Wednesday Link-Off: More Equal Than Others

miranda-kerr-wonderbra15-14Orwell once wrote, “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” The frightening thing is how prophetic Orwell’s writing is today. I was actually just saying that Orwell’s 1984 is more relevant today than it was when it was published. The man was good and his books are just getting better with age.

And I realized something while putting this post together. I was supposed to do a Valentine’s themed picture to start the links. Let’s ignore that I forgot and just pretend I was on time with this photo of Miranda Kerr.

The fall and rise of American inequality. (NPR)

And your leading House Republicans aren’t rushing to change things. Paul Ryan thinks that the poor need to comply with the tax code more strongly. Of course. They’re the ones who can afford tax loophole finding accountants. (Washington Post)

Meanwhile, in Canada, the Quebec Education Minister says that strip searches of high schoolers is allowed if they’re “respectful.” If that isn’t among the most ridiculous things you ever heard, I don’t know what is. (Montreal Gazette)

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Sunday Link-Off: The Lost

Well, this was an odd week. A Malaysian airliner has disappeared off the face of the earth and no one knows where it is and whether it actually crashed or not. Things in Crimea could spark a war because neither Russia nor NATO want to back down over this farcical “referendum.” Basically, I’m rebuilding the bunker again. It’s been a while since I mentioned that, hasn’t it?

Anyway, I think Jackie focused on the wrong movie star at the start of his ELO. He has Kristen Bell. I have Scarlett Johansson.

The Crimean referendum is a farce and doesn’t give voters an option to not vote to join Russia. Good luck having anyone besides Russia consider this a legitimate exercise in democracy. (Reuters via Huffington Post)

Former Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych didn’t just up and run away. He planned his departure well in advance. (Kyiv Post)

A former Politico writer explains what it’s like going from covering a Presidential campaign to being thrown into the depths of retail hell. (The Atlantic)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Conventional Views

nina-agdal-calvinklein13-01I can’t really think up an intro for today’s set of the links so we may as well just get straight to the action. Let’s kick it off with Nina Agdal who hasn’t made an appearance on the blog in the last four months. May as well fix that now.

Recently re-elected New Jersey governor Chris Christie thought that Mitt Romney’s political strategists weren’t any good during his Presidential campaign. Naturally, he went out and hired them for his gubernatorial campaign. (Yahoo News)

Are you having your kids vaccinated? You should. Vaccine-preventable diseases are on the rise thanks to people denying science. (Globe & Mail)

Just what are “conventional views” in America? One Washington Post columnist implies that conventional views in America are racist. (Talking Points Memo)

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Wednesday Link-Off: Define “Essential”

alice-panikian-lasenza13-04It’s nice to start off the week with two racing recap posts. I quite enjoy writing those. By the way, have you checked out Freshly Pressed today? My latest gaming column from et geekera got picked up there.

Anyway, between motorsports stories, it’s time for us to do the links. Let’s start with Canadian model Alice Panikian.

Can you really consider John Boehner the leader of the GOP in Congress when you consider that he can’t seem to keep anyone in line. (The Hill)

Congress sure has a weird idea of what’s considered essential. The Congressional gym is considered essential and is still open. (Think Progress)

It’s not just America that is having political intrigue with money. It cost the Ontario government $1.1 billion to cancel a gas power plant project in Oakville and Mississauga. How the hell does that happen? (Toronto Sun)

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All The Ways Samuel L. Jackson Says “Fuck”

Legendary actor Samuel L. Jackson has become a Twitter legend during the Olympics. His live tape-delay commentary of the Olympics has been the most enjoyable American coverage. It’s probably more insightful than what’s on NBC. It’s definitely better than CTV’s track and field coverage. Not surprisingly, Sam’s favourite word on Twitter is the good old-fashioned f-bomb. However, he can’t seem to spell it the same way twice.

So to celebrate the end of the London 2012 Olympics, here’s every different permutation of  Sam Jackson spelling “fuck” on Twitter. Continue reading

The Humanoids: The Spoilers

No, I’m not spoiling anything in this post. Well, I might spoil your day if you don’t agree with my opinion but there isn’t anything in here you’d call a spoiler in the traditional sense. Instead, I’m talking about people who spoil things which includes people who spoil things with spoilers. Continue reading

Sunday Link-Off: Hung Up And Hungover

It’s 8:00 AM on the east coast on the day after St. Patrick’s Day so I don’t expect anyone to read this until at least six hours after it was posted. Anyway, I’ve been a bit busy this week covering the entertainment beat and working on the 2012 Hottest Canadian showdown. However, I haven’t forgotten the usual Sunday posts. But first, let’s kick this one of with my favourite SI Swimsuit model Cintia Dicker.

Would you believe that the biggest casino in America is actually in Connecticut? But Foxwoods Casino might not be able to hold onto that title as the casino industry is in massive trouble. (New York Times)

Don’t like the current state of professional wrestling? Well, blame Rick Santorum. The candidate for the Presidential nomination for the Republican Party was a lobbyist who helped get the wrestling industry deregulated which started us toward modern pro wrestling. (Mother Jones)

If you thought wrestling was bad for doping, wait until you find out what’s happening in wheelchair curling. (Deadspin)

After the jump, strange sports stats no one asked for, the guy behind Kony 2012 has too much fun in public and Gus Johnson’s greatest hits. Continue reading

Wednesday Link-Off: Twitter Wars

It’s a busy week on the blog this week between the Hottest Canadian bracket and our 2012 F1 season preview. But we still have time for the mid-week links. To kick things off, we have… Miley Cyrus? I guess she’s not banking on Disney dollars anymore. And that’s a good thing.

The latest Twitter feud wasn’t so much a fight as an absolute massacre. It was Norm McDonald vs. Rick Reilly. If this was a boxing match, Norm would’ve won by KO in the first sixty seconds. (Awful Announcing)

For such an influential man in many lives, Don Cornelius’ death went by without much of a mention. The Times profiles the man and his fall from grace. (New York Times)

The new purpose of the Gawker Media Group is to out people behind anonymous comedy Twitter accounts. This includes their recent investigation of @DadBoner. (Deadspin)

After the jump, March Madness, the science of video game difficulty and Community returns tomorrow. Continue reading

Sunday Link-Off: Social Media Meltdown

It’s the end of another week so it’s time for another set of links. I was hoping to kick off this post with an as of yet undiscovered woman but the return of Jennifer Love Hewitt is definitely a treat.

Twitter is the current big social network but it has one small problem: Nobody at Twitter had any idea as to how to make money from the damn thing. (Gawker)

Social media has also brought to light LRA leader Joseph Kony. However, the Invisible Children charity that’s taken social networks by storm with their Kony 2012 video have taken care of a tweet first, ask questions later public to distort the facts surrounding their case. Here’s a breakdown of what’s really going on with Kony. (Foreign Policy)

The biggest benefit for Invisible Children from the Kony campaign is the increased fundraising. But that increased money that the charity is raising isn’t likely to support the cause. (Jezebel)

After the jump, there’s a Hulk Hogan sex tape, the greatest TV network seasons of all-time and revenge of the carjacked. Continue reading

Wednesday Link-Off: Leap Day

Normally, I’d break down the Oscars during the linkdump after the Oscars but Twitter and the Daytona 500 are much more interesting. The good news is that we can still lead off this linkdump with Natalie Portman on the red carpet.

The Daytona 500 was yesterday. Well, more or less. It ended in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Anyway, the big story of the race (besides exploding jet dryers) was driver Brad Keselowski tweeting during a red flag period. (Jalopnik)

And while NASCAR is very liberal about its social media policies, ESPN is tightening the strings regarding its employees’ Twitter accounts. (Deadspin)

Why do I bring these two stories up back-to-back? Because ESPN NASCAR analyst Brad Daugherty, who got his job because he liked NASCAR, not because he’s in any way qualified, thinks Keselowski should be fined because he must be in capable of tweeting while all cars are parked and nothing is happening for several hours then driving a race car afterwords. (The Daly Planet) After making those comments, Daugherty demanded that everyone get off his lawn.

After the jump, WWE stars do zumba, CBS screws up Sherlock Holmes and Seth Rogen has the best monologue of awards season. Continue reading