Link-Off

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Wednesday Link-Off: The Week That Is

kate-beckinsale-ama14-01I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen a single week in which so many major stories have broken or had developments. Between the grand jury and subsequent protests/riots in Ferguson, Jian Ghomeshi, Bill Cosby and the start of year-end lists, there is no shortage of interesting reads this week. It was a challenge to get it down to a manageable list for today’s links.

So let’s not waste any more time. Let’s start with Kate Beckinsale.

The Grand Jury hearing the case of Officer Darren Wilson, the man who shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, declined to indict the police officer. It’s hard to believe considering the inconsistencies in Wilson’s story. (Vox)

And Grand Juries not approving indictments, the Grand Jury is often termed a prosecutor’s playground. It’s exceedingly rare for a Grand Jury not to indict but Robert McCulloch managed to pull that off in the biggest case of his career. (FiveThirtyEight)

Rape culture and the discourse around sexual assault is something that society is coming along on but is a far way from getting right. There is still a lot of troubling stigma over sexual assault. (Rolling Stone)

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Sunday Link-Off: Snowfall

kate-upton-express14-01I suppose I could complain about the state of the weather right now but I’m not in Buffalo so I can still get out my front door. For all the whiteouts, terrible roads and couple of feet of snow in a week, it’s not a patch on Buffalo. Small miracles, I suppose. I’m really starting to hate climate change. Can we have global warming back?

Anyway, it’s time for the Sunday set of links. Since I haven’t featured her on the blog for a while, here’s Kate Upton.

I think I’ve mentioned before about how people try to out do people with over the top reaction. Here’s a look at social media’s descent into grief porn. (Gawker)

With Canada having just seen a “beloved” public figure have their public image shattered by reality, America is no going through the same with Bill Cosby. And while the Toronto Star had two reporters on Ghomeshi, the Washington Post had 13 cover Cosby. (Washington Post)

Before that article went up, I was going to mention that TV stations were already abandoning Cosby. (Variety)

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Entertainment Link-Off: Afire Love

natalie dormerSo the big blockbuster hitting the screens this weekend is the first part of the final installment of The Hunger Games franchise. I am certain people will be flocking to the theatres to catch what is considered to be the best flick in the franchise so far. Oddly enough, it feels like half of a finished product. Anyway, as if Jennifer Lawrence and co. aren’t enough of a draw for you to check it out anyway, Natalie Dormer finally shows up in the franchise as Cressida. Let’s start off the ELO with her.

After the jump, third time is hopefully the charm for Global Frequency, more Planet of the Apes films to come, aca-awesome trailer for Pitch Perfect 2, another Breading Bad/Frozen mashup and shake it off the violin cover of the Taylor Swift hit,  Continue reading →

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Wednesday Link-Off: Sick Leave

alessandra-ambrosio-lui14-05So I thought I was getting over that little flu or whatever I had this weekend and I started Monday by eating half a piece of toast and losing my breakfast. I think that actually helped me get better because it’s been steady improvement since then. If only the winter weather was so cooperative.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday and I’m under the weather so it’s time for some abbreviated links. Here’s Alessandra Ambrosio.

Bill Cosby was recently accused of sexual assault. Interviews with him are getting awkward now. (NPR)

Are the Republicans using Twitter to get around muddy election laws? (CNN)

And the Republicans are looking to change the electoral college in order to swing as many votes to the GOP’s side. (Think Progress)

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Sunday Link-Off: Power Trip

eva-green-campari14-09I know that no one is particularly concerned with my personal problems but I got some weird cold or flu this week. Friday, I couldn’t eat a damn thing. Saturday, I was tired all day to the point of napping in the middle of the afternoon and Jackie can tell you that I don’t do sleep at the best of time. So long story short, I don’t feel like writing right now but we soldier on.

I was going to kick this post off with a picture of Anna Kendrick from that Marie Claire photoshoot, maybe even the same one Jackie used. What’s it they say about great minds and fools? Anyway, here’s Eva Green.

You not know the name but the most powerful member of President Obama’s administration is Valerie Jarrett. (The New Republic)

Here’s a story of a writer named Adrian Chen who wasn’t much of an Anonymous fan because they trolled him once back in 2011. (The Daily Dot)

Have you heard of Alex from Target? He’s a teenage boy whose picture of him working a checkout at Target turned him into a celebrity. Here’s a look at his newfound fame from his side. (New York Times)

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Entertainment Link-Off: Assemble!

anna-kendrick-marieclareIt’s G20 weekend! At least it seems like a big deal here in Australia as the spotlight is all over Brisbane at the moment. Actually, the spotlight is on Barack Obama and everyone in town just wants to smell what the Barack is cookin’ this weekend. Anyway, it’s Saturday, so it’s time for another edition of the Entertainment Link-Off. Let’s kick it all off with Anna Kendrick from her latest shoot with Marie Claire. Awesome tidbit. She was drunk during the interview with the magazine.

After the jump. Steven Segal likes to recycle his movie posters, Fast and Furious is still moving forward because Universal wants to keep making money, Benedict Cumberbatch shows that he is a fine actor once again, and catch a hilarious mock trailer on prequels. Continue reading →

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Wednesday Link-Off: Politics and Power

rihanna-esquireuk14-05Good news! We’re finally getting away from the Jian Ghomeshi story… Well, for the most part we’re getting away from it. Everyone’s going quiet and it might go away if that lawsuit gets dropped. Then we get to see what the law will do.

Anyway, it’s time for today’s edition of the links. To change things up, let’s kick things off with Rihanna.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is gearing up for an election. A wave of patriotism and concern over terrorism could cause him to call an early election in the hopes on politicking his way to another term in power. (Toronto Star)

Among the fallout from the Ghomeshi saga is that Q’s executive producer is leaving the program to find other opportunities in the organization. (CBC)

Good news web users! President Obama supports Net Neutrality. The GOP is already trying to spin it and I’m worried that telecom’s pockets are so deep that they could buy a veto overrule but this is a good start. (The Guardian)

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Sunday Link-Off: The Only Story in Town

emma-watson-elleuk14-01Are there any news stories in Canada this week? Last week? Just the one? I love the Jian Ghomeshi conversation as much as anyone but it might be about time that we move on to talk about important things like bills going through Parliament or something that’s actually news.

Anyway, it’s time for the links. Let’s change things up and start with Emma Watson.

So apparently I’m wrong about an improvement in the discourse around sexual violence in Canada because of the Ghomeshi scandal. This op-ed says that I’m an idiot for thinking that people might talk about sexual violence differently now. And now discourse has been set back. (The Globe and Mail)

Though Post columnist Christie Blatchford thinks we’re not quite there yet as there’s a double standard about who can talk about what. (National Post)

The head of CBC’s English language services breaks her silence about Ghomeshi. (Metro)

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Entertainment Link-Off: Lost in Space

malese-jowSo Interstellar hits theatres this weekend and there sure will be plenty of people flocking to the IMAX screens to catch what all the fuss is about. Anyway, over in TV land, the November sweeps have kick started and plenty of shows are going through a string of new episodes before finishing for the winter finale. Sadly, there was no new Flash this week though. On the bright side, the show did cast Malese Jow as Linda Park on the show, so let’s kick off the ELO with her.

After the jump, Toy Story makes another return, Marvel is taking the Avengers trailer leak very seriously, a few movie trailers to check out, listen to a mother explain Inception and finally add a Christmas tune to your Christmas playlist courtesy of Pentatonix and Tori Kelly. Continue reading →

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Wednesday Link-Off: Did You Know?

amy-adams-artfilm14-002I could be wrong but the Jian Ghomeshi story could end up being one of the most important ones in a long while in Canada.  A number of people I know went from doubting Ghomeshi’s accusers for a variety of reasons to eventually coming around to the accuser’s side. It looks like the discussion around the so-called “rape culture” is changing and we aren’t so dismissive of women who accuse men of abusing them. Hopefully this continues the next time we see this story.

Anyway, it’s time for the links. Here’s Amy Adams.

Donovan, the Toronto Star’s superstar investigative reporter, talks about his dinner with Jian Ghomeshi during the investigation. (Toronto Star)

The other man on that Ghomeshi report, Jesse Brown, talks to a former Q staffer about Ghomeshi and what he saw. (Canadaland)

Toronto Star commentator Jia Junaid was originally a skeptic of Jian Ghomeshi’s accusers but not unlike many Canadians, she’s changed her tune. (Toronto Star)

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