the buzz log

The "Kung Fu" master dies in Bangkok. A former Olympic snowboarder meets an untimely fate. And a timely fish tale. It was a week of good-byes on the Web. Join us for a look back at those stories and more with the Buzz Week in Review.

An actor with (karate) chops
David Carradine, son of actor John Carradine, died this week in a hotel room in Bangkok. He embodied the spirit of martial arts with his best known roles—in Quentin Tarantino's movies "Kill Bill: Vol 1," "Kill Bill: Vol. 2," and the "Kung Fu" TV series. The acting legend performed in over 200 TV shows and movies in his lifetime, going back to the 1960s. Word of the actor's demise caused searches to soar an astonishing 90,000% to the number one search for the last seven days. Read more about his career here.

A young life cut short
The 31-year-old conquered the giant slalom at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and the parallel slalom in the Salt Lake City 2002 winter games. But French snowboarder Karine Ruby was bested by Mont Blanc, in the French Alps, where she died in a climbing accident. The six-time world champion had been training to become a mountain-climbing guide. The French prime minister hailed her "talent and her joie de vivre." News of the Olympic athlete's death sparked searches on "karine ruby," "karine ruby biography," and "snowboarder karine ruby."

Finding "nenue"
Here's a fishy story out of Hawaii: A man picnicking on a beach in Kauai spotted a fish swimming in an odd way. So he waded into the water and caught it, by hand, and threw it into his cooler. It was only later that the fisherman noticed that the reef fish came with a bonus: The sea creature had coughed up a gold wristwatch, still ticking and making good time, according to the AP. News of the find caused searches on "nenue" to surge.

Also buzzing this week…
•Two journalists go on trial in North Korea.
•Hitler's favorite race car is up for auction.
•Conan O'Brien takes over "The Tonight Show."