Word: backgrounder
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...singular achievement of Dalrymple, in his strikingly chaste and selfless book, to give us the lives and voices of some regular Indian and Pakistani worshippers without judgment, speculation or high-flown abstraction. He just sets the scene around them, presents some historical background and lets them tell their stories. A prison warden explains how he takes off two months every year to become (along with a waiter, a bus conductor and a man who collects coconut juice) a divinely possessed dancer. A Tibetan monk recalls how he found himself taking up arms against Chinese invaders. A temple dancer - or sacred...
...Kenyan opinions about AIDS. "As a country and as an African culture, we live in full denial of the existence of homosexuality," says James Kamau, national coordinator of the Kenya Treatment Access Movement, which aims to increase the availability of all essential medicines to Kenyans. "Because of the cultural background, we shut our eyes, our minds and everything, yet it is happening every single...
...same principle holds true for “River of Breaklights,” in which Casablancas mindlessly chants, “Getting the hang of it, timing is everything,” over a generic, messy background of drums and guitar. Casablancas holds to the false impression on “Phrazes” that a fast tempo alone always conveys a sense of urgency or energy. He fell victim to similar problems on his later Strokes songwriting—think “Juicebox”—and has failed to correct such issues...
...three pieces of music by percussionists Tigger Beford and Peter Jones, whose contemporary dance compositions highlight funky, eccentric sounds from prepared piano. “My [choreography] is not that balletic, though a lot of my dancers are ballet-trained,” says Stoller-Lindsey, whose choreographic background is rooted in modern dance. “It’s theatrical, gestural, and athletic...
...Confused? Here's the background. After Thaksin was deposed in a 2006 bloodless military coup and sentenced in absentia to two years' imprisonment for a conflict of interest conviction - a verdict he disputes - the exiled billionaire tycoon maintained some friends in high places. One of those mates is Hun Sen, the quixotic Cambodian Prime Minister. The current Thai government is fiercely allergic to Thaksin - and Hun Sen's move last month to offer refuge to the controversial former leader drew strenuous criticism from Bangkok, both from government and local press circles. (Read a TIME interview with Thaksin...