Merry Christmas readers! I don’t know about the rest of you but the highlight of my Christmas is the big meal at the end of the day. What can I say? I’m a big fan of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, so on and so forth. So to get you in the mood for a big Christmas feast, here’s a collection of Epic Meal Time’s famous holiday feasts. Continue reading
F1 December News Roundup: Prepping For 2013
During the off-season, we’ll be doing periodic updates of the goings on in Formula One. With the recent announcement of F1’s rules for 2013 and 2014 and the ongoing discussion as to what, if anything, will replace the postponed New Jersey Grand Prix, there hasn’t been a shortage of news. Bernie has also been talking about the current team lineup and decided that F1 doesn’t need 13 teams. He thinks ten is enough.
First, though, I’ve been giving some thought to the McLaren driver situation. At first, I thought signing Sergio Perez was swapping Hamilton with someone aggressive and fast enough to be Hamilton-esque. After some thought, I think Perez’s driving style could mesh enough with Jenson Button that he could be a bigger threat to win the title than his more experienced teammate. Continue reading
Sunday Link-Off: ‘Twas 48 Hours Before Christmas
It’s time for our last linkdump before Christmas. Don’t worry, we’ll still be posting over the holidays. I still haven’t sorted out what is going up on Tuesday but we’ll even have something then. For now, here’s a Christmas-themed Bar Refaeli.
The NRA finally spoke about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Friday. Their solution, as expected, was more guns. The problem is that what they’re asking for to protect people’s freedoms is going to have the exact opposite effect. (Slate)
The other problem with more guns is that giving every Tom, Dick and Harry guns won’t solve anything. Armed civilians only solve problems when they’re trained police or military personnel who happen to be in the right place at the right time. (Mother Jones)
The right might think more guns is the answer but the man who owns the loudest “news” voice of the right disagrees. Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch is advocating for gun control while Fox News isn’t. (New York Magazine)
After the jump, more about the Newtown shooting, the history of Fire Joe Morgan, and a modernized Home Alone sequel. Continue reading
Entertainment Link-Off: Almost There
It’s time for the Entertainment Link-Off! It’s been a few busy weeks, so Steve has taken on the great task to cover the random entertainment news of the week. In theatres this weekend is the actioner Jack Reacher starring Tom Cruise or you can check out the Knocked Up spin off This is 40 starring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann. If none of those suit your fancy, might as well check out The Hobbit again. Anyway, to make up for my absence, here’s a double dose of eye candy for you this week. Let’s kick it off with some Battlestar Galactica babes Tricia Helfer and Katie Sackhoff.
After the jump, check out the teaser for Star Trek: Into Darkness, movie mistakes galore, Samuel L. Jackson and Anne Hathaway have a sad-off, find out why Gandalf never rode on the eagles and a new Christmas tune to check out. Continue reading
Caption This: December 15 – 21, 2012
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
Hotline Miami Review (or One Way Ticket to Chaos)
November’s Steam sale was every bit as great for me as a gamer as it was bad for my wallet. I bought far too many games but I went out of my way to buy what reviewers said were the best games. That’s why I bought Hotline Miami. It’s a well-reviewed game with some nostalgia for those of use who played classic Grand Theft Auto games. I’ve never been one for excessively violent games so I thought I’d give it a try to see what the hype was about. Continue reading
Star Wars: The Old Republic Free-to-Play Impressions (or Free is Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose)
I’ve never played an MMO game before but was really interested in Star Wars: The Old Republic when it was first announced. After all, I love Star Wars and BioWare had never steered me wrong. Better still, the last time BioWare and LucasArts got together, we got Knights of the Old Republic which is one of my all-time favourite games and The Old Republic looked like the spiritual successor to the KOTOR series.
I didn’t buy SWTOR when it first came out, though. Spending $60 to buy the game and another $15 per month to play it wasn’t appealing to me. Over the course of a year, that would amount to $240 in costs which is the same as buying four games over the course of the year. Fortunately, in November, The Old Republic went free-to-play meaning you didn’t have to spend a penny to enjoy a new Star Wars experience. But is the SWTOR free-to-play experience worth it one year after launch? Continue reading
Wednesday Link-Off: Reframing the Discussion
‘Twas middle of the week before Christmas and all through HQ,
not a blogger was blogging. Not even… using undo?
Okay, I’m never going to make it as a poet. Maybe I’ll just stick to the links for today. Don’t worry, though. We’re still busy plugging away on posts. I’ll have a couple of video game posts to close out the week. Still working on next week, though. Next Wednesday will be our year-in-review set of links. I’ll probably have a best games of 2012 post next week, too. For today, it’s normal programming. Let’s start with English model Kelly Brook.
A lot of the hate after the Sunny Hook Elementary School Shooting was focused on the NRA and the so-called gun nuts. However, this has allowed the gun companies who make these guns to get away without any criticism or scorn. Maybe it’s time for that to change. (Gawker)
Contrary to some of the excuses people grasp at when tragedies like this occurs, part of the problem of why mass shootings is that easy access to excessively destructive firearms to very much engrained in American culture. (CBC News)
The NRA made a statement yesterday saying they won’t make a statement until Friday. They’ve been extremely silent since the Newtown shooting. (Ad Week) Like the Magary column up top said, maybe we should focus on Big Gun instead.
After the jump, the lack of connection between video games and gun violence, the story behind the fake Mass Effect 4 interview and an NBA Christmas album. Continue reading
Not News of the Week
It’s time for all the news that’s not fit for print. It’s time for the Not News of the Week.
By now, you’ve probably heard about the monkey who made an appearance at a north Toronto IKEA store. However, you may not know the whole story. The seven-month-old monkey escaped from its crate in a car in the IKEA parking lot before wandering into the store. Like a scene out of a Curious George book, the monkey was wearing a fur coat. Okay, George wore a big yellow hat but you get what I’m talking about. The monkey’s owner has been charged with possessing a prohibited animal. You know, I wonder if that monkey would have an easier time putting together IKEA’s furniture than I do. Continue reading
One Week Left in Our Drive to Feed The Hungry on FreeRice.com
At the beginning of the month, we announced our drive to help feed the hungry through the United Nations World Food Programme. With one week until Christmas, we’re reaching out once again for your support to help feed the hungry. We don’t need your money, just your time.
All you have to do is login or sign up to FreeRice.com, join Team LowdownBlog.com and start answering trivia questions. Each correct answer earns 10 grains of rice to be donated to the World Food Programme.
The Lowdown 