Anna Kendrick

Leave a comment Posted on December 14, 2016December 13, 2016 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: Interference

We’re less than a week away from the Electoral College casting votes that almost certainly will cement Donald Trump as the President-elect of the US but it seems so odd that everyone will continue ignoring the potential issues of conflicts of interest and Russia’s hands in the Trump campaign, victory and now White House. The extra layer of review by the Electoral College is needed here but it’s not looking like any review will be done.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday which means that we’re here for the links. Let’s kick off with Anna Kendrick.

President-elect Trump doesn’t seem to worry about conflicts of interest but his and his family’s business interests are ripe for conflicts with foreign powers. (Newsweek)

The Canadian Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation has given the government the thumbs-up to legalize pot. It comes with scads of recommendations about regulation but we’re getting close now. (Bloomberg)

People suspected it during the campaign but the CIA has concluded that the Russians interfered in the US Presidential Election to aid Donald Trump. (Washington Post)

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Leave a comment Posted on October 2, 2016October 2, 2016 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: Unfit

If there’s one thing that the whole world bar 40-some percent of America can agree on, it’s that the last week has seen Donald Trump prove repeatedly that he is not ready or capable of being an effective leader of the free world and President of the United States of America. This week might be the worst week any presidential candidate has ever had during a campaign and it still won’t convince his base to change their votes.

So since it’s Sunday, that means we should get down to the links. Let’s kick off with Anna Kendrick who is starring in Trolls. If ever there was a more appropriately named movie for this presidential election, I don’t know what it could be.

The New York Times have obtained Donald Trump’s 1995 tax return and found that he claimed a $916 million loss that year that he could be carrying forward to avoid paying taxes. So how does losing nearly a billion dollars make him smart? (New York Times)

This massive loss along with his appeal concentrated among low-income and less educated voters could all be hurting the Trump brand. (Fortune)

For the first time in its history, USA Today gave voting guidance with its denouncement of Donald Trump saying no one should vote for him. (USA Today)

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Leave a comment Posted on July 9, 2016July 9, 2016 by Steve Murray Entertainment, Link-Off

Entertainment Link-Off: Dog Days of Summer

Is it just me or is summer really a dead time for movies. Since I’ve taken up temporary residence on Saturdays doing the entertainment links, I can’t think of massive summer blockbusters apart from family movies. Where are the big budget action movies? Where are the superheroes?

On the plus side, The Secret Life of Pets opens this weekend. Critics really seem to like it but not to the same extent that Pixar’s Finding Dory was adored by critics. The other big release is Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates which is getting middling reviews.

Anyway, it’s Saturday night so it’s time for the links. Let’s kick off with the lead pair from one of this weekend’s movies. Here are Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza.

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Leave a comment Posted on December 30, 2015December 30, 2015 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: The Other Eve Eve

I just realized that people are more than willing to call December 23rd “Christmas Eve Eve” but no one calls December 30th “New Year’s Eve Eve.” It doesn’t really make sense to call one date an “eve eve” but not the other. Hell, you even have to do last-minute shopping on both eve eves. Granted, one is for gifts and this one is solely to get you drunk. Priorities, right?

Anyway, it’s the last Wednesday of 2015 which means that it’s time for us to do the links. Since it’s the last linkdump of the year, we have to lead off this post with our woman of the year. Using the scientific analysis criteria of the blog’s traffic, posts, comments and so on, for the second consecutive year, our woman of the year is Anna Kendrick.

Are those who want to limit free speech as a weapon to combat terrorism themselves a form of terrorist? It’s an interesting little debate. (The Intercept)

As we gear up for Presidential primaries starting next year, we witness the ongoing death of the Republican Party as a political group and the rise of an anti-establishment cultural movement in its stead. (Washington Post)

Why does everyone seem more scared of everything thing this year than last? Because the TV news is exploiting your fear for ratings. (Rolling Stone)

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Leave a comment Posted on August 5, 2015August 4, 2015 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: The Electoral Marathon

I told you that there would be an election call in Canada on Sunday and here we are. The Prime Minister has called an election that will have a campaign period of over double the standard length. We have some links that go into that problem and other issues.

Anyway, it’s time for us to do the very political links. Let’s kick things off with Anna Kendrick in Hawaii from her Instagram. As if you needed another reason to go there.

So the longest federal election campaign in history kicked off on Sunday. How do we have a long campaign, you might wonder? Well, the Prime Minister has timed things to his advantage using his fixed election date law. (The Globe and Mail)

A new autobiography says that Prime Minister Harper’s legendary temper has been frequently turned towards the Supreme Court of Canada. If you are getting your wrists slapped that frequently by the Supreme Court… (National Post)

The economics of failure have failed. It’s time for someone new to save the day. (CBC News)

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Leave a comment Posted on April 18, 2015April 18, 2015 by Steve Murray Entertainment, Link-Off

Entertainment Link-Off: Awaken

Hello Saturday crew. Steve in for Jackie this week. I certainly lucked into a good week to cover the entertainment beat. Between a new Star Wars trailer, a new Batman v Superman trailer, news for both movies and Gwyneth Paltrow’s food stamp experiment, this was an entertaining week to be a fan of entertainment and pop culture. Oh, I almost forgot that Game of Thrones premiered this week. We might have reviewed this week’s episode.

Anyway, it’s time to cut the preamble and get down to business with this week’s Entertainment Link-Off. Since we have a few links about her in here, let’s kick this post off with Anna Kendrick.

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Leave a comment Posted on December 31, 2014December 30, 2014 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: 2014 in Review

Hello and welcome to the annual year-in-review linkdump on The Lowdown. Oddly enough, there weren’t many good recap posts that I found this year.

And, as always, the year-in-review linkdump also coincides with naming our woman of the year. Using the scientific analysis criteria of the blog’s traffic, posts, comments and so on, our 2014 woman of the year is Anna Kendrick.

A lot of people had bad 2014s but few were worse than Barack Obama’s. (Washington Post)

There were new scandals every day of the year as people got outraged over something and took to social media to share their outrage. (Slate)

It wasn’t just in Washington that people had bad years. Some folks in Toronto had bad years too. (Torontoist)

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Leave a comment Posted on December 3, 2014December 2, 2014 by Steve Murray Link-Off

Wednesday Link-Off: The Story Behind the Story

We’re getting to that point in the year where posts are a little harder to come by. I try to plan posts a week or two ahead but that doesn’t mean that I’m always able to figure out all that I want to put on the blog ahead of time. For example, I know that there will be a video game review this week and one early next week. However, I’m missing a Thursday post in the mean time. I have to pull something together quickly.

Anyway, it’s time for the links. Let’s bring back old blog favourite Anna Kendrick.

Kathryn Borel talks about when the CBC ignored her when she told them about Jian Ghomeshi harassing her on the job. (The Guardian)

A little while back, we ran a link to a story about a rape and the rape culture at the University of Virginia. Here’s the story behind the story. (Washington Post)

A program in Tampa claims to help homeless people find jobs and get back into society, it looks like it’s all a front to make the program money. (Tampa Bay Times)

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Leave a comment Posted on August 23, 2014August 23, 2014 by J Entertainment

MIFF2014: Happy Christmas + Post-Film Q&A

Happy Christmas is Joe Swanberg’s most satisfying film to date. It is definitely a worthy follow-up to last year’s equally enjoyable Drinking Buddies. This film is a nice little portrait of a middle class family set during the Christmas holidays in the city of Chicago. Despite a somewhat slow start, the film beautifully highlights the angst we commonly experience in adulthood and looks into the struggle between maintaining a creative life while being a parent to a toddler. Well in this case, perhaps two toddlers. Continue reading →