The only real advantage to the Internet hype cycle is that today’s annoyance is tomorrow’s afterthought. Still, we’re particularly put off this week by the prevalence of unnecessary controversy tethered to iconic imagery. OK, so maybe we’re hypocrites for perpetuating the cycle, but can we put them away already? After the jump, the four images (and accompanying non-controversies) sending our gossip meters into annoyance overload.

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Today at Flavorpill, we found out who pooped, courtesy of Rachel Maddow. We wondered why Paul Rudd looks so weird in this illustration of a naked Judd Apatow crew. We enjoyed this roundup of all the Wall-E “easter eggs” hidden in Pixar’s Up. We found this philosopher’s post in defense of the greatest of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” extremely funny. We listened to Jonathan Franzen read. We laughed at this Jon Stewart clip on the Starbucks/Morning Joe” synergy — and then thought about who The Daily Show should partner with. We were glad to hear that the first Bruno lawsuit is total crap and that a bunch of the charges have been dropped against Shepard Fairey. We rejected National Donut Day by eating some amazing vegan cupcakes whipped up by our dearly departing intern Renata. And finally, we had an absurd amount of fun with the Annotated White House Flickr Pool.

Today at Flavorpill, we found it funny that scientists are tracking penguin poop from space, but even funnier that a woman is suing Sacha Baron Cohen for some stunt he pulled as Bruno in a bingo parlor. We studied the ergonomics of notebooks. We fell in love with this new Tumblr: Seriously, that’s your Twitter pic? We vowed never to use a public restroom in Switzerland. We wanted to vomit all over Francis Ford Coppola for being such a big fat loser — but then he’d make his poor wife clean it up, so what’s the point in that? We adjusted our old SAT scores so that we could compare them with our interns’. We couldn’t believe that New Line owes the Tolkien Trust $220m worth of Lord of the Rings profits. And finally, we’ll bring it back to penguins with the news that a gay penguin couple in Germany has adopted a penguin baby. Mazel tov!

1. That whole Eminem/Bruno stunt at the MTV Movie Awards was completely fake. [via Daily Mail]
2. Jimi Hendrix’s former roadie claims that the music icon was murdered by his manager — who’s conveniently dead as well. [via NME]
3. Winona Ryder confirms a Heathers sequel, with Christian Slater returning to play an “Obi Wan character.” [via Perez]
4. Conan’s inaugural joke: “I have to admit I think I’ve timed this moment perfectly. Think about it: I’m on a last-place network; I moved to state that’s bankrupt; and tonight’s show is sponsored by General Motors.” [via NYT]
5. JD Salinger is suing the German author of an unauthorized Catcher in the Rye “sequel.” [via Guardian]

Today at Flavorpill, we read the reactions to the New Moon trailer’s debut and scoffed over the idea of a Where’s Waldo? movie. We found it funny that a German publisher made Paul Auster a children’s book author without him even knowing it. We thought it was awkward that Morrissey decided to denounce Twitter on his MySpace blog. We weren’t sure if the New York Times ads are sexist, but we’ve always been convinced that they are completely annoying. We pondered the question, “Is Bruno good for gays?” We wanted some Will Ferrell sunscreen. We loved the newly-released Marilyn Monroe pics (She was only 24! Huzzah!). And finally, we felt more confused than ever about the upcoming Danny McBride/David Gordon Green movie now that Natalie Portman has signed on. Weird, no?

Holy flannel, Batman: Hot on the heels of announcing that he’d been working on being less of a self-centered annoyance, Kanye “I’m not actually a huge douche” West has us a bit worried. First he posted a picture of himself on his blog with Jared Leto and Brandon Flowers. Three of the biggest celebrities-turned-try-too-hard-to-be-hipsters in one room? AHH! Read More »

Well it is for now, according to The Wrap’s Sharon Waxman, but there’s still plenty of time for Universal to tone things down in time for the July release. Per her post: “Among the objectionable scenes is one in which Bruno — a gay Austrian fashionista played by Baron Cohen — appears to have anal sex with a man on camera. In another, the actor goes on a hunting trip and sneaks naked into the tent of one of the fellow hunters, an unsuspecting non-actor.” Read More »

The first 22 minutes of Bruno is a hit: “In the footage, the very fey Austrian-accented Bruno auditions a series of (real) parents. One after another agrees without flinching to let him do terrible, dangerous things to their children — from extreme dieting and liposuction to letting them pose as Jesus on the cross — just to get a job.”

Sports architecture: The New Yorker reviews the new stadiums for the Yanks and the Mets.

Three people injured, six arrested at an America’s Next Top Model casting call in New York City. Maybe they were all channeling Naomi Campbell?

Spoiler alert: Digg’s Kevin Rose talks about the new iPhone 3.0 before Apple’s official announcement tomorrow.

Listen to readings by Joseph Heller and Vladimir Nabokov at the New York Times audio archive. Or, if you prefer your authors alive, there’s Jonathan Safran Foer.

How Cameron Crowe is like Coldplay

Nelly Furtado once wanted to be like Ani Difranco?! (Oh, and she’s launching her own indie record label.)

Film trend: “Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, which employed Indian settings, and, revolutionarily, Indian actors, may have also helped popularize India as a film destination.”

Michael Jackson is working on Moonwalk 2.0.

In real life Cooper Nielson from Center Stage is more taskmaster teach than ballet badass and Jody Sawyer isn’t in his dance company. :(

Sci Fi Channel Has a New Name: Now, It’s Syfy