Was “Selfie Bear” on her way to Washington DC? I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?
Hi hi hi hi!
Be the Bear!
Bob TI JUST FOUND OUT THERE IS A BEAR CAM Panda
The Woodland Park Zoo Bear Cam shall henceforth be known as the Pookie Cam (at least, that is how it is labeled in my bookmarks.)
Pookie got a letter! Fan mail from some Flounder?
This is rather off the subject of pandas and other bears, but I know some of the readers of the Panda Chronicles have from time to time tried their hand at making some art. I wanted to give those folks (and others who like to get a glimpse into the artists process) a heads up. My good friend in real life David Daniels is doing a Zoom demonstration through Daniel Smith’s Art Supply. You can also watch it on Facebook live HERE.
This will take place on Friday, January 27th at 1:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. Dave is a brilliant painter, a kind, funny, and experienced teacher. He lives in the DC area (I made him go with me to see the pandas once or twice, notably when Mei was sequestered with tiny baby Pinky and we watched them on the panda cam in a restaurant. I never did hear the end of that. But I digress.
This is a great opportunity to see Dave in action, in case you were thinking it might be fun to take some painting classes, either in person or on Zoom.
I shared my annual tribute to Mehitabel, gone from my couch, but never from my heart, and definitely not from art and The ZooNooZ Nooz desk at Panda Chronicles Headquarters. I hope you’ll check it out!
Be the Bear,
Bob T I really am a panda Panda
It is futile to resist the pookiness of the Pookies. Don’t even try!
It is a sad fact, that when bears come into contact with people, the bear is often the loser. When I visited the Calgary Zoo a few years ago (in the “before times”) their resident grizzly bear was a many times offender. They had his rap sheet posted outside his enclosure. He was one of the lucky ones. Instead of being killed for his many incursions on cars and garbage cans, there was a place for him at the Calgary Zoo, where he has lived a long and peaceful life.
Pookie Two’s mom, from Montana, was not so lucky. She had become habituated to grazing in garbage cans, and while we could only hope that she might eat a certain congresswoman from Colorado, she won’t get the chance. But don’t tell Pookie Two. She thinks her mom moved to a farm upstate. Do you want to be the one to tell her?
I didn’t think so.
Be the Bear
Bob T I hardly ever eat out of trashcans Panda
I know I tend to re-use names. For the first couple years of my descent in to Pandaholism, all my panda stuffies were named “Bob”. We will try to differentiate between the Seattle Pookies, and Bikkie’s friend from Alaska, Pookie.
I’m sure we’ll manage!
And while I really hate leaving the island to go into civilization, I am determined to shepherd the Pookies at The Woodland Park Zoo through their cubbyhood! I know I should not bring this up, but we could be looking at a temporarily (we hope it’s just temporary) panda-less existence here in the US. Memphis’s pandas leave near the end of this year, and the Pandalanta Pandas and the DC pandas contracts are running out. There is still no word on whether pandas will return to SanDiego. The pandemic put a definite crimp in the budgets of the zoos and the US is not getting along particularly well with China.
The Pookies just might be able to be the bears…
Panda On!
Bob T a bear by any other name Panda
You know that scary part of the movie when the main character realizes the monster/villain/creepy supernatural being is in the house?
Hopefully by next week I’ll be back on my regular schedule. (if there are no more wind storms where the power goes out for day)
Be the Bear
Bob T keeping my fingers crossed for Democratic control of Congress Panda
I had a whole thing about Election Day thought up for yesterday’s post, but the windstorm last Friday laid waste to all of my plans! But I KNOW all of my faithful readers are voters so I really didn’t need to nag you, right?
So without further ado, here is the ‘toon I was not able to post yesterday!
Did you guess the movie reference in the first panel?
Well, gotta run. It’s amazing how far behind you get in your email and everything else when the power has been out for 4 days.
Be the Bear!
Bob T is holding out hope for the House remaining blue Panda
Don’t forget to check out my Substack thingie!
I realize it has been a bit of time since the last installment of Life in the Panda House, but there were those Fat Bear Week scandals to address, and then the whole “the Deep State is making hurricanes hit GOP states” thingie.
Is it my imagination or are Six and Sebben getting more poorly behaved, bless their hearts?
Don’t forget to check out my Substack Nooz-letter! You can read this year’s annual Encore Presentation of The Wizard of Wu!
Be the Bear
Bob T is not afraid of Six and Sebben Panda
There is nothing so heartwarming as all the panda kids (and Pookie) gathered around the kitchen table, playing Go Fishie!
Be the Bear
Bob T cubpaigns don’t pay for themselves! Panda
Note to all the people who commented whether on Facebook or Twitter: there are NO plans to add a third floor to the Panda House so that Pinky can have a full penthouse suite and not have to share a bathroom with all the little cubbies.
Now where did all those boxes of Go Fishies crackers come from?
Be the Bear
Bob T no search warrants served this week Panda
I really hate technical difficulties. Was it Mercury in retrograde? Sun spots? Six and Sebben messing with my internet provider? Mittens stealing the entire internet? But for some reason I couldn’t get this website to even open, let alone log in. Fortunately my web guru was able to wave a magical wand or maybe it fixed itself. Who knows?
Several of you might have noticed that on Twidder I had posted some enigmatic comments about waiting for something. What I was waiting for was to hear whether I had been selected for a short residency retreat for women who write/draw humorous comics.
Well, I finally heard, and to cut to the chase, I was not accepted, but I had a lovely bit of communication with the person in charge, a cartoonist I have long admired and have a lot of respect for. (Am I sucking up if she is reading this? Um…mebbee?) A long time ago, I took an artist’s business practices class, and while I may forget what I went upstairs for five minutes ago, I still remember what the instructor said about applying for things: Apply for everything you are remotely qualified for. While you might not get the thing, you never know who is going to see your work, what connections you will make for the future.
While it would have been really great to go someplace that isn’t home, have the opportunity to work and talk with others who are on the same path, it was great to be validated as being “the real deal.”
The Panda Cub Swap has been released into the world! Written by Beth Bacon and illustrated by moi, it’s the story of Lun Lun and the first surviving set of twins born at Zoo Atlanta.
You can order it from your local book store, your library, or Amazon using this link:
If you enjoy it and are so inclined, writing a short review on Amazon helps other people discover the book. I am so proud of the illustrations I did for the book. BTW, at some point this fall I will be offering the original illustrations for sale, so if you have a favorite one in the book, let me know if you are interested in having it.
Be the Bear
Bob T hoping the Democrats can hold on to Congress Panda