Unlike most seasons that see the Circuit de Catalunya hosting a pair of tests, this year, the Formula One circus makes a pair of appearances in Bahrain on successive weeks to dial cars in for the season. Even though the two Bahrain tests were only a week apart, teams brought out some new parts and other improvements to tune up for an Australian Grand Prix that’s only two weeks after the conclusion of this test.
Author: Steve Murray
Sunday Link-Off: Back in Business
Just because the Olympics are over doesn’t mean that stories about Russia are done. Their neighbours, the Ukraine, are making news and Russia seems to be right there sticking their noses in to make things worse.
Anyway, since it’s Sunday, I think we should do the links. Let’s start with Canadian model Ashley Diana Morris.
Two years before the Boston Marathon bombing, Tamerlan Tsarnaev and an accomplice killed three men. The case was never solved. Would solving that case have prevented the bombing? (Boston Magazine)
The situation in the Ukraine has been deteriorating over the last week and the possibility of armed Russian intervention is a real issue. (Washington Post)
The Harper Government is sending a delegation to the Ukraine to meet the new government but the Harper Government is using this as an opportunity to play politics… as usual. (MacLean’s)
Weekend Geek Links of the Week
If you aren’t Canadian and didn’t see her stint hosting Electric Playground (the same show that gave Geoff Keighley his start and also featured legendary game composer Tommy Tallarico), you may not know Jade Raymond. You will, however, know her work. She was a producer on the Assassin’s Creed franchise, Watch Dogs, The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot and is now the Managing Director of Ubisoft Toronto. [AdWeek]
Have you ever wondered where King’s millions of dollars in profit are coming from if you and no one you know are spending money on Candy Crush? Well, that’s because half of mobile game revenue comes from about 0.15% of gamers. [Swrve]
The folks at Pew Research have examines Twitter and broken topical conversations down into six different categories. It’s actually a fairly fascinating examination. [Pew Research Internet Project]
Eve Online can be both the most and least exciting game ever made. It all depends on how you play it. Here’s an in-depth look inside the space MMO that frequently captures the attention of the gaming world. [Polygon]
And for something completely different, a porn search engine has created a live feed of its search terms in case you wanted a look into some of the more depraved minds of society. This link is the NSFW-ish one not the NSFW work one. [Weird Internet]
Titanfall is Poised to Completely Change the FPS Genre
When I was at Fan Expo last August, someone in line for the State of Gaming panel asked the group of us waiting where we thought the industry was headed. Increasing the quantity and quality of free-to-play games was a popular answer. More mobile games for core gamers was another answer. Motion controlled games on Kinect, Wii U and PS Eye finally becoming proper gaming was a less popular suggestion but it was made.
After some pondering, I realized that those answers weren’t wrong but I had a better one. While all those ideas might be right, I think Titanfall might be a harbinger for where the industry is headed. It has nothing to do with mechs or pretty graphics or third-party triple-A games going exclusive. It has everything to do with dropping the single-player campaign and launching a game with only multiplayer.
Man Lab Showdown: Nina Agdal vs. Lily Aldridge vs. Chrissy Teigen
It’s been almost sixteen months since we last had a Man Lab Showdown and I’m not sure why because the Showdown is consistently your favourite post. So to mark the release of the 50th anniversary issue of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and the return of the Showdown, I thought I’d do something special.
In one corner is the woman I said was my dark horse for this year’s cover and fastest growing star in modelling over the last year, Nina Agdal. In the other corner, a Victoria’s Secret Angel recruited to SI, Lily Aldridge. And in the third corner, a long-time Swimsuit Issue veteran who finally got her shot at the cover, Chrissy Teigen. That’s right, it’s our first ever Man Lab Showdown three-way dance to find the ultimate 50th Anniversary cover girl.
More photos and the poll after the jump.
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What if Disney Princesses Were Game of Thrones Characters?
Since we’re only six weeks away from the season premiere of Game of Thrones, I think that now is the time for the return of regular Game of Thrones posts in a series that I’ve come to dub Fridays of Ice and Fire.
For the return of Game of Thrones posts, I found this mashup of Disney princesses with characters from Game of Thrones in the gallery of DjeDjehuti. So what would Disney characters look like if they were in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros?
Wednesday Link-Off: Gone but Not Forgotten
Even though the 2014 Sochi LOLympics are gone, I’m not done reinforcing the fact that they’re an absolutely farce. However, since there are other things happening in the world, it’s not a solely LOLympic edition of the Wednesday links.
So let’s get this show on the road by starting with likely SI Swimsuit rookie of the year Samantha Hoopes.
A Duke University freshman became a porn actress to help her pay tuition. She learned some things about herself and society in doing so. (XO Jane)
Arizona’s Republican Governor says that she will veto the state’s anti-gay bill. Granted, she cites economic reasons for planning to veto but it’s still a win for people who aren’t assholes. (Business Insider)
Bonnie Ford examines the dichotomy of these LOLympics. Everything was fine on the surface but terrible when you looked away from sports. (espnW)
Formula One: 2014 Bahrain Test Recap
While I originally thought that we didn’t learn very much from the initial four days of testing of the 2014 Formula One season, it turns out that things really didn’t change that much between tests. The Mercedes cars are still up front. The Renaults have massive issues that desperately require solving. And the Ferraris are somewhere in the middle. Except for Marussia who had computer troubles because of a virus. You can’t make this up.
Olympic Fails of the Week
The 2014 Sochi LOLympics are so this is the last go at the Olympic fails. In my continuing efforts to point out how terrible the Sochi Organizing Committee and the IOC are as a result of everything happening at Sochi and in Russia, we once again look at some of the more embarrassing moments for the Sochi Olympics over the last week.
So here are eight pictures, tweets and GIFs of Sochi Olympic fails from the final week at the LOLympics.
Sunday Link-Off: Put Out The Flame, The Sham is Over
Greetings once again readers. Happy days are here again! Or, at least, they will be once the closing ceremony is done and the Sochi LOLympics are done for good. Then we can stop pretending that Russia is awesome. It’s not just their domestic policies that are terrible. Just look at their influence in Syria and Ukraine that are causing those countries to self-destruct.
Anyway, it’s Sunday so it’s time to kick the week off with the links. Since the SI Swimsuit Issue came out last week, here’s a little Canadian content with model Kate Bock.
Ukraine has been caught in a tug-of-war between closer ties with the EU and Russia. The government wants Russia. The people, the EU. This is the outcome. (NPR)
And the truce between the Ukrainian government and protesters doesn’t seem to be doing much to calm things. The protesters seem to have taken over Kiev while Yanukovych is on the run. (New York Times)
It’s a sad state of affairs when the media is more interested in who is reporting the news and using that to influence their interpretation of the reporting than they are in what is being reported. News just isn’t going to be the same as it was in the good old days. (Politico)
The Lowdown 