Jimmy Buffett, who was hospitalized Wednesday after falling off the stage at the end of a concert in Sydney, Australia, is out of the hospital and "doing well."

"As you probably already know, Jimmy had an accident while performing in Sydney last night and was taken to the hospital," read the original message posted early Wednesday, Pacific time, on the singer's website. "The doctors say he is doing well and will be released tomorrow. More info as we get it, and thank you for all of your well-wishes!"

The site was just updated with the news that Buffett had been released (as this post is published, it's late Thursday morning in Sydney).

Buffett, 64, walked off the front of the stage and fell face first Wednesday night after an encore performance of "Lovely Cruise."

He was reportedly bleeding and unconscious for about 10 minutes, with security and staff at his side until paramedics arrived, said the Sydney Morning Herald, which had video of the fall and the announcement afterward saying the show was over. Results of a CAT scan were normal, TMZ said.

Buffett had performed Sunday and Monday to sold-out crowds at Sydney's Opera House before moving Wednesday to the Hordern Pavilion for a show tacked on in response to demand.

As a commenter noted on the Ministry's earlier post about the "Margaritaville" singer's fall, "Maybe he blew out a flip-flop." Now that we know he's doing well, that's a pretty funny line.

Jimmy Buffett, who was hospitalized Wednesday after falling off the stage at the end of a concert in Sydney, Australia, is out of the hospital and "doing well."

"As you probably already know, Jimmy had an accident while performing in Sydney last night and was taken to the hospital," read the original message posted early Wednesday, Pacific time, on the singer's website. "The doctors say he is doing well and will be released tomorrow. More info as we get it, and thank you for all of your well-wishes!"

The site was just updated with the news that Buffett had been released (as this post is published, it's late Thursday morning in Sydney).

Buffett, 64, walked off the front of the stage and fell face first Wednesday night after an encore performance of "Lovely Cruise."

He was reportedly bleeding and unconscious for about 10 minutes, with security and staff at his side until paramedics arrived, said the Sydney Morning Herald, which had video of the fall and the announcement afterward saying the show was over. Results of a CAT scan were normal, TMZ said.

Buffett had performed Sunday and Monday to sold-out crowds at Sydney's Opera House before moving Wednesday to the Hordern Pavilion for a show tacked on in response to demand.

As a commenter noted on the Ministry's earlier post about the "Margaritaville" singer's fall, "Maybe he blew out a flip-flop." Now that we know he's doing well, that's a pretty funny line.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, Congress’ only self-declared socialist and an impassioned speaker, is drawing to the end of a filibuster-style oration against the tax cut deal reached this week between President Barack Obama and Republican leaders.

His white hair disheveled, his face on occasion reddening, Mr. Sanders has been speaking since 10:20 a.m., railing against the deal as a morally and economically disastrous gift to the wealthy. He’s expected to speak until 6 p.m.
“These crybabies, these multi-millionaires and multi-billionaires, these people who are making out like bandits, they are crying and crying and crying,” Mr. Sanders thundered at one point. “But the effective tax rates for the top 400 income-earners was cut almost in half from 1992 to 2007.”

At another point he said, “There is a limit as to how many homes you can have and how many limousines you can have and how many yachts you can have…It is not only a moral issue, it is also an economic issue.”

Mr. Sanders, a Vermont Democrat and former mayor of Burlington, has a medallion of American socialist Eugene Debs in his office. His suits are often rumpled, and he can come off as brusque. His focus on what he sees as economic justice is singular.

Earlier this year, Mr. Sanders teamed up with Rep. Ron Paul (R., Texas), a libertarian conservative, in a partly successful attempt to get the Federal Reserve to open up some of its records to public scrutiny.

His speechifying today is not technically a filibuster, in the sense that it’s not aimed at eliminating or even postponing a Senate vote. But the Senate has a long tradition of impassioned figures speaking at great length, sometimes overnight, often in an attempt to prevent a vote.

In 1935, Sen. Huey Long (D., La.), the colorful populist nicknamed “the Kingfish,” spoke for 15 hours against a bill he thought would give jobs to his political opponents. Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina gave what is still the longest speech in Senate history, 24 hours and 18 minutes, against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

In recent years, the entire procedure has become far more polite. A bill’s opponents simply let the majority leader they intend to block it, and he either moves on or schedules a “cloture” vote in an attempt to get 60 votes to circumvent the filibuster.

With filibuster threats multiplying, some senators want to force anyone who plans to filibuster to do it the old-fashioned way—talking on the floor around the clock, prompting the Senate to roll out cots at night for bleary-eyed members.

“You can call what I am doing today whatever you want,” Mr. Sanders said in a statement on his web site. “You can call it a filibuster, you can call it a very long speech. I’m not here to set any great records or to make a spectacle. I am simply here today to take as long as I can to explain to the American people the fact that we have got to do a lot better than this agreement provides.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, Congress’ only self-declared socialist and an impassioned speaker, is drawing to the end of a filibuster-style oration against the tax cut deal reached this week between President Barack Obama and Republican leaders.

His white hair disheveled, his face on occasion reddening, Mr. Sanders has been speaking since 10:20 a.m., railing against the deal as a morally and economically disastrous gift to the wealthy. He’s expected to speak until 6 p.m.
“These crybabies, these multi-millionaires and multi-billionaires, these people who are making out like bandits, they are crying and crying and crying,” Mr. Sanders thundered at one point. “But the effective tax rates for the top 400 income-earners was cut almost in half from 1992 to 2007.”

At another point he said, “There is a limit as to how many homes you can have and how many limousines you can have and how many yachts you can have…It is not only a moral issue, it is also an economic issue.”

Mr. Sanders, a Vermont Democrat and former mayor of Burlington, has a medallion of American socialist Eugene Debs in his office. His suits are often rumpled, and he can come off as brusque. His focus on what he sees as economic justice is singular.

Earlier this year, Mr. Sanders teamed up with Rep. Ron Paul (R., Texas), a libertarian conservative, in a partly successful attempt to get the Federal Reserve to open up some of its records to public scrutiny.

His speechifying today is not technically a filibuster, in the sense that it’s not aimed at eliminating or even postponing a Senate vote. But the Senate has a long tradition of impassioned figures speaking at great length, sometimes overnight, often in an attempt to prevent a vote.

In 1935, Sen. Huey Long (D., La.), the colorful populist nicknamed “the Kingfish,” spoke for 15 hours against a bill he thought would give jobs to his political opponents. Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina gave what is still the longest speech in Senate history, 24 hours and 18 minutes, against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

In recent years, the entire procedure has become far more polite. A bill’s opponents simply let the majority leader they intend to block it, and he either moves on or schedules a “cloture” vote in an attempt to get 60 votes to circumvent the filibuster.

With filibuster threats multiplying, some senators want to force anyone who plans to filibuster to do it the old-fashioned way—talking on the floor around the clock, prompting the Senate to roll out cots at night for bleary-eyed members.

“You can call what I am doing today whatever you want,” Mr. Sanders said in a statement on his web site. “You can call it a filibuster, you can call it a very long speech. I’m not here to set any great records or to make a spectacle. I am simply here today to take as long as I can to explain to the American people the fact that we have got to do a lot better than this agreement provides.”

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has won the release of an American citizen from a North Korea prison. Boston native Aijalon Gomes had been teaching in South Korea when he crossed illegally into the North and was imprisoned in January.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has won the release of an American citizen from a North Korea prison. Boston native Aijalon Gomes had been teaching in South Korea when he crossed illegally into the North and was imprisoned in January.

SEOUL, South Korea — Former President Jimmy Carter arrived in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Wednesday on a mission to win the release of an American held prisoner in the North, its state-run media reported. Analysts in Seoul said Mr. Carter, on his second trip to Pyongyang, would also try to help break an impasse in relations between the United States and North Korea.

Mr. Carter was greeted at Pyongyang airport by Kim Kye-gwan, a senior North Korean diplomat, according to the North’s official news agency, KCNA. Mr. Kim is North Korea’s main envoy to the six-nation talks on ending its nuclear weapons program. The talks have been stalled for more than two years.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported earlier that Mr. Carter, 85, was traveling with his wife on a private jet.

Officially, Washington described his trip as a private humanitarian mission to secure the release of Aijalon Mahli Gomes, an American from Boston who was sentenced in April to eight years of hard labor and fined $700,000 for illegally entering the North. But Mr. Carter’s trip loomed large because of his track record of helping defuse the first Korean nuclear crisis more than 16 years ago.

In 1994, Mr. Carter visited Pyongyang and met with President Kim Il-sung, the late father of the current leader, Kim Jong-il. His trip helped restart nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang, which led to a disarmament deal later that year. He also brokered a summit meeting between the two Koreas that ultimately did not happen because Kim Il-sung died of heart failure later that year.

Mr. Carter is the second former American president to visit Pyongyang in a year. Analysts said the North’s government would use his visit to elevate the status of Kim Jong-il in domestic propaganda and to reach out to Washington for bilateral talks. Last August, Bill Clinton met Mr. Kim there and returned with two United States journalists who had been held for five months for illegally entering the country.

Mr. Carter’s trip came after a further chill in the frosty ties between Washington and Pyongyang. In recent months, tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula have grown as the United States and South Korea accused North Korea of torpedoing a South Korean warship in March. The sinking of the ship, the Cheonan, claimed the lives of 46 South Korean sailors.

The two allies pushed for financial penalties against the North and conducted joint military drills in a show of solidarity. The North denied involvement in the sinking and vowed to retaliate against what it called “warmongering” by Washington and Seoul.

When Mr. Gomes entered North Korea in January, it gave Pyongyang a negotiating chip. Last month, North Korea said he tried to kill himself out of “frustration with the U.S. government’s failure to free him.”

Mr. Gomes, 30, is believed to have entered North Korea to show support for Robert Park, a fellow Christian from the United States who crossed into North Korea from China last December to call attention to the dismal conditions at the North’s prison camps. Mr. Park was expelled from North Korea after about 40 days.

Kim Sung-han, a North Korea expert at Korea University in Seoul, noted that Kim Jong-il sent his top nuclear negotiator to receive Mr. Carter.

“I don’t think Mr. Carter’s trip will lead to an immediate resumption of six-party talks,” Mr. Kim said. “But President Carter will probe the North Koreans’ thoughts, and the North Koreans will probe Mr. Carter’s ideas on how to restart diplomacy with Washington.”

Mr. Carter has been a contentious figure among South Korean conservatives. While in office, he irked them by drastically reducing the number of United States troops based in South Korea. Like his 1994 visit, his latest trip to Pyongyang raised concern in Seoul.

“Carter is idealistic, not realistic when it comes to North Korea,” said Hong Kwan-hee, head of the Institute for Security Strategy in Seoul. “North Korea always has tried to use prominent Americans, preferably Democrats, as a medium to engage the United States and drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington.”

“At home, they tell their people that the former U.S. president came to pay respect to their general,” Mr. Hong said.

North Korea has recently expressed willingness to return to six-party talks in a move Seoul believed was aimed at deflecting international pressure resulting from the sinking of the Cheonan. China, the North’s main ally, also began moving to reconvene the talks.

Both Washington and Seoul insist that they would not resume six-nation talks until they are convinced that North Korea was ready to give up its nuclear weapons. They accused North Korea of having used the talks to fend off international sanctions and win aid.

Mr. Carter’s 1994 trip came at the height of crisis triggered by North Korea’s nuclear program. It paved the way for a deal later that year in which North Korea pledged to give up its nuclear program in return for aid. But it eventually fell apart around 2002 as Washington accused the North of running a secret uranium enrichment program, touching off a new nuclear standoff.

SEOUL, South Korea — Former President Jimmy Carter arrived in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Wednesday on a mission to win the release of an American held prisoner in the North, its state-run media reported. Analysts in Seoul said Mr. Carter, on his second trip to Pyongyang, would also try to help break an impasse in relations between the United States and North Korea.

Mr. Carter was greeted at Pyongyang airport by Kim Kye-gwan, a senior North Korean diplomat, according to the North’s official news agency, KCNA. Mr. Kim is North Korea’s main envoy to the six-nation talks on ending its nuclear weapons program. The talks have been stalled for more than two years.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported earlier that Mr. Carter, 85, was traveling with his wife on a private jet.

Officially, Washington described his trip as a private humanitarian mission to secure the release of Aijalon Mahli Gomes, an American from Boston who was sentenced in April to eight years of hard labor and fined $700,000 for illegally entering the North. But Mr. Carter’s trip loomed large because of his track record of helping defuse the first Korean nuclear crisis more than 16 years ago.

In 1994, Mr. Carter visited Pyongyang and met with President Kim Il-sung, the late father of the current leader, Kim Jong-il. His trip helped restart nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang, which led to a disarmament deal later that year. He also brokered a summit meeting between the two Koreas that ultimately did not happen because Kim Il-sung died of heart failure later that year.

Mr. Carter is the second former American president to visit Pyongyang in a year. Analysts said the North’s government would use his visit to elevate the status of Kim Jong-il in domestic propaganda and to reach out to Washington for bilateral talks. Last August, Bill Clinton met Mr. Kim there and returned with two United States journalists who had been held for five months for illegally entering the country.

Mr. Carter’s trip came after a further chill in the frosty ties between Washington and Pyongyang. In recent months, tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula have grown as the United States and South Korea accused North Korea of torpedoing a South Korean warship in March. The sinking of the ship, the Cheonan, claimed the lives of 46 South Korean sailors.

The two allies pushed for financial penalties against the North and conducted joint military drills in a show of solidarity. The North denied involvement in the sinking and vowed to retaliate against what it called “warmongering” by Washington and Seoul.

When Mr. Gomes entered North Korea in January, it gave Pyongyang a negotiating chip. Last month, North Korea said he tried to kill himself out of “frustration with the U.S. government’s failure to free him.”

Mr. Gomes, 30, is believed to have entered North Korea to show support for Robert Park, a fellow Christian from the United States who crossed into North Korea from China last December to call attention to the dismal conditions at the North’s prison camps. Mr. Park was expelled from North Korea after about 40 days.

Kim Sung-han, a North Korea expert at Korea University in Seoul, noted that Kim Jong-il sent his top nuclear negotiator to receive Mr. Carter.

“I don’t think Mr. Carter’s trip will lead to an immediate resumption of six-party talks,” Mr. Kim said. “But President Carter will probe the North Koreans’ thoughts, and the North Koreans will probe Mr. Carter’s ideas on how to restart diplomacy with Washington.”

Mr. Carter has been a contentious figure among South Korean conservatives. While in office, he irked them by drastically reducing the number of United States troops based in South Korea. Like his 1994 visit, his latest trip to Pyongyang raised concern in Seoul.

“Carter is idealistic, not realistic when it comes to North Korea,” said Hong Kwan-hee, head of the Institute for Security Strategy in Seoul. “North Korea always has tried to use prominent Americans, preferably Democrats, as a medium to engage the United States and drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington.”

“At home, they tell their people that the former U.S. president came to pay respect to their general,” Mr. Hong said.

North Korea has recently expressed willingness to return to six-party talks in a move Seoul believed was aimed at deflecting international pressure resulting from the sinking of the Cheonan. China, the North’s main ally, also began moving to reconvene the talks.

Both Washington and Seoul insist that they would not resume six-nation talks until they are convinced that North Korea was ready to give up its nuclear weapons. They accused North Korea of having used the talks to fend off international sanctions and win aid.

Mr. Carter’s 1994 trip came at the height of crisis triggered by North Korea’s nuclear program. It paved the way for a deal later that year in which North Korea pledged to give up its nuclear program in return for aid. But it eventually fell apart around 2002 as Washington accused the North of running a secret uranium enrichment program, touching off a new nuclear standoff.

Jimmy Dean, country music singer and sausage king, has died at the age of 81 in his Virginia home. Dean had one smash hit in 1961 with "Big Bad John," a song about a quiet, working-class miner who saves his colleagues in a cave-in but is himself lost. It won Dean a Grammy.

Dean was also on various television programs in the '50s and '60s, including "The Jimmy Dean Show," which started on CBS and then moved to ABC from 1963 to 1966. In 1969, he started the Jimmy Dean Meat Co. in his hometown, though the company was sold to Sara Lee Corp. in 1984, which famously dropped Dean as its spokesperson in 2003.


Besides wife Donna Meade Dean, Dean is survived by three children and two grandchildren. Arrangements have not be made for the funeral, but it will be a private service, Meade tells the Associated Press.

And just because it's a song we happen to like quite a bit, here are the lyrics for "Big Bad John." RIP, Jimmy Dean.

Every mornin' at the mine you could see him arrive
He stood six foot six and weighed 2-45
Kinda broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip
And everybody knew you didn't give no lip to Big John

(Big John Big John) Big Bad John (Big John)

Nobody seemed to know where John called home
Just drifted into town and stayed all alone
He didn't say much he kinda quiet and shy
And if you spoke at all you just said hi to Big John

Somebody said he came from New Orleans
Where he got in a fight over a Cajun Queen
And a crashin' blow from a huge right hand
Sent a Louisiana fellow to the Promised Land, Big John

(Big John Big John) Big Bad John (Big John)

Then came the day at the bottom of the mine
When a timber cracked and men started cryin'
Miners were prayin' and hearts beat fast
And everybody thought that they'd breath their last 'cept John

Through the dust and the smoke of this man-made hell
Walked a giant of a man that the miners knew well
Grabbed a saggin' timber and gave out with a groan
And like a giant oak tree he just stood there alone, Big John

(Big John Big John) Big Bad John (Big John)

And with all of his strength he have a mighty shove
Then a miner yelled out there's a light up above
And twenty men scrambled from a would be grave
Now there's only one left down there to save, Big John

With jacks and timbers they started back down
Then came that rumble way down in the ground
And the smoke and gas belched out of the mine
Everybody knew it way the end of the line for Big John

(Big John Big John) Big Bad John (Big John)

Now they never reopened that worthless pit
They just placed a marbled stand in front of it
These few words're written on that stand
At the bottom of this mine lies a big big man -- Big John

Jimmy Dean, country music singer and sausage king, has died at the age of 81 in his Virginia home. Dean had one smash hit in 1961 with "Big Bad John," a song about a quiet, working-class miner who saves his colleagues in a cave-in but is himself lost. It won Dean a Grammy.

Dean was also on various television programs in the '50s and '60s, including "The Jimmy Dean Show," which started on CBS and then moved to ABC from 1963 to 1966. In 1969, he started the Jimmy Dean Meat Co. in his hometown, though the company was sold to Sara Lee Corp. in 1984, which famously dropped Dean as its spokesperson in 2003.


Besides wife Donna Meade Dean, Dean is survived by three children and two grandchildren. Arrangements have not be made for the funeral, but it will be a private service, Meade tells the Associated Press.

And just because it's a song we happen to like quite a bit, here are the lyrics for "Big Bad John." RIP, Jimmy Dean.

Every mornin' at the mine you could see him arrive
He stood six foot six and weighed 2-45
Kinda broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip
And everybody knew you didn't give no lip to Big John

(Big John Big John) Big Bad John (Big John)

Nobody seemed to know where John called home
Just drifted into town and stayed all alone
He didn't say much he kinda quiet and shy
And if you spoke at all you just said hi to Big John

Somebody said he came from New Orleans
Where he got in a fight over a Cajun Queen
And a crashin' blow from a huge right hand
Sent a Louisiana fellow to the Promised Land, Big John

(Big John Big John) Big Bad John (Big John)

Then came the day at the bottom of the mine
When a timber cracked and men started cryin'
Miners were prayin' and hearts beat fast
And everybody thought that they'd breath their last 'cept John

Through the dust and the smoke of this man-made hell
Walked a giant of a man that the miners knew well
Grabbed a saggin' timber and gave out with a groan
And like a giant oak tree he just stood there alone, Big John

(Big John Big John) Big Bad John (Big John)

And with all of his strength he have a mighty shove
Then a miner yelled out there's a light up above
And twenty men scrambled from a would be grave
Now there's only one left down there to save, Big John

With jacks and timbers they started back down
Then came that rumble way down in the ground
And the smoke and gas belched out of the mine
Everybody knew it way the end of the line for Big John

(Big John Big John) Big Bad John (Big John)

Now they never reopened that worthless pit
They just placed a marbled stand in front of it
These few words're written on that stand
At the bottom of this mine lies a big big man -- Big John

Most Valuable Player Jimmy Rollins has been scratched from the games tonight because of a problem with a strain in his calf. Even though Rollins is just thirty one years old, he has been a bit dangerous with a bat. That is talking about being dangerous to the other teams.


Rollins has the distinguished pleasure to have forty four walks last season. That is from 725 times of being at the plate. He apparently has gained some prowess at that same plate, and states that he is not being thrown many strikes.
Rollins is a shortstop for the Phillies and has been scoring 100 runs in five out of six past seasons. This news about his strained calf is unfortunate, but welcomed by the competing teams. He was replaced by Juan Castro. His injury was sustained while warming up. He was running in the outfield when the strain happened, just before the game.
The ability to draw walks is not uncommon for those batters who start to have a strong career. He is batting .391 this season and has a .516 on-base percentage. This particular player goes by the nickname “J-Roll”. He will be getting a MRI done on his ailing calf and will be out of the games for an undisclosed amount of time.

Most Valuable Player Jimmy Rollins has been scratched from the games tonight because of a problem with a strain in his calf. Even though Rollins is just thirty one years old, he has been a bit dangerous with a bat. That is talking about being dangerous to the other teams.


Rollins has the distinguished pleasure to have forty four walks last season. That is from 725 times of being at the plate. He apparently has gained some prowess at that same plate, and states that he is not being thrown many strikes.
Rollins is a shortstop for the Phillies and has been scoring 100 runs in five out of six past seasons. This news about his strained calf is unfortunate, but welcomed by the competing teams. He was replaced by Juan Castro. His injury was sustained while warming up. He was running in the outfield when the strain happened, just before the game.
The ability to draw walks is not uncommon for those batters who start to have a strong career. He is batting .391 this season and has a .516 on-base percentage. This particular player goes by the nickname “J-Roll”. He will be getting a MRI done on his ailing calf and will be out of the games for an undisclosed amount of time.

Your day according to Google: It is going to be a rock and roll day for sure: seven of the top 10 hot searches this morning are related to the death of drummer Jimmy Sullivan, "the Rev" of rock for heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. Never heard of A7X? Think Iron Maiden meets Guns N Roses during Slayer's set at OzzFest. No solid news yet on the cause of the 28-year-old's death.

And if those few opening lines of today's Cup O' Google don't have you already clicking over to iTunes to look up some kick ass rock of yore, consider this nugget: Van Morrison, at age 64, became a daddy for the third time when his wife GiGi gave birth yesterday to George Ivan Morrison III.

The remainder of the top ten searches were no less alarming - Erik Gates of TV's Mythbusters show fell through a skylight on a rooftop and plunged 30 feet to his death, and the Food and Drug Administration recalled Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplets with the EZ Open Cap (100 count) after some consumers complained of a musty, moldy smell and reported nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea. For the full list of recalled lot numbers, click here.

Flipping to the second page of the top 20, things seem no less bleak. Any list with the words "Frank Gifford" can't be good, but thankfully, it seems to be one of those weird Internet blips not associated with any actual news about the sportscaster and KLG sidekick. The same isn't true of actor Charlie Sheen and his wife Brooke, who had quite the eventful Christmas in Aspen. New details are emerging about his arrest that morning on domestic violence charges, with the AP quoting from an arrest warrant affidavit in which Brooke Mueller Sheen says her husband straddled her on a bed, held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her. The fracas started when she allegedly told him she wanted a divorce.

And rounding out this weird morning is a new and easy-to-remember nickname for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian known in most circles as the "underwear bomber" for trying to ignite his crotch filled with PETN explosives during a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit: his Internet moniker is farouk1986. We still prefer "underwear bomber."

If there is any dim sparkle of decent news on the top 20 list this morning, it's the announcement that GM is holding a fire sale on discontinued cars like Saturns and Pontiacs. Yes, it's a stretch, but if you're truly needy for new wheels and are desperate enough to consider a Saturn, discounts can be as deep as 46 percent. The offer expires on Jan. 4.

--

About this dscriber.com column: Like a horoscope, but applicable to anyone with an Internet connection, Daily Cup O'Google reaches into the collective consciousness of frequently googled search terms each morning to predict, at a glance, what conversations will dominate your day and shape the 24-hour news cycle.

Your day according to Google: It is going to be a rock and roll day for sure: seven of the top 10 hot searches this morning are related to the death of drummer Jimmy Sullivan, "the Rev" of rock for heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. Never heard of A7X? Think Iron Maiden meets Guns N Roses during Slayer's set at OzzFest. No solid news yet on the cause of the 28-year-old's death.

And if those few opening lines of today's Cup O' Google don't have you already clicking over to iTunes to look up some kick ass rock of yore, consider this nugget: Van Morrison, at age 64, became a daddy for the third time when his wife GiGi gave birth yesterday to George Ivan Morrison III.

The remainder of the top ten searches were no less alarming - Erik Gates of TV's Mythbusters show fell through a skylight on a rooftop and plunged 30 feet to his death, and the Food and Drug Administration recalled Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplets with the EZ Open Cap (100 count) after some consumers complained of a musty, moldy smell and reported nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea. For the full list of recalled lot numbers, click here.

Flipping to the second page of the top 20, things seem no less bleak. Any list with the words "Frank Gifford" can't be good, but thankfully, it seems to be one of those weird Internet blips not associated with any actual news about the sportscaster and KLG sidekick. The same isn't true of actor Charlie Sheen and his wife Brooke, who had quite the eventful Christmas in Aspen. New details are emerging about his arrest that morning on domestic violence charges, with the AP quoting from an arrest warrant affidavit in which Brooke Mueller Sheen says her husband straddled her on a bed, held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her. The fracas started when she allegedly told him she wanted a divorce.

And rounding out this weird morning is a new and easy-to-remember nickname for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian known in most circles as the "underwear bomber" for trying to ignite his crotch filled with PETN explosives during a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit: his Internet moniker is farouk1986. We still prefer "underwear bomber."

If there is any dim sparkle of decent news on the top 20 list this morning, it's the announcement that GM is holding a fire sale on discontinued cars like Saturns and Pontiacs. Yes, it's a stretch, but if you're truly needy for new wheels and are desperate enough to consider a Saturn, discounts can be as deep as 46 percent. The offer expires on Jan. 4.

--

About this dscriber.com column: Like a horoscope, but applicable to anyone with an Internet connection, Daily Cup O'Google reaches into the collective consciousness of frequently googled search terms each morning to predict, at a glance, what conversations will dominate your day and shape the 24-hour news cycle.