In a few harsh phrases, Akerman changed forever the way I think of — and approach — events onstage.
Harsh, vivid phrases – the 'hideously charred corpses of murdered infants'; bodies 'writhing in agony' – unspool until they become almost a form of punctuation.
But for the most part, when the issue is waterboarding at Guantánamo Bay, the phrase "harsh interrogation technique" is used, reflecting the complexities there, including the past view of US administrators – stretching back to Dubya Bush – that waterboarding is not torture.
Characteristically, his singing was harsh, including shouted phrases, and his vivid slide guitar replies featured heavy amplifier reverberation.
Then Louis' horn rose in harsh, elated notes, phrases he'd invented on riverboats and ratty blues tonks, using all the sinews of his face and muscle of his tongue.
Mr. Higgins performs it breathtakingly, revealing with harsh clarity how each phrase opens a new wound in the actor's exhausted soul.
"His economical sentences surprise you with their philosophical depth, building in simple, deceptively gentle phrases towards harsh images".
Usually liberal in their outlook, some phrases are harsh, while others have dark echoes of Twin Peaks: "Bodies lie in long grass, some are murdered and some are picnicking".
The study, by ReThink Media, looked at the coverage of 50 media outlets between October 2010 and October 2012, and examined whether or not they used the word "torture" when referring to American interrogation practices, or whether they used phrases like "harsh interrogation techniques" instead.
