Kanye West as he arrives for the 2014 LACMA Art + Film Gala in Los AngelesVALERIE MACON/AFP / Getty Images
MEET THE BEATLE
It appears Kanye West may have overestimated his fan base's willingness to pay homage to the past.
As reported by People magazine, the rap icon kicked off the New Year with the release of a new song titled Only One, in which he collaborates with Paul McCartney, formerly of The Beatles.
The problem: A good percentage of Kanye West fans claim to have never heard of this McCartney fellow, let alone The Beatles.
Shortly after the song was released on New Year's Day, dozens of people went on Twitter to register their bewilderment as to the identity of West's new 72-year-old musical collaborator.
Consider this tweet from @OliverAge24: "I usually don't pay much attention to Kanye West, but it's cool he's launched this 'Paul McCartney' dude's career."
The Twitter user known as ur bae (@BaeAsHell) appeared sincere in a tweet asking: "Who is this Paul McCartney?? He boutta blow up thanks to Kanye!!"
Not surprisingly, the suggestion that West was helping launch the career of McCartney raised the ire of Beatles fans everywhere.
Tweeted Eric Vale (@ericvale): "If you don't know who Paul McCartney is, you don't deserve your ears."
Ali Maadelat (@AliMaadelat) tweeted, "Losing hope in humanity by the minute. RT if you know who Paul McCartney is."
Twitter user Eve Huckfield (@EVEHUCKFIELD) tweeted, "These stupid kids that are like 'Kanye is about to make this Paul McCartney guy huge. My insides hurt for your stupidity."
And actor James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) even offered his two cents with a tweet stating, "Put this one in the time capsule. Kanye West's new song bringing up the question Who is Paul McCartney?"
All of which prompted Twitter user ur bae – of the earlier "he boutta blow up thanks to Kanye!!' observation – to issue a followup tweet stating, "I wasn't even born in the 60s how was I supposed to know who were Beatles."
DOG DILEMMA
Sarah Palin has responded to the controversy generated by a photo of her son Trig standing on the family dog. Last week, the former vice-presidential candidate posted a picture of her son standing on the dog to her Facebook account. The photograph prompted a strong negative reaction on social media and the advocate group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released a statement calling Palin "a bizarrely callous woman." On Sunday, Palin went back on Facebook to post a lengthy response in which she said, "PETA needs to chill. At least Trig didn't eat the dog. Where have they been all these years? Maybe enjoying a good steak when their Woman of the Year, Ellen DeGeneres, posted the exact same sweet image of a child with her dog."
Source: Today.com
BANDING TOGETHER
Sportscaster Jim Rome has apologized for referring to the members of a marching band as "dorks." Rome initiated the controversy last Thursday with a tweet asking, "Is there anyone not in a marching band who thinks those dorks running around with their instruments are cool?" The comment drew immediate backlash on social media and prompted Twitter users to create the hashtag #MarchOnRome. Soon after, Rome went back on Twitter to tweet his apology: "Band nation – I hear you. I was out of line. I do not condone bullying of any kind and that was not my intent."
Source: CNN
SHE'S FIRED
Former Cosby Show kid Keshia Knight Pulliam was the first person booted off The Celebrity Apprentice for failing to reach out to her former TV dad Bill Cosby. On Sunday night's opening episode of the reality series helmed by Donald Trump, the former child star was on the losing side of two celebrity teams tasked to sell pies for charity. In the penultimate boardroom closing sequence, Trump asked Pulliam why she didn't contact Cosby to purchase some pies. Pulliam responded by saying, "I have not talked to Bill Cosby on the phone in I don't know how long." Trump responded by telling her, "I really believe that if you'd called that gentleman he would have helped you, even if you hadn't spoken to him in years."
Source: Us Weekly
GRIM TALES
A new study suggests many popular children's movies might be too bleak for kid consumption. The study published in the British Medical Journal concluded that the risk of parental death was five times higher in animated children's films than in dramatic films for adult viewers. Researchers said that "notable early on-screen deaths included Nemo's mother being eaten by a barracuda four minutes and three seconds into Finding Nemo and Tarzan's parents being killed by a leopard four minutes and eight seconds into Tarzan."
Source: New York Post
DROWSY KIDS
Children who sleep with their smartphone on the nightstand could be getting less sleep. A new study from the University of California has shown that kids who slept in the same room as small-screen devices got roughly 21 fewer minutes of quality sleep each night than those who didn't. The study focused on two age groups of nine-year-olds and 12-year-olds and credited the decline in sleep to the incessant buzz of text messages and Snapchat alerts.
Source: Bloomberg