Super Bowls, Hot Tempers, And Passings...

While football revelers contained their weekend outbursts to cheering at the annual U.S. tradition know as the Super Bowl (today's two top phrases), things weren't so calm in Lebanon, where protesters burned the Danish and Norwegian embassies (today's No. 4 top news story) to protest what they claim are offensive cartoons, published recently in Danish newspapers and elsewhere around the world, that portray the prophet Muhammed.

In an Internet-driven age, it's kind of hard to AVOID the cartoons, now that they're being blogged about, archived (today's No. 4 most-shared link) and analyzed in light democratic concepts and religious principles, especially when the two clash so openly and so publicly.

For those not interested...
And for those among us, like Phil Ewing over at BlogPulse's Spotlight Blog, there was always the Puppy Bowl for anyone not inclined to pay attention to the sports commentators or the news headlines. Just cute, adorable little puppies.

Passings...
It's quite possible that two careers could never have been more different, but feminist, activist and author Betty Friedan died over the weekend, as did actor Al Lewis. Friedan, 85, author of The Feminine Mystique and often described as one of the founders of the modern-day feminist movement, is today's No. 2 and second-burstiest personality. Poppymom blogger offers a simple, heartfelt tribute. Lewis, 95, played Grandpa Munster on "The Munsters" TV show, Officer Schnauzer in "Car 54, Where Are You?" and led an active post-TV life as a restaurateur, basketball scout and good sport. Scared Monkeys blogger offers a similar heartfelt tribute.

Super Bowl plugs
Hollywood used the Super Bowl venue to promote several upcoming movies, and here's how BlogPulse tracked the buzz: