Author: Steve Murray

Leave a comment Posted on April 21, 2016April 21, 2016 by Steve Murray Entertainment

Superheroines vs Supervillainesses: The Women of the DC Universe (Infographic)

So Batman v Superman: Donna Justice isn’t doing as well as Warner Bros hoped that it would do. I hate to say that the whole world told them so but they saw who the director was and told them so.

Now, Batman v Superman puts the names of the two male protagonists front and centre. The Justice League and Suicide Squad are both mostly made up of men. However, beyond just Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn, DC actually features a whole host of strong female characters in their universe. To learn a little more about them, here’s a handy infographic that’s a primer to the women of the DC Universe.

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Leave a comment Posted on April 20, 2016April 19, 2016 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: 4/20

The new Canadian government was elected with a key part of their platform being that marijuana would be legalized. Now, they’re only something like six months into governance but wouldn’t it have been fitting if their new law went into effect or was introduced on 4/20. At least they have a whole twelve months to target that date again. I’d love to see what pot sales are like from 4/13 to 4/20 and compare that to the weeks before and after.

Anyway, if you’re reading this, then it’s likely Wednesday which means you’re here for the links. Let’s kick off with Selena Gomez.

Megyn Kelly organized a secret meeting with Donald Trump to organize a one-on-one interview. The secret message some observers are taking is that Kelly is trying to up her stock in the run up to contract negotiations. (Daily Intelligencer)

Bernie Sanders lost the Democratic primary in New York but he’s still seemingly in a battle with his own party. His team is trying to get the DNC to look into fundraising practices of the Clinton campaign. (Vice)

Ben and Jerry of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream fame were arrested for taking part in a protest in Washington last weekend. (CNN)

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Leave a comment Posted on April 19, 2016April 18, 2016 by Steve Murray Sports

F1 Chinese Grand Prix: More Races, More Problems

I think we’ve gone over this a few times on the blog but the easiest way to make an F1 race exciting is for there to be a little bit of chaos to shake up the order. Often, it’s changing weather conditions that do the trick. For the Chinese Grand Prix, it was a melee at the start that mixed up the field and forced racing to happen.

Of course, as usual, racing didn’t happen at the front of the field. Nico Rosberg didn’t lead the whole way but it wasn’t like he was strongly challenged for the win either as he scored his third win of the season and sixth-in-a-row going back to 2015.

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Leave a comment Posted on April 18, 2016April 17, 2016 by Steve Murray Humour

Fails of the Week

Every so often, we take a look at the most epic fails from the week that was in the Fails of the Week. This week, we have five pictures, GIFs and videos that we think are the most epic fails of the week.

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Leave a comment Posted on April 17, 2016April 17, 2016 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: Freedom of Speeches

We’re nearing the end of the chase for the Democratic and Republican Presidential nominations. It’s funny how negative that the two nomination campaigns have been and there’s still an actual election still to come for both parties to contest. How much more contentious can this get?

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means that we have to do the links. Let’s kick off with Canadian actress Shay Mitchell.

“It’s just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or to elect the president.” – President Jimmy Carter (The Antimedia)

Tuesday’s New York primary is the make or break for all the frontrunners. (MacLean’s)

In the ongoing battle of Tax Returns vs. Wall Street Speeches, Bernie Sanders released his tax return showing a combined income of $205,000. Hilary made $10.5 million from speaking engagements. (USA Today)

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Leave a comment Posted on April 15, 2016April 15, 2016 by Steve Murray Video Games

The Walking Dead: Michonne – Episode One Review: Sliced and Diced

Much like they did between Seasons One and Two of The Walking Dead, Telltale has another small adventure to bridge the gap between seasons of their The Walking Dead series. While their TWD story runs parallel to the comic series, The Walking Dead: Michonne actually forms part of the continuity of the main story.

Telltale’s last two efforts with beloved characters were a mixed bag with Borderlands fans loving Tales From The Borderlands while Game of Thrones fans were underwhelmed by Game of Thrones (though the treatment of the likes of Ramsay Snow and the Lannisters was the best part of the series). With Michonne being one of TWD’s most popular characters, how would this effort turn out?

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Leave a comment Posted on April 14, 2016April 14, 2016 by Steve Murray Video Games

Rise of the Tomb Raider Review: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Askew

Seldom do reboots actually reinvigorate a franchise. Sure, Star Trek wasn’t too bad but when you consider the likes of Point Break and The Amazing Spider-Man and Conan The Barbarian and Godzilla (twice), you find yourself scared away from reboots. Gaming isn’t immune to that with the likes of Sim City, Medal of Honor and Sonic the Hedgehog as failed attempts to reinvigorate franchises.

One of the more successful reboots in history is 2013’s Tomb Raider which is the series best-selling and among its most critically acclaimed. It came as a shock that Microsoft had to pay the way for this sequel to 2013’s hit. Rise of the Tomb Raider recently hit PC after an exclusivity period on Xbox One and will come to PS4 this fall (despite being the platform that Tomb Raider sold best on).

So how does the sequel to the reboot standup? Well, it’s not all sunshine and lollipops.

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Leave a comment Posted on April 13, 2016April 12, 2016 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: Playoff Politics

Okay, if politics had a playoff season, it would definitely be in the run between the conventions and the election. However, since the Stanley Cup Playoffs start tonight, that’s an appropriate title for this post. I’d much rather try to survive playoff hockey than politics.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday which means that we have to do the links. Let’s kick off with MTV Movie Award winner and occasional wearer of a Mark Hamill backpack Daisy Ridley.

As part of a settlement with the US Department of Justice, Goldman Sachs effectively admitted that it misled investors about mortgage-backed securities in the run up to the 2007 financial crisis. (Fortune)

Donald Trump has made tens of millions of dollars in charitable donations, that much is true. However, very little of his charitable contributions are his own money. (Washington Post)

As we push towards the Republican National Convention, could Donald Trump secretly be hoping to get bounced out of the nomination at the convention? (GQ)

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Leave a comment Posted on April 12, 2016April 11, 2016 by Steve Murray Video Games

Game Trailers Roundup for April 12, 2016

It’s been a while since we’ve run the latest in video game trailers here on The Lowdown but I’m thinking that it might be a weekly feature here. We have nine trailers from the last week in gaming. Those trailers include launch trailers for indie hits Enter the Gungeon, Job Simulator and The Banner Saga 2. And there are trailers for little games like Star Fox Zero and Battleborn too.

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