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Wednesday Link-Off: Dealing with Problems

emilia-clarke-gq13-01Hope you’ve enjoyed the racing coverage over the last couple of days because there isn’t much chance of a racing post through next week. We’re working on some neat things over the next stretch, though, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, since Game of Thrones (AKA Game of Owns! [I’ll show myself out]) is back this weekend, here’s Emilia Clarke.

Senator Rob Portman was against gay marriage until his son came out to him. After that, Portman had to toe the party line during the 2012 election campaign. His son, Will, talks about coming out to his father and the effect it had on both of them. (Yale Daily News)

Matt Lauer is both the most popular and most hated man on The Today Show. He might be the face of the show but not everyone is happy with how he made that happen. (New York Magazine)

Rob Ford’s alcohol problem may be getting him in trouble and his staff is getting concerned. (Toronto Star)

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Entertainment Link-Off: Watch This!

alison-brie-wired13-03Jackie’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.

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Sunday Link-Off: Playing Favourites

olivia-wilde-marieclaire13-05It’s the end of a long week of writing. From Monday to Friday, we posted over 9,000 words. Doing a thorough week of blogging is a bit tiring so I’ll apologize in advance if next week is a bit quieter. However, we have the F1 race recap (assuming that it didn’t get rained out overnight while I was asleep) and a new gaming column coming up this week. I’m hoping to get a review for The Showdown Effect done this week too.

Right, you’re not here to hear me ramble on about blog stuff. Since Jackie didn’t feature her yesterday, here’s Olivia Wilde.

What is the Republicans’ game with the sequester? They’re actually looking to cut any specific thing. They just want cuts, wherever they may come from. (Think Progress)

Watch out, celebrity tweeters. The Federal Trade Commission is thinking about cracking down on paid ads that you post on Twitter. (Wall Street Journal)

Cardinal Bergoglio came from absolutely nowhere to become Pope Francis. After Cardinal Ratzinger won the Papacy as the favourite the last time out, you’d be forgiven if you thought that the favourite winning was the norm. However, it’s really the exception and long shots winning are the norm. (FiveThirtyEight)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Hoaxed

danielle-fishel-maxim13-02It’s time to take a break from F1 preview week to take a look at everything else that’s been happening in the world so far this week with our set of Wednesday links. Let’s start this off with Topanga- I mean, Danielle Fishel.

And you thought that Manti Te’o was catfished bad. A theoretical particle physicist and UNC professor was duped into believing that he was talking to model Denise Milani. (New York Times)

George W. Bush’s lasting legacy in the GOP might not be the economic crisis but starting the Iraq War which might have directly led to the Republican Party getting annihilated in the 2008 election. (Washington Post)

What happens when BC Premier Christy Clark shows some personality? She gets criticized. Damn uptight media. (Political Points)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Of Misogyny and Oscar-Hosting Men

I don’t know if you noticed but I’ve dropped my former trademark “after the jump” that I’ve been using on link-offs for the last four years. I felt like it was time to just drop it and let the links and my commentary speak for themselves. So, let’s kick this post off with Jennifer Lawrence telling us what she thinks of Seth MacFarlane.

What was the big story of the Oscars? That would be the terrible and sexist hosting job by Seth MacFarlane. (The New Yorker)

Before you say that Amy Davidson thought MacFarlane was terrible because she was a woman, men also thought MacFarlane was horrible. (World’s Most Famous Man)

Who doesn’t love hearing about Manti Te’o’s hoax? Maybe I’m just saying that because I hate Notre Dame. Anyway, here’s Deadspin boss Tommy Craggs talking about the story… Again… (Sports Journalism)

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Sunday Link-Off: A Leg to Stand On

jasmine-tookes-victoriassecret13-07Good news! I’m finally back at Lowdown HQ after being away for the last month or so. Hopefully I can pick things up a bit instead and drop a few more original posts and opinion columns. But since it’s Sunday, it’s time for the links. First, it’s new Victoria’s Secret model Jasmine Tookes.

So you’ve probably heard quite a bit about the Oscar Pistorius case but aren’t quire sure what happened. Here’s a graphic that illustrates what Pistorius says he did. Drawing it out this way sure raises some questions. (National Post)

But while this it seems as though Pistorius’ case doesn’t have a leg to stand on, the culture of South Africa means that this case is far more complex than we give it credit for. (Toronto Star)

Another famous athlete charged with murder gives his opinion. What does OJ think of this case? (Kinston Free Press)

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Entertainment Link-Off: Written in the Stars

halle-berry-vanityfair13-01Good news, folks. If everything goes according to schedule, Jackie is back in two weeks. So you only have to put up with my take on the ELO today and next Saturday.

And even better news for you guys is that there are some decent movies this weekend. If you’re looking for a Twilight parody or a zombie movie parody, you’ll be looking for Warm Bodies. It’s actually been well reviewed. If you just want to watch a bad 80’s action movie, there’s Sly’s new Bullet to the Head. It’s Sly doing an action movie. Can it be anything other than campishly bad? Okay, Cliffhanger was just bad.

Anyway, Vanity Fair did their annual Hollywood issue again. I don’t quite know why but Halle Berry was in it. Has she been in a good movie since X-Men 2? Continue reading →

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Entertainment Link-Off: A Night Away From The Movies

rosie-huntington-whiteley-autograph13-01I’m back in for Jackie as his internet tubes unmelt. Meanwhile, mine are still thawing after a snap freeze. I’m sure if you were to compare the highest temperature (with humidity) that Jackie’s had in January with my coldest temperature (with windchill), we’d be looking at a 70° C swing.

I’d like to say that this weekend would be a good one to get away to the theatre but if you are, don’t check out the new releases. As of writing, all three of this weekend’s big releases are under 33% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes. There’s the reimagined action version of Hansel & Gretel starring Hawkeye and Strawberry Fields, a new Statham movie which just reinforces the fact that you should watch a Liam Neeson movie instead and another “multi/intertwining-story” comedy movie in Movie 43. The critics say avoid them all at all costs.

Anyway, let’s start this post with Statham’s current squeeze… Okay, scratch the use of the classic Macho Man Randy Savage term in proximity of Statham because he’s not worthy. So here’s Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Continue reading →

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Entertainment Link-Off: The Start of Awards Season

megan-fox-esquire13-01I’m still covering for Jackie while the internet tubes in Australia unmelt. Did I mention that it was really hot in Australia this week? I think I heard something on the BBC about the heat melting the train/subway system in Sydney. Not that 45° C is that hot… Or that I woke up to -19° C yesterday before tacking on another nine degrees of windchill.

Anyway, this would be a good weekend to warm up at the movies. There are three new releases in theatres this week. Arnold is back in The Last Stand. Mahk Wahlberg stahs in Broken City. I don’t know if he sounds like Tommy from Quiznee in the movie. Finally, Jessica Chastain follows up her Golden Globe winning performance in Zero Dark Thirty by appearing in the horror flick Mama. Only Mama is fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and the three average out to 48%. So, like I said, it WOULD be a good weekend at the movies but it clearly isn’t… Unless you want to watch the Governator. That’s acceptable.

Alright, let’s start today’s links with Megan Fox. Yes, we have a link about her today.

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Entertainment Link-Off: And The Globe Goes To

keira-knightley-allure12-03Since I’m drawing in to cover this week’s entertainment and pop culture links, we have to assume that Jackie has melted in the Australian heat wave… Anyway, the Golden Globes are this weekend so we’ll get our first indication at who or what will be the front runners at the Oscars. Speaking of which, the Academy Awards nominees were announced this week because the Academy says they don’t want to appear influenced by the Globes… So they moved the nomination announcement up because of the Globes? Makes sense…

Anyway, this weekend at the theatres gives us two big releases. There’s a new release in the form of Gangster Squad which actually has a cast despite the fact that the ads are only promoting Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. It also boasts a 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If you want to watch a good movie that opens this weekend, Zero Dark Thirty goes to wide release this weekend so you can finally see it. But just for fun, let’s start this edition of the ELO with Keira Knightley. We don’t feature her on the blog nearly enough. Continue reading →