Category Archives: All hail the Princess!

Day 4, 31 Days of Pandas

Well, not only is it 31 Days of Pandas, it is also Fabulous Furry Friday. We like to have some extra panda goodness to get us in the right frame of mind for the weekend. I mean, if you have a weekend and aren’t working all weekend or something unpleasant like that. Wait a minute….I’m working this weekend.

Well, maybe there will be time for a cuppycake.
I thought I would share a ‘toon or two about the early day’s of Pinky, since she has been sneaking in some appearances to The Wizard of Wu…

National Zoo cub makes mom Mei Xiang disappear

oops. Pinky gets her magical wand!

Princess Pinky is fooled by Mei Xiang at the National Zoo

Oh Princess Pinky, mom has a trick or two up her paw, I think…Bubba had best keep that in mind!

And now, continuing with our feature encore presentation of The Wizard of Wu…

Mr Wu meets up with someone who looks a lot like his brother, shortly after setting out on his journey

I have a bad feeling about this….

Are you SURE there will be no flying monkeys?

The wicked cat of the west attacks Mr Toasty

That cat is pure evil!

Sorry, no photo bomb from princess Pinky. her mother thought todays cartoon was too scary for her

Wow! Mr Wu and his friends are in a tight spot!

As it is Fabulous Furry Friday, AND the middle of the holiday shopping season, We feel compelled to add a little reminder that not only books make great presents, but so do “Vote for Pinky” and “Vote for Bob” goodies from our store at Pandyland. Not to mention prints from Pandamorphosis, available here! Consider yourselves informed! You can always find the links on our home page, too.

Until tomorrow!
Be the Bear,

Bob T Panda

Behind the Scenes at The Panda Chronicles

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You may wonder what the lives of The Panda Chronicles pandas are like when they are not on camera. Mr Wu, being a California bear, enjoys surfing and driving around in his cubvertable. The Meihem twins, besides being Panda Scouts, enjoy relaxing together and plotting ways to make Pinky mad.

And Pinky… well, Pinky likes to relax in her luxuriously appointed private quarters, while catching up on some educational reading.

What is Pinky reading?

And if you are wondering what your nearest and dearest would like for this year’s holiday, consider Pinky’s campaign swag!

Although why I am suggesting this instead of “Hey! Why not vote for Bob” merchandise is beyond me!

Aren’t we in enough trouble already?

Be the Bear
Bob T. Panda

Let the excesses of the season begin! It’s almost time for 31 Days of Pandas!

Shark Week at Pinky’s Pond

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This past week was Shark Week on TV. It’s some big anniversary year for the movie Jaws, the movie that caused more loads of laundry than…oh…never mind. I don’t even watch TV, but you can’t step foot into the inter webs and not be bombarded with posts about Shark Week.

So be it.

Anyway…Princess Pinky’s minions are celebrating Shark Week in their own unique and adorable way. So…um… does anyone know if there are actually strap on shark fins available for smart-ass swimmers? Just wondering.

It’s Shark Week at the panda kindergarten! Roar!!!!

Sharks have got nothing on Pinky, who is still hacking into my computer and messing up my headline graphics.

Sigh. This cannot continue.

Be the Bear,
Bob T. Panda

But First, a Word From Reality

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We all love pandas. And we all love panda satire. (okay, I’m stretching the point a little, but just be patient with me.) So if you are here, and reading this blog, I think we can agree that we have at least one thing in common. Pandas.

But now, let’s have a word from reality…

I’m guessing that we all have differing opinions on some things and that’s okay. Every once in a while, I make someone mad because I put words in my pandas’ mouths that disagree with what the reader believes and that’s okay too.

Today, the Supreme Court agreed that any two people in this country can get married and that their marriage will be recognized throughout the country. I think that’s marvelous. I myself have no intention of getting married, but that has been my right to get married or not for my whole life. I have friends and family who this has not been their good fortune, to have this as their decision to do or not. But now they have that right and I say huzzah!

The cynic in me says that as the years and decades go by, same sex couples will discover the rights of divorce, child custody and community property, but perhaps that’s as it should be. Why should heterosexual couples have all the fun?

The pandas have nothing to say about this, at least not yet. The general atmosphere in the pandy kindy is one of celebrations. After all, it’s really hard to tell what sex pandas are, let alone whether they are the same sex or not.

This political season promises to be an even more acrimonious one than those that preceded it. I will do my best to only make fun of the things that people actually say and do, and so far it seems like this is going to be a bonanza year for satire. If I make something up, I will try to make sure that it is rooted in reality, and not just me saying something nasty about someone whose politics I disagree with.

Okay. enough of this serious crap. Let’s have fun with pandas! Vote Pinky 2016!

Vote for Pinky. Do YOU want to explain why you didn’t?

Bring on the clown car!

BTW, you can show your support for Pinky by buying Vote Pinky merchandise at my pandyland store. Huzzah!

Be the Bear,
Bob T. Panda

Pinky Money, Part 2

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Pinky’s campaign to be President is rocketing on, despite the little set back of not being able to sell Tiger selfies at the Zoo. Some people are so unreasonable!!!!

In concert with Pinky’s recently discovered popularity, her plan to print her own money is working out nicely, at least for Pinky.

For Bob T., not so much.

Butter wouldn’t melt in her adorable little mouth….

And yes, there really is Pinky Money.Don’t spend it all in one place.

I wanted to add a special thanks thanks to writer Jane Steen, who gave me a lovely write up in her newsletter this week. A few weeks ago, she wrote a post about how she had written a chapter that contained references to some early John Singer Sargent paintings that didn’t exist. Being a huge Sargent fan, I wrote to her, telling her of my…um…penchant for forging Sargent. Thanks again for your kind and complimentary words, Jane. Not to mention the plug for pandas. Did I mention I have books for sale?

Be the Bear,
Bob T. Panda

It’s Official! Pinky is More Popular Than…

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We now have absolute proof that Pinky is more popular than…

Any. Other. Animal. At. The. Smithsonian. Zoo. I bet you thought I was going to quote John Lennon.

At least any that have their own animal cam. The elephants were the closest contenders, with over 600,000 views. Pah! Chicken feed!!!! Do you want to guess how many views the panda cam had in 2014? Oh…you already looked. Well, if you were waiting for me to tell you, the panda cam had in excess of 38,000,000 views. Rumor has it, the panda cam takes more than 60% of the zoo’s bandwidth (whatever that is). Well… do you really want to watch anyone other than Pinky?

editors note: We just received a clarification from a reader who actually knows this for a fact (because she works for the Smithsonian) that the panda cam actually takes up 60% of the ENTIRE SMITHSONIAN bandwidth (19 museums and 9 research centers), not just the Zoo. Ahem. Pinky IS an icon. Just sayin’

I thought not.

Proof positive of Pinky’s persuasive popularity!

Which leads to me to my other “truth is weirder than fiction but provides great inspiration for panda satire” news story: Pinky Money! Okay, it’s really just a commemorative coin, but a small bear can dream, can’t she? (Note: this is NOT an endorsement for Pinky Money.)

BTW, we apologize for not adding any more of the WeREndangered mug series that we promised. We were “away” (no, not in prison!) for a few weeks and then got sick on our return, so the new mug program is set back a bit. I’m going to get right on it though! Bee the Bear and Mr. Wu are not waiting very patiently, and neither are the Meihems. Stay tuned to the Panda Channel and we will let you know when they are on the shelf.

Be the Bear and vote Pinky Pinky Pinky in 2016!
Bob T Panda

I’m Just Drawn That Way

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Poor, poor, adorable little Pinky. She is so misunderstood. What is a small panda with visions of grandeur to do, but to run for president? And what can that poor panda do when her mommee thwarts her at every turn?

As Pinky likes to remind me, I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way.

Mei Xiang and the Zoo Director have gotten their panties in a knot, it seems.

Ha ha! Sorree, mommee.

Be the Bear
Bob T Panda

Money for Pinky!

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I know you want to just cut to the chase and go see what Pinky has up her paws to raise money for Pinky and her presidential campaign, but just bear with me a minute.

Oh. You can’t wait…read a few of my thoughts, it’s just but what is Pinky up to NOW, you want to know!

Oh, all right. Go ahead a look. I’ll be right here.

Are you back?
Good.
So I was listening the National Panda Radio the other day, and I heard a story about how paper is making a comeback. And it’s not just about books. There are recent studies that suggest that students retain more relevant information by writing, rather than typing on a laptop or tablet. Artist and writer Lynda Barry (now Dr. Lynda, thanks to a honorary doctorate from my alma mater The University of the Arts in Philadelphia) suggests that ideas and memories can be triggered and stimulated by the actual act of putting pencil to paper.

This is encouraging and validating for a luddite such as myself, who refuses to get a Waccom tablet to draw and paint digitally, and insists on drawing with pencil and india ink with a dip pen (a dip pen, for crying out loud!!!!) to bring you all the panda satire you can stand. Many is the day when I started a cartoon without an idea, but I would draw a nose, and then some ears, and before I knew it, pandas were doing stuff and it was funny!

Okay… Well, I thought it was funny.

Just in case you were wondering how Pinky came up with the idea to do this:

I really had no idea what she was up to.

I’m sure there will be some consequences both for Pinky and myself.
See you next time!

Be the Bear!
Bob T. Panda

The Great DC Blackout 1

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A few weeks ago, there was a power outage in Washington DC (which we like to call “the OTHER Washington” out my way) but has it ever been shown what caused the DC Blackout?

Hmmmm….I wonder….

What are Pinky and her minions getting up to?

Oh my….get ready for more Triple Trouble!

Be the Bear,
Bob T. Panda

More Email Scandals

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It was bad enough when Bob used his private email account for his official campaign communications, but I had no idea (I’m shocked, I tell you!) that Princess Pinky was doing the same thing. Who knew that zoo panda communications were considered official documents?

What could Pinky be up to…?

Who would have thought that this would cause more email scandals ….