TheTrend

Colbert's Super PAC, Reba McEntire (not dead) and Seinfeld

 

Stephen Colbert might not really be running for president, but as of this morning Colbert's political action committee has raised more than $1 million.  The super PAC officially now called Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow raised money to fund things like a commercial that equated Mitt Romney with a serial killer, which aired in South Carolina.  Colbert created the super PAC to point out loopholes in the campaign financing system.

Reba McEntire has NOT fallen to her death while climbing a mountain, but she is the latest victim of a celebrity death hoax.  The rumor began with a single posting on a web page:

Actress Reba Mcentire died while filming a movie in Kitzbühel, Austria early this morning – January 30, 2012

Preliminary reports from Austrian Police officials indicate that the actress fell more than 100 feet to her death in a remote area of the Hahnenkamm mountains while on-set during the filming of a movie. Specific details are not yet available.

The accident occurred at approximately 4:30 a.m. (UTC/GMT +12).

Additional details and information will be forthcoming.

The site has a disclaimer at the bottom - about this web site. FAKE… THIS STORY IS 100% FAKE! this is an entertainment website, and this is a totally fake article based on zero truth and is a complete work of fiction for entertainment purposes! this story was dynamically generated using a generic ‘template’ and is not factual. But who reads the fine print.

Not long after the posting, Reba McEntire became the top search on Google and her Facebook page was flooded with comments from distraught fans, all because of a hoax.

The most popular story on Yahoo! is about an overweight Los Angeles man who was shocked to see himself on a billboard in New York City with his leg removed.   Cleo Berry, 27, did a photo shoot a few years ago and the photos were sold to a stock image company.   The New York City Department of Health purchased the photo and digitally removed Cleo's leg for an anti-diabetes campaign.  Cleo was paid and signed a waived, so use of the photo and alterations were allowed.  The City says the bigger issue is fighting diabetes, but not to Cleo, who says he always wanted to have his photo all over the Big Apple, but not like this.  So he is vowing his revenge, offering his services at a reduced rate to soda companies who want to use his unaltered photo.

A cool app floating around Facebook turns your Timeline (assuming you have made the switch) into a movie.   You can't download it, but you can pick the pictures and you can share it on Facebook. 

Go here to make your movie: http://www.timelinemoviemaker.com/

It's National Meat Week.  This celebration of meat is credited to Chris Cantey and Erni Walker, two bored co-workers in Tallahassee, Florida who were playing a random word generator on Chris' website in 2005.  The generator produced the combination "meat week" and the two men decided "meat week" would be a holiday in which barbeque would be eaten every night of that week, starting on the last Sunday in January.  Today, there are meat week chapters all around the country, including in New York City, where events are planned all week.

Blake Griffin's dunk over Kendrick Perkins is being labeled the dunk of the year on Twitter and YouTube.  Judge for yourself!

 

Wild video out of Australia where a burning parked truck started rolling backward into a busy roadway before firefighters had a chance to put out the fire.

 

Another Super Bowl commercial is trending before the big game.  This one features Seinfeld and the Soup Nazi!

 

Finally, check out this vet's office where the dog delivers the receipts!

 

That's the trend!

Have a great day,

Bob

 

 

 

Fake flying people freak out New Yorkers

Three RC planes shaped like humans were flown around New York City to create the illusion of people flying recently.  Why?  To freak us out?  At least one published report says the fake flying men are the work of viral marketing agency Thinkmodo for 20th Century Fox, which has a new movie called Chronicle coming out on Friday.  The science fiction tells the story of three high school friends who suddenly gain superpowers.   The video of the event is going viral on YouTube.

 

 

Matthew Broderick's Day Off

 

Matthew Broderick teased us last week on YouTube where he appeared to be playing Ferris Bueller, the character from his famous flick "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and raising speculation that a sequel might be in the works.   Turns out, it's a Honda commercial.... the extended version released today on YouTube.

 

 

SAG Awards, Brandon Marshall and RIP Matt

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards are trending as many are looking for insight into potential Oscar winners next month.   The big surprise - The Help earned the trophy for overall cast performance.  Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer won best actress and supporting actress honors for their roles in the movie.  Jean Dujardin was named best actor for the silent film "The Artist" and Christopher Plummer took the supporting-actor award for the father-son tale "Beginners."   The wins boost the actors' prospects for the same honors at the Feb. 26 Academy Awards.  You can check out the full list at OTRC.com.

 

The trend on the red carpet, there were many shades of pale as Los Angeles Times fashion critic Booth Moore pointed out: "Octavia Spencer's opal gray Tadashi Shoji gown, Kristen Wiig's buttery yellow Balenciaga halter gown and Julianna Margulies' dove gray, floral-embroidered Calvin Klein dress."  Actress Kyra Sedgwick (AP Photo above) caught some attention when she showed up wearing a Pucci dress with cutouts revealing the 46-year-old stars new tattoo.  She begged off questions about it, what she eats and how she exercises.  "I'm an actor," she said.

Sam Champion responded to a web report that speculated that he could be a contestant on Dancing With The Stars.   "HUH? Dancing With the Stars??" Champion posted on Facebook.  The contestants will be revealed for the new season on Good Morning America on February 28th.

(AP Photo/Eugene Tanner)

Brandon Marshall auditioned for a new quarterback with a record-smashing performance at the Pro Bowl on Sunday.   The Dolphins wide receiver caught six passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns.  Nevermind that everyone else was running at half speed in the AFC's thumping of the NFC 59-41.

RIP Matt is trending on Twitter.  One of his friends tweeted me that Matt was 16, from Chicago and committed suicide because he was bullied.   He apparently was harassed because he was a fan of Austin Mahone and Justin Bieber, among other things, she told me.  Bullying is a serious problem, as we have become more aware in the past couple of years.   Please visit http://www.stopbullying.gov/ or http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ to learn more about what you can do if you are bullied or someone you know is bullied or has suicidal thoughts.

Lost in the Romney-Gingrich war of words in Florida, Rep. Allen West fired off the line of the weekend that drew sharp condemnations from Democrats on Twitter.   Speaking to a Lincoln Day Dinner in West Palm Beach for the Palm Beach County GOP, Rep. West told the crowd, "We need to let President Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, (audience boos) and my dear friend the chairman of the Democrat National Committee, we need to let them know that Florida ain't on the table. Take your message of equality of achievement, take your message of economic dependency, take your message of enslaving the entrepreneurial will and spirit of the American people somewhere else. You can take it to Europe, you can take it to the bottom of the sea, you can take it to the North Pole, but get the hell out of the United States of America."  So much for a diverse America.

Rick Santorum left the campaign trail over the weekend because his daughter became seriously ill.   She has Trisomy 18, a genetic disorder that kills about 90 percent of children before or during birth.  Those who survive suffer serious symptoms such as clenched hands, low weight, mental deficiency, small head and jaw and an unusual-shaped chest, according to the National Institutes of Health.   Very few survive to their teenaged years.  Bella Santorum is only 3.

Heath Frisby's snowmobile front flip at the X-Games caused a spike in rising searches on YouTube Sunday night.  It was the first snowmobile Front Flip in competition EVER!

 

A second related video is also trending.  It shows the back story of how Frisby trained to do this stunt.

 

Liam Neeson is trending on YouTube after an appearance on BBC’s Graham Norton Show last week.  He recorded an outgoing voicemail message for a woman in the audience who is supposedly his first fan.

 

Finally, two trending pet videos…. First, a cat trying to kill a door.

 

And lastly, a bulldog determined to sit in a small box.

 

That's the trend!

Have a great day,

Bob

 

 

 

Welcome Back Kotter, Taco Breakfast and a letter to Kyle Williams

 

Welcome Back Kotter star Robert Hegyes, who played Jewish Puerto Rican Juan Luis Pedro Phillipo de Huevos Epstein, is being remembered this morning by fans and co-stars alike.   Hegyes suffered an apparent heart attack at died at his home in Metuchen, New Jersey.  He was 60. 

Hegyes was best known for his role on the 1970s sit-com in which he performed alongside John Travolta as one of the tough students better known as Sweathogs.  Hegyes wrote on his website that he modeled Epstein after Chico Marx.   He was a big fan of the Marx Brothers and even played Chico in a national touring production of A Night With Groucho.   "They were immigrant Jews, and I was an immigrant Italian. Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Gummo, and Zeppo were intellectuals," he wrote. "They all played the piano and took music lessons, and they were all juvenile delinquents; I could definitely relate."

RIP Cher is trending on Twitter.  Cher is still alive.

Taco Bell has rolled out a breakfast menu at almost 800 restaurants, mostly out west.  The breakfast menu includes burritos stuffed with eggs and either sausage, bacon or steak; sausage and egg wraps; hash browns; hot or iced coffee; and orange juice.

Why in the world is Taco Bell getting into the breakfast business?  Because virtually all of the fast food industry's growth has come from breakfast and snacks over the last five years, according to the NPD Group.  If the rollout goes well in the west, we could see Taco Bell breakfasts around these parts by 2014.

Here's my reaction to seeing Finally Friday is hot on Twitter this morning.  

 

´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶……..
´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´¶¶´´´´´´´´´´¶¶……
´´´´´´¶¶¶¶¶´´´´´´´¶¶´´´´´´´´´´´´´´¶¶……….
´´´´´¶´´´´´¶´´´´¶¶´´´´´¶¶´´´´¶¶´´´´´¶¶…………..
´´´´´¶´´´´´¶´´´¶¶´´´´´´¶¶´´´´¶¶´´´´´´´¶¶…..
´´´´´¶´´´´¶´´¶¶´´´´´´´´¶¶´´´´¶¶´´´´´´´´¶¶…..
´´´´´´¶´´´¶´´´¶´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´¶¶….
´´´´¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´¶¶….
´´´¶´´´´´´´´´´´´¶´¶¶´´´´´´´´´´´´´¶¶´´´´´¶¶….
´´¶¶´´´´´´´´´´´´¶´´¶¶´´´´´´´´´´´´¶¶´´´´´¶¶….
´¶¶´´´¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶´´´´¶¶´´´´´´´´¶¶´´´´´´´¶¶…
´¶´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´¶´´´´´¶¶¶¶¶¶¶´´´´´´´´´¶¶….
´¶¶´´´´´´´´´´´´´´¶´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´¶¶…..
´´¶´´´¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´¶¶….
´´¶¶´´´´´´´´´´´¶´´¶¶´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´¶¶….
´´´¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶´´´´´¶¶´´´´´´´´´´´´¶¶…..
´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´´¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶…….

Who knew Pat Sajak and Vanna White were such party animals.  Sajak admitted he used to enjoy a few margaritas during breaks from taping of Wheel of Fortune during an interview on ESPN 2.  Bad in the day, Fortune had lots of cheesy prizes that needed to be rolled into the studio in between shows.   A process, Sajak said, that would take a couple of hours.  So he and Vanna would head across the street to Los Arcos Mexican restaurant, which served 'great margaritas,' according to Mr Sajak.  "Vanna and I would go across and have two or three or six. Then come and do the last shows and have trouble recognizing the alphabet" Guess the Wheel wasn't the only thing the spinning back in those days!

  

That gives me an idea for the future of political debates.   After each round of questioning, the candidates will have to down a margarita.   Let's see how well they stay on the script then.

The GOP candidates met in their final debate before Florida's primary next Tuesday.   The moon shined brightly over the debate as Mitt Romney shot down Newt Gingrich's proposals for a moon colony, accusing Gingrich of pandering for votes in a state where a lot of jobs have been lost because the space program has declined.   Gingrich fired back, "I do not want to be the country that having gotten to the moon first, turned around, said, it doesn't really matter, let the Chinese dominate space, what do we care? I think that is a path of national decline and I am for America being a great country, not a country in decline."  That drew cheers from the audience, but the pundits say Romney won the debate on points.  Should be an interesting vote on Tuesday.

ESPN has a trending video on YouTube of an incredible catch by a ball boy at the Australian Open.

 

Funny or Die has a hot video…  6 people, 1 dog on a motorcycle.

6 Person & 1 Dog Motorcycle - watch more funny videos

  

 

A Bollywood performance on a Finnair flight to Dehli has quickly become a most-viewed video in India and among the most popular globally.

  

Ladies and gentleman, a future professional golfer…

  

This Super Bowl teaser has a lot of people speculating…

  

Win or lose on Super Bowl Sunday, here's something for Giants and Patriots fans to remember.  After Kyle Williams fumbled twice at key moments in the 49ers loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship, his Twitter account was slammed with all sorts of nastiness, even death threats.   The saying goes, you don't know what you have until it's gone, and while that can often result in an angry reaction, a 7-year-old boy is reminding everyone to appreciate that you had it at all.  Ben Mankiewicz at The Huffington Post shared a letter written to Williams by his friend's little boy named Owen.  Owen, like many 49ers fans, was quite sad after the game and, according to Mankiewicz, mumbled to his dad "But... why... did he... have to... fumble?"  His dad turned the question around and asked his son "how sad do you think Kyle Williams is?"  Owen stopped crying and decided to write a letter (it's unedited):

Dear Mr. Williams:

We just watched the Playoff game. I feel really bad for you but I wanted to tell you that you had a great season. you sould be very proud, so I wanted to say thank you.

I am your #1 FAN!

Owen Shure
Los Angeles, CA

p.s. your awsome

 

That's the trend!

 

Have a great weekend,

 

Bob

 

 

 

 

Viral photos, nitrous oxide and videos that make you ask why

Good morning!

A picture can say a thousand words, they say, and this picture pretty likely sums up the story of the relationship between President Obama and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer.

They had an intense, finger-waving encounter on the tarmac of a Phoenix airport that's sparked sensation online. Brewer told a reporter that the two were discussing a section in her political memoir, "Scorpions for Breakfast," in which Brewer depicted Obama as "patronizing" during an earlier meeting at The White House.    The President was apparently disturbed by this description. Brewer said Obama told her "that he didn't feel I had treated him cordially."   At one point, Brewer waved her finger at the President, and of course that's the picture has gone viral.   Wonder if she'll get another invite to the White House anytime soon?

Another picture making the trend come from Rihanna, who tweeted a photo showing off some new permanent body art that is sure to raise more than a few eyebrows. 

It's a new tattoo with the inscription‘Thug Life’ across her knuckles - inspired by the California rapper Tupac Shakur.   To Tupac, who died after being shot four times in 1996 at the age of 25, “Thug Life had a deeper meaning than most people realize.  It is the opposite of someone having all he needs to succeed. Thug life is having nothing and overcoming all obstacles to succeed.

Miley Cyrus is buzzing after she gave her boyfriend, Liam Hemsworth, a phallic cake for his birthday.  Sorry, this is a family blog so no pictures here.  You can find them easily enough on your own.  Hemsworth is about to become famous because he plays Gale in "The Hunger Games."

Nitrous oxide is a popular topic after reports say that's what landed Demi Moore in the hospital. According to the reports, Moore was doing "whip-its" -- a type of nitrous oxide inhalant -- when she lapsed into semi-consciousness.  "Whip-its" are mostly used by much younger people who are looking for a cheap thrill, and as this example shows a cheap thrill can have a costly consequence.

One for the Money is the new Katherine Heigl movie due out tomorrow.  Heigl not only stars in the film, but she bought the rights to the popular Janet Evanovich novels about a lingerie seller turned bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum.   The first movie is three years in the making.   Heigl, 33, hopes to make at least a couple of films out of the books. There are 18 of them in the series.

A bizarre and mysterious skin condition known as Morgellons disease is still a mystery after four years of study.  Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found no sign of an infectious agent, parasite or environmental exposure that could explain it.  People with the condition complain of crawling, itching and stinging sensations and they often see tiny fibers or filaments that poke out of sores on their skin.  While the study could not pinpoint a cause, roughly half of the people in the study had illnesses and most were psychiatric in nature.  Doctors have long suspected the condition was psychiatric rather than infectious.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal met for a record-tying tenth time in a Grand Slam event this morning, creating a trending topic on Twitter.  Nadal beat Federer 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in an Australian Open semifinal.   The longtime rivals played with the intensity they normally display when they meet in Grand Slam finals.

A trending video, first uploaded on January 16, shows an unusual accident in Kikla in northwestern Libya.   A marquee tent being caught by the downdraft from what appears to be a CH-47 Chinook helicopter is blown end over end, scattering a crowd of people.

 

Hold on to your hats… This is what happened when the winds hit 90+ mph in Palm Springs a few days ago.

 

I often find myself asking why when looking at some of these videos.   In this one, a man invented a human hamster wheel.

 

A group of Canadians have sent a man into space, and not just any man.  Lego Man.  Why?  We can only wonder.

 

Finally, Syracuse University student Sam Morrison has a viral video after he did 365 backflips in 2011.  Why would he do this? Morrison bet his dad $100 that he could do a backflip a day for one year, and he captured most of those flips on camera.

  

 

That's the trend!

Have a great day,

Bob

 

 

 

 

 

 

Painting the night sky

When the largest solar storm on the sun since 2005 sent a cloud of charged particles that crossed paths with Earth a couple of nights ago, it created a spectacular display in the northern skies (also known as aurora borealis).  Several videos have shown up on YouTube that captured how brilliant the night sky looked, painted by a rainbow of colors.

This time-lapse video was filmed in Fairbanks, Alaska on January 22.

 

This video was uploaded to the Finland-registered YouTube channel twmteazR on January 24.

 

The next couple come from Norway.

 

 

And finally, the view from out of this world!

 

Dog on leash trapped between elevator doors

As seen on Good Morning America today, a distracted dog walker and his distracted client were briefly separated in a heart stopping ordeal.

 

It happened in an elevator at a New York apartment building.  No further information about the location or the dog walker was made available, but the poster writes that the dog was okay.

 

Spilled milk, Ochocinco and not Australia Day

Good morning!

The State of the Union has never been more social.  From President Obama's entrance into the House chamber through Rep. Mitch Daniel's Republican response, more than 750,000 Tweets that specifically mentioned the State of the Union went out.  

 

That’s the most ever for a State of the Union address, although far from a record.  The peak came during the President's "spilled milk" joke when more than 14,000 tweets per minute went out.

So what were people tweeting?   Well, President Obama (his staff) sent out parts of the speech in tweets during the speech and members of Congress (their staffs most likely) accounted for 548 tweets during the speech, according to Twitter.

Meanwhile, people weighed in from all corners of the big top. 

@osanchezbenitez  Interesting #SOTU. #Obama is right on the tax code issue and the #Buffet rule. That's 1 of the things in which I don't agree w/ republicans

@Montag15  #SOTU translated: Rich people have too much money. Iran is fine. Government is the answer to all problems. @CRNC @FreeRepublicUSA

@TheGubernator  Equal opportunity is achieved through hard work and good decisions, not a free ride. Life is not fair. Get it right #SOTU

@J_Dubb_Squirrel  Republican Party should be real scared now, how do any of the idiots they have vying for the candidacy stand-up against that #SOTU? #NoShot

Hammad @hammadsarfraz  #Politics I guess is all about staying in office - That is pretty much it. #SOTU #Obama

@KimJongNumberUn Disappointing. When the President's enemy with the orange face looked sleepy I was sure he had been poisoned. #SOTU

@bradcundiff  Dear America: please make this the last time we have to listen to this President insult our work ethic and our heritage #sotu

@saraboyarsky Obama should have finished with "Go Giants!" would probably have gotten a bigger applause. #sotu

The most entertaining tweeter was Chad Ochocinco, the New England Patriots wide receiver who apparently has better things to do than prepare for a Super Bowl.   Here's a sampling:

"Anybody notice the guy over Obamas left shoulder (House Speaker Boehner) doesn't seem very happy and he's not smiling. He's not clapping with joy."

"@SpeakerBoehner Just read some of your tweets and you seem pretty angry kind sir. I can see you on tv but you're not smiling. Hope you're ok."

"Speech is awesome but how did he (President Obama) manage to memorize so much material?"

Just before the State of the Union, Navy SEALs parachuted into Somalia under cover of darkness, crept up to an outdoor camp where an American woman and Danish man were being held hostage, and freed them and killed nine kidnappers.   The President made no mention of the raid during his speech, but could be seen saying "Leon. Good job tonight" to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta as he entered the chamber.  Now we know why.   As word came out overnight, Navy SEALs became a trending topic on Twitter.

Demi Moore is trending after she ended up in the hospital overnight.  A spokesperson says she is seeking professional help to treat her exhaustion and improve her health.    She's been under a lot of stress since the collapse of her marriage to Ashton Kutcher following news of alleged infidelity.  Kutcher and Moore used to share their affection on Twitter, but her account @mrskutcher has been abandoned since January 7th.

And tweets of Happy Australia Day are abound on Twitter this morning.  Only trouble is Australia Day is tomorrow, January 26.

From YouTube, artist Red Hong paints a portrait of Yao Ming with a basketball… not a painting of him holding a basketball… she actually paints with the basketball.

 

Another viral video shows a driver speeding down the median of I-81 in Pennsylvania.   Looks like a crazy driver, BUT one of the comments says the driver is a 61 year old woman having a diabetic medical emergency, probably brought on by severe hypoglycemia.

 

Another military video out of China might have you scratching your head.  This one shows a bunch of soldiers tossing around a live grenade just before it explodes.

 

Meanwhile, from Slovakia, some young hockey players were practicing when the roof of the rink came crashing down under the weight of heavy snow.  (You can view this one on LiveLeak.com)

Another popular video is a commercial in which two young men end up on Megan Fox Island after a plane crash, but it doesn't go quite as planned.

 

Finally, the incredible acting dog. 

 

That's the trend!

Have a great day,

Bob

 

Why are people Pinterest-ing?

They say a picture speaks a thousand words, more than you could ever pack into a tweet or a status update. Maybe that's why another site driven entirely by images is growing in popularity.  It's called Pinterest.com.

 

Beth Silverberg is a designer by trade, visual by nature.

"I come across an image on a style blog, and I want to capture it, and remember it. I'm always going back and referring to lookbooks that I store," Silverberg said.

And that penchant for imagery is one reason social media site Pinterest caught her eye.  

"Pinterest has allowed me to connect with friends through more of an artistic side, versus just what's going on in our lives," she said.

Pinterest launched in 2010, but only recently exploded in traffic and online buzz.   The premise is similar to the old cork board. Users create virtual collections of stuff they like by uploading "pins," various images from around the web. 

Like Twitter, there are "followers." Like Facebook, users can "like" images or re-pin someone else's item on their own board.  Unlike other social networking sites, it's more about curating content, than creating. And what users see, than say.

"There's an opportunity to collaborate about different ideas, and different concepts too. There may be a stickiness there that might be a little bit different," Ari Zoldan said. 

Piterest has become particularly popular among women, ideal for wedding planning, or sharing fashion and design ideas. Right now Pinterest is invitation only, but users can request an invite, or get one from a friend who's already "pinned" one down.