Anne Belov paints, writes, makes prints, and is the founder of The Institute for Contemporary Panda Satire. You can find her paintings at the Rob Schouten Gallery and Fountainhead Gallery, her cartoons on The Panda Chronicles, and her new book here. She also writes regularly for The Whidbey Life Magazine, a free journal of art and culture on Whidbey Island. Her main regret in life is that there is no MacArthur Grant for Panda Satire.
The 50th Pandaversary celebration of all things PANDA would hardly be complete without an examination of every thought that has ever passed through the magnificent brain of the most important panda that ever resided at the Smifsonian National Zoo!
Oh sure, you might think Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing were those most important pandas, since they were the first to reside in Washington DC. Or maybe you might think that the well loved Tai Shan (aka #1 son), being the miracle cubby who arrived in 2005, is that most important panda.
But only 1 panda was VOTED an icon in a national campaign by the Smifsonian! Guess who!!!!!
A tip of the tiara to Pinky’s twidder typer for this idea!
Soon to be available on my Redbubble shop as a T-shirt and some other things!
There is a side by side video that is making the rounds on Twitter. In one video, Ted Cruz is asking a condescending question of our newest (and most qualified) SCOTUS Justice. In the accompanying video, he is asking the previous nominee the most soft ball question anyone has probably ever asked a SCOTUS nominee: “Do you play a musical instrument?” Yes, that’s what he asked.
At first I was enraged by the insulting question asked by Cruz of Judge Brown Jackson. It was asked specifically to demean and degrade someone who was a classmate at Harvard Law School, as well as a nominee for the highest court in the country. The disrespect was palpable. But as I thought more about the juxtaposition of the two videos, I also realize that Cruz disrespected Amy Coney Barrett as well. By asking such a stupid, trivial question of her, he was showing his contempt for her as well. I certainly don’t agree with Coney Barrett’s philosophy or her religious views, but as a SCOTUS nominee she is owed the respect of being asked difficult and relevant questions.
The republican senators took it on themselves to try to put Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson “in her place” by treating her with disrespect. But all they did was prove to the world how out of place and ill-qualified they are to govern, themselves. They proved to the world their bigotry and small mindedness.
Congratulations to Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. May you serve justice for many years.
“Wu calls his dance, ‘Ode to a Weaf’ “What’s that stuff getting all over my paws? Oh…it’s frosting!
How about one of Mr. Wu’s stories?
Whatever could be in the box the panda kindergarten is delivering to Mr. Wu?Will the panda kindergarten get it put together before Bai Yun gets home?“Up in the Air, Junior Pandas…”Nothing like a snappy graphic to um…solve a problem!May Day! May Day!Bet ya didn’t see this coming…or maybe you did.
I hope you enjoyed this story as we celebrate 50 years of pandas at the National Zoo!
Yes, I know that Mr Wu is not an SNZ Panda, but he is related through his mom and Papa Tian Tian, who are half siblings!
Yesterday one of my pandemic ‘toons popped up in someone’s time line, so I thought I would revisit the pandas experience of the Panda-demic.
It’s nothing that a little cocoa can’t fix!You can’t get more socially distant than sending everyone to their room!Is FEMA stealing marshymallows too?Well, bless her heart!Here comes Meihem!
There is always excitement in store when Six and Sebben show up. Mei must have been desperate to suggest this. I bet she won’t make that mistake again!
I just sent a check for $500 off to the Whatcom Humane Society, thanks to everyone who ordered a felty support kitty! There are still 6 more available, so check out the Felties Revisited page for information on ordering!
Till Tuesday (when I WILL have a new ‘toon) Be the Bear! Bob T Panda
It’s now official. A book written by Beth Bacon and illustrated by yours truly will be released on September 6, but you can pre-order it now via Amazon. It’s called The Panda Cub Swapand it’s all about the birth of the first twin pandas born in the US who lived to young adulthood, Mei Lun and Mei Huan of Zoo Atlanta.
This book took almost 8 years to come into being. I met Beth through working on Pandamorphosis, and while the publisher she was working on at the time kind of crashed and burned, and did not ultimately participate in publishing Pandamorphosis, she helped to shape the book and we connected through our interest in writing for kids.
Fast forward a few years from working on Pandamorphosis. Beth was completing an MFA in writing for children at Vermont College of Fine Art. She needed a project, and she suggested we collaborate on a picture book, which hopefully we would be able to interest an agent or publisher. I suggested the story of Mei Lun and Mei Huan (aka the Meihems) since they were the first surviving twins born in the US and we were off to the races.
Well, if you think things are going to happen quickly and easily in publishing, you are going to be disappointed. The project had various moments of interest, then rejections, and we each got busy with other projects and put it aside. Sad, because we thought it could be a beautiful book, but there is a lot of “oh well, what might have been,” in publishing.
About 2 years ago, Beth called me and said she wanted to self publish the book and could she hire me to do the illustrations. I had some sketches from the early drafts, but really had to start from scratch other than the source photos that I had already saved. In the end, she decided to try once more to find a publisher who would be interested in the project and she finally did.
This was such a fun book to work on. She had lots of communication with the panda keepers at Zoo Atlanta, so that the story she told was accurate. I got to draw pandas! I know September seems like a long time to wait, but it will go faster than you think. Meanwhile, pre-orders really help to get the book more notice in a crowded field of children’s book, and help the publisher make a larger first printing. Over the months while we wait, I will occasionally tease you with an image for the book!
So let’s start with the cover:
But what about today’s ‘toon?!?!?!?!
Remember I said something about presents from the universe? There was this story on the mid week edition of Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me about a job posting for a Grizzly Bear Conflict Manager in Montana. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect job for Frank and Mikey? (MX: yes! It sounds perfect! Can I help you pack?)
Well, that’s all we have time for today! Alas, I think this job listing has already closed, but if Frank and Mikey are on the job, I’m sure there will be another opening *soon*!
Be the Bear! Buy my book!* Bob T Panda
okay, technically, it is Beth’s book, but I made the pictures!
BTW there are only 5 felty kitties remaining! See the Felties revisited page for all the details on ordering. If I’ve already made contact with you, your kitty is already reserved!
