the buzz log

A deceptive autumn lull settled on the domestic scene, partly as people tried to dodge H1N1. Amidst all the handwashing, though, tumult remained over health care discussions, Afghanistan policy, and an exciting but perplexing Nobel Peace Prize honor bestowed on a freshman president. Besides headlines and Halloween, the Buzz had time to listen to creepy confessions and flights of fancy. Below, just a bit of the stories—and searches—on Web overdrive.

The Other Kind of Swine
The tale of cheating men is as old as man itself, but yet their shenanigans never fail to rivet...especially when it involves David Letterman, who has taken jabs over the decades at cheaters, and attempted blackmail by a CBS "48 Hours" producer. The host made a "creepy" confession on his show and another apology to offended females this year. The late-night drama made the sex-addiction confession by fired ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips seem tame, although he got the boot for canoodling with a 22-year-old production assistant (one of many events that helped end his 19-year-old marriage). Philips entered sex rehab. At this rate, someone might want to start a mobile clinic.

Frolicking Flyboys
Eyes turned to the skies when it seemed an amateur storm chaser's son had accidentally taken off in a helium ballon. The media frenzy was for naught, as the now ironically named Falcon Heene had hid in the rafters, and the whole episode turned out to be a really bad reality-TV audition. No hoax but questions remain over how Northwest Flight 188 pilots overshot their destination by 150 miles and remained incommunicado for 75+ minutes. The cockpit blamed "heated" scheduling discussions and laptop distractions. The FAA called their excuses "a frolic" and suspended them. Passengers can still believe in the skies: Hudson River hero Captain Chesley Sullenberger published his biography this month.

Afghan Course
In the long conflict, October has proven the deadliest for US forces in Afghanistan. General Stanley A. McChrystal has argued for more manpower and, after much consultation with military commanders and civilian advisers, the White House will lay out "broad strategic guidelines" until the Nov. 7 election runoff between President Hamid Karzai and challenger Abdullah Abudullah...even if the challenger boycotts. Reports point to a compromise which follows American history, as Newsweek details in a look back at troop requests since the Revolutionary War.

Filed under: Reality TV, Celebrities, Monthly Wrapup, Hoaxes, Military, Halloween, War, Nobel Prize, Barack Obama, David Letterman, Afghanistan, Wrap Up

Internet stories that sound "too good to be true" sometimes turn out to be just that.

In the June maelstrom of celebrity deaths, a World War II vet died on June 17 at age 86. His passing got some mention in the Roanoke Times, but someone believed that Darrell "Shifty" Powers deserved a lot more notice: The former soldier had served in the 101st Airborne Division, part of the fabled Easy Company that inspired the book and 2001 HBO miniseries, "Band of Brothers."

So an anonymous email, sent out July 7, called out for a "nationwide memorial service" to recognize an American hero. The writer wasn't a friend or family member, but a stranger who had a chance airport encounter with an elderly Powers. The vet's story might get interest from "a bunch of military-minded friends," the writer thought, and that would be it.

But a funny thing happened on the Web. Blogs started mentioning Powers' legacy. The message gave fodder for some people to ding "the media" for overlooking a chance to honor Powers' service. One even posted the email in the comments area of a story about a state trooper injured in a golf cart accident.

Then, the unsigned email itself became news. Was the author actually test pilot Chuck Yeager? McClatchy Newspapers military columnist Joseph Galloway? ABC finally tracked down the writer, who turned out to be one Mark Pfiefer, a retired Dow Jones employee.

The moment of silence that Pfiefer had wanted for Powers ended up being a social networking salute on July 20. Searches on Yahoo! for "darrell shifty powers" rose 63% from people 21 on up. No less than six memorials appeared on Facebook, with 1,620 members so far in one. And the Twittering continues.

The Military Times caught up with Pfiefer, who said he "had no idea it would take off the way it did." As for Powers' family, his daughter Margo believed her dad would "say everyone is just making too much of a fuss, but that's just the way he was, very humble." And Margo's husband, Sheldon, called this online call-out "too good to be true, like those fake stories that make the rounds on the Internet." And, agendas aside, this one turned out even better than planned.

Below is an interview with Powers about the HBO series.

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Filed under: TV, Hoaxes, Military, Internet, WWII, War

Last week agents of Blackwater USA killed a number of civilians in Iraq. Following the incident, the private security firm was grounded in Baghdad's Green Zone. News of the bloody affair emboldened buzz on the guns-for-hire, though not in a way we would have imagined.

Searches for "blackwater" and "blackwater iraq" made logical leaps. Yet who could have imagined that news of a deadly encounter in one of the most dangerous places on the planet would spark a rush on queries for "blackwater usa jobs" or "blackwater security jobs"? Over 81% of the queries came from men, and 64% of those were men between the ages of 25 and 54. Hazard pay certainly has its adherents.

Working as a security consultant for Blackwater USA may not qualify as one of the world's most dangerous jobs—the top spot on that list goes to fishermen, incidentally—but we're sure the occupation is a contender. As for the eager job seekers, we expect to see more searches now that Blackwater is back in service in Baghdad.

Filed under: Iraq, War, Middle East