1. Despite the fact that Haruki Murakami was favored to win with 2/1 odds, the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Chinese author Mo Yan. “Through a mixture of fantasy and reality, historical and social perspectives, Mo Yan has created a world reminiscent in its complexity of those in the writings of William Faulkner and Gabriel García Márquez,” explains the citation for the award, “at the same time finding a departure point in old Chinese literature and in oral tradition.” [via ArtsBeat]
2. Listen to The Rolling Stones’ first new song in seven years, “Doom and Gloom,” here.
3. “He has given up.” – Jon Stewart shared his feelings on the Obama campaign’s Big Bird ad during last night’s Daily Show. Watch his hilarious takedown of what he dubbed “The Great Muppet Caper” here.
4. Apparently NBC now plans to air the Bryan Singer-directed pilot episode of its Munsters reboot as a Halloween special. We suppose that’s better than the show never seeing the light of day, but Bryan Fuller can’t be too pleased. [via Pop Culture Brain]
5. Queen guitarist Brian May says that after some initial setbacks, the forthcoming Freddie Mercury biopic — which stars Sacha Baron Cohen and features a script by Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon) — should be ready for release by early 2014. [via NME]
Bonus Buzz: The Science Of Lucid Dreaming