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.

Pandas are not Solitary

Contrary to the conventional wisdom, pandas are not solitary animals, as scientists would have us believe. In fact many of them are on social media, with a veritable flood of them on Twitter! Princess Pinky has her own page, and Bubba has several. Recently Pinky and Bubba’s parents have gotten into the act, probably to make sure Pinky was not up to anything she shouldn’t be. I…ahem…heard that Inspector Panda has an account, but he forgot his password and hasn’t been able to find it.

Just a couple of days ago, a photograph of Canada’s new Prime Minister has hit the inter webs, …wait for it…with the extremely adorable Toronto panda twins on his lap. New Yorker writer Andy Borowitz has pointed out the dangers of allowing this photo to be publicized. Will Americans who chose to flee a potentially repressive regime come the November elections, be given a false sense of what Canada has to offer? (Free pandas for everyone!!!!!) And will we all have to take up the sport of curling?

Could all these Twitter accounts be real, with pandas pounding the keys of their laptops as they while away the hours behind the scenes? Or is something more sinister going on?

But they're so cute!

But they’re so cute!

To tell the truth, I did not know what a “sock puppet” account was, until recently. But wouldn’t it be fun, if they really did have to make puppets to use them?

Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda

The Toronto Panda Twins Endorse…

Rumors are flying around the headquarters of The Institute for Contemporary Panda Satire! Will Bob T concede the election? Does Princess Pinky have something up her sleeve? Will Bubba ever get Pinky to quit calling him “Boo Boo”? But the big news is that the Toronto Panda Twins are making their public debut on March 12! And they have made their decision as to whom to support in their neighbor nation to the south’s race to the top…

Be the bear, eh?

Be the bear, eh?

I don’t know why they don’t want to support a mature panda with lots of experience…um…doing stuff, but there you have it. If you planning on visiting the Toronto Twinkies, please send pictures to us here. and maybe you could give them a Why Not Vote 4 Bob flag. Just saying.

Be the Bear

Fabulous Furry Friday

This week, Fabulous Furry Friday looks at…(you know we had to do this, didn’t you?) The 2016 Election Season. Well, actually, it’s more like the 2012 election season that we are looking back on, since a certain candidate, who we will refer to as He Who Must Not Be Named, (or HWMNBN) was throwing verbal rocks at the previous failed Republican presidential candidate, calling him a loser and disgrace.

Now, I am no fan of the former Republican candidate, but he deserves respect, particularly from someone who wants to hold the office under consideration. (So does our current President, if you want my opinion.) Can’t we play nice, please? Pretty panda please?

Is it really all black and white?

Is it really all black and white?

Cats....you just can't trust em.

Cats….you just can’t trust em. Remember Mittens?

Keep cool, cat, and don't go blaming women for stuff. That is SO not the way to get votes...

Keep cool, cat, and don’t go blaming women for stuff. That is SO not the way to get votes…

And if debating with Mittens wasn’t bad enough, now Bob is facing Pinky in the primary fight of his life. The soul of the Panda Party is at stake!

What could Pinky be up to...?

What could Pinky be up to…?

Don't mess with Pinky.

Don’t mess with Pinky.

…and I real have to talk with my media team, because I don’t have a video yet, and Pinky’s has been shown all over the world!

Be the Bear and have a fabulous weekend!
Bob T Panda

News Flash: Panda Climbs a Tree

Ha ha! that was a gratuitous headline if there ever was one. Of course a panda climbs a tree! Bubba has been climbing up a storm, ever since they let him explore the great outdoors. So, this cartoon is kind of old news, but it wasn’t when I drew it. Mommee Mei is now confident enough in his abilities that she can take a nap or chow down some boo while he is wowing the crowds with his feats of daring.

But when Bubba first started exploring the dreaded hemlock and the gingko of terror, Mei thought he might need just a little help to get started.

You can't just DO stuff. You need instruction from an expert!

You can’t just DO stuff. You need instruction from an expert!

Moms…gotta love ’em.

Meanwhile, we have been having weather not very conducive to pandas, with horizontal buckets of rain today. Blergg. The good news is that it is perfect weather to work on my latest project, which will be available sometime this millennium. I don’t mean to be snarky, but it turns out a graphic novel is a whole heck of a lot of work. Sometime next month I will start sharing some sketches in progress, but for now, can I just say it is either going to be awesomely cool, or a complete pile of crap.

Sigh…We creative types are subject to mood swings and insecurity, if you haven’t figured this out yet. But never fear, Pandas are on the move, and we will bring you all the pandas that fit!

Be the Bear,
Bob T Panda

Kung Fu Panda revisited

Oh me, oh my, Friday night I went to see Kung Fu Panda 3 and the bears did not disappoint! If you haven’t seen the movie yet, (and I strongly urge you to go right this minute) and you don’t want to read any spoilers, I suggest you skip this section and head on down to today’s ‘toon, so I don’t ruin the experience for you.

I have to admit, I was a fledgling Pandaholic when the first Kung Fu Panda movie came out, and to put it mildly, I was skeptical, if not downright dismissive of the idea. Then I went to see it and all I can say is WOW! Goofy, but lovable Panda Po aside, the movie is a visual treat and movie 3 was no exception.

The film team even visited the panda kindergarten and went to the Chimelong Panda reserve to meet the worlds first surviving panda triplets, Mengmeng, Shuaishuai and Kuku (also known as Pinky’s minions) and gave them a cameo role in the movie.

Po travels to his long lost, unremembered home with his real panda dad to gain the vital panda knowledge needed to fight this movies’ supremely evil villain, and in the process discovers his roots and a whole lot of (wait for it) adorable baby pandas, not to mention a female panda that appears to have studied at Babette de Panda’s charm academy for young pandas ladies.

I laughed, I cried, I gasped with amazement. I can’t end this review without mentioning the incredible lushness and visual excitement of this movie. As a fine artist (besides being a panda satirist) I love movies that capitalize on relevant art styles and references. Nods to traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy, not to mention amazing color combinations and dynamic compositions make this movie an aesthetic, as well as a pandarific experience. If you can see it on a big screen, do it. Do it now.

And now, on with our Sunday feature ‘toon…

Huzzah! Pandas save the day!

Huzzah! Pandas save the day!

Hope you enjoyed today’s cartoon, and do go see Kung Fu Panda 3. Heck. see all of them again! I know that I will! and I bet Po will get an Oscar tonight for best panda in a dramatic role, don’t you think?

Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda

Be the Bear

I just listened to an interview with the guy who played the grizzly in the movie The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and ahem…THE BEAR!!!!! Let me say right here that no matter how many well deserved Academy Awards this movie wins this weekend, I have no intention whatsoever of seeing this movie. This guy studied a lot of bear attacks, so he could…um…be the bear.

It was really interesting to hear about all of the preparation and mechanics/ technological magic that went in to making the scenes with the bear attack so realistic. If you’re interested, you might be able to catch the podcast on CBC’s Day Six.

However, I would never dream of boycotting movies containing …pandas. Um…KUNG FU PANDA 3!!! (which I have plans to see tonight!) 

So, in honor of both the bear (yay!!!!!) from The Revenant and the Kung Fu Pandas, here are some being the bear related cartoons for your Fabulous Furry Friday Fun!

"Is it a documentary?"

“Is it a documentary?”

Being the bears!

Being the bears!

Huzzah! Bring pandas to Washington State!

Huzzah! Bring pandas to Washington State!

Speaking of being mauled by bears...

Speaking of being mauled by bears…

Thanks again to Henry Nicholls for alerting me to this story

Thanks again to Henry Nicholls for alerting me to this story

And I’ll be sure to let you know what I thought of Kung Fu Panda 3 after I see it tonight. I bet is going to get an Oscar for best panda in a dramatic role!

Be the BEAR,
Bob T Panda

 

Smile! You’re on Pandid Camera 2

Poor Bubba. What a shock it was to find out that people had been watching him ALL. THE. TIME.  on the panda camera. Are they really allowed to do that? I’m afraid so, Bubba, and what with your sister’s presidential aspirations, not to mention your Cubby of the Year Award, you won’t have a moments privacy during your entire residence at The Pinksonian Zoo.

Between Apps on mobile devices, 24 hour panda cams, and all the videos and photos taken by visitors to the zoo, your EVERY. SINGLE. MOVE. will be recorded and commented on. Not to make you self conscious or anything.

Add to that, the time honored tradition and privilege of older children to tease, torment, and generally one up their younger siblings. Not that I know anything about this. HAHAHAHAHA! For the record, I am the put upon younger sibling. But we are all done with that, right?

I has no sekrets!!!!

I has no sekrets!!!!

Meanwhile, over on Kristen Lamb’s blog, she has been taking to task those online news sites that make a practice of not paying writers. C Hope Clark, over at Funds for Writers (one of my favorite and always read newsletters) has also addressed this extremely disturbing trend.  As a writer, painter, and cartoonist, I have come up against this idea that “if you love doing something, you should do it for free”.  Phooey on that! As both Kristen and Hope have both so eloquently said, creative people have the same bills everyone else does. We have rent, mortgages, doctor bills, need food, clothes, you name it.

Now, I post this blog for free, and you can search the archives at will. I do this willingly. You can walk into the gallery that shows my paintings and see them for free. You can even see them online. The only way I make any income is if someone buys my paintings, books, or reproductions. If that truly is not in your budget, come visit here often; visit your public library. I’ve been there and I am a great fan an user of public libraries. But if you have the wherewithal to buy books or paintings, be they mine or any of the thousands of great writers and artists out there, please do. It will be appreciated and is the only way we keep from living in a cardboard box. Visit my book page or Pandas Love Links page. And don’t support sites that make money from the work of creatives without providing compensation to those who create the content.

Be the (slightly preachy) bear!
Bob T Panda

Smile! You’re on Pandid Camera

Come on Bubba…won’t you give us a little smile? didn’t you know we were…um…watching you?

What's that blinking red light over there?

What’s that blinking red light over there?

As any of you who happen to be younger siblings know very well, that it is the time honored tradition, (or is that privilege?) for older siblings to torment younger siblings. Now, I was not watching pandas when Tai Shan was a mere cub, but I don’t think he would have put his little sister through the same things that Pinky has put Bubba through. That’s just my opinion and I have nothing to back this up. He did send her….ahem…some very nice presents.

We might say that as the middle child, Pinky has worked hard to distinguish herself. One could wish that she didn’t appear quite so gleeful when she gets Bubba all wound up. But what fun would that be?

Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda

The Panda Season of Love Begins

Oh yes, the Panda Season of Love has begun once again and panda fans around the world anxiously await the joyous announcements of impending panda pregnancies! This year Australia (being on the opposite side of the globe) is anxiously awaiting a possible perfect puffy panda popkin, but as with all things panda procreation, we don’t often know that something will happen until it actually happens!

Is it any wonder that pandas visit therapists more often than any other animal? (Okay, I just made that last bit up, for those of you who are paying attention!)

But now, let’s get on with the show of encore presentations for Fabulous Furry Friday on The Panda Season of Love!

I hope people haven't had enough of silly love songs!

I hope people haven’t had enough of silly love songs!

A panda by any other name, would smell...well, they would just smell...

A panda by any other name, would smell…well, they would just smell…

The Scottish pandas have had a few disappointments...

The Scottish pandas have had a few disappointments…

I am only making some of this up. copyright 2012 -A. Belov

I am only making some of this up.

And of course, as noted Pandologist Henry Nicholls has pointed out, wild pandas are a whole different ball game!

Thanks guys! No, really.

Thanks guys! No, really.

So sit back and be the bear! The panda season of loooooove only lasts two day! It pays to be ready!

Bob T. Panda

Pinky has a Cunning Plan

Oh that Pinky! She snuck off to the Iowa caucuses, using Daddy’s credit cards and now there are rumors of her showing up in New Hampshire, as well as appearances scheduled in South Carolina! But what kind of cunning plan has she used so that no one will realize she has left the zoo?

And is her willingness to let Bubba play with Mr. Bun NOT a sign that Pinky has learned to share (as IF!!!!) but a way to buy his silence when she sneaks out of the zoo?

What do YOU think?

That Pinky is too clever for her own good!

That Pinky is too clever for her own good!

Meanwhile, after listening to the GOP “debates” on Saturday night, (didn’t I have anything better to do? Apparently not.) I think I can honestly say that having a roomful of baby pandas on stage would not have been any more unruly than what was happening before the world and everyone. I get that there are legitimate differences of opinions both between and within political parties. I have even (gasp!) voted for republicans in state elections. But I think that requiring participants of these “debates” to wear shock collars which would provide a mild but emphatic shock when the wearer lied, would have provided a more illuminating discussion.  Just saying.

You have a clear choice. #HeyWhyNotVote4Bob or #Vote4Pinky

We could do worse.

Be the Bear
Bob T Panda