|
July 31, 2006
Religious Influence Plays Out...Internationally, Politically, Domestically
If anyone ever doubted the impact of infusing religion with politics and foreign policy, look no farther than today's hottest blog topics.
The Middle East, exploding
The New York Times' article about increasing support among the Arab world for Hezbollah is the day's most-cited news story, while some of today's most-cited blog commentaries discuss the weekend shooting of employees at a Jewish Federation office in downtown Seattle. Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin calls it "Muslim revenge." Asks on MySpace blogger, "What is this world coming to?" And this commentary, no doubt on lots of other people's minds: "I can't imagine what it would be like to live in Israel, Palestine, or Iraq and have to live in constant fear every moment of every day. What will it take to end this needless violence? I wish the world would figure it out, but something tells me it will be present for many years to come."
Breaking religious ranks
Religion plays out in another big way in today's most-cited link, also to a New York Times piece about a Christian evangelical pastor in Minnesota who's taking a stand against the politicization of religious thought. It's already drawing plenty of analysis.
Mel Gibson's mouth...
Also getting some ink is Mel Gibson's mouth, in those hours after it was arrested over the weekend for suspicious of drunken driving in Malibu. The alleged anti-Semitic references have elicited blog commentaries such as "So much for Saint Mel" and "Passion of the Drunk."
Women who blog
Fervor of another kind was obviously event at the weekend event known as Blogher (today's No. 7 most-cited link)....a convention organized for women bloggers, where topics involved building audiences and income and blogging in spirit (for those who didn't attend).
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:04 AM | Permalink
July 27, 2006
So....Hot Enough For Ya?
Check any national color-coded weather map, and you'll notice lots of reds, oranges and yellows from Florida to Minnesota, meaning the ongoing 2006 heat wave is a coast-to-coast, north-to-south phenomenon. In fact, the phrase "power outage" is one of the week's most-cited blog phrases, as is "air conditioning." Even the blogger at The Sustainable Scoop, facing 110 degrees in an un-AC house and frying computer equipment that didn't work, finally broke down and bought one....but provided links to PlanetFriendly's AC alternatives just the same.
Is this what Al Gore is talking about?
Sure it's a big jump to link the ongoing heat wave to global warming (the message in Gore's docu-movie "An Inconvenient Turth"), but it's also one of those things that makes you go "Hmmmmmm....?"
A BlogPulse trend graph captures buzz on both topics: references to the heat wave, and references to global warming:
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 10:37 AM | Permalink
July 26, 2006
"Here I Come to Save the Day..."
When I saw what today's most-cited link was (Apple/Mighty Mouse), I had a flashback to the days of "Captain Kangaroo" and the old Mighty Mouse cartoons, and yes, I realize I'm really dating myself with that reference. But today's Mighty Mouse reference is about Apple's new wireless mouse, not the flying cartoon hero who battled Crabby Appleton. Wired for Gadgets has more details, including the $70 price tag.
Random blog findings...
Don't think tension is the Middle East is confined to the Middle East; one of today's top blog posts involves blogger coverage of a rally in Boston where tensions also ran high. Engadget reports that Parker Brothers' popular board game "Monopoly" has gone electronic, and Jay Rosen reports on latest idea-stage efforts to revamp journalism electronically (and monetarily) with the launch of NewAssignment.Net. Taking bets: will it succeed or flounder?
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 04:32 PM | Permalink
July 25, 2006
The PowerPoint War?
The always-contextual Juan Cole, now president of the Global Americana Institute, rises to the top of the blogosphere today for his "Informed Comment" post indicating that Israel's current war tactics in Lebanon had been in the works for more than a year and presented via PowerPoint last year to think tanks in Washington D.C. Word is getting around, from LiveJournalers to more involved discussions of the impact of the current conflict. A separate Cole post from today indicates that the Israeli army is encountering much more resistance and better-trained fighters than it expected. The one thing you gotta love about the professor's blog entries: the comments are often as interesting and thoughtful as the professor himself.
Tracking the buzz
A BlogPulse trend graph indicates that the issue is certainly capturing the attention of the blogosphere: 
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 02:23 PM | Permalink
July 24, 2006
Another Yellow Jersey Moment
Just when you thought Lance Armstrong's record-breaking seven Tour de France wins couldn't be upstaged, along comes Floyd Landis to take his corner of it. His come-from-behind win, coupled with a bad hip, created more than 2,700 search results for Landis and placed him at No. 4 among the most-blogged-about people today. "Floyd!" exclaims the blogger at Katy's Theme Party, while a grateful blogger says, "my heart soared this morning." Another's reaction: "awesome."
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 04:21 PM | Permalink
Cowabunga, Dudes (And Dude-ettes): Turtles Are Back, And "Zune" News is Official
Those smart-talkin' turtles named after classic Renaissance painters (Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo and Leonardo) are back for another generation of kids who long to live in the sewers, eat pizza and fight crime; the movie trailer for the March 2007 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movie was the most-cited blog entry over the weekend. "Puts the Ninja in Ninja Turtles," proclaims one LiveJournal blogger. "Turtle Power," chimes in another. Other weekend movie hits, based on blog citations or commonly used phrases: Monster House, Clerks II, "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" M. Night Shyamalan's "Lady in the Water."
Microsoft takes on iPod
Microsoft's long-rumored "Zune" also captured plenty of entertainment buzz, now that the portable media/gaming device is officially in the works. Engadget's wrap-up was a top blog post over the weekend, as were immediate reviews of a product that's not even yet on the market, and some bloggers hope the iPod competitor will finally force industry standards for such devices. A BlogPulse trend graph shows how much catching up Microsoft has to do:
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 09:40 AM | Permalink
July 20, 2006
Political Harbingers, Perhaps?
Two names and one issue pop out among political blog discussions today, all of them indicative, perhaps, of what may happen in the upcoming 2006 mid-term elections.
Newly elected Alabama House of Representatives Patricia Todd is among them at No. 3 among today's burstiest people, the first openly gay legislator in Alabama (and "long past due," according to one blogger). Elsewhere, recently defeated Georgia candidate Ralph Reed, former Republican operative and former head of the Chrisitan Coalition and No. 7 among today's most-cited people, is also creating buzz, mostly because of his close ties to indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and what that association might mean for other Republican candidates this fall.
The first veto
President Bush's first-ever veto, of stem-cell research bill (today's No. 2 most-cited blog phrase) that would have opened doors for scientists is also on bloggers' minds, making up six of today's most-cited news stories and piggybacking on other articles hinting at a "growing conservative backlash" against the President on foreign policy and other issues. Dissent? Hmmm....
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:31 AM | Permalink
July 19, 2006
Some Prefer Silence, Some Let It Fly
News that the Indian government is blocking some Web sites and blog providers is today's top blog post at BoingBoing, and BlogPulse's Conversation Tracker is following the buzz so far.
"Communication" of another variety
Bloggers aren't the only ones asking if the FCC crackdown on vulgar airwave language will apply to one of its first offenders: President George W. Bush, whose G8 discussion about the Middle East conflict with British Prime Minister Tony Blair (today's most-cited news story) happened to be aired when Bush didn't realize the microphone was on (Think Progress catches it in today's No. 3 most-cited blog post). The leader of the Free World let the "s-word" fly. At least he could have swallowed the bread first?
How's about that weather, huh?
Yeah, we know. It's hot. It's a heat wave (today's No. 4 key phrase). Ok, it's REALLY hot (No. 6, and language warning). A BlogPulse Trend Graph agrees:
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 01:45 PM | Permalink
July 18, 2006
Live-Blogging the War
The war in the Middle East continues to shake up the blogosphere today, and "live blogging" is the buzzword of the day. In fact, today's No. 5 most-cited blog post includes a roundup of Israelie bloggers who are covering the bombings, raids and news from the heart of the conflict and lists of rallies. The Daily Tidbit blog, for example, has a Mideast On Target newsletter with updated material, and This Ongoing Warprovides updates as well. Because of the volatility of the sitatuion, Middle East traveler and blogger Michael J. Totten has closed comments on his blog for safety reasons.
The "other" war
There's another conflict brewing in the blogosphere as well, this one a conservative-led smackdowon on the media in general, and their current target is New York Times photojournalist Joao Silva, whose coverage of insurgent movement is again producing catcalls of "treason" (by people who sit at computers and type, instead of people who don bullet-proof vests and risk their lives to bring us coverage of what's really happening in the world?...I'll never get that part). Glenn Greenwald has a response about the gang mentality that's suddenly targeting the media instead of the policies and practices that lead to such events and behaviors.
Passings...
Mickey Spillane is today's burstiest person and the tributes are pouring in for the veteran mystery/detective writer and creator of the Mike Hammer series. "I don't know the cause," writes a LiveJournaler blogger, "but I hope it was two slugs from a .45 while he was in the arms of a beautiful but deadly blonde."
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:23 AM | Permalink
July 17, 2006
Voices from the Middle East
The escalating conflict in the Middle East is being played out in the blogosphere today as well. Among the commentaries rising to the top are Mideast traveler Michael J. Totten's personal observations from that part of the world, today's No. 9 most-cited blog post. He writes: "Israel has a right - nay, a moral obligation - to defend itself and rescue the kidnapped. But what kind of down-the-rabbit-hole war is this, where the guilty parties - the Baath regime in Syria and the Jihad regime in Iran - sleep warm in their beds while Beirut, a libertine city they hate, takes the punishment for them? The dictators in the region have always been happy to fight the Israelis to the last Palestinian. Now it looks like they're happy to fight the Israelis to the last Lebanese, too."
Other voices
Other bloggers writing from the Middle East or about it, also captured in today's most-cited blog posts, include Glenn Greenwald ("Israel's war is also 'our' war?", No. 10), the Lebanese Political Journal ("becoming a refugee," No. 13), Whiskey Bar ("punching above its weight," No. 21), Vox's Den ("go to hell Nasrallah", No. 26), Michelle Malkin ("I stand with Israel," No. 30), Juan Cole at Informed Comment ("global protests at indiscriminate Israeli bombings of Lebanon," No. 32), and Captain's Quarters ("Syrian power structure bypassing Assad?", No. 40).
Geo-buzz
Discussion also appears among today's most-cited phrases in the blogosphere, including "Middle East conflict" (No. 2), "southern Lebanon," (No. 5) "Tel Aviv" (No. 6) and "Israeli soldiers" (No. 9). A BlogPulse trend graph comparing buzz about countries in the Middle East shows that the current conflict is reaching levels of discussion about Iraq:
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 10:13 AM | Permalink
July 12, 2006
Someone Might Want To Tell This Blogger About the "Delete" Button...
Most people who've snorkeled around the Internet for any length of time realize that The Onion is a publication and Web site that provides some of society's most biting, humorous (and often tasteless) satire. But the blogger at March Together for Life apparently isn't paying attention, and he's paying the price.
His July 6 post, severely criticizing a 1999 (on the ball, dude!) Onion piece (of fiction) by a woman excited about an upcoming abortion, has the blogosphere laughing collectively. The 26 search results taking "Peter" to task for not understanding satire (and not bothering to note a 1999 dateline on the original piece of comedy) are only the beginning of the ridicule; at 10 a.m. today, the blog post contained 844 comments (no, wait; it's now 846 since I started writing this!) from readers begging to hand him a clue. That total compares with about 600 comments that were posted on the blog late Tuesday night and about 200 Tuesday morning. And Peter's July 11 attempt to explain the entry isn't going over, either (more comments). (Hint to Peter: use the "Delete this entry" button before it's too late! Oops, never mind).
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 10:30 AM | Permalink
July 11, 2006
"Bring it On" Kind of Day
OK, it's old news, but it still has soccer fans buzzing. Video of Zinedine Zidane, the French player thrown out of Sunday's World Cup finals for head-butting Italian player Marco Materazzi, is today's most-shared link (via YouTube.com) among bloggers bloggers, and Zidane himself worked his way to No. 2 spot on the list of most-blogged-about people. Lots of the discussion is understandably in French. He was thrown out of the game, but won the equivalent of the best player award. Go figure. The BBC's coverage of the incident is today's No. 3 most-cited news story.
If it works in sports...
Seems that "bring it on," in-your-face head-butting attitude is apparent elsewhere, as the conservative PowerLine blog (today's No. 20 top blog post) passes along a new "Kill, Don't Capture" kind of thinking for the war on terror. (Obviously, it's the kind of thinking that puts us in such great stead with our allies?).
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:52 AM | Permalink
July 10, 2006
Arrrrgh! It's a Day for Swashbuckling in the Blogosphere
First, pirates definitely dominate today, with seven of today's 10 most-cited people in the blogosphere including either the actors or characters in the weekend blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," which is today's No. 4 most-cited blog phrase. And that feat happens amid a sea of poor to so-so revivews, like this LiveJournaler's assessment and another LiveJournaler's hope that the third Pirates movie, due summer 2007, will be better.
Hanging up and quitting
More dust-ups in teh blogosphere: Comedian Adam Carolla is today's burstiest blog person for hanging on up conversative author Ann Coulter during a phone call to his radio show. And elsewhere, an adjunct psychology professor at the University of Arizona has resigned (her "white flag" post is today's most popular blog entry) amid publicity over comments she left on Jeff Goldstein's popular blog, Protein Wisdom. One more reason to control who comments...and who doesn't..on your blog.
Viva Italia!
Could it have been any more nail-bitingly climactic? Italy's penalty kicks after a tie World Cup game gave it the trophy and soccer's worldwide bragging rights on Sunday.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 09:18 AM | Permalink
July 06, 2006
Amanda and North Korea Go Boom; Ken Lay Checks Out
The unexpected death of former Enron Founder/CEO Kenneth Lay consumes the blogosphere today; Lay is today's most-cited and burstiest personality, and the phrase "Ken Lay is dead" tops the list of most-used phrases. One blogger uses the opportunity to share an obscure fact in Lay's obituary. Reaction is definitely mixed among the 5,700-plus search results at BlogPulse for his name.
Another surprise exit
Today's most-cited blog post indicates what a gossipy place the blogosphere can be: Amanda Congdon is out at RocketBoom, where she'd built a loyal audience with her online commentary, humor and interviews. Rocketboom's explanation mixes with blogger speculation about what's ahead.
And other crises
Also getting traction today are discussions of the fallout (no pun intended) from North Korean missile tests (today's No. 3 most-cited phrase), and a new British poll finds that respect for Americans is a thing of the past.
World Cup Finals: Italy vs. France
It's official: it'll be Italy vs. France in the World Cup Finals this weekend.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:13 AM | Permalink
July 05, 2006
The Internet Even a Congressman Can Understand. Or Not.
When you read things like this, you don't know whether to laugh or cry (or run for public office on the "At least I'm not stupid" ticket). But Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is today's sixth-buristest person for saying this about why he voted the way he did on Network Neutrality, a legal effort to make sure the Internet does not turn into a tiered-service provider for haves and have-nots. In response, the blogger at Yourish.com created a PowerPoint presentation (today's No. 37 top blog post) that perhaps only Congress-people can understand about how the Internet works. (Disclosure: I've yet to get my own representative/senators to send me an e-mail in response to my communications at their Web sites, despite repeated requests to NOT send me a snail-mail letter and instead prove they know HOW to use the Internet by responding electronically; still waiting, still getting "Dear Susan..." franked letters 3-4 montsh later instead).
The Smackdown continues
Bloggers Glenn Greenwald (Nos. 1 and 4 posts today) and Daily Kos continue their smackdown of conservative bloggers who joined forces over the weekend to call for the lynching of the New York Times for a travel piece that included photos of Vice President Cheney's and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's vacation homes in Maryland. Turns out Greenwald pursued the facts (!!), and discovered that the Times called Rumsfeld's office, asked for and received Rummy's permission to take the photos.
Holidays in the dark
Seems as if quite a few folks spent the holiday weekend in movie theaters; among today's most-cited phrases in blogs are "went to see Devil Wears Prada" (No. 2) and "went to see Superman Returns" (No. 5), and Johnny Depp is today's No. 3 most-cited personality for his portrayal of Capt. Jack Sparrow (No. 18) in "Pirates of the Caribbean 3." Popcorn, anyone?
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 10:37 AM | Permalink
July 03, 2006
Happy Fourth (Ka-Boom!)
So in the spirit of the Fourth of July, (today's No. 23 top phrase) you'd assume (perhaps) that bloggers would be glorifying the principles of democracatic governance and the rights of a free press in an open, democratic society...and if so, you'd pretty much be wrong.
Because instead, you've got Business Week writing about bloggers "Polluting the Blogosphere" by being paid for product placement mentions in their posts (today's No. 8 top news story) and conservative bloggers nagging about a New York Times travel story that located the vacation homes of Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (as if either were surprises to anyone who hasn't been reading the papers for the past several years?). Blogger Glenn Greenwald points out that the same group of bloggers didn't have the same reaction to similar detailed household disclosures several weeks ago in a Times article about Bill and Hillary Clinton....and he offers has a few other cogent observations about defining real enemies vs. those imagined.
Michael J. Totten Marches On
Every once in a while, blogger Michael J. Totten's posts from his travels through the Middle East bubble to the surface, and they make for some of the best blog reading anywhere. Today's' No. 8 most-cited blog post, in fact, describes his discovery of an ever-elusive phenomenon known as moderate Islamics. He writes from Kurdish Iraq: "If all the world’s Islamists were like these mellow Kurdish Islamists there would be no Terror War and there would be no talk of any clash of civilizations. It’s no accident, nor is it merely a convenience, that the Kurds of Iraq are American allies." "Absolutely fascinating" is one blogger's review.
Celebrate your rights
And for one more moment of groundedness, today's No. 10 most-cited blog post provides 20 amazing facts about American voting. Happy Independence Day?
World Cup: All-European Event
Now that Brazil and Argentina have been ousted from the World Cup finals, it's an all-European affair: Italy, Germany, France and Portugal will battle it out for bragging rights. A BlogPulse Trend graph takes a look at current "buzz" about each of the four countries paired with the phrase "World Cup":
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 10:04 AM | Permalink
|
|
|
