Just when you thought that none of the luck at Mercedes was going Lewis Hamilton’s way, his championship chances got a massive boost in Singapore. When the cars formed up on the grid, it looked like it was going to be another week of Hamilton slowly chipping away at Nico Rosberg’s championship lead. Instead, Rosberg suffered a massive failure before the formation lap. That handed the win and the championship lead to Hamilton.
Sunday Link-Off: Make Us Whole
How important is the NFL to the cultural fabric of America? Something like thirteen channels were covering Roger Goodell’s press conference which went on at the same time as President Obama. The guy is leading the country isn’t as important as the guy leading the country’s leading sports league. Maybe that’s an illustration of the start of their problems…
Anyway, it’s Sunday morning which means that we’re doing the links. Let’s start with Hannah Ferguson in cheerleading garb which is ever so appropriate.
There was some concern that Quebec separatists would be bolstered by the strength of the Yes campaign in Scotland. However, the strength of the separation movement in Quebec might be the weakest that it’s been in 40 years. (The Globe and Mail)
With the Scottish Referendum done, the work isn’t finished for those in the British Parliament supporting the no side. They still have to come through on their promises. Failing to do so could start another independence campaign some years down the road. (MacLean’s)
“The days when old men get to decide what a woman does with her body are long gone.” Oh, Justin Trudeau… When will you stop trying to court me? I’m already in your corner. (CBC News)
MIFF2014: The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and Her
It’s rather bizarre not to see a Beatles track sneak into “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby”, an interesting film that looks into a deteriorating relationship from the perspective of both parties involved. This feature debut from Ned Benson is actually two films shown back to back subtitled Her and Him respectively. While the order of the presentation may vary depending on which screening you attend, the one at the Melbourne International Film Festival kicked it off with Her followed by Him. In addition to the ambitious storytelling, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is anchored by solid performances from the leads Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy. In addition, the supporting characters ranging from Bill Hader’s comedic touch to Isabelle Huppert’s fun portrayal of Eleanor’s chain-smoking wine guzzling mum surely helps this film move along its lengthy runtime. Continue reading
Doctor Who: Listen Review
Steven Moffat has two tricks that he really likes to use when writing episodes. The first is creating and/or solving problems through wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey time paradoxes. I’ve lost count of the number of times that we’ve seen that. The second is trying to scare little children of everyday things. We’ve done statues, shadows and this week, we’re supposed to be scared of being alone in the dark.
Moffat decided to hybrid timey-wimey with everyday horror in Listen. In many ways, it’s a spiritual successor to Blink, the first time we met the Weeping Angels. Maybe it was a bit too familiar, though.
F1 Power Rankings: Singapore Grand Prix
Formula One has left Europe for the final time this season as we embark on a six-race flyaway portion of the calendar to conclude the season. A six-race flyaway swing that’s worth seven races worth of points but six races nonetheless.
The important question over the next couple of races is whether Lewis Hamilton has gotten out of his own head enough to win the Championship. Pressuring Nico Rosberg into a mistake in Monza was a win in itself. Now that he has momentum, the pressure is on Rosberg to capitalize on his street circuit strength this weekend in Singapore. We’re closing with some strong Hamilton circuits so Nico has to capitalize on every opportunity he has.
Wednesday Link-Off: Politically Incorrect
Well, Canada is still talking about Doug Ford taking over for Rob in the Toronto mayoral race. I don’t think Dougie has a shot but it would be interesting at the Ford homestead in 2017 and 2018 if Doug is the mayor and Rob wants the job back. If you’re not talking about Toronto politics, chances are you’re talking about the sad state of the NFL which seems to get worse daily.
And now, it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s kick things off with Mexican model Alejandra Guilmant.
Some people were willing to write-off the Liberal surge as a Justin Trudeau honeymoon. Now, the Liberals appear to be back and a threat to Conservative dominance. (CBC News)
Doug Ford was expected to be the brains behind Rob Ford’s mayorship. Instead, his been more hindrance than help. That doesn’t bode well for his candidacy. (The Globe and Mail)
And Doug’s candidacy for mayor wasn’t a last-minute plan thrown together to keep the Mayor’s sash in the family. It was implemented at the last-minute but Rob’s drug and alcohol issues meant this contingency plan was in place for months. (National Post)
Formula E Beijing ePrix: Debuting with a Bang
The first ever race for the first ever international all-electric motorsports series got off with a bang. I mean that in both a literal and metaphorical sense too. For all the worries about the potential issues with Formula E, they put on a pretty good show despite the pit stop and car change nonsense. However, the race started and ended with literal bangs thanks to a Turn 2 incident on Lap 1 and a final turn incident on the final lap.
The result was that 24 laps and 19 corners of a race lead for Nicolas Prost was thrown away with one dangerous move that took him out of the lead and nearly injured Nick Heidfeld. That let Lucas di Grassi through to ink his name in the record books as the first ever Formula E race winner.
The Walking Dead: Season Two – Episode Five (Spoiler-Free) Review: My Only Friend, The End
Coming into the second season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, one of the big things people were talking about is how the game would be able to continue with Clementine as the protagonist. After all, she’s just a little girl. She couldn’t fill the shoes of Lee.
Well, literally, Clem couldn’t fill his shoes. Figuratively, once we got all the character introductions out of the way and got into character and plot development, this season took The Walking Dead to heights surpassing Season One. Sure, the episodes are shorter and maybe the illusion of choice isn’t quite as strong as the first season but amazing story and character writing made this game one of the highlights of 2014.
Now we reach the end of Season Two and boy, does Telltale give this season a spectacular send off.
Sunday Link-Off: The Family Legacy
Well, if you’re a fan of Toronto or Canadian politics, you’ve picked the right week to check out the Sunday links. All Canadians are talking about is Rob Ford. Even the Oscar Pistorius news is tertiary to the municipal politics of Toronto. I guess that’s what happens when said municipal politics features an admitted crack user as the mayor and an alleged drug dealer as his brother’s replacement in the election.
But before we get into that and all the other Sunday links, here’s American model Melanie Iglesias.
It’s a rare look inside a dying mayoral campaign with now-former Toronto mayoral candidate David Soknacki. One of his campaign staff went on the record to say that Toronto voters elected Rob Ford in 2010 because they were “very superficial.” And you wonder why his campaign was going so badly that he withdrew. (Torontoist)
And given that Mayor Ford is in hospital with an abdominal tumour, his brother Doug is carrying the family name in the mayoral race while Rob will run for Ward 2 council. While Rob was in with a shot at being re-elected, pundits aren’t holding out hope for Doug. (MacLean’s)
Mayor Ford’s former chief of staff, Mark Towhey, is working on a “tell-all” book about his time with the Ford administration. Conveniently, it’s coming out six days before the election. (Canada.com)
MIFF2014: Boyhood
Despite not being a perfect movie, Boyhood delivers one of the most interesting cinematic experiences of the year. Filmed over twelve years, it beautifully highlights the growing pains of childhood but it is also a harrowing reminder how quickly time passes by. Continue reading
The Lowdown 