Month: May 2013

1 Comment Posted on by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: Forces of Good and Bad

kate-upton-vogue13-07It’s the middle of the week which means that it’s time for the links. Things have been a bit quiet on the blog lately but I’m hoping that inspiration will strike and I’ll write some more interesting things soon. Let’s kick it off with Kate Upton who I’m pretty sure hasn’t been on the blog since she landed her second SI Swimsuit Issue cover.

The mainstream media would have you believe that Anonymous are evil but the hacking group have been a force of good who have been a leading force in uncovering evidence of rape that the police just aren’t interested in finding. (Mother Jones)

Not only does austerity prevent much economic stimulation but it also has a real world effect on people. Austerity measures also affect the social safety net that so many people rely on. (New York Times)

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says Canadians are entitled to know what the government is up to… Only if it can be spun positively for the governing Conservative Party. (MacLean’s)

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Facebook Fails of the Week

Every so often (though usually more often than once every three months), we look at the most spectacular fails that the internet has to offer. Well today, we look at the most spectacular fails that Facebook has to offer. This week, we have five of the best fails Facebook has to offer.

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F1 Spanish GP: Send Them Home Happy

When putting on live events, most promoters and performers have a simple philosophy: “Send the fans home happy.” Well, Fernando Alonso and Scuderia Ferrari certainly did that at yesterday’s Spanish Grand Prix as the Spanish driver and local hero took his second career win in the Spanish Grand Prix.

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Sunday Link-Off: Economics 101

adriana-lima-victoriassecret13-03I didn’t have a lot of time to write this up yesterday. I’ve been busy building a PC… Or trying to build a PC. Let’s hope that it works as advertised. I’ve read good things and bad about that graphics card I got. It came in a bundle. I could’ve gone for something different and paid more. Still, I was amazed how much cheaper going AMD was than Intel & NVIDIA when gaming performance is similar. Right now, my biggest complaint is that it’s not as powerful as I expected but I’ll see if I can’t tweak a bit on that.

Right, it’s Sunday which means it’s time for the links. Let’s kick it off with Adriana Lima who surprisingly hasn’t been featured on the blog in nearly two years. It’s about time that I corrected that.

So the US deficit is being reduced but at what cost? Economists say that the cost cutting and tax increase plans agreed upon by both parties is slowing economic recovery. (The New York Times)

Remember Instagram? It was big before Facebook bought it and Twitter dropped integrated image support for the app. Anyway, here’s a look at the rise and Zuckerberg-ification of Instagram. (Vanity Fair)

One social network that isn’t in danger of going away anytime soon is Reddit. If you want news and memes fast, Reddit will have it first. (Ad Age)

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Entertainment Link-Off: Young and Beautiful

jordana brewster michelle rodriguez fast furious 6 premiereApparently it’s style over substance in the latest adaptation of The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio. That’s rather unfortunate to hear but if you’ve always been a fan of Baz Luhrmann’s style, it might be worth the admission ticket. Otherwise there’s not much out there as alternative programming… unless you’re in Australia because Star Trek into Darkness is out! Anyway, kicking off this Entertainment Link-Off is Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez from the world premiere for Fast and Furious 6.

After the jump, analyzing the difference between The Great Gatsby film with the original novel, check out movie posters with their original working titles, The World’s End trailer premieres, Community returns and watch old Spock take on the new Spock in The Challenge. Continue reading →

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Caption This: April 27 – May 10, 2013

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 past week with a funny (-ish) caption. Continue reading →

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Star Trek: The Video Game (PS3) Review (or He’s Dead, Jim)

At this point, there is nothing I can say at add to the conversation about Star Trek: The Video Game. The consensus puts this games in with Aliens: Colonial Marines and The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct in a three-way race for the worst game of 2013. It’s a shame because I had high hopes for it considering that it was a Star Trek game developed by a pretty good Canadian developer.

Since nothing I can write will be a revelation when it comes to this game, I thought I’d take an in-depth look at everything good and bad in Star Trek and make it the most detailed review you can find of this game.

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F1 Power Rankings: Spanish Grand Prix

After four flyaway races to start the season, the Formula One World Championship returns to Europe to start the heart of the season. The European season runs from May through to mid-September will separate the pretenders from the contenders. Given that we’ve had a pretty varied set of results for the first four races, a little settling into a groove is probably due.

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Wednesday Link-Off: Bursting the Bubble

jessica-lowndes-btsports13-04It’s the middle of the week which means it’s time for the links. It also means I’m going to pay a visit to my local comic book establishment today. Every week, we have the new release list over on et geekera if you’re looking to buy some comics. Anyway, let’s start with Canadian actress Jessica Lowndes.

It seems like a cliché to say that people who knew a murder never saw it coming but many people who knew Dzhokhar Tsarnaev never saw it coming. (New York Times)

If you weren’t paying attention to the NRA convention, you missed some weird things. (The Guardian)

It’s only fitting to jump from one area of the Republican bubble to another. A NASA-headed study shows that weather patterns are getting more extreme as a result of climate change. That would explain the ridiculous amounts of snow I got this winter. (LA Times)

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Have Attack Ads Outlived Their Welcome?

harper-vs-trudeauA funny little poll came out late last week. It was the first national poll conducted after the Liberals selected Justin Trudeau as their new party leader. Oddly enough, the results of the poll showed that the Liberal Party holds a seven point lead over the governing Conservatives.

While there are plenty of explanations that one could attribute to the reason for the swing in polling numbers, my theory is that it comes down to the Conservative response to Trudeau’s election. Rather than promote themselves, the Conservatives have gone back to the well with attack ads about Trudeau’s inexperience and past statements. Could this mean that their old attack ad strategy might not be working anymore?

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