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?
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)
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.
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.
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)
It appears none of the newcomers can seem to dethrone the Lego Movie from the top spot at the box office this weekend. There’s Kevin Costner channeling his inner Liam Neeson in 3 Days to Kill and then there’s Paul W.S. Anderson’s latest directorial effort Pompeii. While he attempts the James Cameron formula for the disaster epic, the film falls flat on most notes with a few exceptions. At least he got Emily Browning as the leading lady, so that’s a bright spot.
After the jump, prepare yourself for more Space Jam, heck prepare yourself for more Heroes, catch a first look at Guardians of the Galaxy and the cast of HIMYM read out the top 10 surprises for their finale. Continue reading
It’s been almost a year since Disney killed off LucasArts and turned it into a licensing division rather than a video game developer and publisher. However, the death of LucasArts had been a decade in the making. [Game Informer]
Popular YouTuber TotalBiscuit explains the downside of being famous on the internet. [/r/CynicalBrit]
In something of a surprise, the internet has reacted favourably to The Escapist reviews editor Jim Sterling being cast in Volume. How does he get a pass but a Jessica Chobot and IGN get raked over the coals? [Stick Twiddlers]
Good news for people who are roughly my age: Tony Hawk says that Activision is working on a new Tony Hawk skateboarding game. Just make a game and use the soundtracks from THPS1 & 2 and you’ll be fine. [IGN]
FYI: GOG is moving to a regional pricing model at the request of publishers. That probably doesn’t benefit anyone who is now subject to regional pricing. They say it’s necessary so more publishers will release DRM free on the service. [GOG.com]
One of the most hotly anticipated games of 2014 just wrapped up its beta testing period. For the majority of interested gamers, this was their first chance to play the heavily hyped and critically acclaimed Titanfall.
I somehow managed to get into the beta despite the fact that I rather detest multiplayer in first-person shooters. Granted, that’s mostly a function of my being terrible at FPSs. Single-player campaigns, like BioShock, I’m fine. Throw me into something like Planetside 2 and I’ll be into a sub-0.1 K/D ratio. Could Titanfall convert me from FPS neophyte to another shooter junkie? No but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t still fun.
When the internet is excited about something, people are going to find a way to find out more about it. Yesterday, intrepid data miner and NeoGAF user, RazorUK, discovered two new multiplayer game modes not seen in the beta, a number of new weapons and perks for both pilots and titans, and 12 new maps that will be available in the game at launch.
So with the SI Swimsuit Issue out yesterday, I’ve been wondering if I can say that I was right. I did predict a group cover, even if I called it an “All-Star Cover.” I think I should get double points because I had Kate Upton ranked second on the list and she was on the back cover.
However, today’s set of links isn’t going to feature any of the Swimsuit cover girls. Let’s start this off with the living legend Heidi Klum.
Russia isn’t the only place the world that hates gays. The Kansas government has created a law that allows business owners to discriminate based on sexual orientation. Not only is the law terrible but their reasoning is too. (The Dish)
Just because I’m boycotting the Sochi LOLympics doesn’t mean that others are. Some folks are tripping over themselves to praise these Olympics and Vlad Putin. (Toronto Star)
An Italian transgender former-MP was arrested for protesting that it was okay to be gay at the LOLympics. It is okay to be gay. Just not in Russia (or Kansas). (The Daily Beast)
The Lowdown 