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January 31, 2005
Iraqis Vote...and Blog About The First-Time Experience
Blogs do one thing really well: introduce Internet readers to new places, experiences and issues. And several Iraqis who voted for the first time on Sunday are sharing their experiences in almost real time at blogs such as Friends of Democracy, The Mesopotamian, and Free Iraqi.
Ali, a blogger in Baghdad, writes poignantly at Free Iraqi: "This was my way to stand against those who humiliated me, my family and my friends. It was my way of saying, 'You're history and you don't scare me anymore.' It was my way to scream in the face of all tyrants, not just Saddam and his Ba'athists and tell them, 'I don't want to be your, or anyone's slave. You have kept me in your jail all my life, but you never owned my soul.' "
The Iraqi elections, in fact, were all over BlogPulse today. Karfia Abbasi, an elderly woman who voted, was Sunday's burstiest person, followed by fellow voter Fathiya Mohammed.
And a whopping 21 of Sunday's top 40 links referred directly or indirectly to the Iraqi elections, including the sarcastic tone of Scrappleface.
On totally unrelated subjects, today's top links also include an Ohio State University study that mapped the romantic patterns of students at one high school for 18 months.
And you gotta give this guy credit for ingenuity: stuck in his car in an avalanche, he put the 60 beers stashed in his car to work.Literally.
BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Here's how the Iraqi elections play out graphically.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:17 AM | Permalink
January 28, 2005
Remembering the Holocaust and a Dying Man
For those who survived the Jewish death camps and the Holocaust, 60 years no doubt seems like a lifetime ago...and only yesterday. The 60th anniversary of the liberation of Jews from Auschwitz and other concentration camps captures bloggers' attention today. BlogPulse's bursty people include 92-year-old Anatoly Shapiro, one of the liberators, and Israeli President Moshe Katsav.
In the same breath comes this disquieting finding about historical knowledge of Auschwitz. Isn't the value of knowing history the determination not to repeat it -- or let it repeat itself elsewhere? Such as at Guantanamo?
A new name appears today among BlogPulse bursty people: Ivan Noble, a BBC reporter whose diaries of his personal fight against a brain tumor. His last installment was filed this week as he focuses his attention on the final stages of the disease.
Also getting some attention is State Sen. Fran Shurden, who obviously cares deeply about the pressing issues in today's word. He's proposing legislation to allow cockfighting to resume in Oklahoma (it was banned in 2002) so long as the chickens wear tiny little boxing gloves instead of razors. (Did anyone ask the chickens?)
Speaking of protection, newly installed Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings is saving children, apparently, from Vermont mothers. She's asked PBS to pull an episode of "Postcards from Buster" because it featured two lesbian moms from Vermont. One blogger sums up the opinions of a few. (Just stop for a moment and think what this "No Child Left Behind" Administration would have done to Tom & Jerry? Sylverster and Tweety? Popeye downing the contents of that dangerous spinach can with a razor-sharp lid?)
Random catches: Is blogging too much of a good thing, asks Jack Shafer in Slate? Have you noticed that "pundit payola" has now entered the lexicon, thanks to conservative columnists Armstrong Williams and Maggie Gallagher, paid as outside consultants via public relations contracts (in Armstrong's case) or by the Department of Health and Human Services (in Gallagher's case) to study/promote specific agendas supportive of the Bush Administration's policies (education and marriage, respectively).
And happy birthday wishes are in order for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who would have turned 249 this year.
BLOGPULS TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Don't believe the late Johnny Carson was the king of late-night TV?
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 01:57 PM | Permalink
January 27, 2005
Something Fun, Something Sad, Something Sickening...
A couple of themes emerge today in BlogPulse: fun stuff, some sad stories and more sickening news of journalists being paid by the Bush administration to promote issues under the guise of "objectivity."
First, the fun, and it comes from the Apple Computer People. First, a missing video marking the 20-year anniversay of the first Macintosh computer has been available on the Web for a few days now, and today it's joined by archived Apple ads from 1984 by cartoonist Matt Groening (of "The Simpsons" fame). Meanwhile, Engadget has some tips for turning Mac's new miniMac into a media center.
More fun: one of the newest asteroids is named after Douglas Adams, author/humorist responsible for the "Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Adams died in 2001, and his fans launched the campaign to get something space-related named after him.
For satire in its purest form, check out The Onion's one-year anniversary to the 2004 Super Bowl Nipplegate "tragedy."
From the sad department comes news of the California train crash that killed at least 11 people and injured more than 200 commuters. Juan Manuel Alvarez is one of today's' burstiest names in the Blogosphere because he's been charged with homicide in the crash: seems he intended to commit suicide, parked his SUV on the train tracks and then bolted from the car as the train approached, triggering a chain reaction involving three trains.
And sickening is the news that yet another conservative syndicated columnist -- Maggie Gallagher -- also was under contract to a Bush agency to both research and promote marriage issues in the Bush frame of mind. The Department of Health and Human Services paid her $21,500 for her "expertise." Which again raises the question: what other spokespeople/experts/journalists are on the Bush payroll for lip service? The Crooks and Liars blog is offering services (tongue in cheek, of course) for a little of the payola action.
Do you feel safer now? Blogger Michelle Malkin writes about a Sept. 11 victim who was just issued a green card by the Dept. of Homeland Security. Do our deployed soldiers feel safe? Wednesday was the deadliest day to date in Iraq. Personal note: when I heard the news of Wednesday helicopter crash, all I could think of was my son's high school friend, Joe. He's 19, loves rugby, paintball, and has the dubious distinction of being able to breath only through one nostril. He's now a U.S. Marine deployed somewhere in Iraq, and I think about him every day. Elsewhere, bloggers are covering this weekend's Iraqi elections. Anyone want to guess the nationwide turnout? Higher or lower than 20%?
BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Democracy in the Middle East is a hot topic. BLogPulse tracks discussion about Palestine-Israel, major Iraqi cities and election tactics.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 12:00 PM | Permalink
January 26, 2005
The Envelope, Please...And Smokin' In the Cubicle
This year's Academy Award nominations have been announced, and the lists of movies and personalities blanket BlogPulse today, with the actors and actresses dominating the Key People section.
Not to be overshadowed by Hollywood -- the annual "Razzie" awards for the worst achievements in film. Note that Condoleeza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld have been nominated in best actress/actor supporting roles.
Also grabbing Blogosphere real estate today is Google, which this week announced the ability to search for videos and also drew blogger scrutiny for pulling a blog written by a Google employee.
NOT gaining any popularity among blogggers is Attorney General-nominee Alberto Gonzales, the subject of a blogger movement to oppose his confirmation as John Ashcroft's replacement. Daily Kos is the latest to join in.
And in a smokin'-gun human resource move (pardon the pun), Weyco Inc. has fired four employees who smoke because the owner didn't want to absorb the health-related costs of those employees. The company did offer quit-smoking help to employees, and 14 successfuly took up the challenge. The four who didn't? Gone.
BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPHS: Who's winning the morality wars -- SpongeBob SquarePants or Dr. James Dobson? And with the Oscars just around the corner, which current movies are getting the most buzz?
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 02:49 PM | Permalink
January 25, 2005
Depresson? Blues? Global Warming, Anyone?
Maybe being stuck in the middle of a bone-cold January has something to do with it, but today's BlogPulse findings have a tendency to bring you right down.
First, Monday kicked off the week by being designated "the most depressing day of the year." That's from a UK researcher who used a formula factoring in new-year expectations, bills, weather, the amount of daily sunlight at winter's midpoint and other factors to pinpoint exactly Monday's plunge into the depths of gloom.
Secondly, there's news that all the stem cell lines that have been held out as a hope for disease cures in the future are all contaminated and pretty worthless for actual testing/application in humans.
And if you've been sitting around wondering IF global warming exists or IF it's ever coming, a group of scientists says it's already here.
But there's good news, too. Including references to the ongoing Blog Business Summit in Seattle (where BlogPulse is represented) and some of its key speakers, including Microsoft's Robert Scoble.
And among today's Blog Bites is this dose of down-to-earth teen-age perspective on the Christian right's character assassination of an animated sea sponge.
And is a chick fight brewing on Capitol Hill? Seems Sen. Barbara Boxer is taking both heat and praise for her harsh questioning of Secretary of State nominee Condoleeza Rice.
BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Can anyone explain or theorize why in lies vs. truth, "lies" seems to be dropping while truth holds steady but lower? Is it because the election's over? Or something else?
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 03:12 PM | Permalink
January 24, 2005
Thaaaaaaanks, Johnny!
Even though he disappeared from the public spotlight more than a decade ago, so dominant a figure was NBC's Johnny Carson that his death on Sunday dominated the Blogosphere. In today's BlogPulse results, Carson leads both the top people category and bursty people lists, is mentioned in three of today's top five phrases, and news of his death captured 9 of today's top 40 links, including this link to the official Tonight Show Web site and a few touching tributes as well.
The weekend also provided plenty of action, including blog references to the snow storm that plastered the Northeast and the NFL playoffs that will pit the Philadelphia Eagles against the New England Patriots.
On the politics front, bloggers are provding plenty of links to a Knight-Ridder statistical analysis that shows the U.S. is steadily losing ground to Iraqi insurgents, while the Washington Post reports on a new intelligence arm that's been set up by the Pentagon under the eye of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfled. (Hello? Congress? Anybody home?) Meanwhile, MSNBC offers this interesting insight into the recent testimony of Attorney General-nominee Alberto Gonzales, always defending his boss' back, apparently, while veteran speechwriter Peggy Noonan analyzes Dubya's second inaugural address.
In movie land, the trailer for Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride" is making the rounds.
In spiteful commentary land, BuffaloBeast lists the 50 most loathesome people of 2004.
And for a throwback to Mr. Wizard land, if you ever wanted to build your own portable rotary cellular phone, here's the plan, from SparkFun electronics.
BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Seems as if the Aviator has steadily worked its way up in the movie ratings, while all the other action flicks are on their way down.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 03:46 PM | Permalink
January 20, 2005
Bush is Back...so's JibJab...for a Second Term
Officially, this week's focus on inauguration day for President George W. Bush, an event that again propels him to the top spot among BlogPulse's key people. Opinion about whether he will be considered a united or divider during his second term, like his election results, is pretty evenly split. But wait! Who's that nipping at his heels?
First, it's the JibJab.com brothers, Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, whose newly released animated cartoon "Second Term" is already a hot property on the Internet. And not-so-supportive fans of the Prez staged an economic protest of their own: Not One Damn Dime Day.
And before Mr. Bush has even had a chance to utter the words "Social Security reform," movements are afoot to stop him in his tracks. Among them is today's No. 3 top link, a blog political action committee (PAC) called Social Security: There is No Crisis What is a blog PAC? Find out what it is and who's involved. In a similar vein, Republican Bill Thomas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has already gone on record calling Social Security reform, in the face of partisan politics, a "dead horse."
In the Blogosphere, blog software providers are trying to turn comment spam -- the nefarious practice by which traditional spammers post comments on blogs that contain links to spam web sites -- into a dead horse of its own. Major blog providers have joined forces by agreeing on common programming code that can be embedded in blogs to identify comment link as spam so that they're ignored by search engines (that's the reason spammers want in on blogs...for better search results). Cooperating are: Google/Blogger, MSN Search, Six Apart (TypePad, MovableType, LiveJournal), and WordPress. Here's Moveable Type's explanation.
Anyone concerned about the rights of defenseless cartoon characters should know that SpongeBob Squarepants is now the latest target of outrage by the Christian right. (As if outing the purple Teletubby Tinky Winky wasn't enough!). The brou-ha-ha is over a video featuring several cartoon characters to teach children about cooperation and tolerance; right-wingers claim it has a pro-gay agenda. (Is that all they worry about?).
Thoughts on different stuff....
Is this what they mean by a "jury of one's peers?" In which case, I want different peers if I'm ever arrested.
And is it the end of the documentary as we know it?
Breaking from Vatican teachings is the Catholic Church in Spain, which now supports condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS.
And whether you're a David Hasselhoff fan or not, do as the blogger says and prepare to lose your mind.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 01:50 PM | Permalink
January 19, 2005
Sometimes, Things Just Fall Apart...
It looks like one of those days when stuff just falls apart or good intentions go awry.
Topping the list of key phrases is the term "additional paid time," which is what LiveJournal users are getting for a two-day blog outage that occured over the weekend. LiveJournalers are calling it the "Great Outage of 2005," and the blog service provider is offering two weeks' free memberhsip to paid users.
Among today's top links from Yahoo! News in India is this piece about Christian missionaries who allegedly abandoned their mission when the Hindu believers they were trying to help refused to convert. WWJD? Cry, probably.
And in Ohio, the same constitutional amendment that's supposed to protect citizens from gays who happen to like each other is in actuality being used as a defense against boyfriends charged with beating up their girlfriends. The boyfriends' argument: since theirs is not a legally sanctioned, state-recognized male-female union, domestic violence charges don't count.
And in the "help, save us from ourselves department!" comes this bit of news: Fox TV blurred out the rear end of a cartoon character in "Family Guy" for fear that the bare-butt animation (on an episode that aired five years ago), might offend the FCC or censors. Does that mean Donald Duck has to start wearing pants?
Australian politics are grabbing some attention, too, as speculation begins about who will replace Labor Party leader Mark Latham, who quit earlier this week for health reasons. In the U.S., red-state bloggers are foaming at the mouth over Nov. 2 election results from Wisconsin, although it's curious how so few of them say to themselves what they've been saying to blue-staters who have the same concerns all along about registration numbers and voting patterns Ohio and Florida: the election's over, get over it. (Besides, your candidate won).
And for today's weather report, we'll let bloggers chime in descriptively and leave it at that.
BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: The second Bush Jr. presidency starts soon, with some old faces and some new.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:11 AM | Permalink
January 18, 2005
MLK Remembrances...and More War Reporting
The day after the nation honored civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., references from his famous "I Have a Dream" speech and memorials to him dot the blogosphere. Mecca.org has posted the entire speech.
And journalist Seymour Hersh, the New Yorker writer who uncovered the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, is back in investigative journalism form, claiming that the Bush Administration has been sending secret reconnaisance missions into Iran to stir up the mullahs...perhaps in anticipation of expanding the Iraq invasion across the border. He obviously stirred up the Pentagon brass so much that they've posted an official rebuttal, which says a lot of meetings he described didn't happen...but doesn't do a very good job of addressing the crux of the issue. Is Iran next?
Also making the news is unfortunate-guy Patrick Lawler, who went to his dentist in Littleton, CO, complaining of a toothache only to find out he'd been walking around with a 10-millimeter nail in his head for six days. Seemed his nail gun had backfired days earlier...and he hadn't noticed. Yeouch.
On the entertaining side of life, Samuel L. Jackson's weekend hit Coach Carter got a few nods, as did the Golden Globe Awards ceremony.
YOU THINK YOU"VE GOT IT BAD? From the Blogosphere comes Monday's post from Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds, who notes that Tim Blair's entire blog apparently had been hacked and all postings removed. Elsewhere in the Blogosphere is the newly formed Committee to Protect Bloggers, a blog that provides information and resources to help bloggers worlwide deal with emerging policies and censorship tactics that attempt to silence them.
BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Which browser do you use?
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 02:42 PM | Permalink
January 14, 2005
A Dead Soldier's Thoughts On War....And Other Finds
It's an average name: Mike Smith. It appears as today's second-burstiest person in BlogPulse's key people because Smith, a U.S. soldier, was killed in Iraq this week in a mortar attack. Bloggers are linking to a November entry in his LiveJournal blog, , which probably sums up how a lot of soldiers feel about their "mission." (And now that WMD's officially have not been found, has anyone clearly redefined exactly WHAT the mission is? And how we'll know when it's accomplished? Isnt' that issue more pressing than Social Security reform?)
Speaking of soldiers, WWI veterans aren't too happy with Prince Harry, who showed up wearing fatigues and a swastika at a party...and has apologized for it. (Reminder to young royal family members: not cool).
On the celebrity front, actor Dennis Quaid is getting kudos from Napoleon Dynamite fans for appearing in a "Vote for Pedro" T-Shirt on Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show." Pedro's campaign, and issues such as wolverine hunting in Alaska, are key themes of the quirky movie. Also getting traction is "Law and Order" star Elizabeth Rohm, who apparently has been written out of the script, an act that took her to the top of the today's Bursty People list.
Other tidbits in today's Blogosphere:
Journalists learn early that "dog bites man" is an everyday occurence while "man bites dog" means news. So in that vein, we turn to the "Mammal Eats Dinosaur" headline from recent archeological findings. Velociraptor, anyone?
TRAVEL TIP: If you plan on visiting North Korea, see your stylist first. You've been warned.
And I see that the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, in issuing new eating guidelines, has stolen my idea for a best-selling weight-loss book, tentatively titled "Eat Less, Exercise More." I just assumed no one would buy a two-page book. (Page 1: "Eat less." Page 2: "Exercise more." The End.)
BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: It's awards time again in Tinseltown.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:19 AM | Permalink
January 13, 2005
At Least the WMD Hunt Had an Exit Strategy?
It's making headlines only now, but sometime around Christmas, U.S. officials charged with hunting down those pesky weapons of mass destruction in Iraq folded up shop and came home. With nothing -- no evidence, no weapons, no new information that might have contradicted all the previous reports that found no WMD's. (I have to ask: are we safer now, or what? Is there a similar exit strategy for the rest of the mess in Iraq?)
BlogPulse's other finds today are mostly entertainment-related or just downright frivolously silly. From the entertainment field comes discussion of the sneak preview of Queer Eye for the Straight Girl" (today's burstiest phrase) and the season finale of the weight-los program Big Loser.
But bring on the frivolity instead! For starters, how popular is your name? The Name Statistics web site provides lists of the top most popular first and last names.
From Deutschland comes a ditty that's downloadable in several versions, depending on whether you want the original version, a pop remix, a beat version or something else. It's a song about Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil (the little crocodile). Try to get the tune out of your head the rest of the day. Just try.
And if that doesn't work, try to remove the Sawyer Song (based on the Llama Song, rooted in the "Lost" TV series) from cruising the synapses of your brain.
From Scotland comes the tale of yet another employee fired because of stuff he wrote in his blog. Hint to workers who blog: it's one thing to THINK bad things about your boss, but probably not a good idea to share them publicly in your blog. Just a tip.
Gizmodo offers this tongue-in-cheek tip on how to hack the new iPod Shuffle (get it?), but if you prefer your toys to be of the furry kind, check out Link No. 37 among today's top links for the cat video of Fat Boy Slim. (I've said it before, I'll say it again...some people have waaay too much time on their hands, but we thank them for it.
PASSINGS: Normally, this spot is reserved for remembrances of people who've recently passed away, but MSNBC commentator Howard Fineman appears atop today's burst people list for his ode to the American Mainstream Media Party in the wake of the CBS firings. (Question: Does the Department of Education, which paid commentator Armstrong Williams to be its "spokesman," now count as mainstream media, too? The White House? Any hands slapped? Anyone fired?)
BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY The NFL playoffs are in full swing and quarterbacks are hot, while Super Bowl anticipation builds. (Speaking of the Super Bowl, Intelliseek is launching a Super Bowl Initiative to help brands/advertisers track "buzz" about the 2005 Super Bowl ads among online consumers and bloggers).
And speaking of interesting graphs created using BlogPulse, check out this tsunami-related graph from Steeph's blog.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 10:32 AM | Permalink
January 12, 2005
Cool New Apple Stuff Catches Attention
Let PC users bash Apple/Macintosh all they want, but Apple's newly announced $99 iPod Shuffle, its $500 G4 Mac mini and some other cool stuff announced at this week's Mac Expo is certainly grabbing attention among bloggers. Those two products emerged at the top of today's top links and the Mac mini was today's top phrase among blog postings.
To prove the copy writers in Cupertino continue to have senses of humor, the second footnote at the bottom of the iPod Shuffle web-site page carries this reminder: "Do not eat iPod Shuffle".
Also in techie land, Yahoo's Desktop search application, just announced, is getting some buzz among bloggers.
Newly nominated Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff a federal appeals court judge, jumped to the top of the bursty people list today amid lots of speculation among people who knew very little about him until President George Bush nominated him this week.
And I don't know about you, but I'm appalled that the defense attorneys representing the soliders charged with abusing/torturing Iraq prisoners could even think of using the cheerleader defense. Because cheerleaders arrange themselves in pyramids, it's OK to do the same with naked, handcuffed prisoners? Or claim that holding prisoners in neck tethers is standard procedure. If I were a cheerleader (and the fact that I once DID carry pom-poms for the freshman boys' basketball team at Immaculate Conception Elementary School a looooooong time ago doesn't really count), I would sue for defamation of character.
Guess who's back in the political blogland? Howard Dean, announcing his candidacy for chairmanship of the Democratic National Party. Will his Blog for America have the same impact on this campaign as it did on the 2004 presidential election?
TSUNAMI IMPACT: This interesting find from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory discusses the planetary impact of the earthquake/tsunami on the earth's rotation, the location of the North Pole and the length of each day. Is Mother Earth trying to tell us something with her latest displays of extreme power? Earthquakes, tsunamis, snow storms, landslides, floods, (cicadas?)...what's next?
On the other side of bizarreness, have you ever wondered what you'd be worth on the open market? A web site called Human for Sale claims it can determine your value, based on "subjective" criteria. I'm curious, but not curious enough to actually find out.
BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Key Iraqi cities continue to be discussed as the late Jan. deadline for Iraq's first democratic elections nears.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:05 AM | Permalink
January 07, 2005
Is Jon Stewart Gloating?
You gotta give comedian Jon Stewart credit. On a night when he could have gloated all he wanted, he simply noted during his Thursday evening Daily Show monologue that CNN is axing "Crossfire" and letting loose host Tucker Carlson. Tongue only slightly in cheek, he marveled at how easy it is to get rid of a major network show simply by speaking up.
Well, there's more to it than that, and the news is particularly interesting at BlogPulse, where the transcipt of Stewart's contentious October appearance on "Crossfire" was the news-story link that bloggers shared most frequently in 2004, according to BlogPulse's 2004 roundup. In fact, the Approximately Perfect blog is even blogging about the BlogPulse connection!
On the politics front, Talking Points Memo is sharing the contents of a White House memo that describes the Bush Administration's planned "build up" campaign to Social Security reform. Blogger Josh Marshall can't help but point out the suspicious similarities of this "build-up" campaign to the same tactics and strategies that "built up" the need for the Bushies' corporate takeov, er....invasion of Iraq. He asks: when was the last time you hear someone complaining about what a bad program Social Security is? (In fact, the closer I get to it, the more I like it!)
Grin of the day: For a good laugh, check out BBSpot's Top Ten Geek Breakup Lines, (and when we use the term "geek," we do so with utmost respect). Non-geek that I am, I understand all of them...except No. 1.
Among today's burstiest people, LiveJournal founder and creator Brad Fitzpatrick jumps into the No. 2 slot over this week's news of Six Apart buying LiveJournal. In fact, 13 of today's top 40 links refer in some way to the merger/buyout.
BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: For the first time in more than a week, the top links in BlogPulse no longer mention relief efforts in the tsunami-devastated areas of Southern Asia. But the organiziations providing disaster relief continue to receive traffic and interest. And that's good for the earth.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 01:42 PM | Permalink
January 06, 2005
A Blogosphere Merger...and Thinking-Cap Questions
Bloggers are speculating about it, but LiveJournal confirms that Six Apart has indeed purchased LiveJournal. Here's the official announcement from Six Apart. Will it be a good thing? Opinions already are being offered about whether the marriage will work.
San Bernadino County must have an incredible presence in the Blogosphere, because today's top 6 burstiest people are involved in some way with the county's decision not to allow an annual Renaissance Pleasure Faire to continue on grounds it's been using for 10 years. Bloggers who are into 16th-Century England obviously are not happy.
The presidential election that won't go away returns, with references to Congressional Rep. John Conyers among today's bursty people as well for his ongoing challenge of Ohio's election results. It's an issue as Congress returns to action this week and must certify electoral college votes.
For the truly heady among us, check out today's third top link, Edge, the World Question Center. Today's deep-think question: What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it? Hmmm....
BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: The world remains focused on disaster relief efforts in Southern Asia. The blog discussion shows up in several ways, including specific references to the tsunami-devasted countries and a huge spike in Asia-related discussion.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:33 AM | Permalink
January 05, 2005
Back to Reality in Iraq; Hall of Famers at Home
Although coverage of the earthquake/tsunami in Southern Asia has dominated news coverage and the blogosphere for the past 10 days, Iraq continues to dominate in another part of the world, and the news is rarely uplifting.
In the same week that the Pentagon announced that 10,252 U.S. troops have been wounded in Iraq since March 2003, another horrific roadside bomb killed Ali Al-Haidari, the governor of Baghdad province. And even though his name hasn't been bandied out much publicly lately, captured Saddam Hussein continues to appear among BlogPulse's key people (at No. 21 today).
While debate continues over the wisdom of holding Iraqi elections later this month, bloggers and others continue to share information about the relief efforts underway in Southern Asia, with 17 of today's top 40 links referring to aid organizations or fund-raising campaigns. Among the new finds is Anders Jacobsen's "if you give, I'll give, too" posting.
PASSINGS: Bloggers today are mourning the death of Will Eisner, cartoonist and illustrator of "The Spirit,"' which first appeared as a newspaper comic strip and later as animated novel series. And in honor of the upcoming anniversary of the death of Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, LiveJournal bloggers are proposing the First Annual LiveJournal Rabbit Hole Day. (Let's hope they learn to spell Carroll correctly first!)
Ryne Sandberg and Wade Boggs, the two newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, make it to the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively, among today's burstiest BlogPulse personalities.
In the No. 7 spot among bursty people is Jeanne Phillips, who's heading up the planning for Jan. 20 inauguration activities in Washington D.C. Her presence is countered by the emergence of Not One Damn Dime Day, which is being proposed as a silent protest on Jan. 20 to the president's re-election among voters who still haven't recovered from the Nov. 2 election. If votes don't talk, maybe money will?
BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Is "The Aviator" taking wing after a somewhat slow release? And while baseballers revel in their newest Hall of Fame choices, what about Super Bowl buzz?
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:13 AM | Permalink
January 03, 2005
It's "Miscellaneous Day" in the Blogosphere
In honor of the New Year, today's blog entry celebrates the miscellaneous finds and musings that make "blurfing" (my new word for blog surfing) so much fun.
First, to Lake Superior State University, which in a farewell to 2004, has published its List of Banished Words, including "flip-flop" (and all variants thereof), "improvised exposive device" (call it what it is: a bomb), and "izzle," (the suffix of any variation of fa-shizzle). Use the link at the bottom of the list to submit your own.
Bloggers' attention remains focused on the disaster relief efforts in Southern Asia in the wake of the tsunami. At least eight of today's top 40 key phrases and many of the top links revolve around tsunami relief efforts.
Also, the recent deaths of two politicians -- one current, one former -- have drawn attention among bloggers. They include recently re-elected Rep. Bob Matsui, who died over the weekend of a stem-cell disorder, and the always eloquent Shirley Chisolm, who, as a Democrat in 1972, became the first woman and first African-American to run for president, and who did so with such grace, intelligence and fierce independence that it makes one wonder what happened to politics in the intervening years.
One of today's top links is a piece of advice for soon-to-graduate computer science students from Joel Spolsky, a software expert. In the land of pop culture, New York Daily News columnist Stanley Crouch describes Essence Magazine's campaign against the anti-woman, anti-girl messages and themes in rap songs.
Blog News: First, an update by the Pew Internet and the American Life Projects finds that blogs are gaining popularity and readers. (To whose surprise?) And journalist Dan Gillmor, recently of the San Jose Mercury-News, has left the paper to start his own blog and "grassroots journalism" venture. Calls also are going out for the Bloggies, another "best of the blogs" awards program. Let's hope someone (hint, hint) nominates BlogPulse.com
On the politics front, right-wingers have posted their 40 most obnoxious quotes of the year, while speculation abounds about the visit of CBS Washington bureau chief Janet Leissner to the White House communcations staff...for fence mending, perhaps? Meanwhile, The Drudge Report "reviews" Christine Todd Whitman's new book, which criticizes the Bush Administration for its extreme policies and ultra-conservative agendas. Just in time for the inauguration, no less.
THE BLOGPULSE TEAM IS IN DEMAND (AND FUELING IT, TOO!): Intelliseek's BlogPulse team will be discussing the blog phenonemon at several national/international events in 2005. First, CMO Pete Blackshaw is a speaker at the Jan. 24-25 Blog Business Summit in Seattle, and senior researchers Natalie Glance and Matthew Hurst, from Intelliseek's Applied Research Center, are organizing the Second Annual Workshop on the Weblogging Ecosystem starting May 10 in Chiba, Japan.
BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Which New Year's resolution have you decided to pursue? And when it comes to lying or telling the truth, which one do you think gets the most buzz?
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 03:48 PM | Permalink
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