I’ve pretty much given up on using Facebook (as our Facebook fans would probably be quick to remind me) but that doesn’t mean that everyone else has stopped using it. In fact, Facebook still has over one billion active users log on each month.
So as a non-using user of Facebook, I part of a group that comprises only 18% of Facebook users. Find out where you fall in with other Facebook users with this handy infographic.
Jackie’s busy this weekend and I’m in to cover the entertainment beat. The good news is that this weekend is a good one to catch a new release in the theatres unless you actually check out reviews. There appears to be something for everyone except those with good taste, it seems.
Dreamworks Animation’s The Croods seems to be the best reviewed movie of the weekend but don’t confuse it for a Pixar classic… Or Ice Age, even. If you’re looking for a live action comedy, Admission stars Tina Fey and Paul Rudd which sounds great on paper but doesn’t work in practice. If mindless action is your thing, Olympus Has Fallen is right up your alley.
So rather than try to wedge someone from one of these movies, here’s Alison Brie because you really should be watching Community on NBC.
While the US government may have been sequestered (or maybe it’s just the collective sanity of the Congress that’s been sequestered), we’re still in action. Also still in action, Jennifer Love Hewitt. Terrible segue but still a great picture even if she’s looking a little thin/Photoshopped in this one.
The NRA will bully people, especially the news media, if they try to access records of people who are registered gun owners. However, they access that info regularly for fundraising. Hypocrites much? (Gawker)
In the latest case of the US Congress playing chicken with the global economy, the mandatory spending cuts negotiated in 2010 called “the sequester” started this week. So what exactly is it? (Washington Post)
I’ve probably put this post too far up in the post but I found it interesting just the same. Folks are accusing Budweiser of watering down its beer. (The Week)
I’ve had a busy week this week. I’m working on a few interesting posts for the next couple of weeks that I think that you guys will like. But first, here’s French model Laetitia Casta who is making a brief return from an apparent semi-retirement.
A simple definition of insanity is doing the same thing but expecting different results. So looking for solutions to the fiscal cliff, some Politico writers asked some rich folks what they’d do. Surprisingly, they’d stay the course with tax cuts for the rich and corporations and the Politico boys bought it. (Esquire)
Did the press actually miss the single biggest story in the 2012 US Elections? (Huffington Post)
A fake study about Fox News viewers having below average intelligence fooled the folks at Yahoo News. However, that’s not to say the “results” of the “study” are untrue. (Daily Kos)
After the jump, don’t fuck with the internet’s power brokers, Valve/Steam’s game changer and Matt Bonner has a massive slam dunk. Continue reading
It’s time for another part in our ongoing series in the best of the interweb that can help you through your day. (Well, the interweb that is outside of The Lowdown Blog.) Once again, I take us back for some more of the best stories of My Life is Average. I like this site because it’s a bit more relatable to everyone’s average lives and some of the stories on the website are the sort of thing that regularly happen to people. That doesn’t mean that these stories aren’t funny. Continue reading
It’s the middle of the week which means it’s time to catch up on some of the more interesting headlines and news from the week so far. For the second week running, let’s kick off with Canadian actress Nina Dobrev. See, I checked that fact before writing.
It turns out that the Bush White House had plenty of lead time with warnings about a potential terrorist attack ahead of 9/11. For some reason, these warnings from CIA were ignored. (New York Times)
Mitt Romney is starting to change tactics when it comes to his campaign. Now, he’s taking baseless personal shots at Obama over religion. (Talking Points Memo)
The Romney/Ryan campaign wants to cut spending overall but increase defence spending. So isn’t it funny that Congressman Ryan voted for $1 trillion of defence cuts in 2011? (Think Progress)
After the jump, more political lies, the return of Iron Chef and the origin of internet memes. Continue reading
Have you ever wondered what our world would be like without the internet? It’s both a scary and compelling question. About one-third of the world’s population are on the internet. It has completely changed how the world interacts with each other compared with just ten years ago.
For facts about how the world would be different without the interweb, we have a handy infographic for your perusal. Continue reading
We’ve got a pretty packed linkdump for you today. And I thought I’d be too busy with the 2012 Hottest Canadian bracket to put this post together. Okay, not really. I just wanted an excuse to plug it. In the meantime, here’s Sofia Vergara who is ineligible for our bracket because she’s Columbian.
Has Google gone completely evil? With all the changes they’re shoving down our throats, there’s a case for that claim. (Gizmodo)
The Onion is making the move from New York to Chicago but it hasn’t exactly gone over well or even very smoothly. (The Atlantic Wire)
Under the leadership of AJ Daulerio, Gawker has not only grown but become a more fun place for writers to work. (Nieman Journalism Lab)
After the jump, Tim Tebow got traded, a first look at CBS’ upcoming Sherlock Holmes disaster and Samuel L. Jackson does NBA intros. Continue reading
I always thought that Words With Friends was just a Scrabble knock-off whose fame was limited to a people on Facebook and as the reason that Alec Baldwin got thrown off an airplane. That’s what I get for owning a BlackBerry. It turns out that it’s more powerful than I could possibly imagined. A survey by the makers of Words With Friends says that one in ten players say that the game has led directly to a hookup.
For that and other stats related to relationships and Words With Friends, we have a handy infographic after the jump. Continue reading
Today is an internet wide protest against SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act, and PIPA, the Protect IP Act. Both these acts were drafted as a measure to curb online piracy but it can be politely described as the shotgun approach to a solution. It basically makes everyone liable for piracy from the companies doing any unauthorized streaming or hosting of files, any company that is deemed to facilitate said streaming or downloading, and anyone actually doing the downloading or streaming. In other words, everyone one on the internet could potentially run afoul of SOPA.
For out blackout day post, we’ve got a look at what specifically make SOPA so horrible and what can be done to keep the internet from changing forever. Continue reading
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