the buzz log
Court TV: Sotomayor Stumped
The Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor may be a "wise Latina," but she needs to review her TV triva, stat.
Sen. Al Franken (formerly of comedic fame) finally found a line of questioning that floored the otherwise unflappable high-court candidate: A test of her childhood love for the TV drama about defense lawyer "Perry Mason."
The former TV show comic brought up the TV show to the nominee. And Perry Mason style, his aim was a "gotchya" moment. The question was simply: Perry Mason won all his cases, except one. Which? Sotomayor drew a blank. "Didn't the White House prepare you for that?" Franken asked. Oh, snap.
Amazingly, the White House actually did respond with the answer Sotomayor flubbed: "The Case of the Deadly Verdict," which aired on Oct. 17, 1963. (For the record, Franken didn't know the answer either—which is why he claimed he asked.)
We're guessing the judge won't forget that episode anytime soon.
Filed under: TV, Supreme Court
As Seen, but Not Believed, on TV: The Neckline Slimmer
From the people who have rocked your abs, mastered your thighs and trimmed your nose hairs comes a device to fix that turkey gullet you call a chin.
The Neckline Slimmer is the latest As Seen on TV fix-it to rock the Buzz. Yahoo! searches on "neckline slimmer" have swelled, mostly from the double-chinned contingents in Boston, Los Angeles, Dallas, New York City, and D.C.
While we don't doubt "world renowned physiotherapist" Paul Younane for his ingenuity, the little device looks like an asthma inhaler with springs. According to the infomercials, you sandwich the device between your chest and your chin, and raise your head up and down...and for just two humiliating minutes a day, you could look years younger. The slimmer offers three resistance levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced), so you can build jowls so mighty you could break bricks with your jaw.
Of course, people aren't swallowing this fad whole, despite Younane's "personal" guarantee and bonus European firming accelerator cream (with separate shipping costs). Skeptical consumers have been scouting online for "neckline slimmer reviews" and asking "does the neckline slimmer really work." So far, blog comments from people who actually bought the exerciser just complain about shipping costs.
No feedback on its Amazon page either—although under "Customers also looked at" related links, there are at least 14 favorable reviews for the "facial flex" firming tool, AKA the Hannibal Lecter training mask.
But really, this is just one of the classic TV moments. Watch this for just two minutes a day, and the guffaws will make you look years younger. Stick a squishy ball under your chin for the extra burn.
Jan vs. Marcia: The Grudge Continues
Jan Brady was always jealous of big sister Marcia on "The Brady Bunch." Has the bitterness crossed over into real life?
Fox News reports that Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia, feels that Eve Plumb (Jan) is upset over a joke Ms. McCormick made while promoting her memoir, "Here's the Story." Somebody call Alice to sort this out STAT!
A few years ago, McCormick said that she and Eve had a "lesbian love affair." McCormick insists it was simply a joke that was made for shock value. Now she's worried that Plumb didn't find it funny.
You see, the Brady kids were apparently invited to sit on Oprah's couch. Everyone accepted the invite except ol' Eve. Maureen concluded that her TV sister is holding a grudge. Makes sense to us: No former child star would ever turn down Oprah without a darn good reason.
The New York Post, which broke the story on its Page Six, checked in with Ms. Plumb to get her take on the so-called quarrel. Plumb's agent responded: "No one from Oprah called. We haven't turned down anything. There is no feud."
That settles that, but one question remains: How does Eve Plumb still have an agent?
Filed under: TV
Hot Dogs and Pachyderms: Must Be Fourth of July on Coney Island
Independence Day is the time to come together with kin and community, to admire the bravery of America's founders, and to eat like there is no tomorrow.
The economy may have dampened travel and pyrotechnic shows, but the hot dog-eating contest will go on. Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest (now that's a mouthful) is the crown jewel of Major League Eating. If you don't believe it's a $10-mil industry, read the Forbes article.
In case the sight of men and women gorging on meat tubes doesn't satisfy, organizers have made a circus show of out of this year's competition. Literally. Circus elephants Bunny, Susie, and Minnie will face off with human gurgitators Juliet Lee, Gravy Brown, and Patrick Bertoletti in what's being billed as the "First-Ever Cross-Species Eating competition." (Apparently, the organizers don't count the "Man vs. Beast" FOX special when a Kodiak bear crushed then-hot dog eating champ Takeru Kobayashi.)
The six-minute pachyderm appetizer event takes place July 3. In concession to elephants' dietary restrictions (they're herbivores), contestants will only be eating the buns. Animal rights activists feel nauseous over the elephantine event, and at least one "mindful eating" proponent's not thrilled about the human involvement either.
But, as sure as illegal firecrackers on a neighborhood street, the Coney Island hot dog tradition will go on, with defending champ Joey Chestnut trying to hold his own against former six-time champ Kobayashi. ESPN will again air the gullet-guster at noon (ET) on July 4. Don't forget the mustard-flavored popcorn.
Filed under: TV, Holidays, Food, Contests, Fourth of July
Think of the Kids: Watching a Reality Family Break-Up
No intervention, no on-camera psychotherapy couch sessions. For the couple behind TLC's "Jon & Kate Plus 8," the ampersand will be removed. But what about the kids?
Not the Plus 8, Cara, Mady, Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Collin, Leah, and Joel. We're talking about the kids in the audience. After all, this is (was) a family show that started off when the twins turned six and the rest were toddlers. What youngster wouldn't find appealing the notion of multiples of oneself running about (even if they didn't look exactly like you)?
Before the first of the tabloid reports broke in early March, kids under 13 made up 23% of the reality series' searches on Yahoo!—nearly a quarter. While dad Jon Gosselin (tellingly) didn't get many Web lookups, supermom Kate Gosselin got her share (14%) of queries from pre-teens and younger.
Now, nearly four months later and a broken family later, their proportion has dropped to 7% of people looking up the show. By the way, that percentage is pretty close to their share (8%) of stomach-twisting "jon and kate divorce" look-ups.
The lower numbers probably don't mean the original young fans stopped following the Gosselins online. They simply got swamped by all the adults who tuned in to monitor the downfall. Basically, the kids got lost in the shuffle, but they're still there, watching.
Filed under: TV, Reality TV, Divorce, Kids
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worst Airports For Delays 2009 | Breakout! |
| 2 | How To Survive A Recession | Breakout! |
| 3 | Ice Cream Calorie Counter | Breakout! |
| 4 | Jayson Williams | Breakout! |
| 5 | Alexandra Kerry | Breakout! |
| 6 | Chaz Bono | 10707% |
| 7 | Kelly Osbourne | 3298% |
| 8 | Jennifer Hudson | 3218% |
| 9 | Nicole Richie | 2075% |
| 10 | Thierry Henry | 1125% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Friday | +413 | 1016 |
| 2 | Elizabeth Lambert | -677 | 263 |
| 3 | NFL | +66 | 235 |
| 4 | New Moon | +74 | 213 |
| 5 | Bing | +83 | 209 |
| 6 | Kelly Osbourne | +193 | 199 |
| 7 | Hulu | +7 | 139 |
| 8 | Nicole Richie | +124 | 130 |
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.
For more detailed information, visit our FAQ.