BuzzMachine

Zeitgeist
: The annual Google Zeitgeist — a survey of most popular search terms — is up. It’s vaguely interesting but essentially unsatisfying; it reveals Google’s essential stone-skipping-pond nature. Technorati and Blogdex do a better job capturing the buzz of what people are actually talking about; Google captures merely our cultural 411.

Anyway…

The most popular brand searches were: 1. ferrari; 2. sony; 3. bmw; 4. disney; 5. ryanair; 6. hp; 7. dell; 8. easyjet; 9. last minute; 10. walmart

Ferrari? Ferrari? I don’t get that.

Interesting that the most popular men and women in French searches were almost all American or British (Harry Potter) — that is, not French.

Here is the most popular Japanese woman. Here’s the runner-up.

The most popular Italian singer is a guy named Eros.

Yankee
: Adam Curry returns to his other country, America, and starts waving the flag.

Being back in the states, if only for a few days, really helped me re-appreciate just how wonderful the country is. I found that I really have missed alot of america’s uniqueness. Little things, like how a waiter introduces his/herself and announces that (s)he’ll be ‘taking care of you tonite’….

And what other country in the world has happy hour; two drinks for the price of one?

Above all, most folks in the US have a positive mind set and an optimistic outlook on life. Something I no longer detect at all in the netherlands, were I spend most of my time, and it appears to be a disturbing trend in the rest europe.

Another group moblog
: Yesterday, I told you about a group moblog from Pud. Here’s a German-language moblog [via Moe]. See this contribution. Translation: “Sexual therapy in large groups.”

Now you know why I studied German.

A reporter’s blog from Baghdad
: Freelance Canadian journalist Tom Popyk has a blog. [via a reader] On last night’s restaurant bombing:

There are two things that race though journalists’ minds when the bang-bang gets close. First: Is everyone all right? Then: get to the scene.

It was a familiar one. the Nabil Restaurant, popular with print reporters and wealthier Iraqis, was reduced to ru bble. Five dead. Dozens injured, including three LA Times reporters. But mostly Iraqis. Again.

For all the concerns and criticisms about the US occupation, that fact remains that insurgents may target westerners, but they are actually killing their own people. This is not an accident. The attacks spread terror and fear, hampering development of a civil society. And at the same time they provide convenient, misplaced, expedient, blame to coalition forces: that somehow the attacks would end if the Americans were gone….

Blog divorce
: Blogger Lisa Williams’ husband said he resents her PC because she blogs too much (aside: can you blog too much?). They’re working it out: He shared; she’s making breakfast; blog bliss.

But I’ll bet it won’t be long before we see our first blog divorce (with Glenn Reynolds listed as corespondent).