the buzz log

A Mass of Turkeys

Heads up: Thanksgiving falls on Nov. 27, which means you have less than two weeks to prepare.

If you accept the premise that the occasion is a time for celebrating family and not dysfunction, then you might be disheartened to know that cumulative searches for the occasion—from turkeys to Thanksgiving prayers—are 44% lower than the same time period last year.

Considering how fired up citizens have been about the election year, that's not a good sign for America's holiday. Not that the day isn't respectably ensconced in the top 750 searches on Yahoo!. Still, the comparatively lackluster interest might show lingering election fatigue. More likely, an unstable economy may force travelers to stay homebound, away from the family hearth, and cut down on the homestead festivities. Whatever the reasons, people are especially lagging in researching "thanksgiving recipes"  and "thanksgiving dish" online (though good progress is being made on  "thanksgiving side dishes" and "thanksgiving recipes desserts" searches).

My fellow Americans, it's time to buck up and jump back into the fray. Despite reports that the Thanksgiving menu may cost a wee bit more, there are red-blooded men and women out there right now (well, usually women) who've been to get their ducks in a row. Actually, make that turducken (+77%, past 7 days), honey-baked ham (+93%) and Butterball turkeys (+857%). (In case you mistakenly filed it away as a bad horror movie, turducken combines a turkey, duck and chicken in one triple-carnivorous delight, and understandably requires advance orders.)

As for the rest of the menu, lookups for seasonal mainstays like "sweet potato recipes," "sweet potato pie," "deviled egg recipe," and "turkey stuffing" have risen in the past seven days. If that doesn't give you inspiration, Esquire pulled out 14 recipes from the '80s, like Jimmy Carter Plains Special Cheese Ring and Nancy Reagan's Persimmon Pudding. (And, per Fox News, Obama homage can be paid by having a side dish of chili or pumpkin pie.)

Don't forget the kids. Some young'uns have been working on crafts, learning about the "first thanksgiving" and its first host, Squanto. Even if you're not hosting, you still may need to put your turkey game-face on: Someone out there is making "thanksgiving invitations" and preparing a night of prayer and songs. (Y'know, like "Over the River and Through the Wood," and, um, lots more.)

The most compelling reason to prep for Thanksgiving now: The holiday comes late this year, and leaves only a few scant weeks to gird up for a double dose of Hanukkah (Dec. 21) and Christmas. Some holiday overachievers have jumped ahead in search of "santa tracker," suggestions for a "christmas wish list" and "ugly christmas sweaters"—for the theme party, of course. At least maybe you can bow out of the white elephant fruitcake exchange.

Filed under: Food, Recipes, Thanksgiving

Quantum of Solace

In the fine, upstanding tradition of 007, the 22nd Bond film opening today has a title that makes absolutely no sense.

It's called "Quantum of Solace." Quantum of whuh? For who?

James Bond fans went to their favorite gadget, the computer, for help, sending lookups on "definition of quantum of solace" up 500%. But we're sorry to tell you, understanding the title — which means a bit of comfort — isn't really going to help you understand why they chose that name for the movie.

The nonsequitur comes from a 1960 short story in Ian Fleming's "For Your Eyes Only." Great. But the film does not contain any elements of the original story. The plot centers around an evil organization named Quantum. Does that help? Not really.

The title is helpful in adding zingers for movie critics who were looking for ammo. The New York Observer seethed that the movie "sports a senseless title destined to be forgotten before it even reaches the shelves at Blockbuster." Forgettable? Consider the past Bond oeuvre, a collection of inexplicable titles that only a Bond fan could love: "Never Say Never Again." "Die Another Day." "Tomorrow Never Dies." "You Only Live Twice." They're so bad, they're good.

Not that the name of the movie has caused a damper on the enthusiasm of the international superspy. Au contraire, searches on the inscrutable movie title are blowing the other movies away with almost a two million percent increase.

The meaningless title certainly has caused chatter in the blogosphere. Facebook even opened up a forum on the topic. One fan site admits about the title, "Bond fans across the world have struggled to understand what it means and how it will play into the film." MTV reported that Daniel Craig, who plays Bond, had to explain, "We could have gone for a snappier title, but that's not part of the deal. It ties into the plot. It's not some random title."

You hear that, people? The nonsense title completely fits in with the senseless plot. That should provide a quantum of sense.

Filed under: Movies, Daniel Craig, James Bond

Larry Craig

If there's one thing we've learned from writing about people like Kevin Federline and Joe the Plumber, it's that fame is fleeting. One minute, your name is buzzing like a bee, the next it's as quiet as a mouse.

That must explain the plethora of "what happened to" searches we see each and every week. When celebs fall out of the public eye, most folks forget all about 'em. But there are some loyal and curious searchers who simply have to know what happened to that one guy who was in that one TV show that was canceled after two episodes (or whatever).

We took a look at the top nostalgic searches from the past week. Taking the top spot is the one and only Ryan Leaf, arguably the biggest bust in the history of professional sports. Also making a strong showing in our top ten is Larry Craig, the Idaho senator who introduced the phrase "wide stance" into the popular lexicon. Read on for more blasts from the past. These folks may be gone, but they're still not forgotten.

Filed under: Celebrities