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August 31, 2004
Bizarre-ness Part II; And Whose Party Is It?
Remember a few weeks ago when BlogPulse's top listings had an air of bizarre-ness to them. Did you ever get that feeling of deja vu? Maybe it's the approach of September's full moon...
Among today's burstiest names are the late Daniel Brohm and his drinking buddy John Kemper Hutcherson, now charged with his friend's murder...for not noticing that Brohm had been decapitated while hanging his head out the window after a drinking binge as Hutcherson drove the two home. For 12 miles. And then went to sleep.
On the other side of the world, Zhengzhou zookeeper Liu Bing doesn't quite know what to do with a chimp who's copped an attitude...and taken up smoking and spitting at visitors as well.
But hey, it's convention season, and the Republicans in New York are whooping it up, which explains why Sen. John McCain and Vice President Dick Cheney are moving back up the list of people-related citations. Thanks to McCain's free prime-time speech plug, so is filmmaker Michael Moore.
Can't let this one pass....an Iowa delegate's definition of what GOP stands for.... and it's not "Grand Old Party."
Speaking of fillmmakers, the movie world is abuzz about Kevin Smith's plans for a sequel to his cult movie, Clerks, and the return of some of its original stars. (Smith's the "Silent Bob" character of Jay and Silent Bob fame).
TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Let's talk about who's earning what....overtime vs. CEO pay.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:04 AM | Permalink
August 25, 2004
Today's Curious Mix: Original Sin, Sexy Olympians, and Sen. Joe McCarthy
Judging by three of today's top four key phrases, you'd think the country was undergoing some sort of national spiritual revival. But the sudden prevalence of religion-related discussions can be tracked to a meme -- an online list of questions or an online game shared among bloggers -- about topics that range from original sin to reincarnation, definitions of heaven and hell to free will, and the religion-science debates.
Speaking of debates, the increasingly loud/questionable/is-it-over-yet? debate about the Kerry-Bush Vietnam years brings out some bizarre combinations among today's burstiest people: namely, mud-slinging Matt Drudge, of the Drudge Report and the late Sen. Joe McCarthy, whose accuse-and-make-them-defend tactics are mentioned in a LA Times editorial (registration required) calling for an end to the whole tiring affair. Hear, hear!
Sen. John Kerry's Tuesday night appearance on Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" picked up a few hits as well, as did Stewart's always irreverent sidekick Rob Corddry.
Speaking of hot Olympians, you probably thought that bloggers would be drooling over those bikini-clad, American beach volleyball women, right? Well, you'd be wrong. Also among today's burstiest people are "hot gymnast" Alexei Nemov and Canadian springboard diver Alexandre Despatie. As one teen blogger comments: "hubba hubba."
BlogPulse also receives a plug in a blog by Jupiterresearch Analyst Gary Stein. Increasingly, researchers and analysts are toying with and finding value in BlogPulse's ability to create trend graphs based on key words, phrases and issues appearing in blog links and postings. Try it out!
TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: How are those politically motivated movies and downloads faring into the fall?
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 10:40 AM | Permalink
August 24, 2004
Finally Uncovered! Dubya's War-Related "Medals"
Even if you don't appreciate the humor politically, you gotta give the brains behind this Fatwallet.com affiliate credit for creative license. They offer hard-core evidence, the kind our intelligence system demands, of the war-related medals won by President George W. Bush during his service in, well, whatever he served in and whenever he served. Find them at Cockeyed.com for a few grins (No. 28 among today's top links).
For the more compassionate side of these United States of America, a web site founded to provide resources and links to victims of Hurricane Charley, Strengthen the Good, has been joined by a similar service from the Gulf Coast Community Foundation on of Venice.
For a sense of just how small and connected the world really is, check out No. 33 on today's list of top links, a photo of Earth at Night.
But what's on the minds of school children and parents everywhere these next few weeks? Why the start of school, that's what. And what does each school year bring? More politically correct ways to take the fun out of school and pile on the self-esteem. Or so they claim. Among today's blog finds, a move among Boston schools to replace red pens with purple pens for correcting those pesky writing assignments and term papers. Seems some teachers find red a bit too "over-the-top in its aggression," according to one teacher. My question: how long until the same people who claimed the purple Teletubby character was gay start mouthing off about the hidden agenda behind purple Sharpies? Similary, out Sacramento way, school officials are clamping down on that out-of-control activity known as "recess." Just what kids need: one more reason not to enjoy school. Maybe they can do origami instead, based on this No. 40-ranked BlogPulse link today.
TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Which free, independent elections are getting more blog traction than others? Iraq vs. Florida vs. Afghanistan. Revealing, eh?
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:56 AM | Permalink
August 23, 2004
Let's All Scream for Edvard Munch
Over the weekend, bold, armed robbers broke into the (lightly guarded?) Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway, and stole "The Scream," a renowned and previously stolen-but-recovered painting by Edvard Munch. That singular act of thievery catapaulted the late painter past the ongoing Swift Boat-related controversies to prominence in today's BlogPulse results.
Robbery-related links include coverage of firsthand accounts by visitors who were in the museum when the robbers burst in, ripped the paintings off the walls and sped off in car...their actions caught on videotape. The same robbers also stole Munch's "Madonna."
OK, so the robbers didn't make the Swift Boat issue go away entirely, but today's links and postings begin to present a cross-section of claims, counterclaims and coming-out-of-the-woodwork testimonials for vets who, until now, have refrained from commenting on the whole smelly affair. Among them, Chicago Tribune columnist William Rood, who commanded one of the boats with Kerry and who supports Kerry's recollections of those days.
Meanwhile, while the Bush campaign has been consistently poo-poohing any ties to the Swift Boaters, turns out the Bush-Cheney campaign's volunteer advisor on veterans issues just so happened to show up -- live, and in person -- in the latest Swift Boat TV ad. Col. Ken Cordier, the B-C campaign explained quite quickly, suddenly is no longer a volunteer.
And maybe it's just kismet, but on the weekend that I moved my 19-year-old son into his dorm room, we found his old, plastic Leonardo calculator in a drawer ( the same drawer that also hid a Pinewood Derby scouting pin from third-grade and a 1990 Chris Sabo baseball card). Anyway, who should show up in in BlogPulse results but those good ol' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Takes me back....Cowabunga, dude!
It's nice to see fellow bloggers picking up on BlogPulse's functionality. Jeff Jarvis' BuzzMachine blog nicely tests andf eatures some of the trending capabilities built into BlogPulse. Try building a trend graph on your own!
TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Presidential conveyances, which pits a Swift Boat against Air Force One.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 12:10 PM | Permalink
August 19, 2004
Today's Entries: Almost Too Bizarre For Words...
Today, let's skip quickly past the blog-heavy political discussions and get right to the meat of Wednesday's blog results: namely, the BIZARRE factor. Yes, indeedy, welcome to the world of drunken bears, a bunny movie version of Jaws, blog pets, a gay wedding with White House impact, HWJV, and questionable costumes for Halloween kids this year. And a back-to-school blog to get everyone in the mood. So let's get right to it, shall we?
First up, the schnockered bear, which came to attention when Lisa Broxson and Sgt. Bill Heinck emerged among Wednesday's top 10 burstiest blog personalities. Seems a thirsty bear at Baker Lake resort prefers Rainier brewskies (and quite a few of them!) over Busch. Maybe that bear will be Rainier's next celebrity commercial spokes-animal?
For today's quickie movie, check out Jaws in 30 Seconds for Bunnies." (Cue the "doo-doop, doo-doop" background music, please).
Need a pet for your blog? Find one here.
This accepted wedding invitation will stand without commentary, but let's just assume there's some interesting parent-child discussion going on between the Prez and First Lady and their First Daughters.
Last week, while browsing a local gift boutique, I saw a political button that tonque-in-cheekly asked, "Who Would Jesus Bomb?" This week comes a follow-up question discussed at a Texas Faith Network conference: How Would Jesus Vote? (I'm just guessing here, but he'd probably vote absentee this year, just to make sure his vote is officially counted).
And if you're an upstanding, honorable parent who likes to plan ahead for holidays like Halloween, you probably shouldn't shop here for this year's costumes. Which marketing brainiac thought THIS would be a good, child-friendly idea?
And who says teachers sometimes balk at new technology? The industrious Ms. Ellen Foster of Spring Branch, TX, made it to No. 2 position among Wednesday's key phrases for the blog she hosts for her high school literature classes.
TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: "Back to school" buzz is definitely beating out vacation-related buzz.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 10:23 AM | Permalink
August 18, 2004
Let's Call It Gut-Check Day
Tuesday's top BlogPulse phrases should give everyone a reason to pause and think about the line that separates what's claimed as reality from true reality. Take charter schools, for instance. This week's Department of Education report finds that students in charter schools -- despite ongoing claims of better education and specialized attention -- perform worse than comparable students in public schools on basic tasks such as reading and math. Which begs the question: which children are being left behind?
And there's all sorts of chatter about New York Times editorialist Paul Krugman's "Saving the Vote" column, which raises doubts about the veracity of the votes that will be cast in Florida (and elsewhere) in the November election. Especially votes cast on electronic voting machines without even those pesky hanging chads as evidence a vote was cast. Let's hope those international observers coming to the U.S. can assure us that our own elections are tamper-proof.
And what's happening to Appalachia? Or to those Quakers in Colorado who had FBI agents knocking on their doors recently? Or the poor little First Communion recipient whose sacrament has been invalidated (for lack of a better word) because she got a wheatless wafer. (Hmmmm...what WOULD Jesus do in that case? Get bureaucratic on a little kid?)
Time for lunch. All this pondering and wondering what's real and what's not makes my head spin....
TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: And how about those Olympics? How are the Olympic games stacking up against other sporting events? Pretty well.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 12:37 PM | Permalink
August 16, 2004
In an Olympian David vs. Goliath...It's Definitely David (And Charley)
You gotta hand it to Olympic hopefuls, particularly the teams and athletes from smaller companies who arrive at the international games every four years with visions of medals in their heads. And this year, you gotta hand it to Puerto Rico, whose men's basketball team soundly spanked the U.S. men's team over the weekend and took top spot among Monday's burstiest BlogPulse phrases.
Olympic mentions also appeared elsewhere, in references to U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps' first medal, U.S. gymnast Blaine Wilson and the controversy created by Iranian Arash Miresmaeili, world-record-holding judo athlete who refused to compete over the weekend with an Israeli athlete because of ties to a "Zionist regime."
The impact of Hurricane Charley on Florida brought about the humanitarian side of blogs, especially the Strengthen the Good blog that is serving as a clearinghouse for disaster relief information. The hard-hit town of Punta Gorda was Monday's seventh-burstiest phrase.
And in politics land, military service continues to be an issue. The latest assault, in addition to the anti-Kerry charges made by Swift Boat Veterans and others, comes from Sen. Tom Harkin, who called Vice President Dick Cheney a "coward" for avoiding service during the Vietnam War and for the government's continued call-up of reservists and guards-men and -women who already have served tours of duty (some of them extended tours) in Iraq...and keep getting called up for more. In anticipation of the Aug. 30-Sept. 2 Republican convention, seems the Republicans are treading the murky waters of gay rights and abortion (registration at LA Times required), something the Dems managed to sidestep nicely this year...so far.
TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Barack Obama claimed at the Democratic National convention that there are no red states or blue states...only united states. See how the Swing State terminology tracks in a BlogPulse trend.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 02:16 PM | Permalink
August 13, 2004
"I Am a Gay American" Grabs Attention
"WOW! I did not see this coming!" exclaimed one blogger, pretty much summing up the shock-and-awe power of New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey's sudden (and very public) admission of a homosexual, extramarital affair and his resignation on Wednesday. His simple but powerful "I am a gay American" statement booted him from out of nowhere into leading positions among key people, key issues and key links in Thursday's BlogPulse results.
Combined with California Justice Joyce Kennard's decision that annulled some 4,000 gay marriage ceremonies performed earlier this year by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, well, BlogPulse has kind of a rainbow theme for the next few days.
By sheer numbers, key links to news about McGreevey's resignation and Kennard's gay-marriage decision grabbed nine of Thursday's top links. Among Thursday's burstiest people, the New Jersey gang and the California gang took seven of the top 10 positions (the governor, members of his staff, the judge, the couple involved in her annulment decision, etc.). And among key phrases, the gay theme appeared in 11 of the top 15 hits in Thursday's blogs.
In the non-rainbow-but-still-atmospheric department, this week's Perseid meteor showers got a few hits, and in the terra-firma weather department, the National Hurricane Center made an appearance because of the two hurricanes slamming the Florida coast.
Question of the day: are the 2004 summer Olympics so much a non-story that the event is barely being mentioned by bloggers? Thursday's results had only a few links, one about Iraq's soccer victory over Portugual and an ESPN hit about, shall we say, "extracurricular" Olympic activities.
Bizarre news of the day has to be about the untimely and bizarre death of Floridian Gayle Laverne Grinds, all 480 pounds of her (and no 11 among burstiest people on BlogPulse). No comment, because what is there to say?
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 12:48 PM | Permalink
August 12, 2004
Intelligence, Fear or Big Brother: Varied Opinions
It all depends on one's outlook, apparently, this focus on "intelligence" and "vigilance."
Wednesday's top link surrounds emerging news about a possible assassination attempt as al Qaeda's next big plan of action. Speculation about the intelligence speculation also shows up in key phrases.
Meanwhile, President Bush's nomination of Rep. Porter Goss as the new CIA chief is getting blog traction this week.
But just how vigilant should average citizens and "first responders" be? That's the question raised in Wednesday's third-rated link to the Sea and Sky and Land blog, which details the book-confiscation efforts by guards at ferries in and around New York City.
Elsewhere, the blogworld is filled with interesting and not-so-interesting stuff, including speculation that Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz are engaged (interesting or not? you decide), and President Bush's recent tax-related "quote of the day" (no comment) and continued discussion about the claims made by John Kerry detractors, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Everywhere you search, it's possible to find their anti-Kerry claims and claims by those who are trying to expose the Swift Boaters as Bush backers carrying out a political smear campaign. As in most things political this fall, never the twain shall meet. Or agree.
TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: How are Bush and Kerry stacking up against each other in BlogPulse trends?
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:43 AM | Permalink
August 10, 2004
What the World Needs Now Is....Anti-Depressant Drinking Water?
At a time when tensions in the U.S. and abroad are tight, running high, and, in some places, bursting out all over, maybe it's not such a bad thing that the Brits have discovered traces of Prozac in the drinking water? Certainly, environmentalists and people who worry about the cumulative effects of excreted pharmaceuticals and built-up chemicals in the world's water supplies aren't happy about the finding. It certainly made headlines at the BBC.
Speaking of worldwide phenomenon, it says a lot about the state of U.S. politics and voting processes when many of BlogPulse's top hits are about international observers being assigned to monitor the upcoming U.S. Presidential election. (We're assuming Jimmy Carter, for obvious reasons, will not be called into duty). Because of the behind-the-scenes work by Congressional reps to get the foreign monitors in place, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson rose from obscurity to No. 3 on Tuesday's burstiest people list, followed two spaces back by Urdur Gunnarsdottir, spokeswoman for the organization that will do the monitoring.
Out on the campaign trail, those Swift Boat Veterans, whose web site is Tuesday's top BlogPulse link, have stirred up the bee's nest with their newly launched campaign and attacks against John Kerry's military record in Vietnam. Another blog, Captain's Quarters, repeats similar claims...but scroll down to the comments section to get a good cross-section of the reaction (positive and negative) that's occuring among voters, vets and Vietnam remember-ers. Media Matters for America has compiled some tidbits about Jerome Coris, co-author of the book by the Swift Boaters.
On the other side of the fence, Bush is getting a few slams, too, including this posting from the American Progressive Action Fund about his campaign promises and the realities of his performance, and audio clips of more Bush-isms from Majority Report Radio.
It's going to be an interesting few months until Nov. 2...
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 03:02 PM | Permalink
August 06, 2004
It Was Bound to Happen: Blog Satire
It's obvious that blogging has gone mainstream when The Onion -- that publication and web site of no-bounds satire -- takes on the blog phenomenon. And this one's a doozy, coming out of nowhere to No. 3 on Wednesday's "top links" list on BlogPulse. Stop for a moment and think what an unedited, unsupersived George W. Bush blog would be like. Leave it to the Onion folks to do it justice.
Thursday's BlogPulse results show that there IS one candidate who can blow both Bush and contender John Kerry out of the water -- or at least a few notches down the list of most-discussed personalities: namely, Harry Potter, who jumps to the No. 1 spot among key people. The reason? Movie execs just announced that actor Ralph Fiennes and actress Miranda Richardson will appear in the next Harry Potter movie as Lord Voldemort and journalist Rita Skeeter, respectively.
Speaking of blowing Bush out of the water, the Ron Reagan (Jr.) article in September's Esquire, titled "The Case Against George W. Bush," is making the rounds, with links in blogs and by e-mail pass-around. Can't help but make one compare the eloquence of the son of one former President with the eloquence (ahem) of another.
And Rep. Sen. John McCain has taken on the the Bush White House for not disallowing the attacks against Sen. Kerry by Vietnam swift-boat veterans. The ads are, in his words, "dishonest and dishonorable."
Somewhat curiously, one of the most popular links this first week in August has been a blog written by a survivor of sexual abuse, and it's popularized the mantra, "No Pity. No Shame. No Silence." It received so many comments, in fact, that its author had to turn them off.
TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: With continuing military engagements in Iraq, the issue of a military draft has resurfaced. Track discussion of draft possiblities vs. a volunteer army here.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 03:46 PM | Permalink
August 03, 2004
No More Nomar
It's not all politics and post-politics in Beantown. If it's early August, it's also the middle of baseball season, which is why the trade of Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra has Sox fans all abuzz. Good riddance, say some, to a "weird duck." Others wonder, what were the Sox thinking? For some, at least, all the talk about baseball has them talking less about....
...Politics. And judging by BlogPulse entries in these post-convention days, politics is still hot and will remain so until November, whether it's an interview with the diner owner who re-fed the Kerry-Edwards bus after it stopped at Wendy's, or coverage of former First Lady Nancy Reagan's flat-out refusal to participate (or allow her late husband's memory to be mentioned) in anything related to the upcoming Republican National Convention. Among BlogPulse's key people, Democratic candidate John Kerry retains his lead over President George Bush, even though the convention created only a small bump for Kerry (if any) in polls...depending on which poll, and which bump.
Meanwhile, the Bush campaign is taking heat for asking the race of an Arizona newspaper photographer before giving her credentials to cover a campaign appearance by Vice President Dick Cheney. And in case you didn't know, anyone who appears at a Bush-Cheney event must get a ticket and sign an oath supporting Bush, which could explain the lack of protests at such events.
And on the "Oh, no...here comes another political movie front," here come Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the bizarre minds behind Comedy Central's South Park cartoon. This time, though, they're preparing to release Team America, a movie that promises to spoof everyone equally on the issue of America's war on terror. Or terrorism. Whatever. And right before Election Day, to boot. This one might make Stan and Cartman look like wussies...
TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Anything That Rates. What's on blogger's minds? High interest rates? Unemployment rates? Mortgate rates? Find out now...
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 03:34 PM | Permalink
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