the buzz log

File this under the Halloween Tricks or Treats: Once again, three politicians made the top 10 most searched personalities this month. Considering all the campaign spending and debating and "Saturday Night Live"-ing they had to do, they deserve it.  Ponder also how the Dow proved manic-depressive and baseball pitted underdog against underdog, in this overview of October searches on Yahoo!.

Debates, Infomercials, and Plumbing Issues
When a political candidate calls his own 30-minute ad an infomercial, you know we're near the end of the slog. October politicking, however, started with a long-awaited meeting of the minds—okay, a rubbernecking event to see which political vice presidential pick would implode first. More bickering followed, in which one name stood above all: Joe the Plumber. The media lavished attention on the undecided, but searches surged for "early voting," "absentee ballots," local polling locales, and last-minute registration.

Losing Interest
Bailouts turned into multiple rescue plans this month, as the U.S. government made an unprecedented move to inject cash into banks. A benumbed public had the energy to summon up one more burst of outrage against AIG's spa retreat, and triggered the beleaguered company's profile to leap 656% into the top 300 searches. Meanwhile, the Dow whipsawed historic turnabouts. The Fed cut the interest rate to 1%, but at least one blogger is zeroing in on nothing.

Willies Over the Phillies
What a game, watching the Chicago Cubs go against the defending Red Sox champions, in a match that... excuse me, what? Um, so this season's performance will be brought to you by the understudies. The boys from Philadelphia and Tampa played a nice, albeit lopsided game. Blame it on the rain, but the series made trivia as the lowest-rated in history. Online nostalgia meanwhile pumped up for series 1906 and 1956.

October 2008 Fastest Movers in Search
Search Terms with the Biggest Percentage Changes

1. If I Were a Boy (+67,708%. Beyonce takes on gender issues in her newest single.)
2. Sophie Okonedo (+441,537%. The Oscar-nominated actress opened in "The Secret Life of Bees.")
3. Early Voting Locations (+41,706%. See above.)
4. Kristin Scott Thomas (+39,463%. The actress got critics' tongues wagging with her prison take in the French release "I've Loved You So Long")
5. 2008 World Series Schedule (+535,864%. See above)
6. Howard Stern Wedding (+26,706%. The radio show host exchanged rings with galpal at a New York restaurant)
7. Pumpkin Seed Recipe (+22,437%. Halloween hysteria monopolized searches this month, as did gourd recipes.)
8. Bernard Hopkins (+19,125%. Another scrappy Philly, "The Executioner" proved 43 can still be tough when he schooled 26-year-old Kelly Pavlik.)
9. Pumpkin Designs (+18,166%. Even Jack-O'-Lanterns went political this season.)
10. California Fires (+18,111%%. The annual Santa Ana winds spread wildfires in southern California.)

October 2008 Top 10 Personalities
People with the Most Searches Overall

1. Sarah Palin (+13,527%)
2. Britney Spears (-20%)
3. Obama (+42%)
4. Jennifer Hudson (+448%)
5. Miley Cyrus (-40%)
6. Gina Carano (+112%)
7. Angelina Jolie (+84%)
8. Jessica Alba (+8%)
9. Kim Kardashian (-2%)
10. John McCain (+8%)

Filed under: Politics, Boxing, Monthly Wrapup, Baseball, Elections, Presidents, Wrap Up, World Series

The Boston Red Sox stormed back to beat the Cleveland Indians and snag the American League pennant. Their reward? A meeting with destiny's darlings—the Colorado Rockies. While this might be the frostiest matchup ever seen in October, the Search box isn't feeling the chill. Queries on both teams are burning up the basepaths of Buzz. We're hoping for some delicious drama when the two teams meet.

To decide a champ in Search, we studied a number of important criteria. While searches on the oh-so-hip "papelbon dance" sway us toward favoring the Sox, the Buzz tells us it will be a much closer matchup...

Filed under: Baseball, MLB, World Series