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.

If I could turn back time…

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Some comics let their characters age, grow, get old disappear, add new characters as the older characters end their story lines. Some comics keep their characters in a state of suspended animation. Calvin remained six for all 10 years of Calvin and Hobbes. I’ve done a bit of the combination of the two, freezing characters at the age that is most conducive to the story lines that I have created.

Pandas come, and sometimes they go (Yun Zi, who really only appeared as a foil to young Mr. Wu, left for China as part of a story line) but mostly, I’ve left Princess Pinky, Bubba, the Meihems, and Six and Sebben as perennial pre-teens because that’s where my mind finds the most fertile story telling. And of course now there is Bikkie!

But now that the real life Pinky Boo Boo has had a cubby, it is very enticing to imagine that Pinky will now be on the receiving end of everything she has put her mother through. But I’m not ready to give up on Pinky as a small panda princess, intent on world domination. Therefore, I’m working on one of those dream sequence story lines, where for now, Pinky and Pinky Junior will exist only in Pinky’s dreams, at least for now!

So, let’s remember everything we love about Pinky! #Clap Louder!

Princess Pinky paper doll — Princess Pinky and her very first tutu, gifted to her by her big brother Tai Shan!

Bao bao changes panda cub gender — Pinky is VERY powerful. Be afraid, be very afraid, Mr Wu.

Princess Pinky helps with new years resolutions — You say you want a resolution, well, you know, it is hard to change a bear….

Bao Bao is unhappy — Could Mama Mei Xiang really be contemplating letting Pinky loose on the pandy kindy?

Easter — A tiskitt a taskitt , a great big wheelie basket!

Whatever holiday you celebrate, I hope it was a happy one!

Be the Bear!
#ClapLouder
Bob T Panda

Who are YOU calling a fool, April?

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While it is a relief to have someone I can call “President” unironically, I still am traumatized enough by my memories of the former guy that every time I hear a phrase that includes “The White House” or “POTUS” I have a momentary flood of dread until I remember that Joe Biden is President and that he is doing what needs to be done to get this country back on track.

That all is not well, that Asian Americans are being targeted and attacked, that a 17 year old girl had the courage and foresight to film a police attack on an unarmed man, I still can’t rest easily.

But we have survived another month! More people are getting vaccinated and I will hold onto the hope that gives me. I really hope I can visit Bikkie and his parents this fall. That is just one of my hopes.

Meanwhile, Bob and Mehitabel try to figure out what’s real and what’s an April Fools Joke!

Poor Bob! What do you do when every thing that’s true seems like a prank?

Can we skip the April Showers and go straight to the flowers?

Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda

Don’t You Want Somebody to Hug…

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It’s been a long year, hasn’t it? Isolated in our pandemic quarantine quarters, zooming with friends or for work or for school. Only now, as vaccines are happening, are (some) people coming cautiously out of their dens…

Except of course for the morons who just can’t stay out of crowded bars and other places, and have been spreading viruses around like penny candy at a parade…

Meanwhile, some enterprising farms have a solution for that profound feeling of isolation we are all feeling…

Personally, I think the cows should get at least SOME of the money!

Okay…so I’m starting to get used to this new editing format, but I don’t like it yet.

Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda

Sunday Pandas!

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Once again, The Institute for Contemporary Panda Satire brings you your Sunday Round up of Panda ‘Toons!

It’s that Time of Year Again!

Tax — The only sure things are Pandas and taxes.

Taxes — Uh oh…it’s the Pinky Revenue Service!

I guess Pinky and the GOP have something in common, as much as it pains me to say…

When the truth is found… to beeee lies….

Remember to Buy Stuff with Pandas!

Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda

The Panda Kindergarten Must Be Stopped!!!

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I’m fairly sure that the Panda Kindergarten must be responsible for the difficulties I’ve been having with the Pandashpere. I am now setting this up in what WP calls the Block Editor. Things appear and disappear randomly, as if a certain small panda was using her magical wand to foul things up.

Hmm…

But when I try to use the “classic editor” which has helped me lo these many years to bring you all the panda satire you need and want, it does other strange things like not publish scheduled posts or stop working while I’m in the middle of composing these wise pontifications…um…I mean incoherent blatherings.

Oh well…maybe I should just ask Pinky!

Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda

You know you should never ask Pinky!

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Thank you to my talented web guru, I once again have the Classic Editor to set upon my posts. He put in a different plugin to allow me to have my luddite tendencies a bit longer. It does seem to be doing this strange thing once again. where I lose the connection temporarily, but it does seem to allow me to keep typing.

I don’t know. It’s all a mystery to me.

But Meanwhile, here is Pinky, once again, with all the answers!

Will Mei ever learn that it doesn’t pay to ask Pinky anything?

Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda

Spring is in the Air

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I’m still getting the hang of this new block(head) editor. I’m sure it is a good thing…now if I can just figure out how to do everything I need to do.

Speaking of doing things, I made some Easter Pandas! They’ll be available to order for a limited time.

The Easter Pandas! $42 plus the usual shipping charges. Maybe they will come with some tiny Easter eggs if I can find appropriate baskets!

So how about some ‘toons!

What’s Black and White and carries cuppycakes in a basket?

Your marketing team is just as important as your writing!

Oh, Bob, you didn’t really say that, did you?

And look who Bob’s suspension replacement is! Huzzah!

Well, I’m still finding my way around here, so that’s all for today. I’m still having trouble with the links to the new ‘toon post loading correctly when the link gets shared, but the general website address seems to work okay. So sharing on Twidder and fez book will be somewhat more erratic.

Till later…

Buy Stuff with pandas and Be the Bear!

Bob T Panda!

Maybe I Should Ask Pinky How to Fix the Computer….

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I seem to be having some technical difficulties, but hopefully, they will sort themselves out (and by themselves, I mean my very capable and accessible web guru, Nate Hoffelder who writes The Digital Reader and has a web guru business)

I wonder if some of my problems are due to my reluctance to give up the old editing interface that I’ve been using for the past 10 years, and move on to the new WordPress way of doing things….sigh…

Anyway….Pinky still has more questions to answer!

I wonder “who” the mysterious advice seeker is!

I am trying the newfangled editing thingie, and I guess I don’t totally hate it. Maybe I will even get used to it in a few weeks!

Till then…

Be the Bear
Bob T Panda

Beware the Ides of March!

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Oops. The Ides of March (whatever the heck they are) were yesterday. I’m more concerned with the Ides of April (aka tax day)! Maybe we should be more worried about the Ides of Pinky!

But fast on the heels of the Ides, comes National Panda Day! No, I am not making this up. (Some people would say that EVERY day is panda day, and you know? They might be right!)

Let’s Ask Pinky!

Pinky has another great idea!

Be the bear!
Bob T Panda

You Know What Today Is!

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Yes, it’s the beginning of Daylight Savings Time, here in most of the USA, and you know what THAT means!

Yes, it’s time for THIS ‘toon!

Sunday Funday KNOWS that this is one of your favorites!

I crack me up!

There are more ‘toons to come, but first…Last week the world of children’s literature lost one of it’s greatest practitioners, Norton Juster.

If you don’t recognize the name, run, don’t walk to your favorite bookstore, and buy your very own copy of The Phantom Tollbooth. TPT is one of those books. Published in 1961, I read it for the first time a few years after that. For years afterward, I could remember little snippets, but could never quite remember the title, or when I had read it, but the magic of this book never quite let go. When I found it again, it was as if I had been shown the entrance to a magical place, not unlike tasing through the tollbooth itself.

There are so many great books being written for children and teens right now. But I re-read The Phantom Tollbooth every year or so, because it never fails to reveal something new, that I really need to know. I hope you already love this book, but if you don’t know it, what are you waiting for?

And now, more pandas! (Expect the Panda Kindergarten!)

Well *bleep* and take your *bleep* and stick it *bleep*!!!!

Twinkies 2.0 put on a show!

I have extra frosting!

Today, you are a bear.

…if I were a panda, yadda dah dah da- da- da- AAARGH! I can’t stop!!!!!

After all, the playings the thing….

Be the Bear
Bob T Panda