritual that combines civic pride with show-business glamour.

10.   Despite these annual Thanksgiving rituals, we Americans remain remarkably unappreciative of our highly efficient food growers, who have drastically lowered the cost of eating.