CELEBRITY BUZZ – The estate of Heath Ledger has decided to go ahead with the restaurant that Ledger had been involved with before his death.The restaurant, tentatively called the Five Leaves, will be on the Bedford Avenue on the border of Greenpoint and Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Seeing as how Ledger’s partner John McCormick is also one of the people behind Manhattan’s exclusive Beatrice Inn it will be interesting to see if any of us Williamsburg residents can actually get in.

The Best Links:

1. Heath Ledger’s Final Act
2. An Exclusive Look at the Heath Ledger–Backed Williamsburg Bistro
3. Heath Ledger’s Posthumous Celebrity Restaurant
4. Celebrity Backers
5. Italian Week Ledger’s Restaurant
6. Heath Ledger Restarant Puns (The Brokeback Fountain)

CULTURE BUZZ – It’s not Halloween, but I’ve been noticing an odd trend of babies dressing up like food and/or edible crustaceans.Finally, my maternal instincts have kicked in. Here are some other disconcerting baby trends: baby toupees, baby bling, babies with mohawks.

The Best Links:

1. YouTube - Martha Stewart Creepy and Weird Baby Costumes
2. Ten Weird Outfits for Babies
3. YouTube - Baby Animal Halloween Costumes (A Slideshow)
4. “Fruit of the Womb” Watermelon Costume
5. Baby Dressed Like a Peanut (Except…It Doesn’t Really Look Like a Peanut)
6. Baby Moneybags! (This One’s Just Kinda Funny, But Not Necessarily Food-Related)

FOOD BUZZ – Beyond the ubiquitous International Thumbs Up Guy, there’s a whole world of weird food statues out there.The New York Times has a quick look at phenomenon of eerie fiberglass food vendor statues from around the globe. The hot dog guy always makes me feel a little sick with the way he spurts mustard and ketchup on himself; he’s included with other disturbing examples I’ve found.

The Best Links:

1. Ronald McDonald is Actually Pretty Creepy, Now That You Mention It
2. This Child Is Going to Die
3. Creepy Colonel Saunders
4. Winking Chefs From Around the World
5. The International Thumb’s Up Guy Flickr Pool
6. French Fry Guy (With Pug)
7. This Could Drive Customers Away
8. Hot Dog Guy is Almost Unbelievably Creepy
9. Mmm, I’m Delicious!!!!

POLITICS BUZZ – A New York Times story on the polling trend of microtargeting says that what you eat is linked to how you vote.We had Popeye’s for lunch today (chicken sandwich plus biscuit = yum), which apparently makes us Democrats.

The Best Links:

1. Republican Chick-fil-A Numbers Are Off the Charts! Kinda
2. You Can’t Escape Your Hungers, Political or Food-wise
3. Thank You, Inane Pollsters of America
4. Snobs Vote As Snobs Eat

MOVIE BUZZ – A stop-motion animation film depicting the abridged history of American armed conflicts, using lots of hamburgers.Stefan Nadelman’s film Food Fight starts with World World II and reenacts all the major armed conflicts since using the typical foods of each country as the players. It’s hard not to cry when the giant hamburger cloud annihilates the sushi, and that’s just the beginning.

The Best Links:

1. Watch Food Fight
2. Tourist Pictures Presents: Food Fight
3. The Official Food Fight Character Cheat Sheet
4. Dog = Boozy Orson Wells
5. The Weird Work of Stefan Nadelman
6. Big Mac Rattling Sabres With a Pile of Beef Stroganoff
7. Food fight: a (sort of) history of war
8. Food Fight

FOOD BUZZ – Innovative fast food technology let’s you hold soda and chicken nuggets in one container.BBQ Chicken has launched what may be the greatest leap forward in fast food consumption since the McDLT (“The hot stays hot! The cool stays cool!”) or maybe even the syrup-infused McGriddle. We predict the Chelsea location will sell out by the day’s end.

The Best Links:

1. Greatest Fast Food Invention Ever
2. Video Of The Future of Fast Food
3. “The Col-Pop makes me sort of proud to be Korean”
4. Col-Pop: Fast Food Drink Caddie for Snacks
5. Watch a Video of The Col-Pop Revealed
6. Col-Pop Holds Your Soda and Your Chicken Nuggets
7. Jason Alexander for McDLT

FOOD BUZZ – Mars has partnered with Dunkin’ Donuts to create the M&M’s Donut and the Milky Way Hot Chocolate.Reminiscent of Homer Simpson piling candy on his donut and trying to pass it off as sprinkles, the M&M’s donut is a cartoon fantasy made reality. The Milky Way Hot Chocolate on the other hand evokes a queasy shudder and has the diet blogs up in arms.

The Best Links:

1. Lowbrow/Brilliant: New York Magazine Loves the M&M’s Donut
2. ‘“Blair Witch Project” Fun Activities for the Gossip Girl Finale
3. “Holy sugar shock - Dunkin Donuts launches Milky Way Hot Chocolate …”
4. “Candy Doughnuts?” Reviewer Tries the Newest Offering from Dunkin’ Donuts
5. “NOW OUR TEETH ARE STARTING TO HURT”
6. Food Reviewer Rates Milky Way Hot Chocolate
7. Dunkin’ Donuts and Mars Partnership Explained
8. “DUNKIN DONUTS Goers, BEWARE!!!”

FOOD BUZZ – Batter Blaster brings you pressurized pancakes in a can (yes, they’re real).Whatever this product might say about the state of contemporary American consumer culture, you have to admit that’s a catchy jingle.

The Best Links:

1. Batter Blaster Test (Photos, Video, and Review)
2. Video: “Just Shake, Point, Blast and Cook!!”
3. Official Site: “Makes Breakfast A Blast!”
4. Lazy, Fattening And…Organic?
5. This Is What The Future Was Meant To Look Like
6. All Locations In The U.S.
7. Just Like Grandma Used to Make!
8. Batter Blaster Spews Canned Pancakes Like They’re Easy Cheese
9. “Oh hell yes.”
10. “One of the most important innovations of the 21st century so far.”