Author Archives: Panda in Chief

About Panda in Chief

Anne Belov paints, writes, makes prints, and is the founder of The Institute for Contemporary Panda Satire. You can find her paintings at the Rob Schouten Gallery and Fountainhead Gallery, her cartoons on The Panda Chronicles, and her new book here. She also writes regularly for The Whidbey Life Magazine, a free journal of art and culture on Whidbey Island. Her main regret in life is that there is no MacArthur Grant for Panda Satire.

Blinded by the Fluff

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We are not quite done with the incident from the debate between Bob, Pinky, and Mittens. Stuff happened! Names were called! Poofing was done! Someone must be responsible!

Um…I had some fluff in my eyes….

Because I only post 2 new ‘toons a week (I do have a few other responsibilities, you know) sometimes events in the real world don’t quite line up with Panda Chronicle time here, so even though the Meihems have already had their birthday party, it will be happening here, next week or so. We have promised Pinky and Bubba that their birthdays will be celebrated in “real time.” Would you mess with a panda who has a magical wand? I didn’t think so!

Meanwhile, Pinky has a few other shenanigans up her sleeve, before her birthday extravaganza/ Cake Party Convention. Stay tuned!

Be the Bear!

Pandas are Love

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Editors note: By the time you read this, the Republican Convention will be over, and the Democrats will be gathering in my old stomping grounds. I have tried really hard to ignore this whole election thingie, but I find I can’t ignore it completely, because so much is at stake. (Well, that and the fact that Bob and Pinky are running here in the world of the Panda Chronicles) I have always tried to keep this a happy place, because, well, to me, pandas are all about love, joy, and humor.

So let me get this out of the way, and then we can all go back to having fun with pandas, and I will endeavor to inject as much humor into the world as I possibly can. I say this with all the respect I can muster, but if you are supporting Donald Trump, you will find more sympathetic places other than here. If I only knew what I see in actual interviews with, and news footage of him, I would be horrified. If I add to that, the articles and essays written by journalists I have long followed and admired, and in magazines I respect, I am terrified. It seems like every day, Trump and his minions say something that is even more outlandish than the previous day, and yet people still support him.

Let’s leave aside all the tweets and links to questionable sources – even without those, he is not to be trusted with an office so important as the presidency. So many people I respect are speaking out, so silence is no longer an option. I will endeavor to stick to facts I can check, and to keep things civil. I will entertain any comments that contribute to a peaceful understanding of differing view points, but nastiness will not be permitted here. (Unless it’s Pinky…she can -and will – pretty much say what she wants.)

A big shout out to my friends in Kid Lit who continue to bring joy, inclusiveness, and beauty into the world, as well as all the pandanistas who know that happiness is a black and white bear.

Now let’s have some fun with pandas!!!!

This cartoon is one of Bob’s earliest appearances!

The Pandas first attempt at Olympic Glory!

Introducing the torch bears!

Naughty bear or cuddly menace? You be the judge!

And now, one of my favorite TV game shows…

Wheel…of…PANDAS!!!!!

Huzzah! More Wheel…of…PANDAS!!!

Panda satire explained for you!

Well, if you haven’t abandoned me for my opinions and political leanings, huzzah! I hope you enjoyed this week’s Fabulous Furry Friday celebration of pandas! Till next time, be kind, be fair, build bridges, not walls….
Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda

Uh oh. Did we have a day with NO PINKY in the ‘toons? Well, we won’t let THAT happen again. Pinky is getting ready for her birthday season, as well as the Cake Party Convention! Stay tuned, panda fans!

An interlude with ice cream

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Oh… the world has been too much with us lately. So many bad things happening in so many places. All I want to do is crawl under the covers, binge watch entire seasons of The Gilmore Girls (how did I not know of this show’s existence before???) and eat a really big bowl of ice cream. What we need now, more than ever, are pandas being pandas.

For those of you who are fans of watching the actual pandas via the panda cam at the Smithsonian National Zoo, you know that the grown up pandas daily get a treat of frozen fruit juice with fruit and carrots and other vegetables frozen into them. Mei Xinag is well known for not sharing her treats (and you wonder where Pinky learned the “no sharing” thing? It was Mom, all the way,) and not only does she not share her treats, she will steal the treats of any panda cub under her control.

Well, two can play at that game.

What goes around, comes around…

Be the Bear
Bob (paws off my ice cream) T Panda

Scandal in the Panda House?

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Uh oh…Bubba has been discovered spying on the back room deal making meeting between Pinky and the Meihems! Is this a political scandal in the making? What kind of deal is Pinky making with the Meihems? Is Bob going to be out on his fuzzy ears? And where IS Mittens?

Just what kind of deal is Pinky making?

I hope everyone had fun celebrating the Meihems’ birthday this weekend! Stay tuned, because Pinky and Bubba have a birthday coming up, not to mention some more political chicanery of some sort or another. And will we ever find out what happens to Mittens? Is he coming back? We hope not, but Pinky’s poofing is not always permanent. (Except as regards the Meihems and ~~brother~~ sister Po.)

I would settle for Secretary of Binky Bars.

Be the Bear
Bob T Panda

It’s Time to Party Like a Panda!!!!

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Oh my, it is the birthday celebration for Atlanta’s favorite sweethearts, the Meihem sisters, as they turn three years old! I still remember the morning the twins were born. I was…um… checking in on Facebook, because the panda keepers at Zoo Atlanta were pretty sure that mama Lun Lun was pregnant, but they had NO idea it was twins!*

Along with thousands of other panda fanatics, I was glued to the internet, awaiting the entrance of another baby panda to the world, when a cub came shooting out into the universe. (They do seem to come out at great speed). Lun Lun lept into mom mode, but turns out she wasn’t done yet. Less than a half hour later, another cub came rushing out and then we had what you might call a situation.

I did what any other right thinking panda fan would do, under those circumstances. I called another panda fan (Cyndi A) and we danced around our respective kitchens screaming like a girl.

So without further ado, I now present some of my favorite cartoon moments with the Meihems, starting with the Wu Self’s reaction to the news!

Dis. Will. Not. Stand!

Of course all the other panda moms were on the phone to Lun Lun to congratulate her…

“Well Bless your Heart” is not always a compliment

When the twins were born, everyone thought that they were boys, along with their sibling Po. Boy did we all have a surprise coming!

Atlanta twin panda cubs Mei Lun and Mei Huan and older prother Po

Huzzah! a guest appearance by little Po! And is that a cameo appearance by Mr. Bun?

Oh…yeah…how could we forget Pinky?

Huzzah! It’s Bert and his brother Ernie!

…and their jammies! Huzzah!

But after we found out that the Meihems were girls, they promptly joined the Panda Scouts and went to work selling cookies! Binky Bars, anyone? But of course, Pinky threw a ~~monkey~~ panda wrench into the works…

George Washington Bridge lane closure satire.

Princess Pinky Bao Bao…what have you done now?

Time to call in …Inspector panda!

But in the end, all was well that ended well, after a whole bunch more stuff happened, (which, if you had Book 5 of the Panda Chronicles, Pandapocalypse Now! you would know what happened!) and now, it’s time for some cake!!!!

There must be cake!

I hope you enjoyed my Salute to Meihem! Join us next month when we celebrate Pinky’s third birthday and Bubba’s first!!!!

Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda

*Not only did they not know it was going to be twins, with pandas, you don’t even know for sure if they are pregnant or not.

Double “O” Bubba: A Spy for All Seasons

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Uh oh. Has Bubba gotten a little too big for his cubberalls? He should know better than to spy and tattle on his big sister. I mean, what kind of cabinet post can he expect in Pinky’s administration if he keeps this up?

And just what do the Meihems have in mind for Unka Bob in the Pink House?

Oh Bubba! What were you thinking? And now that Mr. Bun is back, don’t you think Pinky should treat him better?

I just want to give a shout out to all my new readers here at the Panda Chronicles! Helloooo Panda Fans!!! Last week was a tough one, out in the real world, and we have retreated to the world of pandas to catch our breath, before we go out there again and try to make the world a better place. And if you need another dose of pandishness, check out Pinky’s Aunty Sandy’s video of her little brother being a pest here!

Don’t forget to tune in on Friday for the Meihems’ pandapalooza celebrating their third birthday on July 16th. (I believe they are getting their cakes on Friday, so if you want to watch that live, check on the Zoo Atlanta Panda Page!)

Be the Bear!
Don’t spy on Pinky!
Bob T Panda

Politics Makes Strange Denfellows

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Where have the Meihems been? We have hardly seen hide nor hair…um..fur of them since Bob hired them to be his political consultants. Personally, I think they have been so absorbed with planning for their gala third birthday party, (TWO CAKES!!!!!!) that they have forgotten all about Bob and Pinky and, not to cast aspersions on their southern belle-ness, but…politics makes strange denfellows.

But now the cakes have been ordered, and their dresses shopped for and they have remembered that they have an important client. But have the events of the last weeks incited a shift in the political cosmos? Is Bob ready to through in the towel and join forces with Pinky, in order to defeat a terrible foe?

Whoever could it be, to see Pinky in her lair?

And just because Pinky is ahead in all the polls (well, at least the polls at the National Zoo) it doesn’t mean she can coast from now until November. There may be sneaky things up certain sleeves (do cats have sleeves?) All I can say is stay tuned!!!

By the by, this coming Saturday is the Meihem girls third birthday and the team at Zoo Atlanta is indeed making them TWO special ice fruity cakes to celebrate the occasion. I hope they remembered to invite Pinky, because, you know how Pinky hates to be ignored! This week’s Fabulous Furry Friday will therefore be dedicated to all things Meihem, so be sure to tune in and gather round your computer and have some cuppycakes with the girls!

Till then,
Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda

Cruise Control is Not Auto Pilot

Where is Mittens

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Something happened at the debate between Pinky, Bob and Mittens and nobody will tell us what happened. Where IS Mittens? Investigations are now underway, in an attempt to get to the bottom of his mysterious disappearance. Pinky isn’t talking and Mehitabel is claiming debate moderator privilege. Is that a real thing?

Uh oh. Is Bubba about to rat someone out?

If you have any information leading to the return of Mittens, ~~we hope you’ll just keep it to yourself~~ call the #WhereIsMittens hotline at 1-800-BAD-CATZ

Bubba better hope that Pinky is not listening in on the Panda House Party line. I don’t think Pinky will take kindly to any perceived disloyalty.

If you are enjoying these cartoons and wish you could read a whole lot of them at once, even during a power outage, consider adding The Panda Chronicles books to your personal collection! you can find them here! Your book purchases help support The Institute for Contemporary Panda Satire! (That’s me!)

Be the Bear,
Bob T Panda

Meanwhile, at the Panda House…

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Did you see what happened at the last debate? I was out in the kitchen, checking to see if the cookie fairy had brought me some cookies during the night and I looked away from the television just at the crucial moment, and when I looked back, Mittens was gone! Poof! Just like that! And meanwhile, back at the Panda House… Mei was doing some fast thinking and making calculations on how she could keep her daughter out of hot water.

Last week over in the Twittersphere, some people were having fun with the names of Beatle’s songs and panda fan extraordinaire Anne Lane Witt came up with this one, which I…um…borrowed for this ‘toon:

What happens at the debate, states at the debate…

I hope everyone is planning to have a safe and sane 4th of July, and NOT follow the example of the panda kindergarten, who are anything but sane.

uh. oh.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend. Not that artists/writers/cartoonists get 3 day weekends. Oh no! But you all go and have a good time. Don’t give it a second thought. (But if you could send some cake my way, I would take back that pissy little rant. Really.)

Be the Bear!
Bob T. Panda

And lest I forget our neighbors to the north, Happy Panada Day!!!!

Oh Panada, Oh Panada, how tasty are your maple leaves….