Leave a comment Posted on July 10, 2013July 9, 2013 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: An Inside Look

It’s the middle of the week which means that it’s time for the links. I think this set of links is pretty solid given the changes in where we’re getting links from. Yes, I’m still going on about having to switch from Google Reader. Damn you, Google! Damn you to hell!

Since Scotsman Andy Murray (AKA Cuz) won Wimbledon, let’s start with Scottish model Amber Anderson.

A look inside the eerily quiet hospital in Lac Megantic following the train explosion. (Toronto Star)

The former military analyst who released the infamous Pentagon Papers says that Edward Snowden made the right call in fleeing America before blowing the whistle. (Washington Post)

Pakistan had a hold of Osama bin Laden ten years ago in a traffic stop. That was just one of a series of incompetent moves that let bin Laden get away. (Daily Telegraph)

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Leave a comment Posted on July 9, 2013July 8, 2013 by Steve Murray Sports

IndyCar – Pocono 400: A Pair of Returns

For the first time in 24 years, the IndyCar Series made its return to the Pocono Raceway with the second leg of the revived Triple Crown. That wasn’t the only return to happen this weekend. The race saw the return of Ganassi to the top step of the podium after a 13-race winless streak dating back to last season as Scott Dixon took the checkered flag to win the Pocono 400 and give Ganassi Racing its first ever 1-2-3 finish.

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1 Comment Posted on July 8, 2013July 7, 2013 by Steve Murray Sports

F1 German GP: Home Is Where the Heart Is

Sebastian Vettel came into yesterday’s German Grand Prix having won 29 races in 109 starts. He hadn’t won in only three countries on the calendar: Hungary, America and his homeland of Germany. Until yesterday, that is.

Vettel flew by Lewis Hamilton off the start like he was standing still and held off sustained pressure from the Lotus drivers to pick up his first Grand Prix victory in Germany.

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Leave a comment Posted on July 7, 2013July 6, 2013 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: Back Room Politics

Welcome to the first Feedly edition of the link-off. I’ve gone to Feedly to replace Google Reader. It’s not perfect but I think it’s the best replacement. I’m also taking to Reddit to find cool links now too. It’s a bit of a change of sourcing but hopefully you won’t notice too much of a difference.

Anyhow, let’s get this show on the road. First, here’s Canadian model Nicole Williams.

Mohamed Morsi is no longer the president of Egypt. Was this another people’s revolution or did the military intervention make this more of a coup in all but name? (Vice)

The story of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has gotten more interesting. The leaders of Nicaragua, Venezuela and Bolivia have all said they would grant Snowden asylum. The Americans aren’t happy about that. (RT)

And when you’re in the middle of a controversy, recruiting isn’t a good idea. Right, NSA? (The Guardian)

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Leave a comment Posted on July 6, 2013July 6, 2013 by J Entertainment, Link-Off

Entertainment Link-Off: Sit Back and Relax

It’s a slow week in entertainment as both North American countries celebrate their birthdays. Gotta love those long weekends or extra days off. In theatres this week are The Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp while Armie Hammer acts as his sidekick. Oh wait… it should be the other way around right? On the hand there is Despicable Me 2 if you’re up for more random silliness from those cute little minions. I’ll just kick off this week’s ELO with Jordana Brewster’s latest GQ spread. Now I feel like watching those Fast and Furious films again.

After the jump, a few trailers to check out, Hollywood endings are dead, what if Shakespeare wrote Star Wars and watch a nice little rendition of The Cup Song. Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on July 6, 2013July 5, 2013 by Steve Murray Humour

Caption This: June 29 – July 5, 2013

Inspired by the Globe and Mail’s caption writing person, we waste our time writing funny picture captions for some of the more interesting photos we come across when blogging. So here are some of the best pictures from the past week with a funny (-ish) caption. Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on July 5, 2013July 4, 2013 by Steve Murray Video Games

Gunpoint Review: Spying Excellence

It’s not everyday that one single indie game, an indie game that’s the first effort of a former gaming journalist, causes the whole of the gaming press to pause and take notice. But that’s what we have with Gunpoint, the rookie effort of now-former PC Gamer writer Tom Francis. I say that he’s now a former PC Gamer writer because the commercial success of Gunpoint has given Francis the financial freedom to pursue game development full-time.

So could the debut effort of a man who hasn’t made a game before and put it together in off-the-shelf game making software be worthy of all the praise it received? Yes. Yes, it can.

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1 Comment Posted on July 4, 2013July 3, 2013 by Steve Murray Sports

F1 Power Rankings: German Grand Prix

Just one week after a controversial British Grand Prix, we’re right back at it for the next round of the 2013 Formula One World Championship. This time, it’s the German Grand Prix from the Nurburgring. Fortunately for Pirelli and the teams, the new Nurburgring is quite a bit slower than Silverstone so there shouldn’t be as many tyre issues. That doesn’t mean that we’re likely to hear less about Pirelli’s issues.

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Leave a comment Posted on July 3, 2013July 2, 2013 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: With or Without Google Reader

Welcome to the post-Google Reader era of The Lowdown Blog. So this weekend has seen troubles with me finding a new RSS reader and WordPress screw up image embedding so now most of them won’t work in a paragraph. So I don’t know if the linkdump image is going to be to the right of this paragraph or above. It might eventually sort itself out. I’ve noticed that this has gone retroactive so it looks like some update got pushed down that messed up the layout.

Anyway, let’s start this post with Chrissy Teigen.

Getting kicked out of two of the most popular bands of the 90s would completely devastate most men but Jason Everman isn’t most men. (New York Times)

The iWatch isn’t something that Apple has to make for you or me but it has to make it for their investors. (The Atlantic Wire)

The NRA might blame video games but it looks like Newtown school shooter Adam Lanza was a student of mass murders. (Orlando Sentinel)

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1 Comment Posted on July 2, 2013July 2, 2013 by Steve Murray Sports

F1 British Grand Prix: Safety Dance

The story of the day at the British Grand Prix was the same as what it always seems to be this season. Tyres have been an issue all season but it came to a head in Britain. The race was exciting but it had an unexpected added aspect of danger as there were a number of tyre failures. Nico Rosberg may have crossed the line first but he certainly wasn’t the story of the race.

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