DOUCHE OF THE DAY: Twinkies Maker Hostess to Close, Strike Cited

Oh the travesty! The makers of Twinkies, those delectable heart-attack inducing morsels, Hostess Brands announced Friday that is is closing its doors. The closing of Hostess Brands, also the makersrs of Devil Dogs, Donettes, and Wonder Bread will result in nearly 18,500 workers losing their jobs as the company shuts 33 bakeries and 565 distribution centers nationwide, as well as 570 outlet stores. "We deeply regret the necessity of today's decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike," said CEO Gregory Rayburn in a statement. Hostess will move to sell its assets to the highest bidder. That could mean new life for some of its most popular products, which could be scooped up at auction and attached to products from other companies. A letter that Hostess sent to its network of stores that carry its product said it expects "there will be great interest in our brands." But it said it could not give a time frame for when the sales would take place and its products would be available again. But even if those brands are bought and restarted, the Hostess workers will not get their jobs back. While approval of the bankruptcy court is needed before the company can start selling its assets in liquidation, the company said production at all of its bakeries has ceased effective Friday, and that stores will no longer receive products from Hostess Brands. But products that are already in stores can be sold, and the outlet stores will remain open for several days to sell the products they already have. Let’s bulk up now before all those cupcakes and cute little donettes disappear from our childhood. Damn you Hostess and Bakers Union strike. [KTLA]

President Obama, McKayla Maroney strike 'not impressed' pose

President Obama strikes the "not impressed" pose with Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney on Thursday in the Oval Office of the White House. (Pete Souza / AFP/Getty Images / November 15, 2012)

Original Photo

President Obama is among the most hip leaders the United States has had, so it should have come as no surprise Thursday when he struck the "not impressed" pose with Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney during a White House visit by the Fierce Five. Maroney, a silver medalist in the vault this summer, was captured by cameras with a look of disappointment and disapproval during the podium ceremony in London. The image went viral and "McKayla Maroney is not impressed" memes around the world soon followed. The White House tweeted the photo of Obama with Maroney on Saturday, although many knew to look for it after the gymnast tweeted on Thursday, "Did I just do the Not Impressed face with the President..?'' Obama was the one who suggested they take a photo together, telling Maroney that he flashes the "not impressed" look at least once a day. What a cool dude. [KTLA]

Box Office Report: 'Breaking Dawn - Part 2' Bites Off $340.9 Million Global Opening

Proving that females can fuel an event franchise, Summit Entertainment's Twilight vampire series is going out in high style. Twilight: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2 topped the worldwide weekend box office with $340.9 million opening, including $141.3 million domestically from 4,070 theaters and $199.6 million internationally from 61 markets. It's the franchise's best global opening, thanks to massive international business. In other box-office news, Sam Mendes' Skyfall finished the weekend with a worldwide total of $669.2 million to become the top-grossing James Bond pic of all time. Steven Spielberg's awards contender Lincoln also made headlines as it expanded nationwide. The historical drama took in a strong $21 million from 1,775 theaters for a location average of $11,831. [THR]

'SNL' Recap: Jeremy Renner Spoofs 'Avengers,' Sings About Jason Bourne 

Jeremy Renner proved tough guys can make comedy sing, while Chris Christie showed fact is funnier than parody on this week’s Saturday Night Live. Nearly all of the sketches starring the franchise-juggling actor were excellent, while the New Jersey governor's Weekend Update appearance may go down among the better politico appearances of all time. Renner’s opening monologue was premised on his claim that he writes songs for all of his films. His theme for The Bourne Legacy ripped off Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody,” though he claimed he'd never heard the song. Several sketches played off his versatile film roles, the first involving a staple of action movies: a standoff in which Renner and two men are face to face, pointing guns at each other, no one willing to lower his weapon. They end up spending the next two days like this, going to Thanksgiving dinners and dance recitals for their daughters, all while pointing their weapons at each other. Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine shows up to take part too. It is awesome. [THR]

Korea Opens ‘World’s First Toilet Theme Park’

Let’s file this under kind of weird of the day. Suwon city in Korea has opened what it says is “the world’s first toilet theme park.”  With a sculpture garden dedicated to bronze squatting statues, the ‘Restroom Cultural Park’ (as it’s called) was built in memory of the late mayor of Suwon, Sim Jae-duck, who also known as “Mr Toilet”.  Sim was born in his grandmother’s bathroom and had obsession for toilets throughout his life and largely promoted public toilets. Sim even founded the World Toilet Association and wrote a book entitled ‘Happy To Be With You, Toilet’.  He even built a giant, toilet-shaped house, which is now a museum located at the heart of the theme park. The museum displays various styles of loos, and toilet-related fun facts, history, signs from around the world and artworks.  Visitors can even sit on Sim’s original high-tech toilet—which has a full-length glass door that fogs up when it’s being used. [Design Taxi]