the buzz log

When was the last time you thought about Speedy Gonzales, or Admiral Ackbar of Star Wars? When you were 5? Well, the Gonzales-Ackbar drought is over. Searches surged on the fastest mouse in all of Mexico, after it was revealed that a "non-racist" movie was in the works. Elsewhere, the relatively minor character from "Return of the Jedi" was revealed to be a favorite for the mascot position at a leading Southern university. If you take pop culture as seriously as we do, then this was a mighty big week...

Speedy returns
We all remember Speedy Gonzales. He's the cartoon mouse who does everything as if he's had way too much coffee. Entertaining rodent, Speedy. Unfortunately for him, he's been out of the spotlight, due in part to his politically incorrect shtick. Well, that was then. Now, the sombrero-clad Speedy is back in a new movie. According to a very buzzy article from Yahoo! Movies, the Looney Tunes character has been updated with a modern sensibility. The mouse will be voiced by comedian George Lopez, and the film will be a combo of live action and CGI. News of Speedy's impending return sparked a flurry of Search activity. Web lookups on "speedy gonzales" and "speedy gonzales cartoons" both rocketed their way to triple-digit gains.
Look up other classic Looney Tunes cartoons.

From Colonel to Admiral
Astute fans of the Star Wars films know who Admiral Ackbar is. The rebel leader, best known for his bug-like eyes and famous phrase ("It's a trap!"), never reached Luke Skywalker's level of fame, but clearly he still has plenty of fans, especially at the University of Mississippi. Students at the school had been asked to come up with a new mascot. Apparently, the "Rebel," the school's old mascot, was felt to be outdated, and too connected to the Southern Confederacy. So the students came up with a completely logical alternative: Admiral Ackbar, the random Star Wars dude that had about three lines of dialogue. According to The Atlanta Journal-Consitution, the choice is the clear favorite among students, but a recent blog from Nems360 reports that the University's dean of students isn't planning on including Ackbar in the official process. To paraphrase another favorite character from a galaxy far, far away: "Outraged, we are."
Find more Star Wars quotes.

Where'd she go?
NBA mascots aren't exactly known for being entertaining. Let's face it, most of 'em just throw T-shirts at fans and pose for pictures with traumatized children. The mascot for the Toronto Raptors got some big laughs this week when he (or she?) approached a cheerleader and devoured her whole. The "attack" led to big searches on "toronto raptors" and "toronto raptors mascot." Below, you can check out the gruesome scene for yourself...

Also buzzing this week...
• No more Gatorade Tiger Focus? Say it ain't so!
• The Donald got dissed.
• Carly Simon dropped a hint. Or did she?

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