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Saturday, Apr 16, 2011 12:01 PM UTC

Pop Torn: 10 pieces of culture we’re on the fence about

This week we're ambivalent toward the future of gay wrestlers, Velociraptor puppets, and gifts from Nicolas Cage

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Topics: Pop Torn, Celebrity, Charlie Crist, Gender, Gender Roles, Glee, Going Viral, Viral Video, Movies,

Pop Torn: 10 pieces of culture we're on the fence aboutGlee doing Black, Gwyneth doing Jay-Z, PETA doing the Duggars, and a dinosaur!

I don’t want to be one of those people who talk about the weather a lot, but I hate how spring is acting like such a little tease lately. One day it’s warm, one day it’s freezing. Make up your mind, already! Then again, how can I blame the winds for being indecisive when I can’t even figure out how I feel about some of this week’s biggest stories in entertainment? Touché, me.

1. Rebecca Black’s “Friday” to be covered on “Glee”: It makes sense when you think about the concept of “Glee” as a metaphor for Black’s trajectory: a group of teens hated by the rest of their high school for singing annoying songs.

2. Nic Cage in trouble with IRS for giving too many gifts: Oh, what, they’re going after Santa Claus next? Nic Cage is just a really generous guy, that’s all.

3. PETA’s latest billboard comparing the Duggar family to animals that need to be spayed: I usually hate PETA’s tactics, but if your dog had 19 puppies, you’d definitely get it neutered too. Unless it was making bank off its own very successful TLC show.

4. The Awl’s amazing coverage of Chris Canyon, the gay wrestler: Obviously, in the world of oiled-up men with flowing hair rubbing all over each other, heterosexuality must be protected at all costs.

5. Gwyneth Paltrow and Jay-Z  interview one another for their respective lifestyle sites: At first glance, you couldn’t find two more different people to talk to each other, until you realize they probably spend most of their time sharing tips on the best European countries to buy castles in.

6. Funny or Die’s race with Weird Al to 2,000,000 Twitter followers:

Great job beating a man whose last big hit was “Like a Surgeon.” Just kidding, we’re all losers here: Weird Al has so many more Twitter followers than us.

7. Tom Hanks is teaming up with Green Day for a film version of “American Idiot”: How close is Billy Joe Armstrong to an EGOT now? Is it closer than Tom Hanks? Because that would be depressing.

8. Puppeteer in Australia scares children with lifelike Velociraptor:

I’m sorry, but if I saw that thing bound through my elementary school door, I would sue the state for trauma. After I was done petting it.

9. John Galliano fired from John Galliano label: I didn’t know you could be fired from your own clothing company. But then again, I didn’t know that an anti-Semitic clown that dresses like Mystery from “The Pick-Up Artist” actually designed for Dior in the first place.

10. David Byrne makes former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist apologize for stealing his song for a campaign ad: Best part? He makes him do it on YouTube.

Wow. That was uncomfortable.

Drew Grant is a staff writer for Salon. Follow her on Twitter at @videodrew. More Drew Grant.

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  • A missing poster hangs on a tree outside the Cleveland home of Amanda Berry Wednesday. Berry and two other women, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus, made a daring escape this week after being held captive for more than a decade.
    Credit: AP/Tony Dejak

  • Elvis Rafael Rodriguez and Emir Yasser Yeje offer their best impression of  Eric B. & Rakim. On Thursday, New York prosecutors identified the pair as members of an international gang that robbed $45 million in a matter of hours by hacking into a database of prepaid debit cards and draining ATM machines around the world.
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  • New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie walks to a podium during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Technology Enhanced Accelerated Learning Center at Essex County Newark Tech in Newark, N.J., Tuesday. Christie made less flattering headlines this week after undergoing a secret stomach surgery to curb his weight.
    Credit: AP/Julio Cortez

  • Workers stand outside the Tung Hai Sweater Ltd. factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday after a fire broke out in its 11-story building. Eight people were killed in the blaze.
    Credit: AP/Ismail Ferdous

  • Workers rescue a woman trapped for 17 days in the rubble of a garment factory building in Saver, Bangladesh, Friday. The building's collapse was the worst industrial disaster in the country's history, killing more than 1,000 people.
    Credit: AP

  • Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford gives his victory speech Tuesday in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., after winning back his old congressional seat in the state's first district.
    Credit: AP/Rainier Ehrhardt

  • Jodi Arias reacts in Maricopa Country Superior Court Wednesday after being found guilty of first-degree murder in the gruesome killing of her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander. Arias has subsequently said she wants the death penalty, claiming she'd "prefer to die sooner than later."
    Credit: AP/The Arizona Republic/Rob Schumacher

  • Ariel Castro stands for his mug shot Thursday at the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center, where he is being held on $8 million bail. The former bus driver is accused of imprisoning three young women and beating them repeatedly over a period of 10 years.
    Credit: AP/Cuyahoga County

  • Charles Ramsey addresses the media Monday after helping rescue three women held captive in Cleveland for more than a decade. Ramsey's hero portraiture has been complicated by revelations of his own domestic violence record.
    Credit: AP/The Plain Dealer/Scott Shaw

  • Michael B. Donley, Secretary of the Air Force, testifies during a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday. The military branch was rocked this week after its chief sexual assault prevention officer was charged with sexual battery.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

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