The Case of the Picturesque Panda: Our story so far…

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There has been great rejoicing in Panda-ville this week! Panda triplets have been born in China and three weeks later all are still surviving. Princess Pinky Bao Bao’s 1st birthday approaches, the Atlanta Meihem sisters have turned one year old, as has Bai Yun’s great granddaughter, Princess Dumpling, resident of Taipei. And let us not forget Mr. Wu who has just turned two!

Not only that, I am up to Episode 10 in Inspector Panda’s mystery! Huzzah! In honor of all the Panda happiness going around, I am going to post the ENTIRE SERIES SO FAR, so that you don’t have to go linking about, possibly missing an episode or three along the way.

So, without further ado, here’s Inspector Panda (start nourish music soundtrack here:)

If “trouble” ever had a proper name, that name is Babette de Panda…

When a panda has a problem, you know where to turn…Inspector Panda, I presume.

…and so the story begins…

…of a young panda’s arrival in France, and all that followed…

Why DOES Mr Wu have a piece of tape on his right ear?

Let’s see who stayed awake during art history classes!

Oh, that Mr Wu is a clever little bear! Is Madame du Panda trying to pull a fast one?

Is this plot thickening, or what?

I don’t know about you, but I think this document is VERY suspicious!

Mr Wu observes an interesting detail….

Mr Wu is still skeptical of Babette’s story…

“fuggedabout the bleeping tape!”

Oh that Babette!

Inspector Panda: the bear with the clues…

The search for clues begins…

…but Mr Wu still has a lot to learn when it comes to detecting.

Many thanks to panda fans who are enjoying and sharing panda satire around the inter-webs! Keep up the good work. Also a sincere pandy welcome to Anna and hubby Patrick, new Panda Chronicle fans that I met whilst at a family wedding on Whidbey Island last weekend. Yes! That’s you!

See you all on Friday (of the fabulous furry variety!) when we have a special tribute to Pinky, in celebration of her upcoming birthday! Huzzah!

Be the Bear!
Bob T. Panda

The UnBEARable Snarkiness of Being

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Really, sometimes real life just makes it too easy to be snotty and make fun of something I hear about on the news. An actual radio station in Calgary, Alberta determined that because their listeners were getting much of their news from abbreviated social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, that maybe their listeners were thinking that the songs they listened to were way too long.

I am not making this up.

But I am going to make fun of it.

Aren’t you done yet?

There is some understandable and justifiable backlash coming from the recording artists whose songs are being butchered, and rightly so. What’s next? Is someone going to walk into my gallery and ask just to buy the “best” part of the painting? Maybe so.

Be the Bear
Bob T. P…(shortened due to waning attention span of readers)

What a Fabulous Furry Friday It Is…

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Today, Fabulous Furry Friday brings you more Great Moments in History! Today is the 40th anniversary of Richard M. Nixon’s resignation from the presidency, as a result of, well, some really bad stuff he did. But as much as we might like to think otherwise, we do have a few things for which to thank old Tricky Dick , the most important being….

Hello? Pandas?????

The first “official” pandas that came to live permanently in the USofA

And while we are talking pandas and politics, a faithful reader and supporter sent me a link to this story of a NY Congressional representative who is going trolling for pandas (and perhaps votes?) on the extremely long recess that Congress is now on. Feast your eyes on this editorial on the NYC-Panda question.

And then, of course, the first men walked on the moon during Nixon’s first (and only completed) term:

One step for a small bear….

But the Watergate burglars had nothing on the panda kindergarten!

“What did dey knows, and when did dey knows it?” Fuggedabout da %7^$## tape!

And who says panda satire isn’t educational?

Meanwhile, yet another alert reader told me that today is national Cat Day. frankly, it feels like every day is cat day around my house, but what do I know? Mehitabel is celebrating the day by relaxing with a good book:

What cats are reading at the beach this summer!

Meanwhile, if you haven’t already done so, don’t waste another second without checking out my latest books, Pandamorphosis and The Panda Chronicles Book 4: the Book of Wu! (Mebbe you might want a copy for your very own!)

Well, we’ll see you all next week. Um..is this conversation being taped?

Be the Bear,
Bob T. panda

Inspector Panda is Back!

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Oh yes, a week without Inspector Panda is a sad thing indeed. But he is back!

For those of you who are just joining this tale of mystery, intrigue, and cuppycakes, here are links to earlier episodes: Episode 1: here, Episode 2: here, and Episode 3: here. Episode 4 & 5; Episode 6; and Episode 7 & Episode 8.

Now! On to episode 9!

Oh that Babette!

Inspector Panda: the bear with the clues…

I can hardly wait! Tune in next week, same time, same place, for the next exciting episode! But don’t forget Fabulous Furry Friday, not to mention Some Panda-or-other Sunday! A person needs more than one dose of panda satire to get through the week, don’t you think?

Be the Bear!
Bob T. Panda

If a Cuppycake Falls in the Forest Part 2

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Once again, we return to the story of a bear that loved cuppycakes not wisely, but too well. So, what happens after a bear becomes famous for behaving badly?

He goes on a talk show, of course!

Thanks again to Henry Nicholls for alerting me to this story

As luck would have it, one of my faithful readers actually knows the people this happened to! No, really!!!! So here’s an email that they sent to all of their friends, to tell them of the incident:

“Hi All~
“Don’t know if you caught this in your local news, but we had an exciting first birthday party for our son Jackson! Minutes before guests were arriving at our house, a black bear climbed on our roof and fell through our skylight!
“Thankfully no one was hurt. Glenn and the bear had a bit of a stand off The bear ate some cupcakes and then I was able to shoo him out the back door. This crazy stuff only happens in Alaska!

You can read the real news story here. And special thanks to another faithful reader who suggested that maybe the party Mr Bear crashed was one of the panda kindergarten’s birthday season parties. (I lost track of who that was…please comment here so I can give you credit -or blame. :o) )

Keep being the bear!
Bob T. Panda

A Fabulous Furry Friday Salute…

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…to Mr Wu!

Oh Mr Wu,
So now you are two,
You live at the zoo
And we’re glad that you do.

Mr Wu got to celebrate his 2nd birthday, and all his Pan Diego panda friends were there to watch him blow out the candles on his cake. One of Mr Wu’s particular friends, Helene Hoffman, took a most fabulous picture of Mr Wu and she kindly allowed me to share it with you here:

Mr Wu, turning two, (c) 2014 Helene Hoffman, used by permission.

I mean, what did I tell you about pandas and cake? Do you believe me NOW???? As you can see, Mr Wu is quite excited about his cake, and also that he doesn’t have to share it with anyone.

And now, as a special treat, and in honor of the Wu self, we bring you the entire start to finish Mr Wu Joins the circus!!!! Huzzah! Happy Fabulous Furry Friday! (and we would be extremely negligent if we didn’t point out that ALL the Mr Wu adventures, starting with his earliest days in the nursery right up until and including when he battles the forces of panda popularity domination [aka Princess Pinky] can be found in The Panda Chronicles Book 4: The Book of Wu.) Get one today for your very own!

And now, I hope you have your popcorn and bootinis ready because here we go!

Fanmail from some Flounder?

Voices in the night, a ladder, a letter…adios…

“Are we there, yet?”

This is a case for…Inspector Panda!

episode 5

episode 6

episode 7

episode 8

episode 9

episode 10

episode 11

episode 12

episode 13

episode 14

episode 15

…and it all ends with Mr Wu’s Birthday party! Huzzah!

I hope you have enjoyed this presentation of Mr Wu Joins the Circus, (so like, now will you go buy my book?)

Be the Bear!
Bob T. Panda

Happy Birfday, Mr Wu!

I’m late, I’m late…..

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Oh my ears and whiskers! I had been doing so well, getting all my cartoons done and posted in advance, but this bear is wearing the “semi-famous artist putting on an show with 11 artists” hat this week, and expecting 400-600 people to show up at our show, so, if I am a little behind, I have a good excuse! Check it out over at the Froggwell Blog!

But Inspector Danger is my middle name Panda cannot be stopped!

Mr Wu is still skeptical of Babette’s story…

“fuggedabout the bleeping tape!”

Well, I could go on, but I still have miles to go before I sleep! I hope you are still celebrating Mr Wu’s Birthday! We will bring you more Wu on Fabulous Furry Friday, and remember, pandas like being shared with your friends and families!

Be the Bear!
Bob T. Panda

If A Cuppycake Falls in the Forest…

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…and there is no one there to hear it, who gets to eat the cuppycake?

Well, this may be a first for the Panda Chronicles, a cartoon with no pandas! However, this panda-less tale comes to us from none other than panda chronicler par excellence`, Henry Nicholls, Author of The Way of the Panda. Henry was kind enough to alert me to the story of a bear in Alaska, who followed his nose to a cuppycake birthday party.

I am not making (some of) this up.

Cuppycakes are to bears as toast is to otters.

And although there are no pandas in this particular episode, Mr B. Bear has agreed to appear on the Mehitabel Tonite! Show next week, to talk about his traumatic ordeal. Won’t that be fun?

And while you are thinking about cuppycakes, I think you should hop (or galumph, depending on how many cuppycakes you have eaten today) on over to V Something Speaks and read the first recipe of The Panda Chronicles Cuppycake Cookbook! It celebrates Princess Pinky, who as everyone knows, is having her first birthday next month.

And, um…Mr Wu has his birthday next week. We haven’t forgotten you, Mr Wu. You will always be number one with me!

Woe is Wu…upstaged by a bunch of gurls!

You might want to watch the San Diego Zoo pandacam on Tuesday morning, for Mr Wu’s birthday party. Last year his girlfriends at the zoo made him an absolutely spectacular cake for his first birthday, and I’m sure they will attempt to out-do themselves this year.

I hope you are off to a panda-ful week!

Be the Bear (any kind of bear, really!)
Bob T. Panda

A Friday so Fabulous and Furry…

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…that we can hardly contain our excitement! We are in the run-up to one of the most exciting days of the year!

Yes, I am referring to Mr Wu’s SECOND BIRTHDAY!!!!!! Will he take a bath to celebrate the occasion? Don’t count on it. But it’s not a problem, since we are on the interweb, and Mr Wu is happily, if fragrantly, in Pandiego!

Here are a few of my favorite cartoons about Mr Wu. If you want more Wu, more of the time, I suggest you acquire a copy of the fourth Panda Chronicles collection: The Panda Chronicles Book 4: The Book of Wu!

Yo ho ho and a bottle of BooBeer!

“Wu calls his dance, ‘Ode to a Weaf’ “

Mr Wu speaks out! Huzzah for our now year old twins in Zoo Atlanta!

Fanmail from some Flounder?

Hope you are getting lots of cuppycakes ready to celebrate with Mr Wu on his actual birthday on Tuesday July 29th! And BTW this week is National Zookeepers week, so let’s put our paws together for all of Mr Wu’s girlfriends, and the nannykeepers that keep Pinky and the Meihems in line. A special mention should go out to the panda house folks at Zoo Atlanta, for their totally awesome animal care that they accomplished when Lun Lun surprised them (and apparently herself) with twins!

And a further bit of news from the Panda Publishing front, get a first look (not to mention first taste,) of what we have up our sleeves…er…paws with The Panda Chronicles Cuppycake Cookbook, coming to you…um…eventually from the paws of panda aficionado and chef du cuppycake, Vicky Vladic over at her blog, V Something Speaks. She shares the first recipe from the book, celebrating our very own birthday girl-to-be, Princess Pinky.

If you want to know when this book will be a reality, subscribe to this blog (and/or V Something Speaks too!) and you will know before anyone else! You could really help us out if you test recipes as she shares them, and let us know how they worked for you. You can also follow me on twitter @pandachronicle where I’m sure I will be telling all I know!

Huzzah!

Be the Bear and have a fabulous cuppycake filled weekend!
Bob T. Panda

Episode 7: A Suspicious Document

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The plot is thickening, no question about it. Babette du Panda has presented the alleged will of Minette, in an attempt to convince Inspector Panda that she is the rightful owner of the prized painting.

But first, here is the previous episode for those who have just tuned in!

Oh, that Mr Wu is a clever little bear! Is Madame du Panda trying to pull a fast one?

and now, our story continues!

Is this plot thickening, or what?

I don’t know about you, but I think this document is VERY suspicious!

Mr Wu observes an interesting detail….

Oh my! here we are on the edge of our seat, and what’s with the tape on Mr Wu’s ear, anyway?

“Fuggedabout da bleeping tape!”

Tune in next time for our next episode. A suspicious document, indeed!

Bears of Mystery!
Bob T. Panda