Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

A Day of Thanks, No Matter Where you Live

I tried to get a new ‘toon done for today…I really did.

But I decided it was a better thing for me to spend some time painting and then a little time outside in the garden, and there might also have been a nap. Mebbee. Our story will return next week and we will find out just who was causing Mommee Mei’s landline dial phone to ring.

I want to say a few things about our beloved, fetid hellsite Twidder. I have gotten to know so many of you there and after a couple years of bumbling around there, I finally figured out how to use it in a way that made sense to me. I really hate starting new things and trying to figure out how not to lose any of my friends from the different groups I gravitate towards.

There is of course, the most beloved PandaTwitter.

That’s where I will find most of the people who dearly love our black and white bears. These are the folks that I can revel in a bit of panda improv, a fun way to get a little playfulness into our lives. Those who live close to DC generously share the photos and videos that they take when visiting our favorite pandas. If I did not have those daily reminders of how much I love the pandas and the community that has sprung up around them, it would make me sad.

Then there are my friends from the world of writing and illustrating for kids. what I’ve learned from you could fill an entire bookshelf. I know that at least some of us will find each other as we wander the internet diaspora. To @markeology, creator of the infamous #cookiepitch, I say to you, never before have I had so much fun coming up with crazy ideas for books that dare not be written.

Then there are the people I follow who are tweeting about the things I think are important.

The journalists and the legal community and other writers who are saying the things that need to be said, about fairness and inclusion and corruption and just plain evil. Twitter has been where I find those people and subjects that I need to explore further.

But with the takeover of Twidder by He Who Must Not Be Encouraged by Naming Him, I see dark times ahead. I think about my cousin Ruth’s husband Bill, whose family sent him and his sister to live in England as children in the 1930s. They left Austria while they still could. I believe some of his family was not so lucky. The tyrants and thugs who smashed the windows of Jewish merchants in 1930’s Germany have their contemporary counterparts today. HWMNBEbNH plans to let those whose transgressions on Twidder were so bad that they were suspended, back on as early as next week. He has already invited TFG back on.

As vulnerable people begin to suffer assaults by these trolls, can I really sit by and try to hide in my pleasant little corner of Twidder? I kind of don’t think so. So in the not too distant future, I will be packing my twitter posts and heading for kinder lands. Some of us have already landed on Mastodon. You can, of course, still find me here. You can even subscribe and get your panda ‘toons sent directly to your email inbox. (Signup is on the upper right of the main page, and maybe on the bottom if you are reading this on your phone.) You can also read my weekly blatherings on Substack.

I hope we don’t lose touch. Know that your support means a lot to me.

And hey! Don’t you want to find out who called Mommy Mei?

Be the Bear!
Bob T don’t forget me! Panda

Happy Friendsgiving

It’s time for that holiday that is celebrated in the good old US of A, you know, the one where you get together with family you don’t particularly want to see, argue with Uncle George about what the current “resident” of the WH is really up to, the one where you eat way too much of food you don’t really like and then it’s time for PIE!

Once I moved far, far from home, and got to have this holiday extravaganza with friends of my own choosing, my attitude changed somewhat. (I do like pie, and why doesn’t anyone still make the sweet potato casserole with melted marshmallows on top?) I continue to be thankful for spending time with people I love.

Last Supper, Cupcakes, DaVinci

Princess Pinky says, she is thankful for cuppycakes and da panda kindygarten and her magical wand!

And now we know about all the cultural/genocidal implications of our first National Holiday, which I won’t get into here, but need to be acknowledged. That makes celebrating this holiday kind of cringe-worthy, and yet…

I think it is a good thing to be thankful for the many things that have come our way. If we can separate the history of white europeans invading these shores, and all that followed afterward (because, if you aren’t an indigenous person, you are an immigrant no matter how many generations ago your ancestors got here) I think that is okay to have a holiday in which we acknowledge what we are thankful for.

So here’s a list of some of the things I’m thankful for:

Friends
Artistic talent
Pandas
Good health
A home of my own
Trees that surround my house
Pandas
People who appreciate (and buy!) my art, my writing and panda satire
Did I remember to mention pandas?
Friends who like to visit pandas
Cuppycakes
Books
Art museums
Cats!
Scottish terriers
A convenient grocery store
#PandaTwitter
Coffee

I could go on!

Coffee tastes better when you have it with Pinky!

But meanwhile, it’s time to get ready for 31 Days of Pandas!!!!

That’s something we should all be thankful for! As we head into full on impeachment mode, we may be watching, in real time, the 45th “president” of these here United States dissolve, self destruct, maybe even burst into flames in front of our very eyes! We are going to need all the funny we can get if we want to get through this alive!

Be the Bear
Bob T Panda

PS: There is still time to get in on my fabulous felt panda-palooza! For all the info, read this post!

A little late but not (entirely) forgotten

Yes, yes, it’s Fabulous Furry Friday, but what with the American Thanksgiving holiday, I was so busy in the kitchen that I never had time to prepare todays encore presentation post. Never fear, I am here now, and here are some toons from the way back machine to cheer your weekend.

I know I ran this one already, but it is appropriate to the day, don’t cha know?

pass the beans!

While we’re thinking of food…

‘Tis the Season!

Bob, Bob, Bob…when will you ever learn?

And a Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to you all!

Last Supper, Cupcakes, DaVinci

The REAL lost Leonardo painting….

Panda On!
Bob T Panda

What part of “I win” don’t you understand?

Oh my, Bob is in it up to his furry little eyeballs!  Tune in tomorrow to see further debates between Bob and…that…that CAT!!!!!

But we do not want to leave you panda-less (not to mention pants-less) another day, so we bring you another selection from the best of pandas archive here at The Institute for Contemporary Panda Satire!  Those of you in the US may have noticed that Thanksgiving is a little early this year, and retailers are not wasting any time getting out announcements of “Black Friday” sales, or as we like to refer to it as, “Black and White Friday”….

Black friday shopping tactics

Ah, fall…or something…is in the air!

As the year comes to a close, I invite you to invite three or more friends to join us at the Panda Chronicles! Wouldn’t it be cool if we could reach 50,000 views and 200 followers by the end of the year?  Well, I think it would be cool, but maybe that’s just me.  We can do this, panda fans!

Be the Bear!

Bob T. Panda

I am most thankful for pandas, especially panda #24

I hope all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving will have a wonderful day, spent with people you actually like.  And for those of you who don’t celebrate this American holiday, I hope you have a lovely day too.  Back to sarcasm and snottiness tomorrow!

Be the Bear!

Bob T. Panda