Sometime in the last couple weeks or so, someone apparently gave Snoop Dogg the password to his SoundCloud account, and the universe is better for it. There are outtakes from his studio (filed under "UNCUT DOGG" and "INSTRAMENTAL FROM DOGG") and odds and ends from his record collection ("FOR PRODUCER TO MAKE BEAT"). And an 70-minute deep house mix.

New York Magazine cover stories that purport to capture and explain some element of our current zeitgeist are not to be taken seriously. Just to be clear. Only people hermetically sealed in bubbles of Manhattan privilege would even labor under the delusion that such works of artful fiction were meant to be "believed," in a literal sense. Still—it is bothersome that they continue to be foisted upon the public. Why not just publish a collection of knock-knock jokes, instead? They'd contain more wisdom.

Michael Fassbender's Penis had a breakout 2011 thanks to its subdued but nuanced work in Shame, which was hailed by critics and his acting peers as a seminal performance. George Clooney was the first to give Fassbender's Penis high marks during the Golden Globes, but Charlize Theron also took time during the LA Human Rights Gala to say what a thrill it was to work in the presence of such a formidable talent:

Here's the follow-up to middle-aged casino executive Allen Samuel's debut, "One of the Worst Rap Videos Ever Made." This one here is called, ah, "An Equally Painful Rap Video That Never Should Have Been Made, This One With Some 'Economic' Angle or, Christ, Who Even Knows."

As part of our ongoing project to catalog the 2012 presidential election from a metal point of view, we've been soliciting presidential endorsements from noteworthy American metal musicians. Today: Sutekh Hexen.

Remember William Bryan Jennings, the Morgan Stanley banker who stabbed a taxi driver over a fare dispute earlier this month? Allegedly while shouting racial slurs? Yes, well. Reuters has a long story about the case with quite a bit of fascinating background. For example:

I can't blame This American Life for falling for disgraced monologuist Mike Daisey's lies because I fell for them, too. I once confronted Daisey with my own doubts about his story, but he gave such a convincing performance that I stupidly dropped the issue.

Have you heard that video is a big thing over at Gawker Media? It's true, we watch and post a lot of videos each week. Here are some of the best videos of week, culled from an array of Gawker Media sites.

Is there anything more hilarious than Bill O'Reilly talking about the left unfairly influencing the election while at the same time gloating about MSNBC's small viewership?

As Bill Maher put it on tonight's Real Time, making Kony famous without bringing him to justice isn't enough. By just making him famous, we put him on the regular celebrity track in this country which includes getting his cell phone hacked, hooking up with other celebrities and eventually getting into politics.

Earlier today, when reporting on Invisible Children co-founder and viral video star Jason Russell's arrest for allegedly masturbating in public near Sea World in San Diego, we used an AP photo of Russell with actor Ben McKenzie of The O.C. and Southland. This worried his publicist, so we'd like to offer a clarification: Ben McKenzie was not involved with this particular Sea World masturbation incident, in any way, shape or form.

So: thanks to TMZ, here's video of KONY 2012 mastermind Jason Russell's public meltdown in San Diego. We'll note that what he's doing there doesn't look, exactly, like "masturbating in public" which is what he was originally reported as having been detained over:

The "bodyguard" is supposedly an ex-cop who's been hired by this actor to guard him from whatever it is he needs guarding from. They've been spotted at numerous NYC spots and it's quite apparent to everyone who knows the actor's tastes that the only part of the body that is being guarded by this individual is the Action Star's penis...

Jason Russell, the co-founder of Invisible Children and father of the five-year-old who featured in the viral KONY 2012 video, was detained in San Diego last night for "being drunk in public and masturbating," NBC San Diego reports. I know. I know.

Breathy Reaganite Peggy Noonan dislikes the coarseness that has crept into our public dialogue. The coarseness, she dislikes it. But there it is, in our public dialogue. Peggy Noonan did not create this world. Creating this coarseness is not something which sings to Peggy Noonan's soul. But she must acknowledge it. She is a columnist, you see. The coarseness, it is a topic of our time. "All this has devolved into a political argument about who's worse, the right or the left," sighs Peggy, metaphorically, by writing a sentence in her WSJ column. "I don't think that's the most important question, but since it's on the table the answer is the left."

Last night was the premiere of ABC's new drama Missing, in which Ashley Judd plays an ex-CIA agent searching for her son in Europe, which should sound familiar because it's also the plot of the Liam Neeson movie Taken. Either way, Judd got to do a lot crying and yelling and telling people that her son is in trouble. (Acting coach: "ASHLEY! ASHLEY! Your son is missing. Look concerned. Bite your lip...harder. HARDER. NOW FUCKING FREAKOUT.") Here's the pilot in 30 seconds.

George Clooney was arrested today at the Sudanese embassy in Washington D.C. as he led a protest against Sudan's genocidal president, Omar al-Bashir. (The guy next to him is his dad.) You know Joseph Kony is so jealous. "Aw man, Omar gets Clooney and all I get is this random white dude and his kid."

Is Lady Gaga's 20.7 million-follower Twitter account really worth $30 million? That's what some marketing expert quoted by the Wall Street Journal claims. He says the "publicity and direct access Twitter gives Gaga to her fans is worth around one-third of the $90 million" she earned last year. I would have this marketing expert evaluate my own Twitter account for comparison but I already know its worth: $9.78 and a bag of Kettle Chips. Any takers? [Image via Splash News]

Private equity kingpin and walking manifestation of bad PR for the top 1% Stephen Schwarzman had a great, great year this year. This rich, selfish bastard—who compared a plan to raise taxes on private equity firms to Hitler invading Poland, and who stated that his number one New Year's wish, in the midst of the worst recession in a century, was to create a "tax-free zone" for wealthy foreign nationals in New York—had an outstanding 2011, compensation-wise.

Last summer, police say, off duty NYPD officer Michael Pena, drunk late at night, grabbed a Manhattan woman off the street, pulled her behind a building, and raped her at gunpoint. This case, which could be just another NYPD Rape Cop case, is remarkable for its wondrous levels of twisted logic.