I know I tend to re-use names. For the first couple years of my descent in to Pandaholism, all my panda stuffies were named “Bob”. We will try to differentiate between the Seattle Pookies, and Bikkie’s friend from Alaska, Pookie.
I’m sure we’ll manage!
And while I really hate leaving the island to go into civilization, I am determined to shepherd the Pookies at The Woodland Park Zoo through their cubbyhood! I know I should not bring this up, but we could be looking at a temporarily (we hope it’s just temporary) panda-less existence here in the US. Memphis’s pandas leave near the end of this year, and the Pandalanta Pandas and the DC pandas contracts are running out. There is still no word on whether pandas will return to SanDiego. The pandemic put a definite crimp in the budgets of the zoos and the US is not getting along particularly well with China.
We are going to have to fall in love with some different sorts of bears.
I probably won’t have one for tomorrow. I don’t know where my time is going but I’m going to have to take myself in paw in the new year. In the meantime, here is a phot of part of what I was doing today
I got to see the Pookies! Fern and Juniper, new residents of Seattle’s Woodland Park (panda-less) Zoo. They are less than a year old, Juniper is a coastal brown bear from Alaska, and Fern is a grizzly from Montana. Obviously, their names must both be Pookie. At their age they are larger than an adult panda. They are adorable together, and I am going to have to find a way to go to the zoo more often.
I’ll be back with ‘toons next week. Meanwhile, I’m posting some of the holiday Encore Presentations on my Substack Noozletter.
Be the Pookie Bob T they are cute even if they aren’t pandas Panda
Once again, I must point out that we, the crack reporting team at ZooNooZ, had uncovered this story BEFORE the recent revelations of voter fraud broke out regarding that little trollop Holly stuffing the ballot box as if it were a garter belt at a backwoods bear stripper bar.
You can be sure ZooNooZ will be covering this malodorous malfeasance in a future broadcast. But for now, let’s deal with the CURRENT scandal!
How many scandals can one bear?
Be the Bear Bob T is scandal free Panda
Don’t forget to check out my Substack Noozletter. It’s the only place to read The Wizard of Wu this year! Part 2 is now available for your panda-ing pleasure!
With the arrival of Pookie (aw!!! He’s so cute!) at the Panda House, I thought it would be a good day to look back on the entrance of Frank and Mikey to the Panda Chronicles. Of course, Mehitabel has always enjoyed interviews of animals who have raised their paws for Justice…
You just can’t trust crocodiles.
But we were speaking of bears…
Send in the bears!Helloooooo bears!I like bears.
That was Frank and Mikey’s introduction to the Panda Chronicles, and like bears everywhere, once you feed them, it’s hard to get them to leave.
Guess who’s coming for cuppycakes!!!!“We are NEVER going to get our security deposit back!!!”Ruh Roh….
And now you know how Frank got those fuzzy dice stuck on his ear!
I hope you enjoyed this look back at the first appearances of Frank and Mikey.
Till Tuesday (if we don’t have more technical difficulties)…
Be the Bear Bob T thinks the GOP are bunch of spineless weasels Panda
A big thanks and a couple of cuppycakes to my faithful friends and readers, who send me nooz stories of bears behaving badly! Apparently a bear had to be rescued from a California amusement park. Thanks for the valuable* tip! (*No actual monetary value)
Has anyone seen Frank and Mikey around?
And who among us can resist that pink cotton candy that proliferated at amusement parks and county fairs?
Some weeks I have a time to expound upon, and then I look for archived ‘toons that illuminate that theme. Other weeks I have no idea what I’m thinking of and then I just have to spin the wheel and see what pops up.
One thing you can be sure of, it’s likely that Pinky will be involved!
On my honor, I will try…to eat as many cookies as I possibly can….
Well…no Pinky in that one! let’s try again!
Mei should not be getting all excited like this in her condition!And what better talk show is there, than Mehitabel Tonite!?I really had no idea what she was up to.Make sure Pinky doesn’t try to steal Bubba and Ping’s candy!
Well as Pinky all says, you can never have enough ‘toons about Pinky!
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!
