Entertainment Link-Off: E Pluribus Anus

Happy Memorial Day everyone! To celebrate America’s kickoff to the summer, I’m here to cover the entertainment and pop culture beat. What contest in hell did you people win to deserve this? There are alternatives to reading me this weekend. Men In Black III and Chernobyl Diaries are opening this weekend. Actually, you’d be better off locking yourself inside and grabbing MiB1 and Paranormal Activity off Netflix instead. Anyway, let’s start with Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

What happens when a new technology threatens an ancient business model? A massive lawsuit! Fox, NBC and CBS are suing Dish Network over a new feature which eases skipping over ads on DVR. (Time)

After the jump, the death of the screenplay, scads of Community links and even Siri hates Chris Brown. Continue reading

For Victoria Day: 44 Minutes of Whose Line? Bloopers

One of the all-time great American TV show imports was Whose Line Is It Anyway? For a show that only lasted six years on network TV, it did have a massive impact. The reason why I bring this up on Victoria Day is that one of the show’s two regular performers was Canadian comedian Colin Mochrie who appeared in all 220 episodes. In addition, Canadian comedienne and actress Kathy Greenwood appeared in 33 episodes of the show.

So for Victoria Day, we have a laugh with a long video of Whose Line Is It Anyway Bloopers? After all, isn’t it very Canadian to have a good laugh every now and then. Continue reading

Wednesday Link-Off: Game Breaker

It’s the Wednesday before a long weekend… Well, a long weekend in Canada, anyway. So I suppose it doesn’t really count since our biggest contingent of visitors is the Americans. Anyway, here’s new Victoria’s Secret model Barbara Palvin.

The most controversial man in the media is now on network TV. Here’s a profile of the newest judge on America’s Got Talent, Howard Stern. (New York Times)

Remember when Flickr was cool? Well, it was an important website for photos until Yahoo killed it by forcing the corporate mentality upon it. (Gizmodo)

Guess who might be coming to the Toronto Raptors? The Raps are rumoured to be planning a run for Jeremy Lin. It’d be Linsanity 24/7 for Toronto. (Sports Grid) Coincidentally, 24/7 is roughly the price that scalpers can get for Raps tickets: 7 tickets for $24.

After the jump, scads of video game links, Kim Kardashian’s amazing IMDB bio and the art of the instakill. Continue reading

Sunday Link-Off: More News And Les Nessman

Did I just drop a WKRP in Cincinnati joke in the title of this post? That just happened. Also happening in Candice Swanepoel.

Facebook’s IPO is coming soon. And it’s going to be absolutely massive. (Business Insider)

Sun News Network personality David Menzies is accusing Brian Burke of supporting his son’s You Can Play charity, which is trying to get homophobia out of hockey, as a PR boost. Words can not describe how low Menzies is but most of those words would describe him as sub-human. (Pension Plan Puppets)

A top Republican pollster says that the GOP must “evolve” on same-sex marriage and other gay issues or the party will cease to be relevant. (The Daily Beast)

After the jump, the history of Animaniacs, a breakthrough in quantum teleportation and call Harvard baseball… maybe. Continue reading

Entertainment Link-Off: A Shadowy Future

Nobody panic. Oh, who am I kidding? If I’m covering the entertainment and pop culture beat, then you should probably be a bit concerned. That’s especially true considering the only major wide-release at the theatres this week is Tim Burton’s take on the classic TV series Dark Shadows. But it does have the slightly underrated Eva Green in it. At least Burton did something right.

Let’s kick this post off with some good news. So, GOOD NEWS! Community has been renewed for a fourth season. It’s only for 13 episodes but considering that NBC has ordered a series with Dane Cook and one with Matthew Perry, it’s not like Community could do comparably worse. (Hit Fix)

After the jump, more NBC news, more news about The Avengers, the latest on Prometheus and Nina Dobrev doing yoga. Continue reading

Wednesday Link-Off: Newsbeat

Today’s link-off is filled with news links. In addition to that news is the news that Irina Shayk is still one of the top models in the world.

Only Toronto mayor Rob Ford could make things worse than just threatening to beat a reporter. Now he’s saying ridiculous things on his radio show. (Metro News)

In other news media news, the Associated Press issued an apology that was nearly 70 years in the making. They apologized to a reporter who they fired for reporting that the Germans had surrendered at the end of World War II. (NPR)

The Phoenix Coyotes may actually finally be sold. However, if you live in the city of Glendale, home to the Coyotes, you’re getting a raw deal. (Sportsnet)

After the jump, the life of an NBA referee, the story behind ME3’s same-sex romances and the Ron Paul theme song. Continue reading

Sunday Link-Off: Missing The Mark

Around here, we like to keep you apprised of the latest Canadian talent. The latest up-and-comer is Michea Crawford. And it’s pretty easy to see that she’s going to be in our 2013 Hottest Canadian bracket.

As a robot, Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper has trouble grasping such things as distasteful comments and facts. He accused the NDP of being pro-Hitler in 1939. That was a fabrication because the NDP didn’t exist until 1961. Anyway, the Canadian people weren’t willing to let him get away with such a ridiculous statement. (CBC News)

Edvard Munch’s famous painting The Scream is up for sale this week. It’s estimated auction value is over $80 million. (Wall Street Journal)

ESPN is so busy trying to seem like a proper bunch of journalists that they’re forgetting basic journalistic principles. A recent report suggests that ESPN has no actual evidence that the New Orleans Saints wiretapped other teams. (Awful Announcing)

After the jump, how the NBA and WWE are similar, how husbands/wives feel about movie sex scenes and a Star Wars lip dub. Continue reading

Entertainment Link-Off: Under The Influence

EVERYBODY PANIC! I’m covering for Jackie on this week’s Entertainment Link-Off and will once again bring my oddly bizarre twist on pop culture. God help you all. At least you get to experience my outstanding taste in post opening photos. For example, here’s Brooklyn Decker who stars in the upcoming summer blockbuster Battleship.

Let’s kick things off in a Jackie-esque way. Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz talks about the return of his cult favourite show. (Vulture)

After the jump, TV’s nostalgia kick, why Nicholas Sparks and Hollywood are going to ruin any chance you have of having a proper relationship and a Parks and Rec gag reel. Continue reading

Sunday Link-Off: Happy Easter Time

Despite the fact that I’m an atheist, even I’m willing to admit we’re more SEO-friendly by referencing Easter. Anyway, here’s Xenia Deli. She’s a Beach Bunny Swimwear model along with another famous model who we’ll have a little later on.

We all know that athletic departments wield serious power on college campuses but nothing rivals the sway of Notre Dame’s football program. Sexual assault accusations against Fighting Irish football players tend to end badly for the accuser. (Deadspin)

As Jackie mentioned yesterday, Chevy Chase is in the middle of a feud with Community creator Dan Harmon. What he didn’t mention is that Chase has a pretty lengthy history of being an asshole. (Gawker)

Darren Dreger gets a lot more respect from fans and media than I remember him getting while at Sportsnet. I’m not saying that TSN’s PR machine has turned him into a respectable inside but it is a remarkable change from host to insider. Anyway, he’s still an idiot. His Vezina vote is for Marc-Andre Fleury despite the mountain of evidence that suggests that Fleury is a below average netminder. (Driving Play)

After the jump, Tim McCarver’s greatest fear, EA tries to make amends for ruining BioWare and a Nickelback parody. Continue reading

Wednesday Link-Off: Headlines

I can’t believe it’s already Wednesday. Normally I wouldn’t complain about a week going by too quickly but this week is just ridiculous. Maybe it’s because I’ve been so wrapped up in the 2012 Hottest Canadian competition. Anyway, here’s Irina Shayk. And for once let’s avoid the obvious “And speaking of ridiculous” jokes that I ten to make.

There is lots of info that we do know about the murder of Trayvon Martin but what is fact and what is rumour accepted as fact? (Miami Herald)

To use one of his own catchphrases in his honour, Jason Whitlock does the damn thing in comparing George Zimmerman to OJ Simpson and the effect that the 24-hour news cycle has played in each story. (Fox Sports)

Speaking of OJ, a private investigator is releasing a book in which he proves that OJ was not only not guilty but innocent of murder (yes, there’s a distinction there). (With Leather)

After the jump, the state of the sitcom, trolling could become illegal and Yoda speaking correctly. Continue reading