the buzz log

Below the purple haze of American politics, beyond the sheer historicity of Election Day, were events of passing significance. In other words, other things happened besides the U.S. elections. Take a breather from gloried events and muse over monsters from Mexico, excessive palimony payments, and literary figures who said goodbye.

The Creature From the Lake Resort
The axolotl: so elusive, so slimy, so near extinction. USA Today examined the possible fate of Mexico City's water monster, aka the Mexican walking fish. Scientists aim to save the creature, which has so far survived conquistadors, fishing, pollution, tourism, and singing gondoliers. The salamander has been the stuff of Aztec legend and Ogden Nash poetry, but may survive only another five years without help. People need way more time than that to practice pronouncing ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl.

The Realities of Romance
Reality TV pseudo-celebrities decided this week "yes we can" and "no we can't" when it came to matrimonial alliances. "The Bachelorette" DeAnna Pappas, once publicly rejected, did the spurning this time when she ended her engagement to Jesse Csincsak. The move also resulted in Pappas (metaphorically) shoving aside Rahm Emanuel as the fastest moving search term in the last seven days (+136,990%). "Girls Next Door" star Kendra Wilkinson, obviously so on the rebound from Hugh Hefner, announced her engagement to NFL wide receiver Hank Baskett. Lastly, Simon Cowell's longtime gal pal Terri Seymour dumped the "American Idol" judge last week, but she burst into Buzz for getting a nearly $10 million parting gift. This should re-inflate Simon's ego: The New Republic suggests Cowell "saved American democracy." Now that's surreal.

Epilogue: Literary Farewells
Michael Crichton was the latest literary figure to pass on in the past few weeks. Cinematical honors the thriller author's best seven onscreen translations. The author, who died of cancer at age 66, follows the departures of oral historian Studs Terkel, mystery writer Tony Hillerman, and New Age instigator Marilyn Ferguson.

Also buzzing...
• Soap star Lisa Rinna admits to plastic surgery overload.
• New Hampshire wants kids out of high school and into college by their sweet sixteen.
• OK, for the political junkies: Election Day search by search, John McCain's elegant concession, and a linguist's take on Barack Obama's speech.