Editor’s note: Every Monday morning our internet-savvy friends over at BuzzFeed will bring you up to speed with a post filled with links to some of their favorite items on the web that you might have missed over the weekend. Enjoy!

Unfortunately, the week starts off with some sad news from the music world. Famed saxophonist Clarence “The Big Man” Clemons, passed away on Saturday at the age of 69 after suffering a massive stroke. As Greg Mitchell fondly writes over on The Huffington Post, “It’s hard to imagine him silent, both musically and verbally. He could really talk, in both ways.”

The news was much happier on the political front in New York, with Republican Roy McDonald coming out in support of gay marriage. The state senator told reporters: You get to the point where you evolve in your life where everything isn’t black and white, good and bad, and you try to do the right thing.” Kudos.

And now for something completely shocking: the first photo of Tom Cruise playing Stacee Jaxx on the set Rock of Ages. As the headline over on the AV Club reads, this is a Photoshop contest waiting to happen.

Less surprising was a video that surfaced of a super-sedated looking Amy Winehouse taken at a performance in Belgrade. We’re not sure it was really “the worst concert in the history of Belgrade,” but we are certain that the woman looks like she needs some more rehab.

Finally, we’ll leave you with this delicious, viral gem: Fried Kool-Aid. Have a great week guys!

Today at Flavorpill, we enjoyed The Awl’s history of the use of profanity at The New Yorker. We listened to the full version of Stephen Fry’s very entertaining Lady Gaga interview, which apparently happened over scones. We couldn’t deal with this photo of Snooki in a neck brace. We were excited by the latest installment of Lucy Knisley’s hilarious comics based off Harry Potter books. We oddly touched by footage of circus elephants pitching in to help clean up the wreckage in Joplin, Missouri. We weren’t really sure what to think of Porn Rental — a new comedy short about a video store patron in search of child pornography that stars Ben Schwartz and Michael C. Hall. We thought that Donald Sutherland was a good choice to play President Snow in The Hunger Games, although we’d been picturing more of a Ron Rifkin. We finally got a look at the upcoming season of Breaking Bad — and now we really can’t wait for July 17th! We wished that we could hang out with Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand on the set of Rock of Ages after seeing this photo. And finally, we wondered if the news that there will be two Coachellas this year means that the crowds will be more manageable. Probably not, but if you’re will to risk it, tickets go on sale this Friday.

1. The Social Network, which opens nationwide today, currently has a 97% fresh rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
2. David Bowie has a book in the works! Bowie: Object is described as “a collection of pieces from the Bowie archive, wherein, for the first time, fans and all those interested in popular culture will have the opportunity to understand more about the Bowie creative process and his impact on modern popular music.” [via TwentyFourBit]
3. Not to be outdone by Billie Joe Armstrong, Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider is joining the cast of Rock of Ages for an 11-week run starting this month. [via USA Today]
4. This year’s Nobel Prize for Literature will be announced on October 7, with Poland’s Adam Zagajewski, South Korea’s Ko Un and Syria’s Adonis as the frontrunners to win. [via Yahoo!]
5. Are you surprised that the most exciting thing on Justin Bieber’s tour rider is Swedish Fish? [via TSG]

Bonus link: The Many Faces of Snooki

1. Vic Mizzy, the composer who wrote the theme songs for The Addams Family and Green Acres, has died at 93. [via ArtsBeat]
2. Perhaps inspired by the success of his web musical Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Joss Whedon will direct an episode of Glee. [via Ausiello Files]
3. One lucky fan’s self-designed “character” will appear in an upcoming episode of The Simpsons featuring Coldplay’s Chris Martin. [via NME]
4. Bring on the ’80s anthems: Broadway’s Rock of Ages is coming to the big screen. But will you be able to drink in movie theaters… [via Variety]
5. Boston Globe harshes on Shepard Fairey: “The cover-up demonstrates his shameless disregard for artistic endeavors that aren’t his own.”

Theater folk are no doubt freaking out this morning, as they’re want to do around early May every year: It’s Tony Nominations Day! The best way to get a good first impression of what’s going here is by nomination count. Check out our numeric breakdown/running commentary after the jump. Spoiler alert: Those three dancing brats from Billy Elliot managed to smoke everyone else’s ass. Read More »

That fashion think-tank-cum-magazine renowned for putting mostly undeservedly famous figures on their covers, NYLON, posted a feature on their site in which they delve into an area of coverage they’re not particularly known for: theatre. While theatre professionals (and publicity-seeking producers) can appreciate newcomers to the game, those who enjoy reading about theatre (or even readers of NYLON, who probably aren’t hosed that easily) are likely to be suspect towards this piece on the cast of Hair, who got their — wait for it — hair done by a Bumble & Bumble stylist during the interview. Oof. Read More »

It seems that “in this economy” (we’re going to start putting that in quotes from now on. Apparently it’s now a requisite lead to any cultural news story), theatre-goers are looking for more perks on Broadway than just an overpriced souvenir program to take home at the end of the night. So why not get them sloshed? Perhaps in the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day (erm, or not), producers of Rock of Ages have announced that they’re starting to serve drinks to patrons during the show. We can foresee just a few problems with this. Read More »

“Producers of the Broadway jukebox musical Rock of Ages will offer an unusual perk starting tonight to attract audiences and loosen them up in a bad economy: in-seat alcohol service during performances.”

A SXSW publishing panel sparks a hot debate among book bloggers (video)

A guide to the financial crisis for visual learners

And speaking of the financial crisis, the Hollywood Reporter asks: Is Duplicity a fictional version of AIG?

Could you read an entire crime novel via Twitter? Sounds like torture to us.

In other Twitter news: Twitter’s OAuth Support Now In Public Beta

“When you talk about virginity and sex publicly, people just automatically picture you naked.” How can someone so wise have dated a Jonas Brother?

The Rose fam protests the “plundering” of their namesake museum. We’re not sure why they waited so long…

Awesome headline: “Bob Dylan’s neighbors sing outhouse blues”

The downside of mowing down your mascot: “Although the vast majority of messages were innocuous and inane — ‘We love you, Jack,’ ‘I wish I knew how to quit you, Jack,’ etc. — a fair percentage were darker, weirder and potentially quite embarrassing for the company…”

City of Life: Dubai’s first homegrown flick

A walking tour of New York City’s independent book stores (Our favorite on the list: Housing Works, where we’ll be hosting a DJ Challenge with Andrew W.K. and $mall ¢hange next Thursday night!)

Caryl Churchill’s Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza heads to D.C. Brace yourselves for some serious (off-stage) drama.

R.I.P.: The tree from The Deer Hunter dies

The Secret to Paul Taylor’s Staying Power (and a review of his two latest dances, Private Domain and Images)

P.S. We just heard on the Today Show that more than 150 pints of Guinness per second will be consumed today; we’re drunk from just typing that sentence.