the buzz log
Mindflex Game Moves the Web
This year, the gift trend toys with your mind.
Mattel, better known as the house of Barbie, showed up at the Consumer Electronics Show back in January with a funny-looking contraption called Mindflex. The set-up entails a small purple ball, a white-and-blue plastic "obstacle course" console, and a headset.
But not just any headset: You strap it around your forehead, then try and move the ball with your brainwaves. Telekinesis for the holiday stocking? Looks like a winner.
Mind the gender gap
Online lookups on Yahoo! for "mindflex," "mattel mindflex," and "mindflex game" are, dare we say, mind-boggling. In the past 7 days, they've made the top 5,000 searches on Yahoo!. (Scarcity's part of its appeal: Vendors cut back on toy orders this holiday season.)
While blogs think the male geek market's the primary target, the Web traffic for the game's coming mostly from prepubescent boys and women aged 35-44. Sure, some women might be doing some gift browsing, but their searches are more than double than men of the same age.
The Mattel game, which went on sale in October, has a fan base in the Eastern half of the U.S. Places most itching to play brain ball: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut, South Carolina and Minnesota.
What's behind mind control
The popularity taps into the ultimate couch-potato fantasy: moving things without moving a muscle. The sensors, explains the Mattel site, reads brainwaves using a "variation of EEG technology." PC World gets into more specifics: The game's based on NeuroSky technology, and taps into "beta-wave activity" (what deep thinkers give off when they concentrate), converts it into a signal, then transmits that "as a radio frequency."
Big dreams
Mind control may be a game now, but the hope is this technology could evolve to train athletes, personalize online communication with emotional feedback, wake up drivers falling asleep at the wheel, and even help people focus their way out of Alzheimer's or addictions. (For the worst-case scenarios, just go to the sci-fi and horror section of any bookstore.)
Worth the brain cells?
It might help already: One Amazon reviewer claimed MindFlex is helping her autistic son slow down and concentrate. Other reviewers, though, found that the allure of raising a ball up and down wore out pretty fast, and isn't worth the price tag (ranging from $59.99—sold out, of course—to as much as $120.)
By the way, if you do try it out and the ball refuses to move, don't panic: You still have brain activity. The game requires 4 C batteries.
The 11th Hour: The Date Behind Veterans Day
While most know that Veterans Day honors those who have served in the military, the meaning behind its exact date (November 11) may not be so familiar. Here's the backstory:
Back in 1918, in the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, a stop to hostilities was declared, ending World War I. An armistice to cease the fighting on the Western Front was signed by the Allied powers and Germany.
President Woodrow Wilson immediately proclaimed the day "Armistice Day," kicking off the annual commemoration on November 11. But over the years, with veterans returning from World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day — a day reserved to honor veterans returning from all wars. But 11/11 still represented the end of the Great War in the public's mind, and the date stuck.
In 1921, unidentified dead from the war were buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., Westminster Abbey in London, and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The tradition to honor those killed in the war but never identified continues every year in the U.S. The ceremony is held at 11 a.m. at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
Congress designated Veterans Day as a legal holiday in 1938, and since then, most Americans have come to know it as a day for store sales and parades. Yahoo! Searches on the holiday have already surged on the Web. People want to know "veterans day history," "veterans day closings," veterans day sales," and "veterans day free meals."
Filed under: Holidays
Buzz Multiplex: This Is It
This, indeed, is it. The Buzz Multiplex has been cleared of all wide releases, as Michael Jackson's posthumous concert film continues to gain momentum. The massive online attention supports predictions that "Michael Jackson's This Is It" will be the "highest-grossing music documentary" to date and may even have Oscar potential.
The Wednesday premiere drew in more than $20 million around the world, and the film title continues to be entrenched in the top 700 searches on Yahoo!.
While some observers think Halloween might dampen box-office numbers, holiday celebrants will be paying their tribute to the late singer in many ways: "michael jackson costumes" have topped October costume searches on Yahoo!. That's not all: Expect weekend parties to pass out "michael jackson pumpkin pattern" for carving, play "michael jackson games," and practice the "michael jackson moonwalk."
Below, the online preparations that have been underway for a Jackson tribute:
Top 10 Michael Jackson Searches of the Week, as ranked by Yahoo! searches
- Michael Jackson This Is It
- Michael Jackson Videos
- Michael Jackson Songs
- Michael Jackson Thriller
- Michael Jackson This Is It Song
- Jackson 5
- Michael Jackson Lyrics
- Michael Jackson Thriller Video
- Michael Jackson Billie Jean
- Michael Jackson Beat It
Filed under: Movies, Music, Holidays, Celebrities, Halloween, Dead Celebrities, Michael Jackson
Columbus Day: A Working Holiday?
Fire up the barbecue. Get the mall-walking shoes on. About 517 years have passed since Christopher Columbus stumbled onto North America, and it's time to remember that with a three-day weekend.
Well, for some of us. While national government offices can be depended upon to celebrate a federal holiday, Columbus Day isn't a day off for all Americans. Some schools will stay open, and local bureaucrats will still shuffle paperwork...but the department store sales soldier on.
How a Holiday Is Made
Looking back, the formal recognition of Columbus Day is relatively recent. New York City threw the first recorded Columbus party in 1792, but it took New Yorkers 74 years for another big celebration. Then, Colorado scooted in to become the first state to have a Columbus Day (1905). President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided the Depression could use a new holiday, and made Oct. 12 a federal one in 1937. Under President Richard M. Nixon, Columbus Day got moved to the second Monday in October.
Columbus Controversy
According to the Wall Street Journal, 22 states don't observe the holiday. Why the disparity? Well, among other reasons, a strong contingent feels that the Genoese navigator's sailing the ocean blue in 1492 introduced a dark period of colonization. Protesters and academics have argued for years that the existing American population, plus earlier evidence of Viking houseguests, make the notion of "discovery" misleading.
These impassioned arguments around Columbus go back decades before any holiday: Efforts to make the Italian navigator a candidate for sainthood inspired a tart New York Times editorial that said Columbus got his "fleets at public expense, on the condition that he remove himself and his tediousness as far as possible toward the unknown west."
Floating Holiday
Some states have long just "observed" the holiday, but leave local government offices open. Others use the date to revere the native population who existed long before the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria sailed in. According to a Wikipedia round-up, South Dakota declares October 12 as Indigenous People's Day. Hawaii celebrates the more general Discoverers' Day, which actually refers to the Aloha State's Polynesian founders (although the bureaucrats firmly emphasize "this day is not and shall not be construed to be a state holiday").
Tennessee, though, wins for creative calendaring: The Wall Street Journal points out that the state bumped Columbus Day to after Thanksgiving to create a four-day weekend. Indeed, the explorer's day leads in "holiday swapping"—work on that October date, get another day off later in the holiday season.
A Teachable Era
In a way, not having a day off encourages more attention and open discussion around the man, which academics encourage. Searches on Yahoo! for "christopher columbus," "pictures of christopher columbus," "christopher columbus biography," and "christopher columbus ships" are all up—as are queries for the usual conquistadors like Amerigo Vespucci, Vasco de Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, Francisco Pizarro, and Marco Polo.
They're not all from schoolkids either (though they do make up more than third of "columbus" searches). Incidentally, of all regions checking out "christopher columbus" online, the one fittingly leading the nation's lookups: Columbia, South Carolina. The state capitol may have his namesake, but it'll be working that day.
Filed under: Holidays, History, Exploration
Jewish New Year 101: The Deal with the Dates
Happy Jewish New Year! OK, so there's no Champagne and party hats are nowhere to be found. But September is the Jewish January, signaling a new year, and a month of holidays. To complicate things, Jewish New Year always falls on a different day. Here, your crash course on Rosh Hashanah, the biggest Jewish holiday of the year.
Different calendar, different year
If you think you can't remember your wedding anniversary, you're toast for the Jewish holidays. Even Jews get confused. Here's the deal: Jewish holidays are based on the Jewish calendar — which goes by the cycles of the moon. Not to be confused with the calendar we use, which revolves around the cycles of the sun. The months don't exactly sync up between the two, so every year the dates are different. Rosh Hashanah usually happens between Labor Day and Columbus Day. Extra credit to everyone who knows that Jewish holidays start sundown the night before the date listed on the calendar.
When it is
For those of you sending cards, the new year is 5770. Jewish New Year starts sundown on Friday, September 18, and ends sundown Sunday, September 20.
Have a sweet year
Once you've figured out the days you're supposed to celebrate, there is good news: Good food is involved. Apples and honey are traditional, to symbolize the hope for a sweet year ahead. In fact, recipes heavy on the honey are a good bet — including honey cake, sort of the Jewish fruit cake.
More holiday madness
While the Jewish New Year is a time to look forward, Yom Kippur is a day of atonement, reflection, and fasting. The holiday falls sometime after Rosh Hashannah. So meanwhile impress your Jewish friends with a hearty L'Shana Tova (Happy New Year).
Filed under: Holidays
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford 400 | Breakout! |
| 2 | Indonesia Ferry | Breakout! |
| 3 | Jordan Chandler | 3481% |
| 4 | Evan Chandler | 2322% |
| 5 | American Music Awards | 1841% |
| 6 | John F. Kennedy | 1529% |
| 7 | Turkey Stuffing Recipes | 1361% |
| 8 | Liam Hemsworth | 1172% |
| 9 | Lou Dobbs | 1142% |
| 10 | Hendrick Motorsports | 888% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Friday | +340 | 1290 |
| 2 | NFL | +489 | 670 |
| 3 | Jennifer Lopez | +451 | 515 |
| 4 | New Moon | -67 | 250 |
| 5 | American Music Awards | +236 | 249 |
| 6 | UFC | -36 | 239 |
| 7 | Miley Cyrus | +66 | 169 |
| 8 | Hulu | -11 | 154 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
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