Category Archives: the essential pandaness of being

Day 4: 31 Days of Pandas

Before we get to Sunday’s feature cartoon, here is today’s 31 Days of Pandas offering. As you all know, pandas adore cuppycakes and when in London, all pandas head for Peggy Porschen’s Cakes! It’s hard not to read this as “I’d like a piggy portion of cake,” but that’s not the name of the place. The name is Peggy, NOT piggy!

Here is Bob waiting in line to get some cuppycakes!

I’ll have…um…4 of everything.

And now…here’s today’s ‘toon!

Is Bob still trying to have opinions? Wait! am I a celebrity?

Be the Bear…
Bob T Panda, from the Island of Misfit Pandas (Thank you A.M.Y.!)

Bob Has an Opinion

12 Replies

I know, I know, I know…you come here for entertainment. You come for a little pandy relief from the horrors that comprise the real world. I sympathize. I really do. You come to see funny, badly behaved little pandas, doing non-panda-like things. You didn’t come here to get my OPINION on all this mishegas that is going on. But the fact that I know and can use the word mishegas correctly in a sentence, means that I am a target for that meshugener shmendrik and his minions.

So. I have opinions. read them, don’t read them. It’s okay. Hold your hands over your ears and hum softly to yourself while you scroll till you get to the pandas. It’s okay. I’m glad you’re here. But ya gotta know, I have opinions. And one of my opinions is that these are not normal times. This is not a normal president. We must not normalize hatred or discrimination. Pandas are black and white and asian, and sometimes it’s hard to tell what gender they are. If that isn’t diversity, I don’t know what is.

Okay! you can look now! The editorial is over!

oh…um…maybe not.

You just couldn’t keep your mouth shut, could you?

And by the way, tomorrow starts 31 days of pandas! I’m doing something a little different this year, because…um…I didn’t have time to draw a new cartoon every day. The usual schedule of new ‘toons on Sunday and Wednesday continues, along with a bunch of my favorite encore presentations on Fridays. On the other 4 days of the week, we have …(make a trumpet sound here)…

The Travels of Mini Bob! Huzzah!

Mini Bob has just returned from a fabulous trip, sponsored by the Froggwell Cultural Institute, to jolly olde England, where, among other things, he got to see the honest to god original drawings and sketches from The House at Pooh Corner! More on that later, but be sure to tune in tomorrow for the the first day of Mini Bob’s travel photos!

Panda On
Bob T Panda

Meihems to the Rescue

12 Replies

When you need pandas, you can’t do better than a little bit of Meihem to fix what needs fixing. Needless to say, Pinky is going to need some extra persuasive coaching to be convinced to come out from under the covers. But meanwhile, back at the zoo, there was some real life drama happening. Bubba’s real life counterpart, Bei Bei had to go in for emergency surgery, due to a “lemon size lump of bamboo” plugging up his guts. He is back home and resting quietly (I believe Pinky is reading him her rough draft of her autobiography, in order to lull him to sleep) and I’m sure I will have a ‘toon or two relating to the ordeal, but first, this!

When you need help, best call for MEIHEM!

Care for a little Meihem?

And don’t forget to get ready for this years 31 Days of Pandas! We have a special treat, The Travels of Mini-Bob! Get ready to join Mini-Bob as he visits Merry Olde England, and some historic sights (and Pooh Bear!!!!!)

Panda On!
Bob T Panda

Can I Have Extra Whipped Cream on Mine?

26 Replies

Who doesn’t love whipped cream? And who doesn’t look forward to Starbucks’ special holiday drinks, or those red cups?!? Now, for those that know me well, they know that I worked at *$ many moons ago, and even though I have departed their shores some 28 (almost 29!!!) years ago, I still harbor…um… a little bit of a grudge against them. But I have to say, this story had me rooting for them, or at least their hard working baristas…Twitter followers made a relevant point, that if DJT supporters wanted to BOYCOTT Starbucks, they were…um…going about it in somewhat ineffective way.

And dude…they weren’t discriminating against you by serving you slowly. It takes time to make a half caff triple pandachino with part non fat milk and extra syrup and extra whipped cream. And you were standing behind that person. If you want your coffee fast, go to a gas station. (And I still don’t know how the barista would know who you voted for, in order to serve you more slowly.)

So I made a ‘toon celebrating chronicling the event.

Can I have EXTRA extra whipped cream?

Panda On!!!!
Bob T Panda

And don’t forget, you can get any of the WeREndangered cups from my cafe press store: Pandyland

Panda On, Panda On

4 Replies

Yes, I am panda-ing on, even in the face of my unease over what is to come after this devastating outcome to the election of 2016. Panda on, Panda on! We must panda on. We have lost so many bright stars from the sky: Gene Wilder, Leonard Cohen, Alan Rickman (sob), Prince, David Bowie, Bob Elliott, Harper Lee, Gwen Ifill, Muhammad Ali, Elie Wiesel (what must he be thinking right now?) and so many more. Some of my panda friends on Facebook have lost those nearest and dearest to their hearts.

Must we go on? In the words of Gene Wilder in his role in Blazing Saddles, “We must, we must.”

Panda On!!!!!

Feed me, Mama!

And how did Pinky manage to hack into my computer again?

Those darn emails…

Really, Pinky….It’s not nice to tease your little brother.

Nooooo! Not the PINK crayon!

Yes, there IS a Panda Chronicles Coloring Book! Get it HERE!

What is Pinky reading?

Now, more than ever….

Happy 100th day Birthday! More frosting!

And if you are looking for the perfect holiday accompaniment to your breakfast table…

Have yourself a Pandy little Christmas…

Be the Bear,
Bob T Panda

Have a Fabulous Furry Friday

Girl Power Lives On

12 Replies

Just between you, me, and how ever many of the millions of people out there in the cyber are listening, I gotta tell you I am still severely depressed over the election results. I am going to do my best to panda on, because the alternative is just too grim to think about. I have responsibilities to you all! The pandas give me what little hope I have for the future. If I ever needed some panda power, now is as good a time as any. And panda girl power is even better.

Last weekend, I spent 3 days with a group of illustrators and writers of books for children. It did more than I could have believed possible to lift my spirits. We did some good work under the guidance of our wonderful illustrators in residence, Catia Chien and Christian Robinson. It reminded me that the way I will survive the next months and years will be to make creative work, be it painting, illustrations or pandas!

So, it’s gonna be a bumpy road. I know many of you are hurting as well. I will keep the pandas coming,although they just might not be as funny as they have been. I’ll try to keep the selections for my Friday encore presentations on the light side, because…well, because we need that.

Panda On!

Will there be cuppycakes?

Be the Bear,
Bob T Panda

Fun with Pandas

15 Replies

I did promise everyone that after the election was over I would shut my yap and get back to pandas all the time and not pandas behaving badly, but the FUN pandas, the cute, adorable ones. Yes, yes, it is more entertaining when bears are behaving badly, but I think we all need a little break with some unbridled cuteness! While in real life, the Meihem twins have gone on to their new adventure in China (and adjusting quite well, I might add) in the world of panda satire, Lun Lun does not have to give up her free baby sitters. She can go off on spa trip with her best buddies from the other zoos, and Bert and Ernie can stay home and watch their new baby sisters!

Denial is a wonderful thing, is it not?

Be the Bear
Bob T Panda

Between the time I Drew this cartoon and now, my worst fear has materialized. I’m not going to add to the trauma right now with yet another iteration of why I think the outcome of this election is such a bad thing. Enjoy today’s presentation and take a deep breath. I’m afraid that as art is always a reflection of the experieience of the artist, cuteness alone will not suffice. I mean, pandas ARE always cute, but they suffer from angst as well.

The cartoons in the next few weeks or months will most likely reflect what I am feeling, so be prepared. I will be sorry if you feel you need to step away for a while, but I do understand. I have unsubscribed to a thing or two this past week because I needed to for my own peace of mind.

Y’all are da bears.

#WeShallOvercome

It’s a girl! It’s another girl!

You Voted …Right?

4 Replies

Today is a good day to be the bear

From Pinky to Bubba…his own bunny!

Panda Cam Follies

Oh those red pandas! They are such characters!

20) Mr. Wu was very expressive and creative…

Will that hold you until tomorrow?

We are all so very tired. So very, very tired. All that is left to be done is….read panda satire and watch panda videos all day! Huzzah! (You voted , right?)

Be the Bear, (and don’t forget to vote!)

Bob T. Panda

Pandas in the news

8 Replies

There have been rumors that this day was coming. The pandas in the news today are none other than the Cublanta twinkles (version 1.0) Mei Lun and Mei Huan, collectively known to those who love them, as the Meihems. They are also known here in The Panda Chronicles as Bert and Ernie, Panda Scouts extraordinaire! The deal with our rental pandas is that cubs that are born in the US (and other countries that host pandas) are sent to China sometime after they turn 2. Mostly, we have been able to keep them till they are four, and in some cases (like Xi Lan, also of Cublanta) till they were five. It was officially announced last week that the Meihems would be going to China this fall, most likely in November.

I don’t like it any more than you do, but that’s the deal we made, so that’s the deal we have. Fortunately for panda satire, I can keep them here as long as I want. Like most long running comics, characters come and go, or recede into the back ground. That is not my intention here, but as a dedicated pantser, I can’t tell you from one day to the next where my stories are going.

Meanwhile, Let’s Celebrate the Meihems!!!

Atlanta twin panda cubs Mei Lun and Mei Huan and older prother Po

This was before Pinky pooled them all and turned them into girls.

Bears will be bears!

Pinky is always butting in on the Meihem’s ‘toons!

Fast furry friends…for now…what could possibly go wrong!

Pandas are standing by to take your calls!

Want more from Pinky and the Meihems? You DO have The Panda Chronicles Book 5: Pandapocalypse NOW! don’t you? You don’t? Why the heck not? Take care of that right away, ‘kay?

And if you have a chance to get down to Cublanta before the Meihems leave (and I hope you do) say hi for me, and tell them Bob sent you!

Be the Bear,
Bob T Panda

A Very Merry Birthday

24 Replies

One* downside of only doing 2 cartoons a week, is that sometimes events slip through the cracks and I don’t get to them in a timely manner. All of the panda birthday events happen in a very short period of time (not quite as short as the panda season of love, but, you know, those events are connected.) But recent news of the upcoming birthdays of two much loved Pandarazzi of The National Zoo gives me the perfect excuse to post this new ‘toon now!

I am particularly indebted to those regular zoo visitor panda photographers that chronicle the real pandas that fuel my panda satire obsession. I am far from pandas and my opportunities to visit them are limited, so to all who share their photos and videos on Fezbook and Twidder, this one is for you too!

Happy Birthday, Merry and Allen R. I hope your birthday celebration is everything you hope it will be!

Bubba flunks “cake”

Up and away…..

Have a panful day out there, and for goodness sakes, have some CAKE!!!!!

Be the Bear!
Bob T. Panda

Thanks to @houseofcubs and @Marcelopachecop @gisela_smith @pinkypanda0823 @BaoBaoPanda @MommyMei98 @tiantianpanda97 @BooBooPanduh my twitter pals that alerted me to Merry and Allen’s birthday! Hope you guys enjoy this birthday surprise!

The other downside are the wails of despair when folks realize they have to wait another 4 days for a new ‘toon.