Month: December 2012

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Worst of Music 2012 Retrospective

There were some highlights in music this year but, as always, those highlights were largely overshadowed by some craptacular music in 2012. While the Worst of Music feature wasn’t on the blog regularly this year, that didn’t mean that music got better this year. Apart from some highlights like Psy and Adele, there was a lot of bad music other than the 15 WoM winners of 2012.

To look back on the year that was in music, both the good but mostly bad, here’s is a collection of mashups of the hit songs of 2012. Continue reading →

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Sunday Link-Off: Ending 2012

nina-agdal-aerie12-26As the year comes to an end, we’ve reached the last linkdump of 2012. I probably should have made this the year-in-review post but there were almost no other links to choose from for last Wednesday’s linkdump apart from the year-in-review links. Mind you, this linkdump isn’t looking too long either. Anyway, start the last linkdump of the year with Nina Agdal. You’ll be seeing her again when I do the annual SI Swimsuit cover odds post.

The courts may have bounced Toronto mayor Rob Ford out of office but it certainly hasn’t solved all of Toronto’s problems. (MacLean’s)

The most interesting story of the US Presidential election may have come two months after the vote. Tagg Romney says his father, Mitt, never really wanted to be President. (Daily Kos)

Wikipedia has finished up its annual fundraising drive. The problem is, though, how Wikipedia uses the money. They don’t seem to need all of it. (The Register)

After the jump, why it’s okay to not lower expectations, plenty of oral histories and some best of 2012 videos. Continue reading →

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Entertainment Link-Off: Fight. Dream. Hope. Love.

Emma WatsonIt’s time for another edition of the Entertainment Link-Off. Due to the holidays, it has been a bit slow on the news, but there are still a few noteworthy things to check out. There’s not many new releases this weekend, but if you haven’t had a chance to check out The Hobbit, Jack Reacher or Les Miserables, this might be your chance. Let’s kick off the last ELO of 2012 with Emma Watson only because I recently saw The Perks of Being A Wallflower and thought it was a fantastic film.

After the jump have another look at the lack of creativity in poster design, check out the most pirated TV shows and movies, a few Star Trek tidbits, How I Met Your Mother is sticking around for another season, the worst movies of 2012 review themselves, watch the first four minutes of Warm Bodies and Ed the Sock shares a story about Christina Aguilera. Continue reading →

1 Comment Posted on by Steve Murray Humour

Caption This: January 1 – December 31, 2012

Inspired by the Globe and Mail’s caption writing person, we waste our time writing funny picture captions for some of the more interesting photos we come across when blogging. So here are some of the best pictures from the whole of 2012 with a funny (-ish) caption. Continue reading →

4 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Video Games

My Twelve Favourite Video Games of 2012

Since we’re doing lists of our favourite things of 2012, I thought I would cover video games. This was an odd year in gaming. New triple-A IPs were few and far between. Sequels were the name of the game this year as developers and publishers bided their time until the launch of the next generation of XBox and Playstation. However, thanks to Kickstarter, indie game bundles and digital distribution on multiple platforms, I think 2012 started to usher in more emphasis on high-quality independently developed games.

So in no particular order, here are my favourite games of 2012. Continue reading →

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The History of Doctor Who Theme Music (Updated for the 50th Anniversary)

Any true Brit or Anglophiles know the cultural impact of Doctor Who. The show is one of the iconic pieces of British culture and science fiction. The show has been on-air since 1963 and has aired 790 episodes and one TV movie. Each of those episodes has started with the iconic Doctor Who theme song originally composed by Ron Grainer. Unlike your standard TV show, however, the Doctor Who theme has undergone some dramatic revisions. As Doctor Who reaches its 50th Anniversary in 2013, here is a look back at the history of the Doctor Who opening music, updated through this week’s Christmas Special. Continue reading →

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Wednesday Link-Off: Year-in-Review 2012

kate-upton-vogue12-07It’s time for our year-in-review linkdump. Rather than the usual assortment of fun and/or timely links, it’s time to look back at the year that was. It’ll also make our lives easier if we end up doing a year-in-review podcast but that would mean we do a podcast which means it’s not likely to happen.

Anyway, let’s kick this post off with our 2012 woman of the year, Kate Upton. If you’re wondering how we select the blog’s woman of the year, we use maths and search results. If you don’t like our pick, you only have the internet to blame.

For the second time, Barack Obama was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. The other time was after he won the 2008 Presidential Election. (Time)

From proper news to the terribly written news, it’s a look at the worst columns of 2012. (The Atlantic Wire)

But if you’d like to read something a little better, the NYT has their 100 most notable books of 2012. (New York Times)

After the jump, we look at 2012 in pop culture, sports and more. Continue reading →

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Spend Your Christmas Dreaming of Epic Meals

Merry Christmas readers! I don’t know about the rest of you but the highlight of my Christmas is the big meal at the end of the day. What can I say? I’m a big fan of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, so on and so forth. So to get you in the mood for a big Christmas feast, here’s a collection of Epic Meal Time’s famous holiday feasts. Continue reading →

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F1 December News Roundup: Prepping For 2013

During the off-season, we’ll be doing periodic updates of the goings on in Formula One. With the recent announcement of F1’s rules for 2013 and 2014 and the ongoing discussion as to what, if anything, will replace the postponed New Jersey Grand Prix, there hasn’t been a shortage of news. Bernie has also been talking about the current team lineup and decided that F1 doesn’t need 13 teams. He thinks ten is enough.

First, though, I’ve been giving some thought to the McLaren driver situation. At first, I thought signing Sergio Perez was swapping Hamilton with someone aggressive and fast enough to be Hamilton-esque. After some thought, I think Perez’s driving style could mesh enough with Jenson Button that he could be a bigger threat to win the title than his more experienced teammate. Continue reading →

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Sunday Link-Off: ‘Twas 48 Hours Before Christmas

bar-refaeli-underme12-05It’s time for our last linkdump before Christmas. Don’t worry, we’ll still be posting over the holidays. I still haven’t sorted out what is going up on Tuesday but we’ll even have something then. For now, here’s a Christmas-themed Bar Refaeli.

The NRA finally spoke about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Friday. Their solution, as expected, was more guns. The problem is that what they’re asking for to protect people’s freedoms is going to have the exact opposite effect. (Slate)

The other problem with more guns is that giving every Tom, Dick and Harry guns won’t solve anything. Armed civilians only solve problems when they’re trained police or military personnel who happen to be in the right place at the right time. (Mother Jones)

The right might think more guns is the answer but the man who owns the loudest “news” voice of the right disagrees. Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch is advocating for gun control while Fox News isn’t. (New York Magazine)

After the jump, more about the Newtown shooting, the history of Fire Joe Morgan, and a modernized Home Alone sequel. Continue reading →