the buzz log

This week we didn't just get to read about some amazing and mysterious animal stories. We got to see them in action, thanks to some very cool video footage. Witness a swarm of birds in Denmark, swim along with the largest stingray ever discovered, and have your heart melt for the incredible journey of one very lucky bomb-sniffing dog. These stories and more in the Buzz Week in Review.

It's a bird! It's a cloud! It's a bird cloud
Apologies to Alfred Hitchcock and his creepy movie about evil birds, but sometimes truth can be stranger than fiction. This bizarre swarm of starlings isn't evil, but it's pretty astonishing. A really, really big flock of 300,000 birds created a wavelike cloud over Denmark. According to ornithologists, these feathered friends really do prefer to roost together, and the massive formations are a sort of pre-roost ritual that take on these odd shapes. Sort of like a Rorschach test in the air. Or a flying lava lamp. In short, mesmerizing. As long as they don't attack. Sorry, we just can't get "The Birds" out of our heads. See for yourself.

Gentle giant of the sea
From in the air to underwater, another video emerged that is a first glimpse of the giant smalleye stingray, the largest of its species and only seen alive off the coast of Mozambique. The cartilaginous fish are actually related to sharks. The one seen on the video, measuring about eight feet across, looks like a very slow-moving aqua-fish-spaceship, with fins jutting out from a hard shell ending in a long, pointy stinger that, trust us, you don't want to get anywhere near. (They say the thing is only used in self-defense, but who wants to test that theory?) From the safe distance of a video screen, it sure does look cool.

A doggone miracle
By now you may have heard the good-news story of the Australian bomb-sniffing dog that was found in Afghanistan after she had been missing in action for over a year. Still, the heart-warmer bears repeating. The black lab, Sabi, had been on a joint Aussie-Afghan patrol, sniffing for roadside bombs and explosive devices. She disappeared after a fierce firefight that left nine soldiers wounded, including the pooch's handler. Amazingly, the highly trained canine was discovered by an American soldier in an isolated base after 14 months missing. Sabi will probably return home to Australia and has already been given a hero's welcome — a personal pat on the head from Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. All we can say is "good dog!"

Also buzzing…
• Lou Dobbs left CNN, and will be replaced by John King.
• Sarah Palin's book is sparking lots of buzz.
• Blake Lively has the hot new hairstyle.

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Filed under: Week in Review

Doomsday thrills may be gripping moviegoers, but the stealth hit may come from the animated limited release "Fantastic Mr. Fox," a "rascally" caper about a fox who settles down but can't reform his thieving ways.

"Fox" is catching praise and Web attention for its throwback stop-motion artistry and its pedigree. The voice cast features George Clooney and Meryl Streep, and director Wes Anderson ("The Royal Tenenbaums") based his first animated film on a book by the late children's author Roald Dahl.

The match-up of Anderson's surreal quirk and Dahl's dark-flavored impishness has restored the director's cred. Unlike the disappointment felt by many fans of "Where the Wild Things Are," book lovers are pleased with adaptation's "existential heft."  Critics are talking Oscar about the sly "Fox" doing well in a "record" year for animation: Colorful competition includes Pixar's "Up" and "Disney's A Christmas Carol."

But the online love's all for Dahl: Web fans have pushed his searches on Yahoo! up 89%. And the man, who died in 1990, deserves the attention.

Bullied Child, Adventurous Adult
Among the many books Dahl wrote, one was an autobiography that told of his troubled childhood and adventurous youth. His father died when Dahl was three, leaving his mother to raise six kids. Beatings and bullying were common at his school. Maybe eager to leave home far behind, Doahl worked for Shell Oil in an African jungle before becoming a fighter pilot during World War II. He almost died after being mistakenly directed into a no-man's land.

Big Screen Books
No surprise that kind of living lent a dark undertone to his writings, whether for kids or adults. The new movie's triggering sentimental queries for "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (+26%) and "Matilda," both adapted into cinematic favorites (even if Dahl distanced himself from the film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"). Other works that got the celluloid treatment: "James and the Giant Peach, "James and the Giant Peach, "Danny the Champion of the World," "The Witches," and the adult short-story, "The Smoker" (snagged by Quentin Tarantino for the ill-received "Four Rooms").

The Bond Connection
If children's books, housewife-crime tales and freaky ghost stories weren't enough, Dahl didn't do badly with screenplay adaptions either, including "You Only Live Twice" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."

Still Giving
His fearless nature didn't end during the war: He helped create the Dahl-Wade-Till valve, which drained fluid from the brain and let people, like his son Theo, live without being hooked up to a machine. The altruism came from personal tragedies, including his own blood disorder, his first wife's triple strokes while pregnant, and his son's brain-damage from an accident.

In addition to a museum, playful websites, and awards, his name also lives on in a nonprofit foundation that offers assistance to "young people with brain and blood problems." Classic Dahl.

Filed under: Movies, Authors, Animation, Books

Move over, Victoria Beckham bob and just-plain-weird Kate Gosselin 'do (or don't, depending on your view). Web searches and salons all point to a new must-have celebu-haircut: the long-locked look of Blake Lively.

According to the investigative reporting of the New York Times, it's a look without a name. (Unlike the original star hairstyle: the "Rachel" cut from '90s show "Friends," which put Jennifer Aniston's head on the map.)

And if you've seen pictures of the "Gossip Girl" star, you'll understand why her hair is so popular. Blake Lively wears her hair long, blond, and tousled. So while Blake wannabes may not ask for the star's specific look, when they say they want "long and layered" or blonde and wavy, what they really mean is that they want the Lively. (And while they're at it, they'll take the lifestyle, too.) Already, Yahoo! searches on "blake lively hair" have skyrocketed an astounding 3,800% in the last week alone.

But be careful before running out and redoing your hairdo. As the Times delicately points out, the Lively look works best on "tall, slim women." Who are also blonde. And blessed with terrific hair. Aside from that, have at it.

Here, Yahoo! searches on "hair styles" in the last seven days.

Top "Hairstyle" Searches

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Filed under: Hair