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by Claudine Zap

Many Obama supporters can be forgiven for thinking that Christmas came on Election Day. But there’s still the tree to trim, the gifts to wrap, and the parties to plan.

For the Obama supporter who is still thinking red and blue America, instead of red and green, consider celebrating democracy with some festive Obama décor. You can check out Trendhunter’s slideshow of tree bling. Photos include a bauble with the images of Barack and Michelle Obama in matching Santa hats; a self-congratulatory ornament with the message “I helped elect Barack Obama” along with the President-elect’s photo; and one snow-flaked themed Obama ‘08 ball.

Now that the tree’s properly decked, you’ll want to get your Obama fan the perfect gift. Wrap up a set of Obama nesting dolls that will surely make for a great conversation piece.

To add some spice to your party, set up an Obama, Hillary Clinton or Bush piñata. It’s fun for all ages and political persuasions. Have a great holiday? Yes, we can.

by Mike Krumboltz

Hollywood likes to call itself a “dream factory.” But the way it spews out sequels and adaptations, “regurgitation complex” might be a more apt description. Not convinced? You should be, because the long-forgotten ’80s television series “The Greatest American Hero” is coming to the big screen.

Gossip blog Defamer has the scoop. According to sources, the film has a script and a director. Filmmakers are now in the middle of making a deal for distribution. As producer Stephen Cannell says, “It will happen.” And as the Buzz Log says, “Yikes.”

For the 95% of you who don’t remember “Greatest American Hero,” the show centered on a bumbling everyman who was granted superpowers, perhaps by a very desperate TV executive. The lead character spent most of his time flying into brick walls for comedic effect. Other than the main character’s blonde afro, the show is probably best remembered for its theme song (”Believe it or not, I’m walking on air”).

There aren’t too many ’80s shows that haven’t already been adapted for the big screen. Hollywood has pretty much picked the bone clean, but there are a few morsels of meat left. Below, we rank the searches on the top ’80s action series that haven’t yet been made into movies. If Hollywood studios are looking to make something that folks are actually interested in, we suggest they drop this Greatest American Hero nonsense and focus their efforts on Magnum P.I. ASAP.

by Mike Krumboltz

The Buzz Log has seen its share of starlets who go from “unknown” to “A-list” in the blink of an eye. However, few have charted a rise as impressive, or as sudden, as Freida Pinto’s. The co-star of “Slumdog Millionaire” recently skyrocketed an astonishing 65,740% in one day. Even by our cynical standards, that’s a big deal.

Why the surge? Simple—Ms. Pinto is a standout actress in a standout flick that everybody’s talking about. “Slumdog Millionaire,” directed by acclaimed director Danny Boyle, is generating a lot of awards buzz. Critics have called the India-based romance ”heartbreaking and exhilarating” and “a masterpiece.” Pinto’s performance is a big reason for all the interest and acclaim. Of course, it probably doesn’t hurt that the Mumbai native also happens to be drop-dead gorgeous.

Folks have clearly noticed her looks. There are already plenty of searches for “freida pinto pictures.” Those queries are sure to climb further as the indie flick opens in more theaters. According to LA.com, Ms. Pinto is a full-time model and “Slumdog Millionaire” marks the first time she’s acted. If the buzz is any indication, it certainly won’t be the last.

by Vera H-C Chan

America’s love for the automobile has not, in recent years, extended to its native automakers. Lured by sexy fuel economy and come-hither reliability, drivers have flocked to Japanese manufacturers like Honda and Toyota, which in turn have set up permanent roots in the U.S. of A.

Now Detroit’s Big Three are running on fumes, especially General Motors, and they want taxpayer help. As the Senate Banking Committee holds hearings this week on the different ways to handle yet another possible financial meltdown (especially the so-called “multiplier” effect, noted below), folks are finding themselves divided over the notion of pulling corporate giants out of an economic ditch.

One thing there’s no shortage of—opinions. After all, as the Wall Street Journal spells out harshly, the manufacturers got into “the crisis weakened by mistakes of their own doing. The Detroit Three depended for more than a decade on profits from gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles and pumped up sales with cheap credit…” However, the AP reports that the “house of cards” involves not only GM, Chrysler, and Ford, but also many auto suppliers and parts companies.

So in the Buzz, who advocates the bumpy road to financial ruin or the taxpayer repossession?

For the Bailout:
  • Democratic members of Congress (including Barack Obama) and at least two Republicans, who want to impose conditions in order for the Big Three borrow from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
  • In a worse-case scenario, Center for Automotive Research predicts a 2.5 million job loss if 1.5 of the Big Three’s “manufacturing capacity” went kaput.
  • United Auto Workers president Ron Gettelfinger says the fault lies not in the auto makers’ problems, but in the economic stars … so now’s not the time to ask for UAW contract concessions.

Against the Bailout
  • Bush administration and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would rather that Congress take from the $25 billion Energy Department loans intended for “fuel-efficient technology.”
  • Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama—more importantly known as the Senate Banking Committee’s ranking member and the key to the money strings—called the fossil fuel-burning companies a collective “dinosaur.”
  • The former president of Ford Europe advocates the government be “the banker of last resort” and an industry “shake-out.”

It Depends:
  • The “Deal Professor” at the New York Times asks a lot of questions about who the bailout really benefits (the private equity firms that own the automakers?), how many people GM actually employs, and executive perks.
  • Neil Young’s solution, which can be seen on NPR, details the involvement of something called Transition Rollers.

No takers for this idea… yet: Get Chevron or Exxon to delve into their record profits and create a Big Buddy program for the automakers.

by Claudine Zap

What’s buzzing on Monday.

1. Walmart black friday ads 2008 (+913%). Some of the deals available on the morning after Thanksgiving have leaked out. Searchers can make the call if the savings are worth the sleeplessness.
2. Victoria’s Secret fashion show (+278%). The annual lingerie fashion show landed in South Beach and featured supermodel Heidi Klum. You haven’t missed it - it’ll be on TV on Dec. 3.
3. Los Angeles air quality  (+156%). Yet another problem plaguing residents enduring the southern California wildfires: nasty air quality as a blanket of smoke hovers over much of the area.
4. Turducken (+551%). What says Thanksgiving more than three birds in one? For more buzz on holiday eats, click here.
5. White House address (+226%). Want to get in some feedback to the President-elect? Try comments@whitehouse.gov. Just don’t expect a personal response from Obama any time soon: He’s supposed to give up his Blackberry any day now.

by Jon Brooks

In this interregnum between presidential administrations, the Web’s experiencing a drop-off in the fever-pitch political buzz so prevalent during the campaign. So this weekend, it was goodbye Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber, hello UFC and Paul McCartney.

Yay!

The Fight Stuff
What a month! First we get a new president, and now a new Ultimate Fighting champ. If you think McCain and Obama went at it hard, you didn’t see Brock Lesnar manhandle reigning heavyweight king Randy Couture at UFC 91 on Saturday night. Lesnar used his 57-pound weight advantage to pound Couture into submission in just the second round. “Those were some big ham hocks coming at me,” said Couture of Lesnar’s flying fists. Indeed.

Beatle Buzz
Who’s the exact opposite of new UFC champ Brock Lesnar? That’s right, it’s former Beatle Paul McCartney, and he’s beating the buzz, too. The Observer of Britain reported Sunday that McCartney wants to release the “holy grail of Beatles obsessives,” a 14-minute improvised track called “Carnival of Light, which the paper calls “a jumble of shrieks and psychedelic effects.”

It’s amazing how much buzz Sir Paul still generates. Just this week, we learned that he may write the soundtrack for “Shrek 4,” that he wrote the song “Yesterday” from a dream, and that his Eleanor Rigby song character is “totally fictitious.” 

Fine, but how about a little something on Ringo? 

When Black Friday comes
Does anyone have any money left? That $64,000 dollar question may be subject to a price reduction the day after Thanksgiving. The unofficial opening of the holiday shopping season is commonly known as “Black Friday,” “black” for turning a profit. But this year the word may actually represent the spreading economic gloom. Retail sales recently suffered the worst monthly drop on record, and the entire world wants to know whether American consumers will shake loose those remaining dollars to spend on gifts. The Web will certainly help, with sneak peeks on bargains, rumors about deals, and leaks on sales abounding.

Also buzzing this weekend…

• Southern Californians and their loved ones looked to the Web for information on the state’s cataclysmic wildfires, which have destroyed almost 1,000 homes and forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate.
• Comedienne Wanda Sykes, who stars in the TV show “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” announced she’s a lesbian at a Las Vegas gay rights rally on Saturday. Sykes spoke out against the passage of California’s Proposition 8, which makes gay marriage in the state illegal.
• Watch Justin Timberlake dance in leotard and high heels as a backup dancer to Beyonce on “SNL.” But only if you want.

by Mike Krumboltz

If you’re looking to catch up on what’s hot, you’ve come to the right place. This is the Buzz Log Week in Review, where we recap the week’s top stories. Read on for the scoop on a budding romance, four alien worlds, and one mega-retailer that’s seen better days.

Meet Camilla Belle
When do you know you’ve made it? Simple. When people push searches on your name up 6,103% in a week. That’s exactly what happened to Camilla Belle, the brunette starlet best known for screaming her lungs out in “When a Stranger Calls,” after folks learned that she is dating a Jonas Brother. Related searches on “camila belle pictures” surged, as did lookups for her new beau, Joe Jonas. She’s not yet A-list, but by dating one of the most popular celebs on the planet, she’s seeing her buzz score skyrocket. Call it the Guy Ritchie effect.

Not all telescopes are used for peeping
Scientists discovered not one, not two, but four planets this week. Sources confirmed that the planets are gaseous and not habitable, but apparently “they raise the possibility” of finding others that are “more hospitable.” So, what made these planets so special? According to USA Today, “this is the first image of a multi-planet solar system.” Previous planetary discoveries have relied on gravitational anomalies. To the untrained eye (like ours), the photos look rather unremarkable. Here’s hoping the scientists aren’t just showing us a picture of some pocket lint.

Tough Times at the City of Circuits
Electronics retailer Circuit City declared bankruptcy amid slowing sales. The struggling outlet will slash jobs and close stores, but continue to operate. Many experts are questioning whether the chain can survive as it continues to see its chief rival, Best Buy, eat its lunch as well as market share.

Also buzzing this week…
• In an interview with BBC News, Angelina Jolie said she “doesn’t plan to keep acting very long.” No word yet on the timeline, but hopefully she’ll quit before somebody offers a bag full of cash for “Tomb Raider 3.”
• Look out, there’s a new lawsuit in town! This one aims to take Classmates.com to court for sending out all those mass emails saying “someone from your class is looking for you.” Apparently some poor chump actually signed up for the site only to discover that nobody was really looking for him. Outrage and legal action quickly ensued.

by Vera H-C Chan

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.

by Claudine Zap

T.G.I.Buzz.

1. Prince Charles  (+223%). He’s a little old to be an intern, but the prince, who just turned 60, is still waiting to become king. Apparently, the Queen Mum, a spry 82, has no intention of retiring.
2. Homemade christmas gift baskets (+156%). Penny pinchers who want to channel Martha Stewart searched for DIY holiday presents.
3. Barney Frank scandal  (+133%). The Massachusetts congressman has picked up national interest with his work on the bailout. But searchers are looking for buzz on the 1989 scandal involving a male prostitute.
4. California fire (+127%). Residents of a posh area in Santa Barbara fled as fire engulfed about 100 homes. Celebs such as Michael Douglas, Oprah Winfrey, and Rob Lowe own property in the exclusive ocean side enclave.
5. Presidential Inaugural Committee (+115%). Interest in the swearing-in ceremony for President-elect Barack Obama is growing, as is a desire to score a ticket to the inauguration. Ebay made news by pledging not to sell scalped tickets on its site.

by Claudine Zap

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.