Did You Ever Have One Of THESE Days?

The only clue about the origin of one of BlogPulse's top links this week is the "ru" in the URL, indicating it's from Russia, but it's a curious one...the kind of web site that will no doubt lead to hours of unproductive work at computers. Check out the bouncing bubble lady. Manipulate her with your mouse or refresh to start over. Kind of reminds me of Paul Simon's "Graceland" lyrics about the "human trampoline...And sometimes when I’m falling, flying or tumbling in turmoil I say, 'Oh, so this is what she means.' "

Another time-killer is back, The Llama Song from Albino Black Sheep shows up again among top links. It's just as annoying as before. Last time we tallied, in fact, Albino Black Sheep was ranked 6th among 2005's top blogs to date.

Speaking of annoying, an Oregon attorney has found his 25-year-long membership in a certain political party (starts with "R") no longer tolerable, so he's leaving. Best to read it first from James Chaney

BLOGPULSE TECHNICAL UPDATE: Please be advised that the BlogPulse engineering continues to work through a data quality issue that affects blog posts from June 20 on. Because of the problem, trend charts from June 20 on are showing low percentages or unexplained dips. Other fixes and updates will be coming soon. Thanks for your patience!

BLOGPULSE TECHNICAL UPDATE: Please be advised that the BlogPulse engineering continues to work through a data quality issue that affects blog posts from June 20 on. Because of the problem, trend charts from June 20 on are showing low percentages or unexplained dips. Other fixes and updates will be coming soon. Thanks for your patience!

Zombie Dogs!

You read it right. Since yesterday more bloggers have linked to this story about reincarnated dogs than any other. Mostly the response has been wry disbelief, but ipissmimus voices an obvious concern about the consequences this procedure might have on the animals: "They say the dogs are fine, but kibbles just aren't the same when one gets the taste for brains." Quite.

Just Like Halo, Without the Shooting or Aliens
On the matter of cutting-edge science, there also is this link, BlogPulse's no. 12, about a proposal to save Earth from global warming with an enormous artificial ring in space. Though the idea is little more than a thought experiment -- and, with a potential starting cost of $500 billion, could bankrupt entire countries -- it has taken hold of some bloggers. Ravenwood says it's proof the "environmental movement has been hijacked by wackos," but when anfaclicious saw it, she said she was left "speechless." At the idea of it, anyhow.

Southern Man
Bloggers haven't been speechless about the death of historian Shelby Foote, who is BlogPulse's burstiest name today. Many say that they appreciated Foote's ability to write conversationally throughout his landmark three-volume history of the Civil War, and at least one blogger simply loved to hear Foote talk.

The Supremes: Aftermath
Justice David Souter, private property and the Ten Commandments are all fixtures in BlogPulse these days -- the web is reacting to the recent spate of endlessly contentious Supreme Court decisions. Going in order, then: Check out the buzz that's building around this letter (its author, Logan Darrow Clements, is BlogPulse's no. 4 bursty name). Wags in the Northeast seem to be trying to use the court's eminent domain decision against Souter, to get him off his property and build a new hotel complex. And as for the Ten Commandments, almost nobody seems completely satisfied with the court's twin rulings. DriveDemocracy, however, strikes a hopeful tone that the rulings will help reduce the acrimony caused by the display of the commandments: "As people of faith, we should struggle not to hang the most plaques or to build the most monuments, but to show the most kindness and compassion to those less privileged than ourselves." Amen.

BLOGPULSE TECHNICAL UPDATE: Please be advised that the BlogPulse engineering continues to work through a data quality issue that affects blog posts from June 20 on. Because of the problem, trend charts from June 20 on are showing low percentages or unexplained dips. Other fixes and updates will be coming soon. Thanks for your patience!

Let BlogPulse Entertain You!

Bloggers love to talk about entertainment -- movies that soar and movies that suck, the latest in celebrity gossip, hot video games, must-read books, what's new on the music scene, industry rumblings and more.

BlogPulse is paying attention. Starting today, BlogPulse users get a sneak preview of an Entertainment-Themed Blog that will soon be a regular feature of the soon-to-be-upgraded BlogPulse.

Authored by veteran blogger Philip Ewing, a recent Ohio University graduate, the entertainment-specific blog delves deeper into who's movin' and what's shakin' in the entertainment industry.

Look for a post or two a day, on topics as wide-ranging as the entertainment scene itself...Spin Magazine's top 100 albums list, users' wish-list ideas for the next-generation iPod and a fitting tribute to the men whose voices made Winnie the Pooh characters come alive lo, these many years.

And what's up with the Supreme Court's latest decision on online file-sharing?

How are you spending YOUR summer?




As they say in the biz, stay tuned...

Is The "Mandate" Disintegrating?

Today's cruise through BlogPulse finds some serious questioning of the underpinnings of the Bush White House's "mandate."

Less than a week after Bush advisor Karl Rove attack liberals/Democrats for not properly supporting the war on terror, a blog called Taking the Fight to Karl has risen to No. 3 among the most-referred links. The harsh posts are from veterans, current members of the military and military family members. The Moral Values My Ass blogger calls Rove the "round mound of partisan sound." And that's probably one of the nicer descriptions. One vet uses the Dick Cheney expletive as well.

Negotiating with terrorists?
Can the Bushies be negotiating with terrorists? The Times of London says it's true (No. 7 link) and even Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld says it's true on Fox News, of all places (No. 31 link). The Outside the Beltway blog notes the administration's shift in policy and explanation, InTheBullpen sees it as a bad sign of things to come, while Joel at Joel's Ramblings points out that John Kerry (remember him?) had the same idea.

Guess who said it?
Here's the quote, guess who uttered it: ""No goal, no objective, not until we have those things and a compelling case is made, then I say, back out of it, because innocent people are going to die for nothing. That's why I'm against it." A liberal on Iraq? No, Fox news commentator Sean Hannity about why U.S. involvement in Kosovo was a bad idea. Daily Kos (No. 21 link) has a whole slew of them, from the mouths of then-governor Bush, Tom DeLay and others. Read 'em and weep...literally.

Observations about "minor" things
BlogPulse also has some intriguing posts today, including a UCLA professor's sense that agriculture is the worst thing ever to happen to humankind (my 81-year-old farmer father would have a few counter opinions, and yes, he still lives on MacDonald's Farm), along with speculation that China is awakening militarily and financially.

BLOGPULSE UPDATES: Conversation Tracker is working again Please be advised that the BlogPulse engineering team is working through a recent data quality issue that affects blog posts from June 20 on. Because of the problem, trend charts from June 20 on are showing low percentages. The Conversation Tracker feature is working again. Other fixes and updates will be coming soon. Thanks for your patience!

Supreme Court Comes Knockin'

Today, bloggers are clearly talking about the law and just how far it can go. Apparently into your private real estate, according to Thursday's Supreme Court ruling that allows local governments to use eminent domain to seize private property for private developments -- as long as there's a community benefit involved.

The Dartmouth Review calls it a "pretty lousy ruling." Professor Bainbridge (today's No. 28 link) calls it a "moral outrage" and says the ruling is clear evidence that the Bush White House must pick a true conservative -- one who respects the 5th amendment's property protection wording -- for the next opening on the Supreme Court. Outside the Beltway called it a "black day for capitalism." Zonkerama blogger ("so much for property rights...the Supreme Court really blew it") is fairly representative of the reaction, most of which is negative.

How prevalent was the Supreme Court discussion? Five of today's key phrases mention the ruling, as do nine of today's top 40 links. Today's burstiest person is Susette Kelo, the New London CT homeowner whose name is on the historic lawsuit, and eight of the nine Supreme Court Justices (all but lead dissenter Sandra Day O'Connor, curiously) appear among the top 25 burstiest people.

A BlogPulse trend graph that plots pre-Kelo Supreme Court buzz has ruling-related spikes: its early March decision to consider a Ten Commandments case, the no-go Terri Schiavo decision in late March, the lifting of the ban on wine sales in late May and early June's ruling against medical marijuana:



Meanwhile, William Kristol in the Weekly Standard speculates that O'Connor, not Chief Justice William Rehnquist, is the judge most likely to retire -- and soon.

Laugh-Out-Loud Day: Flying Spaghetti Monsters Are Just the Start

Never let it be said that bloggers are a humorless lot. A cruise through today's top blog links proves otherwise.

Dear Kansas....
The laughfest starts with today's top BlogPulse link called Open Letter, in which Bobby Henderson at vengaza.org asks the Kansas Board of Education to add yet another "intelligent design" theory to its science curriculum, this one based on a science-based belief that the universe was created by Flying Spaghetti Monsters (with a side theory linking pirates and global warming). "I salute you!" says Stirman blogger. "Now I have to clean up the coffee I snorted out of my nose" adds Stuff and Nonsense blogger.

Let's mock ourselves!
Ranking as the No. 6 link is The Onion's 300th-anniversary parody of itself in the year 2056, complete with genetically engineered farmers and a democratic coalition in the Middle East declaring war on the U.S. "Quite flipping brilliant" says blogger My Other Yin is a Yang.

ZAP!
Star Wars humor? Got that, too. There's "Tom Cruise Kills Oprah" video featuring the star's TV appearance with emperor-zapping death rays (No.10 link) ("we all saw it coming" comments Purlingswine blogger) and Darth Vader's appearance on Wheel of Fortune (No. 39 link).

Humor with a sigh
Beauty Dish blogger, a Avon Lady mom-blogger, at least gets a laugh out of her 8-year-old's suspension from school for what she feels (and we agree) is a ridiculous reason.

The only place there IS no humor is San Antonio, where the NBA finals will be decided tonight. Who's got the lead on blog buzz....?

Internet Activists, Legendary Inventors, Falling Presidents

Several things are evident in today's BlogPulse findings: the Internet has indeed become a spot for activism, the microchip inventor is being revered, and President Bush this week has fallen out of the Top 10 blogged-about personalities for the first time since May (perhaps even earlier).

Even Billy Corgan, former lead singer for the Smashing Pumpkins, scores higher (No. 9) today than the President (No. 13) for saying he wants the band back together.

Point I: Activism, Community on the Web
The Internet certainly has become a place for support groups and activism. A blog called PostSecret seems to have lasting power among bloggers (today's No. 4 link). It's a place where users can post their innermost secrets for the world to see. Sordid Blog can relate.

Secondly, the folks at Moveon.org are keeping alive their online petition drive (No. 7 link) to save the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (NPR/PBS) from Congressional funding cuts and political attacks. The Dirt Under My Nails blog is typical of the "how dare they?" comments that bloggers write as they pass around the petition link. News that a longtime conservative think-tank member was hired to monitor Bill Moyers is only fueling the flames.

And the Electronic Frontier Foundation is launching a similar online campaign (No. 15 link) to counter a Congressional movement to resurrect the "broadcast flag," which would allow broadcasters to interfere with public/personal videos. The Build Your Own PVR blogger mentions the campaign.

Ode to a chip maker
Today's burstiest person is inventor Jack Kilby, the 81-year-old Texas Instruments engineer (and Nobel Prize winner) who died earlier this week of cancer. His legacy: much of the groundwork that led to the invention of the microchip...and the electronics revolution that followed. Good Morning Silicon Valley puts him in the company of Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers.

BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Is Social Security an issue on its way out?

Full Moons, Dog Days...and Meg Ryan Was Right!

The full moon arrives on Tuesday, a phenomenon that's apparent not only by full-moon references in the blogosphere but by the emergence (again) of bizarre news. Plunderbunny's Deep Thoughts has noticed the hugeness of the moon in the sky, and the NASA's explanation of the perspective is today's No. 3 link. BlogPulse's "full moon" buzz is appropriately cyclical:



Dog Days...
The news isn't so glowing on the dog front. In fact, it's downright disturbing. Today's top link tells of a South Carolina teen's troubles for sexually assaulting a neighbor's dog and another neighbor's girls (and why does the dog news gets more attention? "Oh....my....God" writes one LiveJournal blogger. Have to agree. On the other side of the world, a deformed dog in Malaysia created enough stir to be today's fourth most-cited blog link (remember, bizarre things happen around full-moon time!).

"I'll have what she's having...
As for Meg Ryan, her famous diner scene in "When Harry Met Sally" now has science on its side: women can fake orgasms (but the brain knows the difference), according to British researchers. Three of today's Top 40 links (Nos. 13 and 15 and 31) point to the study's results, while researcher Gert Holstege is today's burstiest person. Antiminke blogger figures this kind of research, if nothing else, ought to inspire children to study science.

Support the war? Sign right up
Jesus' General blog has taken up an unsual campaign called Operation Yellow Elephant: encouraging members of the Young Republicans clubs around the U.S. to enlist for military service as a manly way to support the war in Iraq. Malixe blogger has joined the call to send campaign details to qualified friends, and New York Times columnist Bob Herbert points out in "Someone Else's Child" (today's No. 26 link) that re-instituting the draft doesn't necessarily solve the problem of an understaffed military.

Another CEO blogger
GoDaddy honcho Bob Parsons has joined the list of CEO bloggers and learned opinionated lessons the hard way... Welcome to the blogosphere, Bob.

Holy Box-Office, Batman!

Let's begin with "Batman Begins," which obviously did well enough at the box office in its opening week to propel star Christian Bale and Katie Holmes into the Top 5 personalities cited most in the blogosphere. In fact, seven celebs or director/producers involved in the movie (Bale, Holmes, "Bruce Wayne," Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine, Christopher Nolan) appear in the top 20 key personalities today. Tempus Fugit blog calls it the "best Batman movie ever."

Ms. Holmes and Tom Cruise also are creating "buzz" because of their recent Paris engagement, which is captured quite nicely in a BlogPulse trend graph:



The pesky Downing Street Memo won't go away, no matter how hard conservative bloggers try to downplay and discredit it. Captain Quarter's blog (today's top link) is raising the possibility that they're fake because they were retyped; PowerLine blog thinks anything fake would at least be a bit meatier; Loaded Mouth blog investigates independently and conclues that the British government's acknowledgement is proof enough.

Sagging polls, support
Sen. Chuck Hagel's blunt assessment of the war in Iraq and President Bush's performance makes it to No. 4 among today's top links, while Condoleeza Rice now says the nation was told Iraq would be a "generational commitment." Huh?

Fat soap
Here in Cincinnati, a city that knows a thing or two about making soap thanks to two guys named Procter & Gamble, couldn't help but notice the $18,000 bar of soap sold last week. Obviously not for the guest bathroom.

BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Iraq continues to occupy the minds of bloggers as one of the world's hot-spot countries.

If Today Were a Store, It'd Be 'The BlogPulse Curio Emporium'

Today's blog discoveries are all over the lot, so let's get to it, shall we?

Durbin Day: Conservative bloggers are ganging up on Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin (today's burstiest person) for comments he made on the senate floor about an FBI agent's observation of immoral treatment of Guantanamo Bay prisoners by the U.S. military. Just Barking Mad uses the Jane Fonda comparison to take Durbin to task for comparing U.S. detention practices to those of the Nazis, while Daily Kos uses equally strong words (some from conservative Republicans themselves) to come to Durbin's defense.

How do bloggers interpret torture? A BlogPulse trend graph compares the word "torture" with two different sets of adjectives:



Paring the Patriot Act: Renewal of the Patriot Act is also getting attention, especially with Thursday's House vote that gets the government's nose out of bookstore and library patron's records. MaxSpeak blog calls it a meeting of the right and left.

LiveJournal adopts tags:The tagging phenomenon is moving to LiveJournal. Many LiveJournalers are happy.

Tiger meets Dell?: Can it be true? Michael Dell is interested in selling Macintosh operating systems in Dell computers? Fortune magazine says so. Maclife blog says it won't happen (and uses a wonderful analogy in explanation), Hole in the Box blogger is conflicted, and Have Browser, Will Travel is excited about the possibilities. Read Steve Jobs' Stanford commencement speech to find out how Apple's design came about.

Conspiracy Theory of the Day: Was the collapse of the World Trade Centers a controlled demolition (or an inside job?). A former Bush administration member raises the possibility, and one blogger calls it the "wackjob theory of the day."

Not In My Cubicle, Thanks: Today's grin comes from the No. 27 link, "Office Pranks on the Increase." Click through to the photos to see sprouts growing in keyboards, foam peanuts galore and the full-cubicle version of the alien-deflecting tin-foil hat.

BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: Who's winning the search wars? Google continues its domination.

Terri Schiavo's Death...and the Death of NPR?

The term "persistent vegetative state" returned to the lexicon with the release of Terri Schiavo's autopsy on Wednesday. The news that Mrs. Schiavo's brain was half its normal size and that she was blind vindicated her husband , Michael Schiavo, who jumped to the No. 2 spot among BlogPulse's bursty people, while Terri jumped to No. 5 among key people. Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin tops the bursty people list. The Thought Mechanics blog hopes it puts "she was abused" conspiracy theories to rest, the My Brain in 10 Words or Less blog hopes the finding brings some solace to her parents, while the Jaws Blog continues to debate the issue...without having read the report. Sigh....

The issue that's mobilizing the online community is a Moveon.org petition to save the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which operates Public Broadcasting System and National Public Radio, from Congressional budget cuts and political influence. Blogger Adam Fields, for one, would rather seen money spent on good programming than more bombs, while the Volokh Conspiracy blog takes issue with MoveOn's campaign. According to the BlogPulse graphing capabilities, the last time PBS got a big spike in attention (late January) was when the Education Secretary issued PBS a slapdown for airing of a program featuring lesbian parents.



Celebrity sightings
Steve Jobs' commencement speech to Stanford's graduates is today's No. 8 link. The Eight Face blogger's four-word review borrows from Jobs' mention of the Whole Earth Catalog: Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.

And if you consider various politicians celebrities, today's No. 2 link is curious: a short, Republican-sponsored House Resolution offering to repeal the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution -- the one that limits sitting presidents to two terms. Damn the Man blogger says it's not a sign that the sky is falling...just a sign that the sky is worth watching.

Batman is back. So is Teddy Ruxpin. So is LA Lakers Coach Phil Jackson.

Today's laugh comes from The Onion.

BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: What's your poison? Bloggers have definite "spirited" choices.

VOTE FOR BLOGPULSE! BlogPulse has been nominated by ClickZ Marketing Excellence Awards for "marketing innovation of the year." If you agree, click and vote now!

The Memo That Won't Be Ignored, and Pink Floyd Returns

It took the U.S. media a month or more to pick up on the now-famous Downing Street Memo (DSM), but it won't die in the blogosphere. No fewer than six of today's top links refer to the memo, in which U.S. and British leaders had schemed to "fix the intelligence" about Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein militarily and had to find legal methods to justify the invasion.

The memo keeps coming back because both President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair poo-poohed it last week during their joint appearance in the U.S. But the UK's Sunday Times' continued coverage of yet another memo/briefing is today's top link, and the DSM is also discussed in Sunday's The Washington Post, and at a new Downing Street Memo web site dedicated solely to its exposure. The Tattered Coat blog wonders why liberal bloggers aren't more involved in the campaign, and blogger Ken Sain speculates the Brits may be leaking the memos on purpose.

And on the enteraining side of life, it's movies and music: Mrs. Smith is today's top personality, the name in the title of Brad Pitt's and Angelina Jolie's latest flick, Mrs. and Mrs. Smith. And music fans are ga-ga over the July 2 reunion of Pink Floyd in London...with bassist Roger Waters. Notes one LiveJournal bloggers: "Hell continues to freeze."

Another Milestone: 12 Million Blogs and Counting

BlogPulse reached another milestone this week when it identified 12 million blogs. It took less than six weeks, in fact, to move from 10 million blogs to the current 12.1 million in the BlogPulse index.

Of the 12-plus million total, between 3.8-3.9 million are considered "active" (meaning new information has been posted) in the last 30 days, 5.2 million are considered active in the last 60 days and slightly more than half have been active in the last 90 days.

How do blogs stand in the hierarchy of information sources? Quite well, thank you.

Today's Forecast: Stormy Weather, Stormy Words

Cool things first. Ever wondered what it's like inside a tornado? National Geographic accomplished the feat with flat conical video cameras that stayed on the ground while the tornado roared overhead, and the footage (about 5 minutes) is today's No. 7 top link.

The ITLnet blog calls it a "technological first." Webslog describes it as "some of the most memorable photgraphic images on the planet."

Before we get to stormy words, how are you spending your first weeks of summer? At the movies? Glued to the TV watching reality and courtroom news? Kickin' back? Had to share this BlogPulse graph:



Politicial storms a'brewing?
Free-flowing words continue to spill from the mouth of Democratic National Party chairman Howard Dean, who, when asked about diversity, this week called the GOP a "white Christian" party. He shoots to No. 3 among today's key personalities. Right Pundit calls his blunt speeches divisive, while Junkyard Blog takes a longer view.

A word storm has also picked up in Washington D.C., bringing White House aide Philip Cooney to the top of today's bursty people list. Seems the former oil lobbyist, now a Bush aide on environmental policies, has edited global-warming reports to tone down language linking fossil-fuel emissions with global warming. PublicTheologian asks, "Aren't you glad lobbyists are keeping those pesky government scientists in line?"

The Articulatory Loop blog has a posting of a poster, and it's creating a stir as well. The "Watch, Ride and Report" poster now appearing in D. C. subways has bloggers asking: Is it Orwellian? Fake? A WPA/Art Deco throwback? Or a Soviet-style invitation to spy on one's friends? ? Red Wolf blog calls them "terrornoia posters," while Core Dump notes their content/stylist resemblance to 1930s-era Communist propaganda art. What do YOU think?

Passings
Bloggers mourn the Monday death (cancer) of actress Anne Bancroft, the original Mrs. Robinson and wife of comedian Mel Brooks.

Bush Vs. Kerry Re-Visited...and the "American Taliban?"

It's like November 2004 all over again. Interspersed in today's top blog discussions are George Bush vs. John Kerry: the Yale years and release of the Vietnam-era war record of the one who actually went to war. Seems that neither one set the grading world on fire, and conservative bloggers, including Michelle Malkin, apparently are using the new-old info to re-live the smear campaign glory days. (Now full disclosure amounts to "spin"?) Instanpundit offers some one-liners and then offers to "let it go."

Speaking of war records, a majority of Americans now feel the war in Iraq hasn't accomplished much in the way of national security. The American Street blog offers some commentary.

What's happening elsewhere in the world? A quick BlogPulse check of events from around the world shows this pattern of buzz:



Quotable Christians
Someone's posted a web site called the American Taliban, featuring verbatim but not, shall we say, the most tolerant quotes by leading Christians, conservative TV commentators and historic figures. "Onward Christian hypocrites" sums up the review at Slightly North of Tomorrow blog.

A fashionable rant, a fun optical illusion
"Sars," the author at Tomato Nation has a humorous lecture -- and not the loving kind -- for the modern (pocket-less) women's fashion industry. One LiveJournal reader laughed so loud she snorted her tea. Speaking of LiveJournal, the ability to buy a permenant account is today's top link. As for that Rapid Afterfire optical illusion, it's today's No. 40 link at BlogPulse.

BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: How's your investment portfolio performing?

Apple-Intel Marriage Dominates Blogosphere Buzz

Whoa. Apple's CEO Steve Jobs make a decision, and the blogosphere erupts. More than half (21, in fact) of today's top BlogPulse links refer in some way to Jobs' announcement Monday that Apple is switching from IBM to Intel chips in its computers by 2007. Apple VP Phil Schiller is No. 4 among burst people for his appearance before Apple's developers in San Francisco for his "running Mac on Windows" talk at the big announcement.

Among the reactions: There's the official Apple announcement, blogger commentary on PC vs. Mac by MacManX, live coverage of the event from MacObserver and the blogger at Northwest Noise offers some insights on the merging of Apple and Intel, two differently cultured corporations.

Also getting notice, but not as much attention, is Monday's Supreme Court decision that honors the federal government's jurisdiction over marijuana laws, regardless of state initiatives that allow its use for medically prescribed purposes. Diane Munson and Angel Reich, two California woman who filed the suit, are today's No. 1-2 burstiest people, and both say they're willing to be arrested on principle to keep marijuana available for chronically ill patients.

The artistic side of blogging
Several discoveries today caught the eye. First, a Spanish web site voting on the Spain's 20 best blogs. And today's No. 4 bursty person is artist Dave Devries, whose MonsterEngine web site (today's No. 9 link) is getting noticed for its unusual premise: Devries turns children's drawings of monsters into professional art. The Noise to Signal blogger calls it "amazing." And if it's Beethoven you love, it's Beethoven you'll get -- all week long on BBC Radio. Listen, and then download later.

BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: A first-of-summer look at Bush Administration initiatives for 2005.

Apple Tips IBM's Apple Cart; Britain Does Same to EU Charter

Major shifts in the computer world are shaking the blogosphere, now that Apple is dropping IBM as its chip supplier and moving to Intel, according to CNET news. Sotto blog calls it "gobsmackingly unexpected news," Daring Fireball speculates about the impact and reasons, and Microsoft's Robert Scoble confirms the switch.

Two recent blows by Dutch and French voters to hopes of a unified Europe and single currency brought Tony Blair back into the limelight today, now that he's given up on the EU mission for now and is focusing on Africa instead. A Fistful of Euros blog discusses the Brits' bailing out of EU charter idea.

Just curious: since much of the EU discussion centers around currency, how do three of the major currencies stack up? BlogPulse takes a visual look:



Leaving Iraq...Today's No. 11 link is a Washington Post discussion of theory vs. reality in the war in Iraq, while Rod Nordland, Newsweek's Baghdad bureau chief for the last two years, gives a pessimistically honest assessment of what's been lost...and gained....in the ongoing conflict. When the world's most powerful army can't protect a two-mile stretch of highway from downtown Baghdad to the the airport, or collect its own garbage, how is "progress" for Iraq ever to be defined, he wonders?

Elsewhere in politics, Democratic National Party Chairman Howard Dean is making friends but not his fund-raising goals, according to reports. And Google is testing Sitemaps to help sites improve their coverage in Google's index.

BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: A look at the world's hot spots....

Just What the Internet Needs...More Porn?

Two reactions to the news that .xxx will become the newest Internet domain, thanks to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Does this mean the spammers will follow (please?), and does the Internet really need MORE porn? The Uneasy Silence blog calls it the Internet's red-light district, and AfterWords blog offers commentary...and a poem!

More on Deep Throat
Seems everyone has an opinion about the motives of "Deep Throat," now revealed as former FBI director Mark Felt. Ben Stein's "Nixon wasn't such a bad guy" American Specatator Essay omits the tiny detail that 40 Nixon appointees/government officials were indicted and/or jailed because of Watergate. BlueBus blog says Stein is "off his rocker," while Grouchy Old Cripple says Nixon was more liberal/less at fault than President Bill Clinton. Talking Points Memo asks the question: had Felt reported wrongdoing to higher-ups, as critics suggest a good FBI man should do, just which higher-ups was he supposed to trust?

How has Deep Throat discussion affected bloggers' references to the Washington Post? Here's a look at buzz for three leading news sources among bloggers -- with the Post showing a definite spike since last weekend's revelation:



Interesting finds in the blogosphere
Today's top links uncover a host of fun things: Carmen Sandiego has been found, if you just know where to look (Google), blogger Pork Tornado posts the 10 worst album covers of all time (is that Tootsie on cover No. 9?), and a San Francisco 49ers "training video" is making the rounds on the Internet (and cost PR man Kirk Reynolds his job because of the adult content and stereotype-driven jokes).

The Life Cycle of Bloggers
If you haven't read it yet, catch Min Jung's tongue-in-cheek essay on blogging.

Online Campaigns, "Bad Books, and Deep Throat, Cont.'d...

Remember Burger King's Subservient Chicken? The burger chain has built on the chicken's success with another web-driven campaign called Sith Sense, a Star Wars tie-in where online users try to stump Darth Vader by playing an online version of 20 Questions. Blogger Jeremy Wright at Ensight describes his encounter with the Dark Side, and Microsoft's Robert Scoble points out how many times he's been sent the link by fellow bloggers.

A similar "viral" blog, called PostSecret, has been active for several months...a place where bloggers can write their most intimate secrets (anonymously) and post them online for the world to see. The Sith Sense took off when "Revenge of the Sith" hit the theaters May 19, while PostSecret has chugged along on its own:



"Bad" Books
Today's top link ought to make every library patron shiver to the core: a list of the top 10 "worst" books, as ranked by leading conservative scholars (only one woman?). Among the books: Mein Kampf, The Kinsey Report, The Feminine Mystique and Beyond Good and Evil. (Maybe they just don't like politics OR sex?)

Deep Throat, Cont.'d
From obscurity to top spot -- that's where former FBI honcho Mark Felt finds himself just two days after revealing he was the "Deep Throat" source for the Washington Post's Watergate coverage. Other Deep Throat sightings: the Post's Bob Woodward offers his take on the revelation. Vanity Fair outlines its scoop of the year. Wikipedia has an updated entry on Felt's revelation, and the blogger at Politics Schmolitics notes that even non-Watergate-era folks can consider Felt a whistleblower hero.

Blogging at Yahoo!
Yahoo! has published its guidelines for employees who want to blog, and the Ink-Stained Banana blog describes it as "wonderfully transparent."

Deep Throat's Long-Awaited Identity Elicits Blogger Discussion

Thank goodness. As a journalism graduate of the 1970s, I can now quit worrying about the possibility of dying without knowing who Deep Throat is/was. The weekend revelation that former FBI Assistant Director Mark Felt was the source relied on by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein for their Watergate coverage is all over the blogosphere today.

The Blue Bus blog notes that Fox News began attacking Felt within seconds of the announcement, while the War and Piece blog at least puts the news in some kind of historical perspective. Gawker Media has a little fun with the rejected New York Post headlines while Powerpundit says Felt's identity -- long rumored but always denied -- is a bit anticlimatic. And journalism students at the University of Illinois got it wrong, too.

To illustrate the spike in buzz about Deep Throat, BlogPulse's Trend Graphing capability tracked the search terms "Deep Throat," "anonyous source" and "retraction" (Newsweek-related) over the past month and came up with this:

Political discoveries...
Is the tide turning on support for Social Security reform? A Zogby poll finds some shifts in public opinion, especially among the under-50 crowd. And Vice President Dick Cheney is making news, not only for his prediction that the invasion in Iraq may drag on until 2009 but his displeasure with the recent Amnesty International report on U.S. treatment of detainees. Overspun blog provides a video link to Cheney's boss' reaction as well.

BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: What did you pay for gas over the Memorial Day weekend?