1. Remember that really bizarre Steve Jobs action figure? Well, in the wake of “immense pressure” from Apple’s lawyers and the Jobs family, Chinese manufacturers have decided not to sell the lifelike figurine. The company, which had planned to start shipping the dolls in February, has promised to fully refund all pre-orders. [LAT]

2. Despite a lack of scathing material from Ricky Gervais, the ratings for this year’s Golden Globes are almost as good as they were last year, and easily beat the numbers for both the American Music Awards and the Emmys. Does this mean we’re going to be seeing him host for a fourth time? [via MTV News]

3. You’ve already seen the underwhelming trailer for Lilyhammer, Netflix’s first foray into original programming; today brings us the trailer for Battleground, Hulu’s new mockumentary about a group of campaign workers in Wisconsin. [via Slashfilm]

4. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced the official nominees for this year’s BAFTA Awards, aka the UK’s version of the Oscars; are you as pleasantly surprised as we are to see that Drive is up for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress? [via Vulture]

5. Bay Area punk label Lookout! Records — which has been home to bands like Green Day, Operation Ivy, and Rancid — has officially shut down following years of financial troubles. [via Rolling Stone]

Bonus Buzz: 25 Reasons Why We’re Not Surprised Paula Deen Has Diabetes

1. Last night Jon Stewart stopped by The Colbert Report to sign paperwork that legally makes him the head of Stephen Colbert’s super PAC — a move that will allow the late night host to pursue his “possible candidacy for the president of the United States of South Carolina.” [via Huffington Post]

2. Surprise: There’s another film project about Abraham Lincoln in the works! This one, which will be produced by Ridley Scott, is a documentary based on Bill O’Reilly‘s recent book Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever — source material that, as The Playlist points out, is “so factually inept, the National Parks Service has banned it from being sold at the Ford’s Theater.”

3. Kenneth Branagh will direct Kate Winslet in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a juicy-sounding period drama about a magazine reporter’s relationship with the residents of a Nazi-occupied island off the coast of Normandy. [via Vulture]

4. The Flaming Lips’ next album, which we already knew would feature collaborations with the Plastic Ono Band and Bon Iver, will apparently also include contributions from Nick Cave, Ke$ha, Lykke Li, and Erykah Badu. The LP is set to be released this coming April. [via NME]

5. The Daily reports that, thanks to a multimillion-dollar deal to be the spokeswoman for a pharmaceutical company, Paula Deen is about to reveal to the world that she has Type 2 diabetes. Does this mean no more deep-fried Twinkies for breakfast, y’all?

Bonus Buzz: 21 Examples Of Bizarre Furniture

Today at Flavorpill, we almost projectile vomited over a concept photo for real skin stiletto heel implants. We made mental note of TIME’s Halloween costumes that everyone should avoid this year. We were excited to see that Faile is the next artist taking over the Bowery mural space — it will be a nice change of pace from JR. We learned how much money Paula Deen really makes, and for doing what. We wondered who at H&M thought it was a good idea to launch a line of clothes inspired by Lisbeth Salander. We thought it was totally creepy that Muammar Gaddafi had “Libya’s best composer” write Condoleeza Rice a love song, and that it was called “Black Flower in the White House.” We were happy to hear that the lovely Kerry Washington has landed the female lead in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. And finally, we wondered how George Lucas feels about Steven Spielberg’s recent interview with Empire Magazine; even though Spielberg refers to Lucas as his best friend, he also totally throws him under the bus for how much Kingdom of the Crystal Skull sucked.

Today at Flavorpill, we learned that even World Scrabble Championship players can be tempted to “misplace” their crappy tiles. We tried our best to guess a few novels by their famous opening lines. We wished that The Real Housewives of South Boston would get picked up by Bravo. We thought that this Luxo Jr. Pixar desk lamp Halloween costume was such an inspired idea. We were excited to hear that the lovely and talented Judy Greer is developing her own sitcom for ABC. We wondered if the world is really ready for The Real World: Occupy Wall Street. We were amazed by this clip which syncs up all seven timelines from last week’s episode of Community. We decided that this is one of the scariest jack-o’-lanterns that we’ve ever seen. We wanted a list of the names and addresses of anyone who purchases this ridiculous $75K yurt that’s in the new Neiman Marcus “Christmas Book.” We were embarrassed by how much we want to try this Paula Deen butter-flavored lip balm. And finally, we wondered if whoever built this crazy climbing wall intended for it to look like something straight out of Alice in Wonderland. Also: does this mean that going to the gym in Japan is more fun?

Today at Flavorpill, read about Peter Terzian’s experiences as a “park ranger” at John F. Kennedy’s birthplace in Brookline, Massachusetts. We found out what butter-laden, delicious desserts Paula Deen will be serving at her Fourth of July picnic. We explored the current golden age of all-female tribute bands, from Sheagles and Blonde Jovi to AC/DShe and Cheap Chick. We found it hard to believe that Independence Day is 15 years old. We tried to match the grunt with the tennis pro. We memorized Weird Al’s lyrics to Conan’s theme song. We decided that Entertainment Weekly’s new cover — which features Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter back when he was 11 — makes us feel incredibly ancient. We listened to what Dan Savage had to say about monogamy. We were surprised to learn that Shaggy’s real name is Norville Rogers (did Scooby know?). And finally, we enjoyed these clever responses to the 20 craziest job interview questions, a list which includes, “How many cocktail umbrellas are there in a given time in the United States?”

Make no bones about it — life in a restaurant is difficult work. The hours are long, the pay isn’t much, and the work is ultimately thankless. Or at least, that’s how it used to be. The past few years, we’ve watched “foodie” culture explode into prime time, elevating many chefs to celebrity status. It’s no wonder, then, that the chef memoir has become as much of an art form as cooking itself. As many of you know, Gabrielle Hamilton, owner and chef of New York’s Prune restaurant, recently released Blood, Bones & Butter, a book that many are calling just as beautiful as her simple, impassioned food. Using Hamilton’s book as a starting point, we examine ten chef memoirs — from the newbies to those seasoned with experience — that we’ve found particularly enjoyable.

Read More »

Today at Flavorpill, we were amused by Paula Deen’s response to “Paula Deen Riding Things.” We liked The Frisky’s illustrated guide to movie remakes. We watched Chris Mintz-Plasse and Dave Franco have an extremely NSFW argument about which one of them is hotter. We saw what happens when a tractor-trailer hauling industrial printer cartridges rolls over on the highway. We wanted to steal all of the girls’ outfits in the new Rye Rye video. We wished that we were best friends forever with hipster Clarissa. We decided that looking at pictures of real fast food makes us sad. We investigated the current state of Internet-based TV. We fell in love with Soasig Chamaillard’s pop art takes on the Virgin Mary — specifically the one that incorporates Polly Pocket. And finally, we were impressed by Austria-based artist Wolfgang Matzl’s stop motion, minute-long version of Inception.

Today at Flavorpill, we couldn’t wait to get our hands on a copy of the Battleship Drinking Game. We were clearly amused by Sheen Family Circus. We heard about some funny things that will never happen to The Office’s Michael Scott now that he’s leaving. We discovered that Bravo’s Andy Cohen really hates public school choruses. We wondered which one of these great Philip K. Dick stories Hollywood will decide to ruin next. We found out how Tina Fey got Alec Baldwin to agree to do 30 Rock. We watched Paula Deen riding a variety of things, including Stephen Hawking in zero gravity. We felt sorry for these dead frogs in spite of their pina coladas. We played a round of famous objects from classic movies. And finally, we wished that we lived closer to an IHOP so that we could celebrate National Pancake Day — you’ve got until 10 pm to claim your free short stack!

1. Ben Affleck is in early negotiations to direct Argo, an adaptation of Joshuah Bearman’s April 2007 Wired magazine article about the Tehran hostage crisis. George Clooney is co-producing the political thriller. [via THR]

2. Ted Williams is planning to auction off the cardboard sign from the YouTube video that launched his 15 minutes of fame, as well as his camouflage jacket. The proceeds from the sale will go toward the Ted Williams Second Chance Foundation, which was created to help talented people who need “a hand up and not a hand out.” [via TMZ]

3. “This year, when the Black Eyed Peas perform, I’m planning on doing my own little ‘Boom Boom Pow’ just to show ‘em that this ol’ cheerleader still has some shake in her.” – Paula Deen’s musings on Super Bowl XLV

4. At the beginning of last night’s episode of The Daily Show, Justin Bieber was in Jon Stewart’s seat because they’d swapped bodies, Freaky Friday-style. Watch the clip — which was apparently a promo for Justin Bieber: Never Say Never — here.

5. Lady Gaga has already confirmed that she will premiere her new single “Born This Way” at this year’s Grammy Awards, but now there’s a rumor floating around she’ll do a duet with Muse as well. (PS: Check out her out on the cover of the March issue of Vogue above.) [via Digital Spy]

Today at Flavorpill, we played around on TinyWrld, a Tumblr that collects tilt-shift videos from around the globe. We discovered what our brain has in common with a smartphone. We watched a free documentary about the life and legacy of the great horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. We weren’t surprised to hear that Flavorpill favorite Paula Deen is the most liked chef on Facebook. We were intrigued by the enormous dresses in this clip from the Channel 4 series My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. We downloaded a new song from the Mountain Goats called “Damn These Vampires,” which is off of their upcoming album, All Eternals Deck. We found out some interesting facts about Seinfeld that we didn’t already know — including the show’s original title. We learned that figure skater Johnny Weir is a pop star in Japan (listen to his hit single, “Dirty Love”). We wished that all benches could be elevated benches. And finally, we wanted to own all of the retro props featured in She & Him’s new music video for “Don’t Look Back” — especially the mop shoes.