I may have mentioned it before but the hardest part about these linkdumps is writing the intro. I’m never entirely sure what to say. Do I comment about the links to follow? Do I talk about the goings on of the last week? Do I talk about my personal life? I’m never quite sure. I do know that for the second straight Tuesday, snow was falling outside my window as I wrote this post. It’s just lovely April weather.

Anyway, let’s start off today’s set of links with Canadian model Alyssah Ali.

Why are things in Ukraine not getting any better? Because the Russians are trying to destabilize things to take control of the country while blaming the Ukrainian government and its allies for causing the trouble that Russia themselves are causing. (New York Times)

Don’t listen to the anti-vaccine whack-jobs. Vaccines save lives. (Mother Jones)

Have you ever wanted an inside look into the live of the paparazzi? Okay, probably not. But I still found this profile of one Hollywood pap interesting. (Rolling Stone)

I had high hopes for Ezra Klein’s Vox but I haven’t been impressed with it very much. Simple summaries of major stories seems to be the majority of it. And when they try to do something new or original, they put together misleading stories like their tech adoption study. (Gizmodo)

On that note, each of the three data-analysis news sites that have come out in the last few months, FiveThirtyEight, Vox and the NYT’s The Upshot, all have their issues that need solving before one can rise above the rest. (Om)

This article about the benefits of joining a media startup against joining a long-time media institution isn’t just applicable to journalism but basically the whole economy. If you might be in the job market soon, you really should read this. (AJR)

With all the talk about this week’s Boston Marathon, don’t forget that running a marathon is a terrible thing to do to your body. (Deadspin)

Also, that story about the guy getting carried across the finish line at the Boston Marathon? That’s a fabrication. (Deadspin)

David Moyes is out after one season at the helm of Manchester United but was the team’s collapse his fault? (Slate)

To make golf more attractive to amateur and young players, the National Golf Foundation is considering a number of gimmicks to get people playing again. (New York Times)

Serious question: Is there any reason to watch Fallon apart from the Brian Williams rap remixes? I haven’t found one yet.