March 29, 2005
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Rehab Recap
Friday March 25, 2005 1:00PM PT
Most folks lead lives of quiet desperation. Those in show business, however, lead lives of much-needed rehabilitation. Several celebs have wisely checked themselves in to rehab for substance abuse problems and we weren’t at all surprised to see searches surge.
Whitney Houston
First up is the man who’s so into you — Pat O’Brien. The mustachioed anchor of The Insider has taken a leave of absence from a job where he reports the kind of gossip that may now be his downfall. Searches on the randy celeb watcher are up 86%, but even more dramatic are spikes on “Pat O’Brien voicemails” (+246%). Those with staunch stomachs and X-rated eardrums are dying to hear what qualifies as wooing in Pat’s world. Just wink if you’re into it.
Next is Whitney Houston. The fallen diva is back in rehab just one year after her last stint. Searches on the “so emotional” songstress jumped 52% on the news. Fellow singer Billy Joel is also taking a sabbatical of sorts. The piano man went down the river of dreams and came ashore at a treatment center. Searches on the beloved big shot rose accordingly.
Also in rehab, albeit of a different kind, is Barry Bonds (+198%). The slugger declared he may be out for the season while his bum knee undergoes physical rehabilitation. Bonds also managed to put the “mental” back in temperamental when he angrily accused reporters of making his son cry. His knee should take about six months to heal — as for his hurt feelings, who knows the timeframe.
Finally, when rehab just doesn’t take, there is another, less-appealing, option. Tom Sizemore, star of Saving Private Ryan and without whom we never would have heard of the whizzinator, was sentenced to 17 months in the pokey for drug violations. Searches on the talented but obviously troubled actor shot into the thousands on the bad news.
Eye on Iraq
Friday March 25, 2005 4:00AM PT
The two-year anniversary of America’s military involvement in Iraq marked a somber milestone. When the war began, searches on Iraq and the Saddam regime were all over the buzz. Who can forget the Web popularity of the befuddled Iraqi Information Minister?
Jessica Lynch
While the beginning weeks of war have faded into memory, the brave men and women of the armed forces still have an influence on buzz. “Faces of the Fallen” (+118%), an exhibit at Arlington National Cemetery featuring portraits of soldiers killed in action, struck an emotional chord with searchers. Queries on one of the most famous faces of the Iraq War, former POW Jessica Lynch, were up 1,376% as she honored the second anniversary of the death of her friend and fellow soldier Lori Piestewa.
Searches on Iraq have come off their highs of a couple of years ago, but the country still resides in our top 1,000 search terms. Saddam Hussein used to be one of our top search terms overall — but nowadays, the captured former leader of Iraq barely cracks the buzz. Although queries on the deposed ruler trended up 14% over the last week, his obscurity on the buzz is a direct result of his tangled legal status.
Top Iraq searches over the last week…
