the buzz log

Can we talk? Rap? Debate? Apologize? Naysay rumors? Steal words? In a week stocked with papal blessings, Democratic face-offs and last-minute filings, Buzz readers looked up what personalities had to say... or didn't say.

No Cosby Rap
With "State of Emergency," comedian and actor Bill Cosby will have nearly 40 albums to his credit. Most have been stand-up performances, but this time the legend has gone feel-good hip hop. Well, sort of. All the rap on the album comes from guests. (Come on, not even as Fat Albert 2.0?) Online interest in Cosby rose more than 1,200% in the past week, with nearly 1 out of 5 searches coming from kids 17 and under. Expect to hear a lot more about Cosby in May, when the compilation debuts and his profile in the Atlantic Monthly hits newsstands.

Not Saying Boycott
Emotions have run hotter than a fiery torch over the 2008 Beijing Olympics... but are people ready to talk boycott? Well, they're not pondering the concept online: Queries into "boycott beijing olympics" have been low, and dropped 19% this week. But if those concerned about the "tibet and china conflict" (+357%) are still torn between boycotting the games or supporting the athletes, Yahoo! Sports writer Josh Peter's overview of the political, historical, and economic reasons why "no one benefits" may help break the tie.

Say What?
Dodging the issues. Nitpicking on character. Empty rhetoric. And that was just debate moderators. Viewers canceled bingo plans, popped popcorn, and verified the time for the ABC News "clinton obama debate schedule" online. The anticipation gave way to ire as people waited an hour for moderators to get to the issues. Among the many analyses, the high buzzer was a Yahoo! Finance story summing up the criticism of riled citizens. How riled? So much so that searches for "charles gibson" and especially "george stephanopoulos" spiked—and a cruel fact of Search is that broadcast journalists don't get much online attention unless they're 1) smoking hot; or 2) stoking rumors of a way to exit a $15 million dollar contract.

Also spiking in Buzz this week...
—Former "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon spoke publicly about her breast cancer treatment on ABC's "Good Morning America."

—The Associated Press reported the dismal statistic that one out of five Iraqi veterans suffer mental problems.

—While some Americans were mad at ABC News and China, the Chinese government expressed "shock" over CNN's "malicious remarks" in a Situation Room segment and demanded an apology, according to the AP.