Author: Steve Murray

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: Panama

rihanna-vogue16-02bI’ve been uber busy IRL so I haven’t had a lot of time to do much writing lately so apologies up front about that. I spent yesterday doing some gaming so I’m hoping to have a Rise of the Tomb Raider review up this week or next. Reviews for The Walking Dead: Michonne – Episode Two, StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops – Chapter One and RBI Baseball 16 should be following shortly. And it’s an F1 race weekend so you know we’ll have some coverage of that too.

But before we get to all that, we have to get through today. That means that we have to do the links. Let’s kick off with Rihanna. No, she’s not from Panama but I don’t think you’re too concerned about that.

In the wake of the Panama Papers on tax avoidance, British PM David Cameron is having to defend his now-challenged stance on being hard on tax evasion. (The Independent)

Cameron isn’t the only world leader who is tied to the Panama Papers. A trail of money worth up to $2 billion leads back to Vladimir Putin. (The Guardian)

You might be wondering what the big deal about the Panama Papers is. Well, so much is held in various tax havens worldwide what estimates peg Canadian tax revenue lost to tax havens at up to $7.8 billion per year. (Toronto Star)

Continue reading →

2 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Randominity

The 24 Most Expensive Watches in the World (Infographic)

I’ve been told that we occasionally talk about watches here on The Lowdown Blog. I did some digging and in fact we have. Last year, we took a look at James Bond’s collection of high-tech spy watches. This time, we’re looking at properly expensive watches. Did you know that you can spend up to $11 million on one time piece? And I thought Jord pricing their top end watches at $400 was the height of the watch market.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Entertainment

Wayne Manor vs Fortress of Solitude (Infographic)

It’s been a while since we’ve had a fantasy real estate infographic but we’ve been sent another infographic to celebrate the release of Batman v Superman: Prequel of Justice. Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve looked at the Batmobile and the cost of being Batman v. Superman. Today, we look at the battle of headquarters. What would cost you more to buy (and heat): Wayne Manor or the Fortress of Solitude?

Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: Panama

leanna-decker-01Remember how excited I was for WrestleMania 32 on Sunday? How naive does that look right now? I might write up some brief thoughts on the state of the WWE after its biggest show and its biggest weekly TV episode of the year. For now, let’s talk about anything but.

So with that shorter than usual preamble out of the way, I think that it’s time that we do the links. Let’s kick things off with American model Leanna Decker.

The Trump campaign might look comfortably out front of the Republican Primary but they’re working the back rooms to pick up unbound delegates for the convention. (MSNBC)

The push toward basic income creates a stronger social safety net for people than a minimum wage. (Bloomberg)

The Panama Papers revealing the use of Panama as a tax haven for the wealthy might just help Bernie Sanders’s campaign for the White House since he is the one candidate not owned by the wealthy. (The Independent)

Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on 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.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Sports

F1 Bahrain Grand Prix: Demolition Derby

It’s always fun when a pattern develops. I’m not talking about Nico Rosberg winning once again. While Nico Rosberg has won five races in a row, he might not have done so if not for another pattern that might be developing this season. Lewis Hamilton once again started on pole but couldn’t cleanly get through the first turn which cost him a chance at the win.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: Mania

becky-lynch-wwe16-06Happy WrestleMania Sunday! I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m actually not particularly excited for this year’s show. It’s probably for the best that my crew and I couldn’t all get time off from work to go to this show (with the exception of missing NXT, Evolve and Monday’s Raw which would have been awesome to see live). The WWE’s done the best they could but there are some seriously barely tossed together matches on the show.

Anyway, it’s Sunday which means that you’re here for the links. In keeping with that WrestleMania theme, let’s kick off with Becky Lynch who is one-third of the Women’s Championship match tonight.

One reporter dove into the heart of Trump supporters during the New Hampshire Primary to try to understand how he’s garnered so much support. (New Republic)

You can’t rig a ballot box but one man has been paid to hack the campaigns in many Latin American countries. You almost wonder when digital data analysis in North American elections will give way to this. (Bloomberg)

I think we’ve gone over this before but the Ghomeshi trial was supposed to change things for sexual assault victims in Canada. That probably won’t happen. (MacLean’s)

Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Entertainment, Sports

The Best WrestleMania Hype Videos

wrestlemania-32-logoThis weekend, the WWE will present the 32nd edition of WrestleMania in Dallas, Texas, in front of what they will likely claim is a crowd of over 100,000 people. While the focus will be on the action in the ring, injuries have forced change after change to the card and we’re left with a card and build that makes me kind of glad I couldn’t make it to Dallas for the show of shows. At the very least, we know the WWE will do their usual superb job of last minute salesmanship with epic promo videos to hype the matches.

So to celebrate WrestleMania, we have a collection of some of the best WrestleMania promo hype videos that the WWE has produced.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Sports

F1 Power Rankings: Bahrain Grand Prix

Two weeks off and F1 seems on the verge of imploding. The drivers are questioning the decisions of the sport’s governing body and commercial rights holders. The new qualifying format that sent fans home early in Melbourne survives to see another Grand Prix. Bernie continues to chase money with F1 while admitting F1 is broken even though he’s probably the primary cause.

Anyway, among all the controversy over the last couple of weeks, there is a race happening this week. It’s the Bahrain Grand Prix. When Esteban Gutierrez was last there, Pastor Maldonado sent him for a barrel roll. After Australia, hopefully we don’t get any more of that excitement.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: Media Matters

paige-vanzant-dwts16-01Watching The People v. O.J. Simpson made me think that stories are the most powerful resource that we have. Everyone loves a story. Whether it’s a TV show or just a conversation, we’re all interested in a compelling narrative. That’s what the media feeds us, be it in fiction or the truth played out in front of us in such a way to create an engaging story.

Anyway, it’s Wendesday which means that we have to do the links. Since Dancing with the Stars is back (again), let’s kick off with UFC fighter Paige VanZant.

Gawker might be over $100 million poorer after the Hogan lawsuit but it may not be dead yet. (The Daily Beast)

Hilary Clinton, the candidate that wanted all the debates in the 2008 Democratic Primary, thinks that Bernie Sanders is too mean to debate in 2016. Has she seen what’s happening on the red side? (Mother Jones)

The important part of debates is that they’re effectively free press. However, the press’ parent companies are donating to the Clinton campaign. (Huffington Post)

Continue reading →