Day: February 3, 2013

Music
Video Game Music

Temple of Drifting Sands, NieR Gestalt & NieR Replicant (Original Soundtrack)

Composed by Keiichi Okabe, 2010’s NiER from Square Enix is one of the finer examples of the type of quality soundtrack one expects to hear on a Japanese game. Ethereal echoing voices and sonorous vocals help convey the sentiment of wandering through a vast and lonely desert. The ability to paint images in the mind with […]

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News

The Return of Stalingrad

The Russian metropolis of Volgograd resumed its Soviet World War II-era name of Stalingrad on Saturday to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad.   The name change will be accompanied by concerts, military parades, and attended by President Vladimir Putin. The city was initially named Stalingrad in 1925 after the Soviet leader […]

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News

The Rise of Macau: How the World’s Gambling Capital Transformed Itself

Macau, once a colony of Portugal and only handed back over to China a little over a decade ago, is the gambling capital of the world with five times the annual gambling revenue of Las Vegas.   Benjamin Carlson’s Broken Tooth and New Macau for Foreign Press is a tale of gambling, organized crime, and urban resurgence that uses […]

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North Korea News Today

North Korea and the Opportunity for a Chinese-Led Solution

Often the People’s Republic of China takes a lenient stance towards its ally the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which is why it was surprising that China signed a UNSC resolution condemning North Korea’s missile tests and authorizing the imposition of further sanctions on the regime in Pyongyang.   China’s willingness to rein in its […]

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News

Iran’s Rial Hits All-Time Low

Iran’s currency the rial has fallen 20% in value over the last two weeks in trade against the US dollar.   The devaluation indicates the Islamic Republic of Iran is increasingly struggling against international sanctions that have limited its ability to obtain foreign currency.   The sanctions placed on Iran are intended to reduce its […]

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News

Greece’s Golden Dawn Offers Greek Youth a Far-Right Alternative

Austerity and its effects on Greek society have caused many disaffected youth to seek political solutions to their social ills, a trend that Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn party is exploiting to the worry of many progressive Greeks.   Armed with a nationalistic and anti-immigrant message, the Golden Dawn promises unemployed youth an outlet for their […]

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Video Games

Fallout: Project Brazil Full-Mod of Fallout: New Vegas Looks Amazing

A full mod of the hit game from Bethesda, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout: Project Brazil promises to tell the story of New Vegas‘ origins. The mod adds an all new story centered around a character who is a resident of Vault 18 that embarks upon a quest to find a hidden complex called Brazil within […]

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News

Netherlands Bank SNS Reaal Nationalized

After receiving a bailout of €750 million in 2008, SNS Reaal was thought to be profitable but its capital limits left it below legal solvency amounts, forcing the Dutch state to take a stake in the troubled financial concern.   The Netherlands’ Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the move was to insure financial stability, especially after […]

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