Fabulous Furry Friday

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It’s hard to believe that 2015 is almost halfway over. Where does the time go? Any day now, the panda progeny season may begin. We are hopeful that there might be two new panda cubbies in the US, although we are hoping for a trifecta, which has not happened yet. Ms Lun Lun of Atlanta has not revealed whether she is interested in completing the triple crown of panda-dom, but we are ever hopeful!

We had no new panda cubs in the US last year, but in 2013, we celebrated the birth of the Meihems and…ahem…Princess Pinky, America’s sweetheart (“and icon! don’t forget I am a icon!!!!!”).

I think this would be an excellent opportunity for Fabulous Furry Friday to look back on the birth of our about to be two year-old reigning panda princesses, don’t you?

A look-back at the birth of the meihem twinkies would not be complete without Mr. Wu’s commentary.

The first appearance of the twinkies on The Panda Chronicles

Sweet dreams, little bears! This cartoon was written before…um…Pinky poofed the twins into girls.

And just how did the panda kindergarten get her address?

Such a little darling! How could her big brother resist spoiling her?

When Pinky got her first tutu…

Tune in again next week, for more from the childhood of the Meihems and Princess Pinky!
(Not to mention more from the Pinky for president campaign! Vote Pinky 2016!)

Be the Bear,
Bob T. Panda

Sorry, You Are Not on the List.

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Sometimes inspiration hits when you are least expecting it, and in today’s cartoon, I was inspired to give the 2013 born triplets (now heretofore in these pages to be known collectively as “the minions”) a very important job as part of Pinky’s campaign team.

If you’d like to see Pinky, you need to be on the list.

And Mommee, sorry, you are not on the list.

Minion security: you can’t be too careful.

I think maybe the little girl minion is still too star struck by Princess Pinky to really be taking her job seriously, but hey, who isn’t? Pinky Money, anyone?

Meanwhile, I am starting to think about the next book in the Panda Chronicle series….Huzzah! Stay tuned.

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

Fabulous Furry Friday

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It has been Pinky Pinky Pinky all the time around here lately. I do like to give the other pandas a chance to shine, but Pinky is so persuasive! What is a panda satirist supposed to do?

But a news story making the rounds of the panda faithful caught my attention this week, involving not Pinky but her mother! It turns out, that Mei Xiang had a very successful film career, long before Pinky or even Tai Shan was a gleam in their father’s eye. Yes, according to some research done by Pandas International, Mei Xiang (otherwise known as Pinky’s Mommee) was the sneezing baby panda, with over 200,000,000 views on and off youtube.

There will be a response to this news, in the pages of the Panda Chronicles, but not just yet. In the meantime, enjoy these cartoons from the archives for Fabulous Furry Friday!

Boopie and the pandas…

a morality tale…

…in several parts…

…but Boopie and the pandas live happily ever after. Ben does not.

Have a happy weekend, ya’ll!

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

A Walk in the Woods

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I just saw notice today of something that makes me very happy! Bill Bryson’s book, A Walk in the Woods has been made into a movie which will be released this September! For those of you who have not yet read Bryson’s hilarious account of walking the Appalachian trail, I suggest you get your furry behinds to your nearest library or bookstore and acquire a copy. Like all of Bryson’s books, AWITW contains humor, interesting facts and history, as well as a few things that can kill you.

Huzzah!

To celebrate, I share a few cartoons of bears being bears.

another cartoon inspired by real news!

Thanks again to Henry Nicholls for alerting me to this story

Bob still likes to get out in the field once in a while.

Oh those polar bears! What jokers they are!

Be the Bear! And have a Fabulous Furry Friday!
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

Sneaky Bob

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Well, that was a dramatic announcement last week, wasn’t it? Pinky has informed her mother that she will be running for president! But….I got three whole (very sincere) votes in the last election! Doesn’t that count for anything?

Bob wouldn’t try anything sneaky, would he? Would he???????

Fabulous Furry Friday

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With all this talk about Pinky running for President, I thought a look back at Bob T. Panda’s run for the White House back in 2012 was called for, don’t you? Who could forget those dramatic days….First Girlfriend candidate Babette de Panda, Bob’s vile opponent, Mittens the Cat? It was a non stop political pandarama!

Babette has ..um…toned her wardrobe down in honor of this important occasion.

In the words of Winnie ther Pooh, “I think it’s time for a little something.”

Huzzah!

Does being endangered have NO privileges?

Cats….you just can’t trust em.

Keep cool, cat, and don’t go blaming women for stuff. That is SO not the way to get votes…

Wasn’t that trip down memory lane fun? I can’t hardly wait to see what Pinky has up her paws to help her win this election. And we know Pinky can’t help but win, what with being an icon and all …. and the Winner of the Smithsonian icon Smackdown is…

A special thanks to all of you who have supported panda satire through purchases of my books and stuff with panda satire on them from PandyLand on Cafe Press. Some new designs will be coming out in the next couple of months. In the works are designs for Bee, the Bear, the Meihems, Inspector Panda, the Wu Self, Babette de Panda, and who knows what other panda characters will be commemorated this way? If you have a special request, please feel free to share it in a comment, or on the contact us page. 10 % of revenue from Pandyland sales will go to one of several Panda Support organizations. In April, we supported (or will, as soon as we get our proceeds from Cafe Press!) will go to Pandas International, to help assist them in all that they do for pandas. Huzzah!

Be the Bear, and have a fabulous furry, FRIDAY!
Bob T. Panda