The Entertation Index: January 12

Alf, Richard — Comic book entrepreneur and San Diego Comic-Con co-founder Richard Alf passed away over the weekend, and our thoughts go out to his family as he will always be remembered for creating a true pop culture institution. He reportedly will be buried in a quiet ceremony and dressed as Aquaman.

Link: Comic-Con Co-Founder Dies at 59 (Hollywood Reporter)

Hostess — The longtime makers of Twinkies, King Doms, Ho-Hos and other confections — Hostess Brands — will reportedly soon declare Chapter 11 Bankruptcy due to high labor costs and the inflating prices of ingredients like sugar and flour. What does this mean for you, the reader? Likely that the Twinkie you ate in 1998 will remain in your lower intestine longer than the company which made it will be around.

Link: Hostess Brands, Maker of Twinkies, Preparing for Chapter 11 Filing (WSJ)

McCartney, Paul — The former Beatles frontman has confirmed to the press that the title of his upcoming album, to be released in early February, will be Kisses on the Bottom, named after a line from a 1935 Fats Waller song. Upon hearing this, fellow Brit rocker George Michael went into fits, as that’s the name of his new album too — though for completely different reasons.

Link: Paul McCartney Confirms Cover Album Title is “Kisses on the Bottom” (Rolling Stone)

Obama, Barack — Sometimes you just have to give props to the hard working peoples of the Internet; case in point, this viral video wherein someone took it upon themselves to pore over countless speeches by our POTUS to piece together Barack Obama singing “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga. If it continues to grow, expect Obama to arrive at his next meetings with Chinese leaders in a giant egg.

Link: President Obama Sings “Born This Way” In Lady Gaga Mashup (HuffPo)

Timberlake, Justin — The Social Network star took the stage at Las Vegas’ Consumer Electronics Show to help unveil Panasonic’s newest venture, MySpace TV, a subscription service which will soon be available on all Panasonic-connected televisions. He then went on to answer questions about N’ Sync’s recent disbanding, promote his new solo career and join Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl, because he clearly is mistaking this year for 2004.

Link: Justin Timberlake Debuts MySpace TV (Rolling Stone)

Wagner, Wilhelm Richard — It’s been announced that the German composer’s longstanding four-opera masterpiece Der Ring des Nibelungen, or the “Ring” cycle, will be presented in full by the Washington National Opera in 2016. Oh, are those stuffy symphony-goers going to be scared when the ghost of that little girl climbs out of the TV. Nobody tell them!

Link: Washington National Opera to Present “Ring” Cycle in 2016 (NY Times)