While the first five races of the season have gone exactly as planned for those who paid attention to the pre-season testing, that doesn’t mean that testing follows the same script. With Mercedes testing the new “megaphone” exhaust and the other teams on various testing programs, there were a couple of unexpected drivers and teams topping the time sheets during the second in-season test of 2014.
Author: Steve Murray
Sunday Link-Off: They Actually Made Me Go to Rehab
If you’re not here in Canada, you might not know that this is a holiday weekend. It’s our version of the May long weekend coinciding with the third Monday of the month while America’s Memorial Day is on the fourth Monday. The more you know… not that you needed to know that. I like to educate every now and then.
And since this is a Canadian holiday weekend, we should start this post with a Canadian model. Here’s Kim Cloutier. Really, no one else could kick off this post.
New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson was fired because she demanded equal pay to her male predecessor. That’s a sad state of affairs when that happens. (The New Yorker)
How far behind male colleagues was Abramson? Only about $100,000. (Politico)
It’s not just the Fair Elections Act that the Harper Government is missing the mark with. Everyone from lawyers to NGOs to the victims of cyberbullying are opposed to the Canadian Government’s cyberbullying bill. And you want to elect Harper’s Ontario lieutenant. (Vice)
Game of Thrones: The Laws of God and Men Review
The moment we’ve been waiting for since the Purple Wedding. Okay, given how trials tend to go for Tyrion and this show’s propensity for killing off lead characters, I don’t know if anyone was looking forward to how this turns out but I’d imagine we were looking forward to how it played out on-screen.
How it played out was absolutely amazingly with some Emmy-worthy performances… And with a shirtless Ramsay Snow taking care of business in the Dreadfort.
Trials Fusion (PC) Review: Back From the Future
As I mentioned in the last Trials game review, this is a game that’s been around since Miniclip was one of the top sites in the world for gaming. The series has evolved since the original Trials game. It’s gone from Java to a proper standalone release.
With that change, so did the tone of the series. It went from a slightly over the top recreation of professional trials competition to a cartoony extreme sports arcade game.
Trials Fusion is the first Trials game released on next-gen consoles but despite the game being set in the future and the evolution of consoles and the evolution of the game’s graphics, Red Lynx didn’t really do much to evolve the gameplay.
Wednesday Link-Off: Shady Dealings
So, I was so out of it while drafting today’s Wednesday links that the original draft title Sunday Link-Off. Though maybe that wasn’t so much a case of being out of it as it was a case of wishful thinking.
Regardless of whether it’s Wednesday or Sunday, it still means that it’s time for me to bring you my semi-weekly set of links. Let’s kick things off with Yara Khmidan.
In news that I probably shouldn’t be surprised by the report that Silvio Berlusconi has ties to the Sicilian Mafia. (The Independent)
The next victim of the ongoing sanction war between Russia and the West? Space-based cooperation seems to be coming to an end after 2020. (Vice)
Just to remind voters that they hate voting, the Conservatives have passed the so-called Fair Elections Act. (Toronto Star)
IndyCar – GP of Indianapolis: Go Right, Young Man
In the continuing struggle to reinvent the month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar decided that the month should open by turning right instead of left. While we can argue all day as to whether IndyCar should have a road course race at the Speedway, if they can put on an exciting event, it’ll quickly become a new May tradition.
This weekend marked the first step in reinvigorating the month of May as the stars of the IndyCar Series drove clockwise around the Speedway. The three-wide flying start was replaced with a two-wide standing start. And the checkered flag was taken by a Frenchman for only the second time in IMS history as Simon Pagenaud took the checkered flag for his first win of 2014.
F1 Spanish Grand Prix: Gone in 60 Seconds
Over the last four years, Formula One fans complained about the dull dominance of Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel as they won four-straight Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships with numerous race wins along the way. Before that, there was five straight years of Ferrari dominance with Michael Schumacher leading the way.
This season, things are shaping up to be worse than the Red Bull / Vettel years and approaching Schumacher / Ferrari levels of dominance. Lewis Hamilton won his fourth-straight race after retiring from the pole in the other race in what is shaping up to be a dreadfully dull year for Formula One.
Sunday Link-Off: A Fresh Take
Happy Mothers’ Day to all the mothers reading today. Given our demographics (mostly male, generally under 35 and without children), I somehow doubt that any are reading but it’s nice to get the greeting out there.
With that out of the way, let’s get the links underway. Here’s Miranda Kerr. I think that’s an appropriate choice for the day.
People who follow international news have heard the name Boko Haram for years. Why are they only now becoming a big deal. (Mother Jones)
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is reportedly showing the signs of being drunk on power. (That’s the opposite of how Rob Ford is often found drunk.) He’s reportedly stopped taking advice. (Toronto Star)
The Globe and Mail is trying to negotiate with its union to get journalists to write advertorials. It’s bad enough when I’m covering the video games beat that half of the content is advertorial (to a degree). For a reputable, respected newspaper to want legitimate journalists to do it is reprehensible if you ask me. (The Albatross)
Game of Thrones: The First of His Name Review
I like when writers throw out a little surprise. For the most part, this episode was light on anything noteworthy. However, it had one massive tidbit of information that should have thrown everyone for a loop. I didn’t think that the episode would feature an almost throwaway line in the middle of the episode that would change everything that we thought we knew since episode one of the show. But if you’re going to change what we all thought for 35 episodes, this was the way to do it.
The #98 Dogecoin Car Finishes 20th at Talladega
Much draft. Very vroom. Such ‘Dega.
I may have been away last weekend but I was keeping close tabs on the NASCAR race from Talladega. That’s because the community over at /r/Dogecoin sponsored the #98 Phil Parsons Racing Ford for the race at Talladega. Their funding didn’t go unrewarded because the #98 Dogecoin car, piloted by Josh Wise, finished in 20th place on Sunday.
The Lowdown 