the buzz log
Protest Sans Comedy
On the Web, a laissez-faire, even libertarian attitude usually prevails...but apparently, not all the geek world has been amused with Comic Sans.
For those who read but don't notice the shape of letters, Comic Sans is a typeface made to look like what it sounds: the kind of casual script that cartoonists would hand-letter in those comic-strip bubbles. But apparently, a ban has been in the works since 1999 to "eradicate" that happy-go-lucky script once and for all.
Yet, the Wall Street Journal's recent page one focus on the typographical passions involved has stoked searches anew for "ban comic sans," bubbling up the idea into the top 100,000 terms on Yahoo!. The bulk of these potential newcomers to the movement, though, weren't even alive when the font was first created. Then again, you're never too young to protest font abuse...or to learn the nuances of good design, delivering a message, and the artistry of written language in an age of shorthand texts.
As for the hand that designed the blasphemed script, Vincent Connare isn't offended by the global uprising to kill his creation. In fact, he "sympathizes" with the sentiment, since his creation has mutated from innocent "grade-school fliers and holiday newsletters" to "porn sites, gravestones and hospital posters about bowel cancer."
But, Connare may be pleased by a backlash against the backlash: Defenders have gone online declaring "i love comic sans," "what's wrong with comic sans," and "save comic sans." There's also an appreciation for "magpie font," his latest creation.
Incidentally, the two graphic novels that inspired the insipid/beloved font? "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Watchmen." Love it or hate it, Comic Sans hails from superheroic origins.
A Revolting Tax Day
Pardon me, would you like sugar with your protest?
As procrastinators hunker down to finish up their taxes, some American citizens—unhappy with the recent spate of federal and state taxes—want to revive a revolutionary spirit come April 15. Searches for “april 15 tea party” (+452%), “tea party protests” (+154%) and “tax day tea party” (+145%) have been fomenting on Yahoo!.
New taxes on tobacco products, the California tax on pet services, and other new levies have sparked outraged searches. Indeed, following the April 1 federal cigarette tax came a defiant Web rise in “tobacco seeds."
Leading the grassroots Nationwide Tax Day Tea Party efforts are groups with names like Conservatives on Twitter. Radio host Sean Hannity has also been touting the event.
So, would turning in taxes on time contribute to the national good or encourage big government? Either way, taxes—and protests against taxes—are inevitable. Below are the 10 regions who may be contemplating a nice, hot cup of dissent.
Top “Tax Day Tea Party” Regions on Yahoo!, past 7 days
- Atlanta
- Dallas-Fort Worth
- Houston
- Washington, DC
- Kansas City
- Seattle-Tacoma
- Jackson, Miss
- Chicago
- Orlando
- New York
Facetime...and More...at Facebook
Forget after Christmas sales. The place to be, at least if you're a breastfeeding mom, will be Facebook headquarters.
The social networking site has long banned photos of suckling babies if their milk supply is "fully exposed." New moms apparently are fed up, and plan to do a "nurse in" at the Palo Alto offices on Dec. 27—which is a Saturday, presumably when employees have the weekend off, if they're not already out for the holidays.
That's okay: The organizers of Mothers International Lactation Campaign (MILC) don't seem to be planning on a big turnout anyway ("at least 20," according to the Contra Costa Times). According to its petition (on Facebook, of course), the group has been growing since August 2007 and has just past 50,000 members. The real impact will be online, as MILC wants all of them to swap their profile photos to show them nursing in action.
So far, no comment from Facebook. The company probably has enough to deal with, like online jihadists, process servers, computer virus, an unauthorized biography, and a valuation drop despite big growth ... rather then worry about political protests involving mammary glands on its day off. As for local mothers tempted to join the censorship battle, forecast for Saturday so far: sunny. For potential oglers: Hey, eyes up and shame on you. That's someone's mum.
Filed under: Tech, Social Networking, Protest, Breastfeeding
A Loss of Gaiety?
To promote the ongoing cause of same-sex marriage, supporters are borrowing a page from the immigrant playbook and declaring December 10th "A Day Without a Gay." People of any sexual orientation are encouraged to miss work by calling in gay, an idea that doubtless has satire newspaper editors at The Onion banging their head against the wall at the missed opportunity.
Of course, the passage of Proposition 8 in California (which banned same-sex marriages) inspired the national protest, set to coincide with International Human Rights Day. The notion has stimulated slackers excited about this unparalleled opportunity to skip work on Wednesday, and searches for "day without a gay," "call in gay day," and "calling in gay" percolated online.
According to the Associated Press, a comedian and his beau came up with the boycott (and the website). CNN credits a film producer for a similar concept, which was actually a 2006 A&E original movie called "Wedding Wars," in which a gay party planner, played by John Stamos, goes on strike. (Yes, Stamos.)
Economic correctness, already responsible for cancelled holiday parties and executive carpooling to government bailout hearings, has dictated that the Wednesday boycott have a community service twist. Boycotters are urged to do volunteer work (better PR than wholesale goofing off).
For those uncomfortable with taking the day off, DWAGers are all about alternatives. Their "Join the Impact" site suggests volunteering after work, abstaining from purchases, cutting off TV or cell phone use, packing lunch ahead of time, and avoiding going online...whaaa? Apparently, the savvy organizers don't even want online advertisers to benefit from bored boycotters surfing the Net.
Whether such proscriptions backfire by making employees more productive than ever remains to be seen. The other unanswered question: How will this affect same-sex marriage opponents who have the sniffles and are thinking about staying home to rest?
Filed under: Politics, Protest, Gay Marriage
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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