Cuppycakes? Check!
Poppycorn? Check!
Hot cocoa with whippy cream and liddle marshymallows? Check!
Uh oh…The Mayhems and Six and Sebben are about to enter the chat. What could possibly go wrong? I guess we’ll fine out tomorrow!
Be the Bear!
Bob T I wonder what happens next Panda
…much faster than I expected. As such, I think it’s time to run a couple of my holiday classics this week and next, in the hopes I’ll have a little time and space to write a NEW Christmas Classic™️ before the actual week of Christmas. The idea just popped into my head, as all the best ideas do. Well, I guess we’ll see, won’t we?
Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this encore presentation of…
I had so much fun re-reading this story and I hope you did too! This was one of my favorite stories to make a Panda Parody. Maybe because I’ve seen the original so many times…
and remember…
Be the Bear
Bob T it’s beginning to look a lot like Crispness…Panda
PostScript: in case you were wondering, despite the fact that much of Western Washington State is currently suffering severe flooding, Whidbey Island is high and..well, damp, but not under water. We do have the possibility of power outages with the softened ground from all the rain, not to mention some of the bluff areas are probably going to slide. But we are not under evacuation orders and suffering the destruction of the raging rivers over on the mainland. So far we are okay on the island. I hope my western WA readers are safe. check in, okay?
Whether they head to China or take the long walk over the Rainbow Bridge, we never forget the pandas that have meant so much to us, and given us so many hours of joy. It seems only natural that the departed Mehitabel should interview the departed Gao Gao, and then of course, other ghosts of the Panda Chronicles should show up.
That Nixon’s Ghost is such a joker, right?
Be the Bear
Bob T here to keep our spirits up Panda
I can always count on my faithful panda community to alert me to important stories (especially about bears behaving badly!) but sometimes the NooZ comes via other sources like Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, or The Stephen Colbert show.
This little NooZ story came from both of them and so the booking team at ZooNooZ arranged for an interview with this newfound celebrity!
WE love the cheesiest jokes!
Be the Bear,
Bob T it wasn’t me Panda
How was that for weaseling out of finishing this ‘toon by last Thursday, the National Day for Americans to eat enough calories to feed a small nation? (Each of us) I managed not to explode (or finish this ‘toon till yesterday!)
Anyway, the pandas and brown bears wanted to wish you all a happy season of thankfulness, despite the continuing cluster**ck that is happening in the Capitol and various points around the globe. It’s clear (to anyone who isn’t hiding their head in the sand) that F45 is on the brink of total dissolution, despite the evil Nosferatu Miller and assorted slimy oligarchs slavering around the treasury.
I mean…I really hope there is something left when we get around to picking up the pieces.
I am immensely thankful to all of you who come around to read what I write and draw here. We need to have a little fun during this re-creation of The Hunger Games and The Handmaids Tale, right? How many times can we say THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FICTION?!?!?!?!?!
I suspect we are going to hear from the younger pandas who didn’t make it into this ‘toon. Sheesh. This job is hard enough without pandas yelling at me!
And if you are looking for gifts for your friends and family (or yourself…just saying) Redbubble is having lots of sales over the next couple weeks, so maybe something with pandas on it? Check out my Panda Chronicle shop over there!
Stay strong
Call or email your Congress People and tell them what you think about all this stuff Mittens is doing,
And always always always Be the Bear!
Bob T is trying to not panic Panda
Once again, time slipped away from me and there is no new ‘toon for today, but I am working on a new Thanksgiving ‘toon and I’ll have it here next week. What’s time to a panda?
Nooz reached me this morning of the passing to the great beyond of Gao Gao, paterfamilias of the PanDiego Zoo for some 20 something years. Gao Gao was one of the great pandas. Wild born, he was brought to the Wolong base as an injured cub, rehabilitated and set free. I don’t know if he had already lost a chunk of his ear by then. Anyway, as the story goes, after being released, he must have figured what a sweet deal it was at the panda base, and he turned himself back in. Sometime later, he was assigned to PanDiego, to be the mate of the enchanting Bai Yun, who was not getting on with the older panda they had paired her with.
They went on to populate the first great panda dynasty in the US. Their grandson, by way of the effervescent Zhen Zhen, Yun Chuan is now in his grandfather’s seat in PanDiego.
Gao Gao was considered something of a stud muffin by his friends and nannies, as well as a very sweet tempered panda by his caregivers. We were all sorry to see him leave to return to China, but by all reports and pictures, he continued to charm his nannies and was given stellar care.
His last cub in PanDiego was the one and only Wu Self, Xiao Li Wu, or Mr. Wu to his friends and fans. Somewhere along the way, I started drawing him with his ear taped down, as a tribute to his dad, with his half gone ear. To hear Gao Gao tell it, he lost it in a bar fight defending Bai Yun’s honor.
In my as yet unpublished graphic novel, The Pandyland Mysteries: The Case of the Picturesque Panda, Wu loses his ear tape to the dastardly Babette De Panda, who holds it for ransom.
I think you all know things to be grateful for are a little scarce on the ground right now, but there is still much for which to give thanks. I am inordinately thankful that you all are still here. I am thankful for pandas, and the community of people who love them. I am thankful for those who are no longer here, for the friendship and support they gave me when I needed it most. I am grateful for that strange place in my brain that spills these stories out. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that pandas saved me. At a time when optimism disappeared along with most of my income, the pandas arose and said, “Hey look! Over here! We are cute and we have cuppycakes!“
And so here we are.
I hope you are spending the day as you choose, and with whom you choose, and if you’re not, well, there is always third helpings of pie.
Be the Bear,
Bob T the T stands for Thankful,* today, Panda
*Usually it stands for “the”
…so I will give myself permission to share a few ‘toons from the archives as I had a few other more pressing chores to get to get to this week so did not finish a second ‘toon. Never fear, it is in progress and will appear on Tuesday.
First up! One of my earliest ‘toons! Inspired by the “Meet the Pandas” page on the SDZ website!
I did say MOSTLY true…okay…maybe PARTLY true would be better…slightly true?
And last but not least…
The very Bob! Let’s put our paws together for the song stylings of Bob T Panda!
I was going to look for ‘toons about cake (because there HAS been cake!) but I got distracted by some of my early favorite ‘toons!
Be the Bear
Bob T keeping the Birthday Season Spirit going Panda
While there now appear to be many A.I. generated videos of bears doing naughty things in places they don’t belong, (FAKE NOOZ! FAKE NOOZ!!!!) this was a real story as reported by some semi reputable noon source.
So here is a little mystery, which I think has been solved. While I was away on my trip that the republicans partly ruined by closing access to Binky Li and QB shutting down the government, visits to The Panda Chronicles went way up. Like a lot. Where I usually get between 40 and 100+/- visits a day, I was getting 400 or more, and a couple days over 1000 visits.
As this has resulted in absolutely no new subscriptions, I can only conclude that I was being swarmed by bots and not a newfound horde of panda satire enthusiasts. If, indeed, you are a newcomer to panda satire, please comment! Visits seem to be back down to normalish levels now, but who knows? I get a lot of spam comments from Russian bots (which is the reason all comments must be approved before I post them) so maybe they invited their friends.
Be the Bear
Bob T it’s nice to visit other bears Panda
In the top five of my favorite 200 films, is The Big Lebowski, a film, that when it came out, came out to lackluster reviews, but over time has been proven to be a cult classic and has many hardcore fans. One of the films fans turns out to be Senator Adam Schiff. During some hearing or event or something, I can’t remember who he was referring to but he quoted the Dude saying to his friend, the semi psychotic bowling buddy, Walter Sobchek: “You’re not wrong, Walter, you’re just an asshole“
At least six of the Coen brother’s films are in my top five favorites. Take that math and suck on it!
…a few weeks ago, there was a hearing when Senator Sheldon Whitehouse was questioning DJT’s personal attorney AG Dead Eyes Pammy Jo about an alleged bribe in the form of $50,000 cash in a bag that was given to one of F45’s henchman. Pammy Jo was extremely evasive as to whether the cash had been returned to the undercover FBI agents or if not returned, declared on the person’s IRS return.
I kept waiting for Senator Schiff to leap up and yell…
So I had to draw this:
Congratulations are in order to Virginia, New Jersey, and NYC for the fabulous outcome to Tuesday’s election. I believe Abigail Spanberger, Mikie Sherrill, and Zohran Mamdani will be great leaders to their respective states and city. I’m riding the wave of hope as far as it will take me.
Stay strong, everyone.
Be the Bear
Bob T a win is a win is a win Panda
If you haven’t yet seen The Big Lebowski, what are you doing standing around reading The Panda Chronicles?
I am back from my travels and getting back to work, but didn’t quite get a new ‘toon for today, but I have several in the works! I’m hoping to get them done by the end of the week and then be a bit ahead of things. Hahahahahahhaa! We’ll see!
But…wait…what…travels you say? YOU didn’t tell us you were traveling. Well, I tend not to, ya know, announce my house will be empty and all, but I did and I’m back. Also, the feckless cowards that currently run the goobermint did not have the fortitude or spines to stand up to F45 and re-open the goobermint, so we were deprived of our visit to Binky Li and his beloved QB.
Fortunately for my ‘tooning/painting schedule, this weekend is the semi-annual changing of the clocks so it’s a great opportunity to re-run one of everyone’s favorite ‘toons! Also, the original Halloween ‘toon is a perennial favorite!
BTW, this ‘toon is pre-Pinky, but maybe a foreshadowing of Pinky’s outfit and attitude!
I hope you enjoyed the recent Encore Presentations of A Halloween Carol and the Wizard of Wu! If you missed them, you could go back a couple weeks and see them.
DON’T FORGET TO VOTE! Important elections are happening next week, especially in Virginia and New Jersey! Even less important seeming elections are happening everywhere. We have an important school board election here, and you might too.
Be the Bear!
Bob T is going to fill out his ballot and turn it in on time Panda