While the recent 90-day Rossiya poll to come up with the greatest Russian to have ever lived straddles the fine lines between nationalism, historical editing and plain old kitschy nostalgia, it still generated enough momentum to be reported by various media outfits overseas. The state-run TV station came up with a short list of twelve candidates for the prestigious title of “The Name of Russia”. The voting was hardly scientific and the methodology was very reminiscent of how Pop Idol decides who gets eliminated.’
The results did raise eyebrows as Joseph Stalin emerged as the third highest vote getter ahead of great authors like Pushkin and Dostoevsky . Stalin was responsible for the deaths of millions due to starvation and the establishment of manual labor camps in the wastes of the Gulag. Alexander Nevsky and Pyotr Stolypin -two leaders with relatively greater mass market appeal among Russians - edged out Stalin at first and second, respectively.
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December 30th,2008
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The deadline for the raffle will be on the final second of 2008 so if you want to get a chance of winning a copy of Wolfgang’s sixth studio release Villains, go to the linked page and follow the simple mechanics on how to qualify. Less than a dozen people have joined so your chances of winning is relatively good.
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Something caught my eye yesterday.
In a recent article on the Philippine Daily Inquirer, TonyMaghirang wrote a lengthy review of the Black Christmas Project. It’s nice that Wolfgang got mentioned in a major daily but upon closer inspection, something really flabbergasted me.
Two new compositions, “John of the Cross” and “Novus is Burning,” carried similar search-and-destroy slam beats of old favorites. However, “Diaspora Mama” (also from the new record) sounded overly dramatic for a band that’s all metal business from the get-go.
It’s probably understandable to get one song wrong, but two? If youwere in the concert, would remember that the four songs off Villains that were played that night were “R.P. Deathsquad”, “Ibrahim”, “Soap” and “Novus Is Burning”. Why in the world would a writer wrongly claim that two completely different songs were played? It seems petty, but if you’re going to report something, you might as well get it right.
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For people who continue to make the assumption that their religion and their version of god have the monopoly on righteousness and the divine path, godlessness is often seen as the opposite of their ideal and is often equated with evil. Of course, there’s no use debating against fundamentalists who discriminate on the basis of your non-belief because there’s no way that they’ll ever admit that they’re wrong even if they already seen glaring anomalies within their own belief systems and religious organizations. I refuse to engage these people.
The month of December is a very exciting month for the predominantly roman catholic population of the Philippines. There are constitutionally-mandated extra wages and holidays as well as meteorological changes that inspires everyone to be a little bit more optimistic and kind.
Forget the fact that it’s merely a christian version of a once Pagan/roman feast. Christmas gives people hope and thanks to its strategic schedule (a week before the new year begins), everyone is generally happy around this time. I bet even the poor, the sick and the dying are happy. And in case they aren’t people reach out to them with countless gift drives to make sure that they feel part of the celebration.
With this much time, effort and resources flooding in to celebrate the significance of an event, you almost want it to be true. People want it to be true. Humans evolved through time following Darwinian concepts like the Survival of the Fittest, but it’s not all about physical prowess. As man’s brain developed, his emotions became more sophisticated and his mental well-being also needed sustenance. It was no longer about who could catch the most fish or lift the most food. Being able to be sane enough to provide for oneself and one’s family became pertinent as well. In a world filled with the dangers of natural disasters, unexplained phenomena like eclipses , wild animals and other hungry men, man needed something to hold on to - one concept that could eventually answer all the paranoia that that scenario must have promoted.
It’s still pretty much the same time - the dangers have changed, but we still live in a dangerous world. We still are exposed to factors that make life scary and downright random. But regardless of the time frame, wanting something to be real doesn’t have any effect on the veracity of the existence of a particular entity. People don’t necessarily understand that, but what the hell,right?
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In closing, let me share a photo of artwork made by children at the Cancer Institute:
You just want it to be real.
even if every part of you tells you that i can’t be.
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Since I’m feeling extra generous these past few days, I decided to throw in something really special on the table. I’m giving away Wolfgang’s latest studio release Villains. This is the band’s first album since the 2001’s Black Mantra so it’s a project that everybody anticipated. Since Wolfgang is now producing music through their own label Semenelin Music, their albums aren’t likely to end up in the shelves of established record stores. This means that getting this album can be considerably difficult so you better grab this chance! 
To sweeten the pot, I’ll throw in a limited edition Wolfgang sticker!
How to join:
1. Leave your First Name, valid email address and/or blog/website in the comments section. I will be contacting winners via e-mail so please give me one that works.
2. In the comment box, simply list your favorite Wolfgang song and explain why. ADDENDUM: If you’ve already answered the question, simply write something about Wolfgang (the music, the guys, the concert/gig experience how they’ve touched your life by fixing your marriage) in 40 words or more.
3. Hit Post! That’s how easy it is. One comment will be equivalent to one raffle entry. The winner will be drawn randomly. You are only allowed to make one comment per day. Example: If you leave 4 comments for the entire contest period, you will have FOUR entries in the raffle.
4. Deadline for entries will be final second of 2008 (Atheista time). The winner will be drawn by a soon-to-be-determined person other than myself on the first day of the New Year.
I won’t be able to mail the album so you have to get it from me IF you win. I live in city of Manila.
GOOD LUCK.
****If nobody joins… well, that’s just sad. haha****
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