Month: November 2013

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Saturday Link-Off: Tryptophan Hangover

miesha-tate-fitnessgurls13-02It’s the final day of November and WordPress hasn’t let us turn on the Christmas lights yet. I thought they’d turn on the Christmas decorations for the blog come Thanksgiving but they seemed to miss that. Oh well. I guess that means that we just carry on with the links. Since there was an Ultimate Fighter episode on last night, let’s start with Miesha Tate.

There really isn’t anyone or anywhere the NSA won’t spy. They even conspired with the Canadian government to spy on the 2012 G20 summit in Toronto. We can’t trust any government now, can we? (The Globe & Mail)

Edward Snowden also let us in on the fact that the NSA spies on porn watching to discredit targeted persons. (Huffington Post)

Ever wonder if Black Friday acts as any sort of economic indicator about consumer spending? There’s a chart to answer that. (Washington Post)

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3 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Columns, Video Games

7 Best Games of the 7th Generation: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-headerIf there’s one genre of games that seemed to take of the last generation of consoles, it was the role-playing game. The RPG genre has been around for almost as long as video games thanks to the popularity of the pen-and-paper RPGs, like Dungeons and Dragons. It was really this generation that saw the proliferation of RPGs and the incorporation of RPG elements into a number of games in other genres.

At the top of the class in this generation is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The fifth entry into Bethesda’s hit action RPG series re-set the bar for Western RPGs thanks to gorgeous graphics, a spectacular soundtrack and seemingly limitless gameplay throughout the open world of Skyrim.

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WRC 4 FIA World Rally Championship Review: Getting Sideways

wrc-4-fia-world-rally-championship-headerThe great danger of having an annual franchise, and especially one where licensing fees eat up a significant portion of the budget, is that the developer and publisher will pump out a new game every year that features only minor tweaks over the previous year’s effort.

While Big Ben Interactive and Milestone’s WRC series isn’t the biggest or prettiest racing game on the market, you can’t argue that they’re willing to change the formula every year.

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1 Comment Posted on by Steve Murray Man Lab

25 New Reasons To Be Thankful For America

Today is Thanksgiving in America. Now, there are lots of reasons to be thankful for our neighbours to the south. There’s the day of football (even if the Cowboys are playing). There’s the big discounts on Black Friday. And they even Rickrolled the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. In our American Thanksgiving tradition, here are 25 more of the great women of the United States. Continue reading →

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Wednesday Link-Off: More than Just Toronto

rachelle-goulding-macys13-03Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends… Well, it does when I run through all the links but I don’t think the WLO series is going anywhere. Anyway, it’s time for the middle of the week links. Since there are a lot of Canadian links in this post, let’s start it off with Canadian model Rachelle Goulding.

Everyone talks about Rob Ford but there’s a lot more wrong in Canadian government than just the Mayor of Toronto. (The Blot)

Speaking of Rob Ford, Vivid wants Rob Ford to star in one of their videos in order to compete with other Rob Ford parody videos. On both counts, please no! (TMZ)

The Pope and I have something in common. We don’t believe that trickle-down economics actually works. (Washington Post)

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F1 Brazilian Grand Prix: One For the Record Books

The 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix was the end of an era. The V8s were going to be running their last race. Mark Webber was to retire after the race to go run sports cars. And Sebastian Vettel was set to break yet another record. And all of that happened. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the storybook ending for Webber as his teammate picked up his 9th straight win.

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1 Comment Posted on by J Entertainment

BIFF2013: Labor Day

labor day posterIt’s okay to let yourself be happy, because you never know how fleeting that happiness may be. Jason Reitman’s latest effort Labor Day is a moving film that looks into how desperately we seek happiness and how quickly that happiness can be torn away once it is achieved. It is a snapshot of the happiness found with the storm clouds looming on the horizon. The film carries a melancholic tone to it, even during moments when things are seemingly good. Continue reading →

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Doctor Who: The Day of The Doctor Review

doctor-who-the-day-of-the-doctor-headerOver the course of 50 years, Doctor Who has come a long way from an old man travelling around in a plain-looking police box in a children’s educational show. Now, it’s a massive worldwide phenomenon that has skyrocketed in popularity since the series was revived from cancellation in 2005.

The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, a show that was effectively dead for sixteen years, has garnered so much attention that it may be an event that rivals the World Cup final or Super Bowl when all the viewers are counted up. Could The Day of The Doctor live up to the expectations and hype of one of the most hotly anticipated TV events of the year?

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1 Comment Posted on by Steve Murray Columns, Video Games

7 Best Games of the 7th Generation: Rock Band

rock-band-headerWhen people think up games for lists such as out 7 best games of the 7th generation (or 7 For 7 for short), they think of game of the year winners or critically acclaimed blockbusters. But how many of these lists include games that were just wildly popular and genre redefining?

Rock Band was probably never really in contention for a major game of the year award but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a big game for the current console generation. The mark of a game being among the best isn’t just what the critics think but what the gamers think. I’m hard pressed to think of anyone who didn’t love playing Rock Band.

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Saturday Link-Off: Ford-ing Ahead

shanina-shaik-victoriassecret13-02We’re doing the sandwich method intro. Good news! The week is finally over. I haven’t had a particularly fun one but this weekend is looking fun. Chances are that you’ve already seen the Doctor Who 50th anniversary episode and there’s an F1 race tomorrow. I should have write-ups of both this week.

Bad news: Jackie’s been a bit all over the place this week and weekend so I’ve drawn in today. He’ll be popping in next week with more news and reviews from the Brisbane International Film Festival.

And good news: We’re starting off today’s post with Shanina Shaik who’s making her first appearance on the blog.

Is no one associated with Rob Ford a reputable character? Even his fitness consultant seems to be a disreputable character. (National Post)

Only… Nope. There’s no possible intro for this news. Rob Ford has a higher approval rating than Barack Obama. What the hell? (Daily Telegraph)

Norm MacDonald’s brother, respected Canadian journalist Neil, explains why America is more obsessed with the Rob Ford story than their own politics. (CBC News)

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