TheTrend

Lip dub proposal (A Must See Video!)

Every now and then comes a video that you must see, and this one will put a big smile on your face.   On Wednesday, a man told his girlfriend to meet him at his parent's house for dinner.    When she arrives, his brother met her.  What happened next... well, just watch.

 

Towel Day, Doc Watson and Memorial Day

Good morning!

Happy Towel Day!  Yes, there is such a thing.  Carry a towel with you wherever you go and no one will think it odd.   And if anyone does think it odd, you can tell them it's a tribute to the novelist Douglas Adams, who wrote The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy.  

There is even a website dedicated to the event.   You can even send us or Tweet us your towel photos if you wish.   The commemoration started two weeks after Adams died in 2001.   And if you want to know why, read chapter 3 of Hitchhikers, and you will find yourself asking, where's my towel?

Star Wars marks its 35th Anniversary today, so if you walk around in a Darth Vader costume today, it's okay too.

Grammy-winning folk musician Doc Watson is listed in critical condition after falling at his home, making him a top search on Google this morning.   The blind singer and guitarist known as a master of the flatpicking-style of guitar playing is being treated at a hospital in North Carolina.   The 89-year-old Watson has won several Grammys and received the National Medal of the Arts.

Chris Brown has rolled out a steamy trending video called Sweet Love.   The song is from his upcoming album Fortune, due out on July 3.

 

While Warren Buffett is all hot on buying up newspapers, one of the nation's oldest is cutting back.  The (New Orleans) Times Picayune is ending daily publication and plans to offer three printed issues a week starting in the fall.   New Orleans will become the largest metro area in the nation without a daily newspaper.  This is the digital age.

Memorial Day is also trending as we mark the unofficial start of the summer season with beaches and barbeques and fun times, but lest we forget that Memorial Day is about the men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country.  

Army Specialist John Finner, 23, left, of Sikeston, Missouri, and Army Specialist Kevin Wilson, 23, of New York City, soldiers with the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, or "Old Guard," place flags before each grave in preparation for Memorial Day, during the annual "Flags-In" at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., on Thursday, May 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Most Americans today have little direct connection to the military, and so perhaps the holiday should take on even greater meaning.  Less than 1 percent of our population serves in the U.S. military (just a couple of million) compared to the 16 million men and women who wore a uniform during World War II.  Pew Research Center found that only a third of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 have an immediate family member who had served in the military. As Ben Patton writes in a blog post this morning, perhaps the best way to spend this Memorial Day is to try to spend a few minutes with a veteran. "Give him or her a chance to talk. And listen."

You may have seen the photo of President Obama bowing to a 5-year-old boy who is touching the president's hair to see if it feels like his.  The photo has gone viral after appearing in an article by the New York Times. 

(Pete Souza/The White House)

The boy, Jacob Philadelphia, is the son of a former Marine who was leaving the White House staff three years ago and asked for a family photograph with the President.  You can read the full story behind the photo on the Times website.

A viral video out of Mexico shows a reporter appear to be using someone to fake a wind storm by having them kick dirt in the air.   The translation, according to one commenter, the reporter is actually saying the person is kicking the dirt in the air to demonstrate how windy it is.  The video has nearly a million views since this writing.

 

This next video shows a helicopter take off fail.  Fortunately, a major accident was avoided.

 

This viral video tries to answer the question why is yawning contagious?

 

This guy can put a lot of stuff in his hair.

 

Maru, YouTube's most popular cat with 200k subscribers and 150 million views, is celebrating a 5th birthday.

 

And finally, the salsa dancing dog!

 

That's the trend!

Enjoy the holiday weekend,

Bob

 

 

Etan Patz, Dark Knight Posters and Bigfoot DNA

Good morning!

Etan Patz is a hot topic on Twitter this morning after word that police are questioning a man in connecting with the disappearance of the 6-year-old boy in 1979.  

Patz was walking to school in SoHo when he vanished.  He is believed to have been murdered.   NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the individual made statements to detectives implicating himself in the case.   A news conference is expected later today.

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Allen Iverson is the top search on Google, and not because the Sixers won.  Iverson returned to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Wednesday night to present the game ball prior to game 6 against the Boston Celtics.   Iverson left Philly under not so great circumstances, but he didn't need any practice for this performance.   The home crowd gave him a huge ovation.

Phillip Phillips is the new American Idol.   He was so excited, the 21-year-old singer broke into tears while performing his new single, Home.

Actor Jim Parsons is trending after quietly revealing that he is gay and in a committed relationship.   The 39-year-old actor made the revelation deep in an article in the New York Times during a reference to his role in the HIV/AIDS drama The Normal Heart.

Facebook lawsuit, Facebook sued, Facebook stock.   All hot searches as the social media giant faces a wrath of investor anger as the stock is trading 16 percent lower than its IPO valuation of $38 a share.   The issue is whether analysts at the big investment banks cut their earnings forecasts for Facebook just before the IPO, but only told a handful of select clients about it.

RIP Justin Bieber is trending on Twitter this morning.   Like Lady Gaga yesterday, fans say it means Really Inspiring Person.

Researchers in Europe are hoping to solve an age old mystery - whether Bigfoot exists.  Oxford University and Lausanna Museum of Zoology scientists recently sent out a call to museums, others scientists and Yeti fans to share hair samples thought to be from the creature.   New genetic tests will be done on the samples in hopes of determining if the hair belongs to man, ape of other species.  They've apparently received many samples already, and they will be sifting through them over the next few months before deciding which specimens to test.

New posters for the upcoming Batman movies have hit the net.   You can check them out on the French Facebook page for Dark Knight Rises.

A lot of people really, really liked Google's Bob Moog Doodle.   Some liked it so much, they made music videos.  Here are a few:

 

 

 

 

The kids at MIT have reinvented the slow pouring ketchup bottle.

 

They say a rainy wedding means a sunny marriage, but I'm not sure what a tornado wedding might mean.

 

Another Russian dashcam captured another crazy accident.

 

Finally, this corgi is nothing but trouble!

 

That's the trend!

Have a great day,

Bob

 

 

 

 

 

Michael McKean, Facebook Stock and Trololo!

Good morning!

Michael McKean would probably prefer trending for another reason, but he got struck by a car at West 86th Street and Broadway on Tuesday sending searches for the actor skyrocketing.   McKean suffered a broken leg in the accident. 

He's currently starring in the Broadway production of Gore Vidal's Best Man.   He is best known for his role as Lenny on the TV show Laverne & Shirley and for his portrayal of the lead singer in the movie This is Spinal Tap.

Donald Driver is hot after getting a Mirrorball Trophy to go along with his Super Bowl ring.  The Green Bay Packers wide received won this season's Dancing With The Stars competition, topping Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins and actor William Levy.   You can read more about the finals on our Mirrorball blog.

The Great Gatsby is getting a lot of buzz this morning after the release of the trailer for the upcoming movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the aforementioned great one, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway, Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan and Joel Edgerton as hubby, Tom.  The movie based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel will be 3-D, but we don't know if Jay-Z and Kanye West will be doing the 1920s soundtrack even though they are blaring to open the trailer.  Guess this isn't going to be our daddy's Great Gatsby.

 

Facebook stock status update:  It's complicated.  The stock continued to plunge on Tuesday, down another 9 percent to $31 a share.  That was on top of a 10 percent loss on Monday.  Guess no hitting the "like" button for this update.   And it's still no bargain, trading at 85 times earnings - most tech stocks trade around 15 times earnings (even Apple and Google).  

Facebook also faces serious questions about whether it can create an advertising model to reach its massive user base without cratering ad revenue.   And while the user base is humongous, it appears to be an unhappy lot as the news feeds are cluttered and privacy concerns abound.   As one person put it, Facebook is becoming like an old filing cabinet - lots of content that gets looked at less and less, but you don't have the heart to get rid of it.

Olympic track star Lolo Jones' struggles to remain a virgin have become a hot topic on the net.   Jones is featured in an ESPN documentary and an upcoming HBO special.   She discusses her dating difficulties, explaining that she has turned to online dating services and even Twitter to find a prospective boyfriend.  The 29-year-old announced on Twitter earlier this year that she is a virgin.  In the upcoming special, Jones says, "It's just something, a gift that I want to give to my husband.  But please, understand, this journey has been hard.   If there's virgins out there, I'm going to let them know, it's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life - harder than training for the Olympics, harder than graduating from college, has been to stay a virgin before marriage."

Google is paying tribute to Dr. Robert Moog with its audio doodle.  Moog invented the electronic Moog Synthesizer that defined a generation of music, featured in songs by The Beatles, The Doors and Stevie Wonder, among others.  This Doodle is very interactive.  For the next 24 hours, you can use your mouse or keyboard to control the keys and knobs.  Google patched the doodle to a 4-track recorder so you can record, play back and share songs via Google+.  Today would have been Moog's 78th birthday.

RIP Lady Gaga is trending on Twitter.  According to her legions of monsters, it means Really Inspiring Person.

Pastor Charles L. Worley of North Carolina has a viral video in which he calls for the concentration and ultimate death of "queers and homosexuals."  Commenting has been disabled on the video, but a Facebook page has been created where people are voicing their outrage.

 

A young man singing Trololo has gone viral.  Trololo is a distinctive way of singing.  The Russian song is titled I Am Glad, 'Cause I'm Finally Returning Back Home. The original version by an almost forgotten radio star Eduard Khil, known as Mr. Trololo, hit YouTube a few years ago.  Khil's video, uploaded multiple times, have been viewed millions of times.  

 

Original:

 

Finally, a cheerleader fail.

 

That's the trend!

Have a great day,

Bob

 

 

Dharun Ravi, Cory Booker and The Master

 

Why did Dharun Ravi only get 30 days in prison?   That is a question being pondered and debated on social sites this morning.    One of the top tweets comes from @GreggyBennett (Real Housewives fame) who wrote, "Michael Vick got a 23 month sentence for dog fighting. Dharun Ravi gets 30 days, and hasn't said he's sorry once. Pretty gross." While Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman starkly admonished Ravi for his actions revolving around the webcam spying case that ended with the suicide of Tyler Clementi, Berman then handed down a lenient sentence.  

Berman gave us his rationale during the sentencing, pointing to the existing bias laws.  "The legislature was not envisioning this behavior, regardless of how reprehensible," he said.  Berman found that most bias statues across the country were for violent behavior. "That’s what I believe the (New Jersey) Legislature had in mind when they adopted this statute," he said.    And in sentencing Ravi, he stopped short of using the word hate.   Berman said Ravi's actions were "cold, calculated and methodically conceived," but then added "the jury essentially convicted you of lying."   So the sentence has little to do with the bias crime, and more to do with the cover-up that followed. Prosecutors are appealing the sentence, but many legal experts agree that it will be difficult to overturn.

Two countries are among the hot topics on Twitter - Iran and Japan.   Japan's sovereign credit rating was lowered by Fitch because of the country's "leisurely" efforts to tackle the world's biggest public debt burden.   Japan's currency grade fell from AA to A+ with a negative outlook - that means more cuts are possible.   Meanwhile, Iran is buzzing on two fronts.  The U.S. Senate approved tougher sanctions on Iran's oil sector.   The sanctions are aimed at shrinking Iran's oil revenues to force a halt to a nuclear program that the West suspects is being used to build an atomic bomb.   Meanwhile, a report that Russia says the West (at least some western nations) is considering military action against Iran is among the most re-tweeted stories.

While most of us were sleeping, the first commercial rocket bound for the International Space Station blasted into orbit.  SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is packed with 1,000 pounds of provision for the crew of the space station.   Only major governments have done these sorts of missions until now.   Falcon 9 will do some test maneuvers on Thursday before attempting to dock with the space station on Friday.

Cory Booker is still a hot topic today following his comments criticizing the Obama campaign’s assault on Mitt Romney’s job creation record at Bain Capital, which he then back-tracked.   The Romney camp followed up with this "I stand with Cory Booker" email:   “Do you know what Obama does with people who stand up for job creators? He silences them. That’s right. By Sunday evening the Obama campaign had pressured Booker into taking back his support of the free market … Don’t let the White House silence free enterprise! If you agree, then please sign our petition: I STAND WITH CORY BOOKER” And if you missed the email, the landing page for www.GOP.com currently reads: ‘I stand with Cory.’”  Cory Booker responded by saying he and his staff were "fit to be tied" over the email.

What's out is trending in the NBA.   The Lakers are out of the playoffs after losing to Oklahoma City, which now has the unenviable task of taking on San Antonio - a team that may never lose another game (18 straight wins for those not following).   Stan Van Gundy is out as head coach in Orlando after a tumultuous season in which star player Dwight Howard and Van Gundy starred in an off-court drama of finger-pointing and accusations.  The Magic exited from the playoffs in the first round.

A sneak peek at Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master has hit the web.  The film explores the origins of a religion that sounds like Scientology and features a creepy looking Joaquin Phoenix.

 

This viral video shows off what could be the future of computing… Who needs a keyboard and a mouse anymore?

 

Trending on reddit is surveillance video of an unusual robbery.

 

This dashcam video of a police interrogation of a couple of Russian guys caught speeding in Ukraine is too good to be real.  Can't be real.

 

Finally, the cat and the chick.

 

That's the trend!

Have a great day,

Bob

 

Solar Eclipse, Robin Gibb and Call Me Maybe - Aussie version

Good morning!

The sun and the moon aligned for an annular eclipse that dimmed the skies over the western United States and parts of Asia on Sunday.   Eclipses of some type occur almost every year, but an annular, where the moon is circled by what appears to be a ring of fire from the sun, has not happened over the United States since 1994.   The next one is not until 2023.  

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

The "ring of fire" moment lasted about four minutes, but only people positioned along the centerline of the path could see it.  In this case, the best place for viewing was Kanarraville, Utah, where 355 people live south of Salt Lake City.   Thousands, some from as far away as Brazil, gathered there on Sunday to witness this rare spectacle in the sky.

Hundreds of tributes filled Twitter and Facebook with word that another icon of the disco era had passed away.  Robin Gibb, who with brothers Barry and Maurice made the Bee Gees, lost a long fight with cancer at the age of 62.   The Billboard Music Awards paused for a moment of silence as a large black-and-white picture of Gibb was displayed.  

The Bee Gees formed in Australia in the early 60s, but believing their future lie in Europe the three brothers moved to England and had their first number one hit with Massachusetts in 1967.   That same year, Robin survived a train crash with his wife-to- be Molly.   The Hither Green rail accident claimed 50 lives, and Robin believed they survived because they were sitting in first-class.  The 1970s belonged to the Bees Gees, and they exploded in 1975 with the dance hit Jive Talkin'.   That led to an invitation to contribute to the soundtrack for the movie Saturday Night Fever.   That album produced four number one songs for the group: Stayin' Alive, How Deep Is Your Love, Night Fever and More Than A Woman.   The movie and the album helped to launch the disco era, but despite selling 200 million albums, the magic would not last as the disco era quickly faded away in the 1980s.  Barry Gibb is the last surviving brother.   Maurice died in 2003 and younger brother Andy, who was a solo pop star and idol, died at just 30 years old in 1988.   Robin's last musical offering is The Titanic Requiem, a classical work written with his son Robin-John.

The Billboard Music Awards is also a hot topic.   The show is more about the performances than the actual awards.   This year's show seen on ABC featured performances from Katy Perry, Cee Lo Green and Linkin Park along with tributes to Donna Summer, Whitney Houston, the Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch and Steve Wonder.   The closing collaboration between Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys drew widespread praise.

It's National Vegetarian Week in the U.K. and it's a trending topic on Twitter.  International Vegetarian Week is not until October, but you are still invited to join in Britain's meatless celebration.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker became a hot topic after he slammed President Obama's campaign for ads attacking Mitt Romney's work for the private-equity firm Bain Capital.   Booker criticized the attempt to portray Romney as someone who pursued profits by slashing jobs while serving as the company's chief executive.   Realizing the gaffe, Booker later took to YouTube to clarify his remarks and reaffirm his support for the president.

 

A high school teacher in North Carolina is trending on YouTube after she was captured on audio yelling at a student who apparently criticized President Obama.  

 

The most viewed video on YouTube over the weekend - Will Smith slapping a reporter who apparently tried to lock lips with him.

 

In a head-scratching video, a couple is seen putting their young child into a machine at a Laundromat in an apparent attempt to scare him.   Unfortunately, the machine had an auto-lock system and started spinning the child.   The child suffered minor injuries.

 

What may be the most covered song ever, an Aussie version of Call Me Maybe was one of the most viewed videos over the weekend.

 

And finally, what dog doesn't love to sing to the sounds of sirens… this one is pretty good at it.

 

That's the trend!

Have a great day,

Bob

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Facebook IPO, Donna Summer and Opening Beer with a Chainsaw

Good morning!

Facebook reaches its pinnacle moment today as its initial public offering hits the market, and there's no topic hotter on the net right now.  

(AP Photo/Nasdaq via Facebook, Zef Nikolla)

Instead of a hashtag, $FB is the trending topic on Twitter as billions of dollars will be invested in the largest tech IPO and the third largest overall in history.   The $38 initial offering is for institutional investors, which means average Joes like you and me have no chance of investing at that price level.    Most analysts believe Facebook is overvalued, trading at 100 times earnings… so if you do buy today, chances are you will have paid way too much.   Facebook is also facing questions about revenue growth, so even if FB closes high today, it could drop in value and even sell below the IPO price in the future as happened with other tech companies.   One thing is certain… Mark Zuckerberg and the other Facebook founders will be rich beyond anyone's wildest imaginations today.   And even many employees will become millionaires.  Makes you wonder if Facebook will be able to keep those workers who will have, in essence, hit the lottery.

Warren Buffett is not buying Facebook, but the Oracle of Omaha did buy 63 newspapers from Media General.  Huh?   I thought newspapers were yesterday's news.  Buffett paid $142-million for Media General's whole portfolio of newspapers, except for the Tampa Tribune.  The deal sent Media General's stock soaring, as the company can now focus on its broadcast television and digital businesses.   As to why Buffett made the deal, he said, "In towns and cities where there is a strong sense of community, there is no more important institution than the local paper."

We've lost some incredibly talented cultural icons this year.   The latest is Donna Summer, whose incredible voice resulted in five Grammy awards.  

The Queen of Disco started singing in Boston churches as a child.   And before she became a Disco icon, she sang on stage in a German production of Hair and later joined the Viennese Folk Opera.   But it is disco music where Summer made her mark, first in Europe with the album Lady of the Night and then with the hit song Love To Love You Baby in the U.S.   She was the first artist to produce three Number 1 double albums with Live And More in 1978, Bad Girls in 1979 and Donna Summer Greatest Hits/On The Radio in the 1980s.   Summer's professional persona was balanced by a deeply religious personal life.  She was a born-again Christian and recorded songs such as I Believe In Jesus after disco faded in the 1980s.    Her career spanned five decades with her 17th studio album Crayons released in 2008.   Her single To Paris With Love reached Number 1 on the Billboard Dance charts in 2010.

Whitney Houston's pastor Marvin Winans is trending after getting carjacked in Detroit.  Three or four young men approached him shortly after he pulled into the station on Wednesday afternoon.  At some point, they distracted him, pulled Winans to the ground and started kicking him.   The carjackers made off with a $15,000 Rolex, an iPhone, a briefcase, a wallet containing $200 and his 2012 Infiniti QX56.   Police later found the vehicle and arrested two suspects.   Winans was banged up in the attack, including suffering a fractured finger.

A San Francisco High School ball player pulls off a walk off steal in this viral video.

 

Jessica and her dad, comedian Mike Hanley, surprise the Bat Mitzvah crowd during the Father Daughter Dance.

 

Don't try this one at home… opening a bottle of beer with a chainsaw!

 

Here's a scary video out of Bogota where a bicycle racer wore a helmet cam for a downhill race.

 

Here's another scary one, especially if you are afraid of heights.  This is called Bridge on the Russian island.

 

And finally, why you should never leave your dog alone in the car….

 

That's the trend!

Have a great weekend,

Bob

 

 

Deb Fischer, Solar Eclipse and All You Can Eat Fish

 

Who is Deb Fischer and why is she trending?  The people of Nebraska know because the little known state senate won the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate.   Fischer spent a fraction of her opponents, beat two established party candidates and a Tea Party favorite.

(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Her opponents spent millions on the campaign, but Fischer ran about $100,000 and got a late infusion of cash from a super PAC run by Chicago Cubs co-owner Joe Ricketts.   Just goes to show that money doesn't necessarily translate into victory on election day.   Fischer will be a heavy favorite in the general election, largely due to the state's large Republican base.

Speaking of politics, "Obama Clinton beef" is trending.   It's not something new on the menu of a chain restaurant (although it may end up there).   Turns out, presumptive Republican nominee for President Mitt Romney is naming dropping Bill Clinton.    "Almost a generation ago, Bill Clinton announced the era of big governor was over…  President Obama tucked away the Clinton doctrine in his large drawer of discarded ideas, along with transparency and bipartisanship," Romney said at an event Iowa.  "It's enough to make you wonder if maybe it was a personal beef with the Clintons."  The Obama campaign responded that Romney's speech was heavy on "dishonest claims about President Obama's record."

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Newark Mayor Corey Booker have teamed up to make a viral video channeling Seinfeld and Newman.

 

If you are headed west this weekend, you will be able to catch a partial eclipse.  The sun will not vanish completely, but will remain as a ring around the moon, which is called an annual eclipse.   Those of us on the east coast will miss out on this event, but thanks to the Internet you will probably still be able to get a safe view.  If you are headed west, check out Space.com for the best places and times, and how to safely watch. (Warning: Never look directly at the sun, either with the naked eye or through telescopes or binoculars without the proper filters. Doing so could result in permanent and serious eye damage, including blindness.)

A Wisconsin man has become a popular topic on Yahoo! after he got cut off during an all-you-can-eat fish fry.   Bill Wisth must really love fish because he downed a dozen pieces of fish at Chuck's Place when the restaurant employees said they were running out.   Well, the 6-foot-6 inch tall, 350 pound man was a bit ticked, because he wanted more fish.  Workers gave him 8 more pieces of fish to go, but that wasn't enough so he called the police.   When that failed to put any more fish on the table, he left and did what any good American would do.  He went home, made a picket sign and came back to protest.  False advertising, he says.  Wisth plans to protest every Sunday until, he says, the restaurant recognizes its mistake.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Tim Duncan is a hot topic after scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the Spurs rout of the Los Angeles Clippers in game 1 of the NBA Western Conference semifinal series.   The Spurs had been off for eight days, while the Clippers were playing their sixth game in 11 days.

The Duke Blue Devils are setting the stage for another potential championship run after highly regarded power forward Amile Jefferson of Philadelphia Friends Central announced that he would sign a letter of intent to play for the university next season.

The Preakness is beginning to trend ahead of Saturday's second leg of the Triple Crown.   I'll Have Another will be trying to follow-up a closing victory in the Kentucky Derby, but this race is shorter Bodemeister is expected to be the morning-line favorite.

Baseball highlight of the day from YouTube features not a great play, but a great call by the umpire.

 

Filming for a fishing show got a little more adventurous than usual when a 40 pound barracuda jumped into the boat!

 

The latest cover of Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe comes from the SMU women's rowing team.  

 

A prank video created by teachers at Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School in Worcester, Massachusetts has gone viral!

 

And finally, want to learn how to dougie?   Watch this bird.

 

That's the trend! 

Everybody dance!

Bob

Bachelorette, Rihanna Photos and Crashing a Lamborghini

Good morning!

The Bachelorette premiere is a hot search item this morning.  In a change of pace for the show, this season features a single mom in search of true love. 

The show opened with Emily and her 6-year-old girl Ricki at a park, riding the swings and feeding the geese.   "My ultimate goal in all of this is to meet somebody that I could marry and have children with and that could be that father figure in Ricki's life," Emily explained.   Well, she has a stable full of men at Casa Bachelorette including one who rode in using a skateboard and hanging on to the back of a limo.   And one actually used the pick-up line, "I'm a high school biology teacher, but I'm here to have chemistry with you."   With lines like that, no wonder reality TV is so popular.

Dancing With The Stars is also buzzing after Katherine Jenkins, a frequent leaderboard leader, suffered a back injury on the dance floor that could spell trouble for her chances at becoming the Dancing Queen.  

The opera star had scored a 29 on her first routine when she took the floor for the salsa.  She looked uncomfortable for most of it, and then just as partner Mark Ballas supported her neck during a deep drop, she was unable to support herself any longer and the dance came to a sudden and shocking end.   Jenkins later took to Twitter to explain that she suffered a "reflectorical spasm" in her lower back.   Only three couples will remain after tonight's results show.  They will meet in next week's finals.

Also on the reality TV front, Swamp People cast member Mitchell Guist has died.   He fell aboard his boat on the Intracoastal Waterway in Louisiana.   No word on how Guist fell or the official cause of death.  He would have turned 49 on Friday.

The list of most popular baby names came out on Monday.   Sophia and Jacob topped the list, BUT the fastest rising names on the list deserve a little attention…  Briella is the fastest rising baby girl name, jumping 394 spots to No. 497.   Briella Calafiore stars in Jerseylicious, a reality TV show about a beauty salon in Green Brook, N.J.   What was I saying about reality TV being so popular?   Oh, and the fastest rising boy name is Brantley, jumping 416 spots to No. 320.  Brantly Gilbert is not a reality TV star (yet), but he did have a No. 1 country hit called Country Must Be Country Wide.

Rihanna apparently likes to show off her body.   She took to Facebook to share intimate behind the scenes photos of the making of her new music video, Where Have You Been.   The 24-year-old singer bares her breasts in the photos - and I thought nudity was banned on Facebook.  

(From Rihanna's Facebook fan page)

The photos have gone viral, and it’s not the first time Rihanna has gone naked viral.  Earlier this year, Rihanna shared photos and videos from a Hawaiian vacation where she flung off her bikini top before diving into the ocean.

An 8-year-old blind autistic boy has a viral video.  It shows Jacob enjoying some acoustic guitar by a musician in Lawrence, Kansas.  That's all there is to it, but the video is getting a lot of views.

 

Owning a $225,000 Lamborghini Gallardo is probably a really cool thing.  Racing through a turn on Chicago suburb street with it is not.

 

This 5-year-old might have a future as a thief.

 

This 3-year-old might have a future as a drummer.

 

And finally, why you should never drink and sit on a window awning.

 

That's the trend!

Enjoy your Tuesday,

Bob

 

 

 

 

 

 

Necrotizing fasciitis, Jamie Dimon and 60,000 dominoes

 

Necrotizing fasciitis, the rare flesh-eating infection, is once again the hot topic getting searched this morning after word that 24-year-old Georgia grad student Aimee Copeland will now likely lose her fingers.  Copeland has already lost her left leg and my still lose her other foot.  

Copeland was riding a homemade zip line near the Little Tallapoosa River when the line snapped.   Her left calf cut open in the fall.   Doctors at a nearby hospital cleaned and closed the wound, but the bacteria burrowed deep into the wound.   They say the bacteria rarely caused flesh-eating disease, but this case is a perfect storm of factors. Her family says she is coherent, but it's not clear if she remembers the accident and she does not know about the loss of her limb.  

I watched Margin Call over the weekend and could not help but think of the unfolding situation at JP Morgan Chase.  Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren is now calling for CEO Jamie Dimon to resign from his post on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York after a stinging $2-billion loss in the first quarter on bad trading.   Dimon admits the botched strategy was "sloppy" and "stupid."   It may lead to the resignations of three Chase executives.  The timing is also bad for Dimon, who has led the charge against the Dodd-Frank act to regulate the banks, pointing to Chase as a creditable example of a bank that successfully navigated the financial crisis.   Senior Democrats are already repeating their calls for stricter regulations.   For his part, Dimon should survive.   Chase still made $4-billion during the quarter.

Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg is trending on Twitter on his 28th birthday.   He's spending the day in Chicago and Denver as he continues his tour to drum up the Facebook IPO on Friday.  The IPO could value Facebook at nearly $100 billion.  Now that's some birthday present.

Don't read this paragraph if you are planning to watch Desperate Housewives on DVR.   The series signed off for good last night with ghosts of former residents looking on as Susan rode off Wisteria Lane and into the sunset and a new life.   The final season plot line finished as Bree's trial ended with Karen McCluskey, dying of lung cancer, taking the wrap for the murder of Gaby's father.   While Susan drove off to begin a new life with her son, Lynette followed her dreams to New York, Bree marries her lawyer and becomes a politician, and Gaby becomes a star on the Home Shopping Network.   In the meantime, the woman who bought Susan's house has a secret hidden away in a jewelry box… I suppose we will never know what that might be.

Bass player and songwriter Donald "Duck" Dunn is being remembered after dying in his sleep while touring in Tokyo.   Dunn was best known as a member of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame band Booker T. and the MGs.   He also found fames as a member of the Blues Brothers band.   Dunn was 70.

The New York Mets were not the only team left scratching their heads after a 9th inning collapse.   Joey Votto left the Washington Nationals feeling like deer in headlights with a 9th inning grand glam home run to lift the Red to a 9-6 victory.   The home run was also Votto's third of the game.

And Andy Pettitte makes the trend after he made his much-anticipated return to the Yankees.   He lost to Seattle, giving up a pair of two-run homes, but he pitched into the 7th inning and manager Joe Girardi thought he pitched well.   Pettitte, 39, had not started a game since game 3 of the AL Championship series against Texas on October 18, 2010.

Hot videos over the weekend include the Harvard baseball team doing the latest cover of Call Me Maybe.

 

Videos about mom are also a hot hit on YouTube.    This one is by a mom about her blind baby boy.

 

President Barack Obama had a viral video with his Mother's Day wishes for all the moms.

 

And Republican candidate Mitt Romney had his own viral video with his kids celebrating their mom.

 

What can you do with 60,000 dominoes?  Watch….

 

That's the trend!

Have a great Monday,

Bob