Chicken and Waffle Chips
Some things are just so wrong they're right, part 2: Lay's launched a contest called "Do Me a Flavor" that introduced three new flavors into their line, the only one of which we care about is Chicken & Waffles (the other two, for the record, are Cheesy Garlic Bread and Sriracha). Now we don't even have to make the trek to Roscoe's to indulge!
Taylor Swift Remixed
The Internet never knows how to let a good thing be, which is why, in the wake of the singer's hit "I Knew You Were Trouble" getting remixed by a goat (still our favorite) there have been plenty of imitations. The second best of the rest? A paper towel dispenser. Everything your mom told you about dubstep just sounding like random noise is true!
That Hot Calvin Klein Model
Remember that really hot model from Klein's Super Bowl commercial? The one with the all those muscles who did all that stretching and stuff? Yeah, that one! He's back in a new spot for the design company called "Dark Obsession" and is as muscley and stretchy as ever. (P.S. His name is Matthew Terry, if you care.)
The Bradford Batman
Batman is real! And he's been fighting crime in England! Well, kinda. After a mysterious man in a Batman costume dropped a criminal wanted for theft and fraud-related charges off at a local station, he was eventually unmasked and turned out to be a 39-year-old takeaway delivery man who was buddies with the wanted man. At least, that's what he wants us to think... We saw The Dark Knight.
Wreck-It Ralph on DVD
The feel good Disney movie was robbed (robbed, we say!) at the Oscars, but the past is the past and now it's on DVD so we can watch it a million times from the comfort of our home. And though the movie about a video game baddie (John C. Reilly) who sets out on a quest to prove he's actually a hero didn't take home Academy honors, it will always have a high score in our hearts.
Melissa McCarthy, Always
The Bridesmaids scene-stealer finally gets top billing in this weekend's Identity Thief—starring alongside deadpan comic maestro Jason Bateman, no less. Considering she earned an Oscar nomination for wrecking a toilet in Bridesmaids, we're expecting intense levels of funny here, y'all.
Bradley Cooper as Lance Armstrong?
First, the Wedding Crashers jagoff-turned-Oscar nominee told a BBC interviewer that he'd be psyched to play the fallen cycling hero on the big screen. Then he back-pedaled (see what we did there?) and called the idea "nuts." Too late, Coop—we're already hooked on the idea.
Justin Bieber Acoustic: Actually Good!
Post-MTV history is littered with throwaway "unplugged" albums that do little beyond making big rock hits sound like campfire fare. But Justin Bieber's acoustic take on his Believe album is actually a compelling listen, stripping away his customary Top 40 varnish to showcase the golden throat that earned him the-next-Timberlake accolades in the first place.
Portlandia Season 3
As of last season, we were worried that IFC's sketch-satire hit might be running low on ideas. Little did we know Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein would be scaling all kinds of new comic peaks, from a "Battle of the Gentle Bands" to recklessly revealing loads of TV spoilers for a laugh.
Cat culture crossover
Ruling the world of Internet video apparently isn't enough for kitties. With Hasbro's announcement that mother-of-all-capitalist-board-games Monopoly will swap out its longstanding iron token for a tiny cat, it seems that a master race of feline overlords may not be long in the offing.
Rooney Mara in Side Effects
Of the various thespian sexpots populating Steven Soderbergh's latest thriller—Jude Law, Channing Tatum, Catherine Zeta-Jones—our eyes are mostly on Mara. Doubling down on the scary-sexy vibe she delivered in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Side Effects is a memorable vehicle for her titillating magnetism.
My Bloody Valentine's new album
The wait is finally over for shoegaze pioneer Kevin Shields' long-awaited alt-rock opus. More than two decades after the influential Loveless LP redefined the idea of "wall of sound" guitars, the pleasingly fuzz-drenched release sparked a massive social media nerd-out as fans scrambled to be among the first to stream it.
R. Kelly, Pitchfork Headliner??
The Trapped in the Closet auteur seems like a pretty strange bedfellow no matter who he's, er, bedding with. But when Kelly was named alongside Björk and Belle & Sebastian as one of the headliners for this summer's Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, even his own fans were kinda like…wha?
Old Dead Royals For a Change
Is "monarch-aeology" a word? Either way, the recent discovery of the remains of 15th century British ruler King Richard III has Anglophilic nerds all aflutter. Will them royal bones get as much tabloid coverage as Kate Middleton?
PlayStation 4 fever
In the wake of Nintendo's Wii U launch this past holiday season, Sony appears ready to throw down with its own next-generation console before the year is out. A planned Feb. 20 media event is all but confirmed to include details about the next PlayStation hardware, sending analysts, gaming bloggers and everygeeks alike into a tizzy of speculation.
Making Grammy-Nominee Playlists
Is it just us or are those wacky NARAS types getting better at this? From newer arrivals like fun. and Frank Ocean to experienced chart shredders like Kelly Clarkson and Jack White, this year's lineup of would-be Grammy honorees makes for a damn fine mixtape.
Collective LOTR-gasms
If only J.R.R. Tolkien had lived to see the hordes of hobbit-loving geeks gathering outside theaters and pre-partying in their own makeshift Shires in honor this weekend's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opening. Not even that incredible new Man of Steel trailer can steal Bilbo's multiplex thunder.
Shia LaBeouf Going Broadway
Not all Hollywood actors can hold their own on the Great White Way, but we're fully stoked to see the restless, indie-at-heart Transformers star play a conniving kidnapper in Orphans next spring. Sharing the stage with soon-to-be-former 30 Rock principal Alec Baldwin, no less!
Public Enemy, Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famers
It took a nation of millions to transform Flavor Flav from a revolutionary rap star to a reality-TV freakazoid. Thankfully, his legacy as a member of the pioneering, politically charged posse Public Enemy looms larger, and the group's imminent induction into the Hall of Fame proves it.
Bruno Mars' Teeth
If we could put them atop our Christmas tree, we would. For real, just check out that ivory, y'all.
Jenni Rivera’s “La Chacalosa”
Watch a couple of YouTube clips of the dearly departed Latina superstar singing her signature jam in front of a live audience. In five notes or less, her amazing voice demonstrates why she was so important to the banda genre and to her countless fans.
Clint Eastwood: Interviews
Lest you should remember him solely as the old coot who yelled at a chair during the 2012 Republican National Convention, check out the updated edition of this collection of interviews with movie icon Clint Eastwood. From classic westerns to cop dramas and beyond, his breadth of experience and insight is like intellectual crack for American film buffs.
Live-Tweeting the Sandy Relief Concert
Outrage over Paul McCartney's Nirvana collab. Jubilation over Billy Joel's singing voice. Kanye's "meggings." Even those who didn't stream the show in real time got to enjoy the best and most talked-about moments vicariously, thanks to the everyday miracle of social media.
Cee-Lo's Ridiculous Holiday Album
Finally, a rendition of "Baby It's Cold Outside" to replace those oh-so-precious Zooey Deschanel versions. Cee-Lo's Magic Moment also finds the erstwhile Goodie Mob member turned TV talent judge teaming with the Muppets and increasingly Muppet-looking rocker Rod Stewart.
Related gift idea: Give the CD as a host gift at each and every holiday gathering.