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Posts Tagged ‘andy rooney’

Web

What’s On at Flavorpill: The Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

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Today at Flavorpill, we thought that this little kid dressed up like Carl Fredricksen from Up was quite possibly the cutest thing that we will ever see. We looked at the jaw-dropping views from the world’s tallest observation deck at the Shanghai World Financial Center. We watched an amazing time-lapse video of 47,000 people running across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at the start of the New York City Marathon. We listened to a segment from one of Tina Fey’s two new hour-long radio specials, “The Hidden World of Girls.” We had to hit replay on the new “Muppet Show Theme” about five times in a row before locating the Joanna Newsom vocals. We visited Track 61, the long-abandoned train platform that’s underneath the Waldorf-Astoria. We hopped on board of The Guardian‘s world literature tour, which is currently focusing on writers from Argentina. We wondered if Andy Rooney was really “The Godfather of Troll.” We were amused to learn that Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn is working on a Friday Night Lights tribute album. And finally, we were impressed by this 3-D Lego army that was designed by Leon Keer for Chalkfestival in Sarasota, Florida. Don’t the minifigs look real?

Television

RIP: Andy Rooney, Cornerstone of ’60 Minutes’, Dies at 92

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According to the New York Times, CBS News commentator and America’s most well-loved curmudgeon Andy Rooney died last night “after complications following minor surgery.” He was 92 years old. Until this past October, Rooney had appeared on CBS’s 60 Minutes every week from 1978 to 2011, usually ending the program with light and often hilarious commentary on a wide variety of topics, from politics to pop culture to the trials and tribulations of daily life. The archetypal grumpy-but-lovable old man figure, Rooney loved shined shoes, properly pressed pants, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, but was much more famous for his many dislikes, some of which caused complaint and controversy during his many years at CBS. In particular, he took criticism for homophobic comments, and was suspended by CBS for three months, but was reinstated after only four weeks when viewership for an Andy Rooney-less 60 Minutes dropped 20 percent. When he returned, he apologized, saying, “There was never a writer who didn’t hope that in some small way he was doing good with the words he put down on paper and, while I know it’s presumptuous, I’ve always had in my mind that I was doing some little bit of good. Now, I was to be known for having done, not good, but bad. I’d be known for the rest of my life as a racist bigot and as someone who had made life a little more difficult for homosexuals. I felt terrible about that and I’ve learned a lot.”

Insensitive comments or no, Rooney was one of the most popular broadcast figures in the country, an everyman who captured the nation’s heart with his grumbling, backyard philosophy and dislike of things like “two-prong plugs in a three-prong society.” During his last scheduled appearance on CBS, Rooney said, “I’ve done a lot of complaining here, but of all the things I’ve complained about, I can’t complain about my life.”

News

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

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1. A London coroner has ruled that Amy Winehouse died from drinking too much alcohol — not from withdrawal, as was originally thought — and in fact, she had consumed 4.5 times more than the legal limit for driving in the UK at her time of death. [via The Daily Beast]

2. Community’s hilarious Ken Jeong will star in and produce a new comedy called The Chung Factor for Lionsgate; he’ll be playing an “offbeat relationship coach” who is trying to win back his ex from an unsuspecting client. [via TheWrap]

3. Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler took a nasty fall in the bathroom of his hotel in Paraguay yesterday, which resulted in cuts to his face and the loss of two teeth. The band was also forced to cancel last night’s performance. [via MTV]

4. Marni Kotak, the performance artist who shocked the world when she announced that she planned to give birth in Bushwick’s Microscope Gallery, delivered “Baby X” yesterday morning; a video of the performance will be exhibited for those who missed out on seeing it live. [via AP]

5. Former 60 Minutes commentator Andy Rooney is in the hospital following some “serious” post-surgery complications. CBS says that his condition is stable, but at the request of his family, is offering no further information. [via Jezebel]

Bonus Buzz: Ultimate Ron Swanson Pumpkin Collection

News

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

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1. Yesterday, Mitchell Hurwitz told an audience at the New Yorker Festival that Arrested Development may be returning to the small screen as soon as next fall; according to Inside TV, producers are currently in talks with both Showtime and Netflix about “airing a limited number of original episodes that will update fans on the Bluth clan.”

2. It was a sad weekend for new movies with good critical buzz at the box office, with Dolphin Tale taking the number one spot over both Moneyball (which made $12.2 million) and 50/50 (which took in $8.8 million). We can’t speak for Moneyball yet, but 50/50 is definitely worth paying to see in theaters. [via Vulture]

3. Last night Andy Rooney filed his final piece as a regular contributor on 60 Minutes with the following, pitch-perfect sign-off: “If you do see me in a restaurant, please, just let me eat my dinner.” Watch the full farewell speech here.

4. ABC News has announced a new deal with Yahoo that will allow both brands to share news content and stories, as well as traffic numbers and “integrated bureaus” in New York, Washington, and Los Angeles. [via The Daily Beast]

5. Here is your first look at the return of cult British series Absolutely Fabulous. Do you think Patsy and Edina have changed all that much?

Bonus Buzz: Watch This Kid Discover Who Luke Skywalker’s Father Is

Television

10 Things That Make Andy Rooney Cranky

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In his more than 1000 broadcasts over the past 33 years, we’ve rarely heard about what 60 Minutes commentator Andy Rooney likes — in fact, only ice cream and natural eyebrows immediately come to mind. But we’ll be the first to admit that watching him wax poetic about his favorite things wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining as listening to him rant — often nonsensically — about what most of us take for granted as byproducts of progress. Plus, it would make playing the Andy Rooney Game a lot much less fun. Click through to watch some of the most curmudgeonly segments we could find, and be sure to tune in this Sunday night if you’re interested in seeing his last regular appearance on the show.

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News

Andy Rooney Retires From ’60 Minutes’

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Andy Rooney, the commentator for CBS’s 60 Minutes‘ opinion segment since 1978, will be retiring from the show. CBS News made the announcement that the 92-year old will be leaving after he completes his 1,097th installment this Sunday night. Rooney is expected to share the news with his viewers, after which the show will air a retrospective of his long career with the network. Rooney has said before that he would work at CBS until he shuffled off this mortal coil. “How long am I going to work? How long am I going to live? That’s the question. I will work until I drop, or until I lose my head. Until somebody tells me different, I’m not going to quit,” he once mused. CBS News chairman and executive producer Jeff Fager has reassured that Rooney, ” … will always have the ability to speak his mind on 60 Minutes when the urge hits him.” Hopefully the urge doesn’t hit him too hard, since the TV personality has grown increasingly cranky with each passing year. With him goes the last of the great TV curmudgeons. A fine example: in the video below, Andy gets cranky about contemporary/public art.

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News

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

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1. It’s almost official: The U.S. Department of Justice has given its blessing, so now Live Nation and Tickemaster can stay married — as long as the US District Court in Washington, DC says it’s OK. [via Variety]
2. Rolling Stone‘s profile of General McChrystal (the boss in Afghanistan) is scandalizing people (including President Obama) long before the magazine hits newsstands. Read the article in question here, courtesy of Politico. [via The Awl]
3. At 91 years old, Andy Rooney says that he’ll never retire. Ever. “I will work until I drop, or until I lose my head.” [via NYP]
4. The Mighty Boosh‘s Noel Fielding is staging his second art exhibition in London next month with a soundtrack courtesy of Kasabian. [via NME]
5. Just like something out of Highlights, one of Michelangelo‘s rare anatomical drawings — of a brain! — has been hiding on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel for the past 500 years. [via NYT]

Bonus link: Eloise at Condé Nast

Web

The 10 Links That Made Our Day

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Today at Flavorpill, we questioned if anyone naming their newborn after a vampire should be allowed to keep it. We identified what has to be the definitive cover of “Paparazzi” by an unknown Justin Bieber lookalike. We were blown away by this photo of a massive sinkhole in Quebec that swallowed a house. We wished that the new Shit My Kids Ruined Tumblog had been around back when we were growing up. We voted on what are Andy Rooney’s top 10 grumpiest moments. We peered into the dark rabbit hole of commenting communities. We internalized the 10 commandments of rock ‘n’ roll roadies. We discovered how dirty early versions of Nancy Drew books can be. We argued over the 10 comic-book heroines we’d like to see in movies. Last of all, we learned that Billy Corgan has hired Veruca Salt veteran Nicole Fiorentino as Smashing Pumpkins’ new bassist. We assume he prefers to keep his band firmly rooted in ’90s alt-rock iconography.

News

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

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1. The Real World: D.C. was the least-watched season in the series’ history. Gawker says that it’s time to put to put the old poodle down. Do you agree? [via Pop Candy]
2. Previously unreleased Bob Dylan material will be featured on the soundtrack of My Own Love Song, a new film starring Renée Zellweger and Forest Whitaker. [via TwentyFourBit]
3. Marisa Meltzer‘s guide to girl-band-movie clichés. [via Slate]
4. Meet Greg Packer, the first geek in line for an iPad outside of the Fifth Avenue Apple Store. [via HuffPo]
5. Greenberg director Noah Baumbach may re-team with his film’s star, Ben Stiller, on an adaptation of the children’s book Mr. Popper’s Penguins. [via Variety]

Bonus link: Andy Rooney ranting about the funny papers

Web

What’s on at Flavorpill: Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

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Today at Flavorpill, we were scared that Andy Rooney is going to kill off the computers. We tried to come up with a name for WNYC’s new culture site. We examined the evolution of storage. We went inside of Ezra Koenig’s apartment. We rolled around on a bed covered with thousands of free fonts. We heeded The Awl’s call to big arms. We swore off of corduroy skirts. We explored the death of uncool with Brian Eno. We wondered how wasting a subway car full of green apples helps fight hunger. We were incredibly excited for a new She & Him album due out next year — and we don’t care if you Zooey Deschanel haters are rolling your eyes and calling us twee. We went Back to the Land. And finally, we loved Patrick Moberg’s visual take on Internet Vices. Does he have you pegged?

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