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.

Pinky has a Cunning Plan

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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!

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

Get Ready for The Panda Season of Love

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You might not realize that Valentine’s Day takes place in mid February because it commemorates the beginning of the Panda Season of Love. I’m pretty sure I am not making this up.

Would I lie to you?

I thought it was time for a new Valentine’s Day cartoon, because the last one I did was at least four or five years ago.

So here it is!

it’s the panda, the panda season of love!

And word from the Toronto Zoo is, they have both a girl and a boy, going strong but not names yet. What’s wrong with “Bob” and “Babette”? I think they have a nice ring, don’t you?

Meanwhile, I hope you are celebrating the opening days of the Panda Season of Love with those you hold dearest. And…um…if you have any extra chocolate, send it my way. Okay?

Be the Schmoopy Bear!
Bob T Panda

A Silver is the Same as “First Loser”

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Fabulous Furry Friday takes a look back at last year’s Giant Panda Global Awards (or whatever the heck it’s called now. ) As you may or may not be aware, Pinky did not win either of her categories (Favorite Panda Outside of China or Panda Personality of the Year) Okay, there are a lot of really cool pandas who don’t live in China, but for Pinky NOT to get Panda Personality of the Year, that’s just wrong!!!! As for her Silver Medal in the FPOoC award, as Pinky says, getting first runner up is just like getting “First Loser”.

As we have not had time to work on cartoons celebrating this year’s awards, let’s look at the ~~atrocities~~ festivities from last year!

Introducing Princess Dumpling

Wait a minute…triplets??????

Don’t tell me you’re surprised.

And now that Bubba has won Cubby of the Year….who knows what Pinky will do. There were rumors of Pinky sightings in New Hampshire last week, but just HOW is she getting away from the zoo with no one being the wiser? Tune in next week to find out!

And coming up on Sunday is a new Valentine’s Day cartoon, as we kick off the Panda Season of Love! And since the Australian pandas have their seasons reversed, we are not awaiting word as to whether the lovely Ms Fu Ni (Chinese for “Party Girl”) at the Adelaide Zoo is really pregnant or just prevaricating for pastries.

We also have several new panda centric cuppycake recipe over at They Draw and Cook; one for Valentines Day and on for Chinese New Year!

Till next time!
Be the Bear
Bob T Panda

Is Tian Tian campaigning for Pinky?

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The video of Tian Tian of the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC was all over the internet as well as television and newspapers a few weeks ago, as Tian Tian showed us just how much fun playing in the snow is. Well, it is if you’re a panda and don’t have to shovel your sidewalk and figure out how to get to work!

But the rest of us…well, at least the rest of you who live in places where snow shows up on a regular basis, we have a somewhat different relationship with the cold white stuff.

Meanwhile, Pinky seems to figured out how to turn Daddy’s fame into a plus for her presidential campaign…

Pinky never misses a trick!

Well, I did hear that the host of Meet the Press suggested that a panda should be president. Or maybe that’s just hearsay. And maybe it wasn’t Pinky, but a panda with …ahem…more experience that should be considered. I don’t know. But then again….

The results of the Giant Panda Global Awards have been announced and um…Pinky did not win the two categories she was nominated in. I am pretty sure there will be repercussions, especially since baby brother Bubba totally rocked the Cub of the Year category. This is not going to be well received. Stay tuned.

Be the Bear
Bob T Panda

It’s The Year of the Fire Monkey

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Yes, it’s the favorite holiday of pandas once again, the Chinese New Year and no one likes to celebrate it more than the panda kindergarten! This year we celebrate the Year of the Fire Monkey and once again we ask, “why is there no Year of the PANDA????” (And every year Mehitabel answers, “as far as I can tell, it’s ALWAYS the year of the panda around here. Hmmmph!”)

For a more factual report of the meaning of this year, visit Vicky Vladic’s blog for her report on The Year of the Fire Monkey and a delicious cuppycake recipe! I’ve done an illustrated version of this recipe which will be appearing on one of my new favorite websites, They Draw and Cook, which features illustrated recipes from artists around the world. Huzzah!

And here, with no further folderol, is the panda kindergarten’s tribute to The Year of the Fire Monkey!

Well, the FIRE part had Mehitabel a little worried, but…

Personally, I think pandas look quite dashing in the other kind of monkey suit! And as Bob says, at least nothing is on fire, like a few hearts ago with The Year of the Dragon celebration.

the year of the dragon, panda kindergarten

Huzzah! it’s the year of the Dragon!

See you on Wednesday!

Be the Bear,
Bob T Panda

Could this be why Pinky did not rock the Iowa Caucus

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For some strange reason, I have not been able to get any information about how Princess Pinky did at the Iowa Caucus. I was not able to be there myself, as none of my ~~five~~ three supporters live in Iowa, so I decided to save the bus fare.

But perhaps the lack of results from the Iowa Caucus for Princess Pinky had something to do with this…

…of course Boo-mints are pretty good too.

Will the twins get a merit badge for their road trip? will Lun Lun fess up to where the girls are? will Inspector Panda get a clue, or at least more twitter followers. Stay tuned!

Oh, Pinky…what have you done?

Howdy, Mr Kitty, kindly tell us where a tired old cowpoke can get a boo beer and a cuppycake.

Looks like Pinky and the Meihems have made up and joined forces with the pandy kindy!

If you missed the earlier episodes of The Great Highwaygate Scandal, you can find them here, or in your very own copy of The Panda Chronicles Book 5: Pandapocalypse NOW!

See you on Sunday with a brand new episode of something or other!

Be the Bear!
BobT Panda

What do you mean by “um”?

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A faithful reader, (okay, well, it was my brother,) suggested that I remind people just what WOOZPPAH stands for. So here I go: WOOZPPAH stands for WOOdlandpark Zoo Project PandaH… and I know, I know..there is no “H” at the end of ‘Panda’ but it seemed more festive with an ‘H’ at the end. Kind of like ” There is no ‘R’ in Washington,” as my friend Sandy Bradley always used to say on the old Potluck Show on Saturday mornings in a Wallingford tavern.

But, being that the word WOOZPPAH is kind of obscure, and you have to explain it every time you use it, we need a zippy hashtag so that our movement to bring pandas to Washington State, (or even better, Seattle, or even better than that, Whidbey Island, which while it doesn’t have a zoo, it does have any number of properties with out of control bamboo growing on them.)

If you’re just tuning in, check out our other ‘toons about WOOZPPAH here! And here!

We promise we’ll clean up after them and EVERYTHING! It won’t be like the thing with the goldfish, honest!

So put your thinking cap on and come up with some really good hastags for our campaign to bring pandas to Washington State. This is really, really important, because…um,,, well you are just going to have to take my word for it! It just is!

Tune in on Friday for more from the Princess Pinky Bridgegate scandal! Maybe she will have news about how she did at the Iowa Caucuses!

Be the Bear,
Bob T Panda

Woozppah Again!

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Surely you don’t think that now that there is even the faintest hope of Pandas to the Other Washington, that we would ever let this subject drop.

Never!

And by the way, while we have had …um…one (well three, but all by the same person) entry into our #FindAHashtag contest, we are hoping for a more enthusiastic response. Anyone? To refresh your memory, we need a Twitter hashtag for the WOOZPPAH movement, to bring pandas to Seattle. There’s a prize for the winning entry!

Meanwhile, the Eastern states (that already have pandas) are thawing out a bit and visitors are returning to the Pinksonian Zoo to visit Bubba, Pinky, and their parents. Many people hoped that papa bear Tian Tian would do a reprise of his snow fun video, but he turned his back to the crowd of cameras and reporters and …um…had a little snack. Hey! He’s a panda, and he’s a guy panda. Nothing gets between a guy panda and his snack, OKAY?????

Meanwhile, here is the latest from Woozppah!

If only we could have just a couple of pandas….

It will be so much fun to have pandas in Washington State! And if anyone knows how to contact the Washington State Panda Foundation, drop us a comment okay? Panda satire thrives on pandas, you know. And…um…cuppycakes, but that is another matter!

See you later this week for more from WOOZPPAH, and more on Fabulous Furry Friday about the Highwaygate Scandal.

Be the Bear,
Bob T. Panda

Hearings for Bridgegate Announced

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In honor of the recent news that there will be new hearings for the New Jersey Bridgegate Scandal scheduled for sometime in February, I thought, what more appropriate subject could there be for this week’s Fabulous Furry Friday, than the National Zoo Highway Gate Scandals of 2014… Remember?

George Washington Bridge lane closure satire.

Princess Pinky Bao Bao…what have you done now?

Time to call in …Inspector panda!

Mei xiang and bao bao try to cover up highway-gate

Inspector Panda is on the job!

“Hello, Bai Yun? this is Lun Lun…about that detective you suggested…”

Tune in next Friday to see the conclusion to this exciting story…or, if you can’t wait that long, you can find the whole story in The Panda Chronicles Book 5: Pandapocalypse NOW!

Until we meet again…
Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda

Pacific Northwest Pandas

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Ever since I became a pandaholic (I’m not ashamed of my love), one of the great causes for sadness in my life is the fact that I have to get on a plane if I want to go and visit pandas. Not that I have any wish to live in Washington DC, especially as they are in the grasp of Snomaggedon 2016, but why, oh why can’t we have pandas in Seattle?

Well, it turns out that people who can get things done are actually talking to folks in China who hand out pandas (the Office of Panda Procurement and Proliferation). We have no idea if they will be successful in bringing pandas to Washington State, but be assured that we are keeping our fuzzy ears to the ground on this one!

I bet Seattle Pandas would vote for Bob!

I can also attest to the fact that bamboo grows really well around here, so if there were Pacific Northwest Pandas they would have plenty of bamboo to choose from! The weather here is very conducive to panda proliferation, so what’s holding us back (I mean besides vast sums of money)? So, if you are a Seattle area millionaire with a fondness for the fuzzy black and white bears, now is the time to come forward and say “I want pandas!!!!!”

There remains only one crucial piece of this campaign to bring pandas to the Pacific Northwest and that is…(wait for it) a really good Twitter hashtag! Please add your suggestions for a Twitter hashtag to the comments section and I will give the contributor of the best hashtag suggestion a signed copy of my latest book, The Panda Chronicles Book 6: We R Endangered (sorry, US entrants only, but even if you don’t live in the US, please share your suggestions. I’ll come up with something less expensive to mail if you have the winning suggestion.)

Till next time!

Be the Bear!
Bob T. Panda

A late note: An alert reader brought to my attention, the news that Chuck Todd on Meet the Press not only played the video of Tian Tian frolicking in the snow, but suggested that maybe a panda should be president. I am not making this up. She thought it might be code for “Vote 4 Pinky” but it could just as easily be “Hey! Why not vote for Bob?”