The Buzz Log What’s hot on Yahoo! Buzz™ (and why)...

Our crack team of editors takes a closer look at the hottest trends on Yahoo! Buzz.

  • Casey Kasem, from a 2003 photo

    Casey Kasem, from a 2003 photo

    Casey Kasem's Shaggy and His Dog Tale

    by Vera H-C Chan

    Jul 7, 2009

    The name of Casey Kasem—who retires after 39 years of counting down the hits—is synonymous with Top 40. Voiceover fans though already honor him as Norville Rogers, AKA Shaggy, AKA Scooby Doo's best pal and best buddy.

    Time magazine's Fast Facts salute to Kasem buries that one about halfway, along with the trivia that the vegetarian announcer briefly abandoned Shaggy rather than do a Burger King spot. Back in 2004, Slate pointed out that the jockey has been speaking Shaggy's lines longer than counting down the Top 40.

    IMDB has more trivia than you can ever need about Shaggy, like the fact that the goateed, ravenous teen was based on a character played by Maynard Krebs from the TV show called "The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis." The actor who played Krebs later took on a role about a sailor named Gilligan. So if there's ever a "Gilligan's Island" remake, Kasem might have a shot. Zoiks!  

    • 1 Vote

  • The Most Memorable Moments from the Michael Jackson Memorial

    by Mike Krumboltz

    Jul 7, 2009

    Below are several of the most memorable moments from Michael Jackson's memorial...

    Magic Johnson's humorous story about how he was shocked to discover that a huge star like Michael Jackson enjoyed Kentucky Fried Chicken gave fans an insider's glimpse into an unknowable icon.

    Brooke Shields, a very good friend of Jackson's, shared some of her favorite memories. Ms. Shields choked up a bit at the end of her speech, giving a voice to many in the audience and at home who must have felt the same way.

    The Reverend Al Sharpton credited Jackson with demolishing racial barriers. Sharpton also called on fans to not focus on the scars of Jackson's career, but to focus on the journey. To Jackson's kids he said: "There wasn't nothing strange about your daddy."

    You wouldn't have expected a 12-year-old from the UK to make a huge impression at the memorial service, but Shaheen Jafargholi's performance of Jackson's "Who's Loving You" inspired a racoucus round of applause.

    Jennifer Hudson is no stranger to tragedy. Perhaps that's why her performance of "Will You Be There" came across as one of the memorial's most special moments.

    Michael's brother Jermaine Jackson performed MJ's favorite song: "Smile." The lyrics were especially poignant: "Smile, what's the use of crying/You'll find that life is still worthwhile/If you just smile."

    Perhaps the most touching moment came at the very end of the memorial when Michael's daughter, Paris, expressed her love for her late father.

    • 52 Votes
  • Michael Jackson

    Michael Jackson "Thriller" CDs

    A Jackson Playlist, from the Web

    by Vera H-C Chan

    Jul 7, 2009

    The Michael Jackson memorial has been a mix of his own songs as well as serenades from people like Stevie Wonder "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer."

    Well before the Staples Center gathering, however, people have been creating their own tribute playlist by seeking their favorites online. Jackson's most popular creation has been "Thriller," which stands for his album, song, video, and the artist at his pinnacle.

     Other defining tunes and videos spiking in Yahoo! searches:

    For more on the Jackson memorial, follow the Yahoo! News live blog.

    • 19 Votes
  • Amanda Knox: Murder Suspect and Birthday Girl

    Amanda Knox: Murder Suspect and Birthday Girl

    Amanda Knox, Cheap Trick, District 9: What's the Buzz

    by Claudine Zap

    Jul 7, 2009

    Our top picks from the day's hottest searches.

    1. Amanda Knox (Searches increased by 13,843%). The former study-abroad student, on trial in Italy for murder, spent a second birthday in jail.
    2. Cheap Trick (+284%). Taking its name to heart, the band put out its latest album on old-school eight track.
    3. Al Franken (+285%). No joke: The ex-comedian is now a congressman.
    4. Solar eclipse (+263%). In Sri Lanka on July 22, there will be a partial solar eclipse. A total eclipse will be seen from a number of countries on the same day.
    5. District 9 (+144%). The latest movie produced by Peter Jackson about an alien invasion isn't out for another month. But a video that warns of the aliens on earth has gone viral.
    • 6 Votes
  • Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh Promises More Funding

    Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh Promises More Funding

    Western Adventures in Education for Iraqis

    by Vera H-C Chan

    Jul 7, 2009

    Iraq may be trading up, from Western military support to educational opportunities. According to Inside Higher Ed blog, an Iraqi government program plans to fund 10,000 annual scholarships for its citizens to study at American and British universities.

    The Iraqi Parliament has set aside $54 million (about half of what Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki requested, but still not bad) to launch the program, set to run for five years. A Washington academic group is helping the government out with the logistics, and the first round will be chosen by the end of July.

    Iraq has been on an educational spending spree: It recently promised to double Fulbright Student Scolarship offerings. Not everyone (including American scholars) loves the idea of money going to Western universities, rather than back into the Iraqi infrastructure. As for worries about even a bigger "brain drain" from Iraq, the Higher Committee on Educational Development requires students every year of their scholarship with a year of working in their native country, or pay everything back.

    To most involved with the effort, though, this educational (and cultural) exchange can do nothing but good. Right now, about 225,000 American undergraduates are getting up to scholarly speed in the Middle East.

    As one Valparaiso University employee puts it, "The exchange of international students promotes mutual understanding around the world, which leads to more peaceful relationships regionally." First lessons though: How to deal with Western red tape.

    • 7 Votes