by Vera H-C Chan Imagine a rack that holds only one magazine, but the issue magically updates every month. Or every time you pick up the newspaper, the news has changed. That future is kind-of-but-not-quite-here with Esquire's 5th anniversary edition and its E-Ink digital display cover . Well, it's not the entire cover, and tecchies have sniffed at the unveiling. Portfolio describes the unit as " only a little bigger than a credit card, and about as flexible.

by Mike Krumboltz Hollywood isn't known for its originality, but every once in a while the wizards of Tinseltown make an inspired casting decision. In the past we've been surprised by Heath Ledger as the Joker and Robert Downey Jr . as Ironman. Now, we raise our eyebrows )in a good way( at the thought of Will Smith playing Captain America .

by Claudine Zap For the mom-to-be who has everything, consider " pregnant belly art ," a growing trend in Search. You can get your favorite pregnant person a belly casting kit . These days, not only are women proudly pregnant, they can immortalize the whole process in a cool, crafty way. Simply slather on plaster. Wait to dry. Remove cast. Decorate. Done. The combination of amusement, pregnancy, and art sounds a little odd, but before you judge,

by Molly McCall It's always nice to see a little Latin tossed into the online mix. Thanks to growing scrutiny of Sarah Palin 's "per diem" travel expenses as governor, the two-word term has enjoyed an unexpected rush of popularity in Search. So what does " per diem " mean? The American Heritage dictionary defines it simply as "an allowance for daily expenses." Within this context, AP says ,

by Vera H-C Chan Signed by President Richard Nixon in 1973, the Endangered Species Act has recently been pitting man against man )more specifically, Republican against Democrat ( over significant proposed changes . An alarm cry by environmentalists and scientists )as well as kids under 13 likely doing homework assignments( has renewed searches for " endangered species ." Requests for a " list of endangered animals " focus on the struggling breeds. While the U.S.

by Vera H-C Chan John McCain 's campaign manager called the presidential election more about character than about issues, butâ€"as the earlier delegates situation showedâ€"the 2008 contest has always been a numbers game. CNN reports that McCain has passed  Barack Obama in several national surveys. However, the Democratic candidate may still hold ground in numbers that really get a person into the Oval Office: electoral college votes ... but more on this later.

by Claudine Zap The NFL season is officially underway, but not all the kicks are coming from the field. Over the weekend, " cheerleaders " high stepped their way to a 79,000% spike in Search. Get out your pom poms. Feeling sidelined?  Maxim wants you to vote for your favorite cheerleader on each team. According to USA Today , the competition will culminate with a cheer-off for top spot. If you have a TV and an opinion, you can play along. Don't just ogle. Go vote.

by Mike Krumboltz One small step for man. One giant leap for the double helix. Stephen Colbert , a man whose steely gravitas has turned his Comedy Central talk show into a runaway hit, has launched a sample of his own DNA into outer space. Really. News of the event stirred the buzz into a fine froth. Apparently, Colbert's DNA will be digitized and transported to the International Space Station. There,

by Claudine Zap The new "it" accessory for fall could be cool-weather practical as well as stylish. We're talking the hat, which may be restored from mere head-covering to the status of fashion statement. Searches for fanciful " hats " and practical " caps " have been off the hook the last 30 days. Brand Loyalty Coming off an online surge in demand for " olympic hats ," political pride might explain the recent 9,600% spike for " usa baseball hats ." Are you on team Obama ?

by Claudine Zap With apologies to John McCain , even the presidential nominee's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last night couldn't still the buzz around his vice, Sarah Palin . Palin's prominence has breathed new life into some of the grande dames of movements past in Search. ' Back to the future. The anti-feminist, pro-life leader Phyllis Schlafly ,

by Vera H-C Chan A film so dangerous, even most critics can't see it. Well, that's not exactly the motivation in letting Nicolas Cage 's latest showcase nearly slip by unseen, but the "eh" reaction is hardly a prepossessing start to the fall movie season. Web anticipation is completely lackluster, as searches for " Bangkok Dangerous " weakly aims, but fails, to crack the top 10,000 this week. )Among the limited releases,

by Molly McCall The appearance of the entire McCain clan on the stage at the Republican National Convention last night electrified the Web. Before the evening was over, a massive number of people had turned to their computers to seek more on " mccain children ," " mccain family ," and " john mccain family pictures ." Many people asked "how many children does john mccain have?" The answer is seven , but it's a little confusing.

by Vera H-C Chan Amateur athletes and professional politicians have taken up a chunk of summer, but as fall draws nigh, people are figuring out how to maximize leisure, work, and holiday time for the rest of 2008. Many have been consulting different "schedules" on the Web. Not surprisingly, college and professional sports dominated searches in the past 7 days, as the following top 20 )non-convention-related( list reveals: 1. NFL Schedule   11.

by Claudine Zap Gimme some sugar . Those pink packets of artificial sweetener are causing some concern in Search. Diet soda drinkers probably consume more of it than anyone else, and the Search is on for the " dangers of aspartame " )+193%(. The sweet stuff has been linked to health risks, although no major study has found a conclusive link, according to WebMD . Baring all . We're not sure how this didn't make Search sooner, but the site GoTopLess.org is up 313%.

by Molly McCall Last night, Sarah Palin stepped up to the microphone and let loose a rip-roaring speech that thrilled the Republican convention and )dare we say it( impressed the media. The Alaska governor also clearly excited watchers at homeâ€"a huge number of people seemed to leap for their laptops as soon as the talk ended. Here's a rundown of the parts of the speech that sparked the most buzz online.

by Molly McCall ' Clouds are forming . But in a good way. Searches for the somewhat obscure " noctilucent clouds " were up 180% on news that the blue formations were visible from the International Space Station at the edge of Earth's atmosphere. ' But dinner won't make itself . So how about some " healthy zucchini recipes " )+162%( for your table tonight? The summer squash is in season right now and even the pickiest of eaters will find the tasty veggie hard to resist.

by Molly McCall Gustav was only the beginning. According to the guys that know, this is going to be one humdinger of a storm season. In an article climbing the Buzz charts, AppScout recommends following the coming gale-force winds with Stormpulse , "a sleek and attractive interactive map" that offers "a wealth of information about not just active tropical storms, but historical ones as well." Follow current outbursts in real time, browse through satellite images ,

by Vera H-C Chan Vice presidential picks aside, the most important vetting process has begun in earnest: With about 60 days left until the presidential election, more citizens are turning to the Web to investigate " obama vs mccain on issues " )+200%(. Or, if you prefer, " mccain vs obama on issues " )+1,001%( Naturally, not all subjects carry equal weight among voters. During the past week, people have looked into various issues, among them the environment , women's issues ,

by Claudine Zap Superstar couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie recently became the proud parents of twins. And People magazine became the proud publication that got to release the very first photos of them. Business has been brisk. As noted on Trendhunter , "With 2.6 million sold copies, the issue with the Jolie-Pitt twins pictures is the magazine's best seller in over 7 years." While People magazine may be seeing dollars, we're seeing buzz.

by Mike Krumboltz On Tuesday night, Joseph Lieberman , a man who ran with Al Gore against George W. Bush in the 2000 election, endorsed Senator John McCain at the Republican National Convention . This very public switching of teams has many wondering how the Democratic Party will respond. During his speech, Senator Lieberman stated that Barack Obama doesn't have the experience it takes to be commander in chief. "Eloquence," Lieberman said, "is no substitute for a record.