Word: backgrounders
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...influence on his work. On a cultural basis, his work mirrors developing societies, often drawing from his birthplace. This interest is evident in “Do It Yourself,” which opened last Friday at the ICA and will run until January 18. Ortega’s background as a political cartoonist is pervasive in his art. The pieces he creates have a distinctively dark humor about them and are often a metaphor for society, especially society in Latin America. This is made manifest in the two collections of photographs that comprise the pieces “Resting...
...tainted by the same malaise: as the first single, it oozes with catchiness—but this masks its banality. Its initial simplicity and subsequent slide into a fuller, guitar-heavy phrase is promising; but the utilitarian electronic droplets cascading through the background, coupled with a lack of emotion, flattens the piece. And though the vocals rise high in tone at some points, the volume remains fairly equalized. Such lack of emphasis on any one part kills the piece’s potential arch; without this growth and dénouement, we learn nothing. This cycle of promise and disappointment...
...classic rock. The group’s eponymous album was an attempt, in part, to recreate their grunge roots; it was dominated by lean, brief, hard rock songs, but though it attracted some moderate critical approval it soon faded away, having failed to excite even the faithful. With this background, it is almost ridiculous that in 2009—18 years after their debut, “Ten,” and with all five members well into their forties—Pearl Jam should release “Backspacer,” a propulsive, relaxed, enjoyable, and timely album...
Maybe Willis is so convincing playing working stiffs because he comes from that background. His father William was a career soldier and a welder, his mother, Marlene, a German girl William met while stationed abroad. Bruce grew up in South Jersey, skipped college to study acting and supported himself with real jobs: security guard, private investigator, tending bar in the Village and SoHo. (He also pursued a singing career as his alter-ego Bruno - an addiction he continued to indulge.) Willis has nothing of the adolescent in his persona, perhaps because he was in his 30s before anybody noticed...
Apart from Zazi's Afghan background, counterterrorism experts will be especially keen to know about his associations in Pakistan. The FBI says Zazi has admitted he spent time at an al-Qaeda camp in Pakistan in 2008, receiving training in weapons and explosives. If that is true, then Zazi could be a very valuable source of information on how al-Qaeda trains jihadis now. What U.S. counterterrorism officials know about jihadi training camps is based mostly on intelligence gleaned after al-Qaeda's bases in Afghanistan were overrun in 2001. Relatively little is known about the camps in Pakistan, which...