The Story of Buzz and Shoozy

UPDATE: Buzz and Shoozy in their very own gallery!

Once upon a time...

No, it's not that kind of story!

As we were thinking about this page, we knew that the time would come when we needed a mascot. Walt had Mickey(TM); Beijing 2008 has those flying multicolored monkey things(TM); we had to have something.

We thought long. We thought hard. We thought long and hard.

And we came up with a name for our mascot: "Buzz Shenzhen."

Clever, huh?

But that wasn't all. We felt he needed a sidekick, a pal, a Sancho Panza to his Don Quixote, a Murtaugh to his Riggs (if you don't know, never mind).

And then it struck us: We were launching this site near the beginning of the Chinese Year of the Rat, the first year in the twelve-year zodiac cycle in China (auspicious indeed). Why not give him a rat? And next year, maybe an ox? Then a tiger. After that ... a ... a ... squirrel? Or whatever it is that comes next. (Giraffe? Guppy?)

So anyway, for this year the boy (he had to be a boy, reflecting Shenzhen's youth and energy) has a rat. But what to call this critter?

Well, the Chinese word for rat or mouse is shu (sort of). And the word for kid is zi (sort of). So let's call him: SHOOZY! (As an added bonus, zi is also the character for the "heavenly branch" associated with the Year of the Rat. Don't ask me to explain that here.)

OK, so we know it's Buzz and Shoozy. But who will give them birth?

Along comes our Basque friend Martin Juaristi, as talented and dedicated a cartoonist as we've ever met (and we've lived in Los Angeles and Tokyo). But will he take the assignment for our measly pay?

YES! Like many people we've met recently, Martin believes in The BUZZ. He's willing to accept a nearly-criminal price just to be part of something BIG. We've been blessed with kindness.

So Martin (that's mar-TEEN, or "ma ding" as he signs his work) did the drawing you see above. We'll be receiving more of his work soon, and we'll also be profiling him on The BUZZ so you can learn more about this superbly talented young man.

Meanwhile: Meet Buzz and Shoozy!