I hope you enjoyed these ‘toons from the archives, as we celebrate the birthdays of Pinky, Bubba, and Bikkie!
‘Toon in next week for more fun with pandas, and mebbee a little bit of current events!
Be the Bear
Bob T I have definitely not been in the secret tunnel under Purr-a-Lago Panda
Let the fun begin! LOTS of ‘toons for today!
He was determined not to let that happen on his 2nd Birthday!
Later in the year, we will rerun the whole Beary Poppins story, but for now, here is one of my favorite panels…
Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda
Next weekend is the big trifecta, the birthdays of Bikkie (our own miracle cubbie) Bubba, and of course, Princess Pinky (#ClapLouder) Rather than try to sort out the ‘toons, this week and next (and probably the week after) I’m just gonna feature all of them.
Hopefully, it will distract us from the even worse clusterf*ck that is happening around TFG and his collection of purloined classified documents that he secreted away at Purr-a-Lago.
But first, I was looking in my computer files for some art business stuff, and I came across this thing I wrote. I’m not sure what I wrote it for, but I thought I would share it here. The file was called “100 words to my younger self”
Take chances.
Listen to the voice in your head that says “YES! …What if…”
Don’t listen to voices that say what you want is impossible.
Don’t wait for permission.
The cost of a trip to Italy is the same whether or not you worry about the cost.
Walk away from toxic people; you won’t change them, but they’ll try to change you,
and not for the better.
Hang out with people who appreciate you.
Pay attention to what and who makes you happy.
Stay connected to those you love.
Watch panda videos.
Take chances.
Be the bear
Bob T Panda
This past week, we celebrated the birthdays of Bebe Maurice and Fleur and Snowy! Here is a selection of ‘toons about them before we get down next week, to the serious business of celebrating the DC panda cubs!
Gee, I guess I don’t have very many ‘toons with Fleur and Snowy! I’ll have to work on that! Also I never finished the story when Babette came to be their governess. Oopsie!
Till then, Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda
It’s the high season of Panda Birthdays. This week we celebrate the birthdays of the great Mr. Wu, the triplets (aka Pinky’s minions) and PPJ, Pinky’s real life daughter and supernatural apparition within The Panda Chronicles.
Remember when Mr Wu got a present from da panda kindy?
I hope you enjoyed our encore presentation of this segment of panda birthday season! Tune in next Sunday when we start our monthlong celebration of the most famous pandas anywhere (Pinky made me write that) Bikkie, Bubba, and of course…um…what was her name? Oh yeah! Pinky!
Be the Bear
Bob T Panda
BTW, I made a felty cake to celebrate Mr. Wu’s 10th birthday. It’s one of a kind and includes Mr. Wu atop his cake. The whole thing stands about 5 inches tall with Wu. It is available for $98 + shipping. Send a message via the Contact Us page.
As you might imagine, the January 6th Committee Hearings are giving me many, many thoughts. Having the events put into a running timeline, from what was happening behind the scenes even before the election, right up until the minute by minute events at TFG’s rally to the coordinated effort (pre planned as we are learning) to storm the Capitol, is really helpful to understand the enormity of this event.
I appreciate all the people (primarily republicans who worked for TFG) who have come forward to testify. I really do. It doesn’t make them heroes, but they did need to find a reservoir of courage to speak up. There are some of course, who despite the fact they admit that TFG went three stops past too far, say they would still have voted for him and that they are “proud of their accomplishments.”
Maybe they want to stay in good standing with the GOP, such as it is, or maybe they have the very real fear that angry mobs will show up on their doorsteps or attack them online. This is happening and these acts are terrible. The violence that has been directed at some of the people who have testified is not the equivalent of peaceful protest at the recent SCOTUS decisions or attacks by the states on reproductive health freedom.
I am also grateful the representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger have stepped up to be such integral members of the J6 Committee. Despite what TFG and his minions say, it really IS bipartisan with them on board.
I know that we are never going to agree with many of our core philosophies of what constitutes good government. But I ask if you can see that the GOP stance on voting, on telling lies about your opponents, are the very things that brought us to the point that a corrupt president would think it was his god given right to abuse his office, mismanage a global pandemic, and end with an attempt to overthrow the government.
Going forward I would wish not that we agree on everything, but that we can accept that we each have sincerely held beliefs. That we can debate these differences without telling lies and attacking each other. That voting is a right and the more people that are engaged in voting, the better it is for our country. That an educated population is more productive than an ignorant one. That healthcare and housing and adequate food for all makes a better, safer country for everyone. That clean air and water and open space and pandas are part of having a strong country. (did you notice I snuck pandas in there?)
People should be able to be who they are, love and marry who they wish, or not marry at all if that is their preference. Why is this such a hard thing?
We will continue this adventure next Sunday, in part 2 of Mr. Wu’s birthday celebration!
Till then, keep being the bears, remember to check your registration and VOTE! Current polls are showing that Democrats have a much stronger possibility of holding on to both the House and the Senate. This is only possible if we get informed as to who wants to do what and then get out there and VOTE!
Bob T *I voted the primary* Panda
If anyone in western Washington state wants a good voting guide, I have several that were recommended by a local organization that I trust:
It’s panda birthday season for all pandas, but especially for the US born pandas!
Born on July 15th of 2013, more than a month before Pinky, and don’t think they ever let her forget it! Here are some of my favorite ‘toons featuring Bert and Ernie (and probably Pinky, just because!) Can you believe the Meihems and Pinky are about to turn 9?!?!?!?!
Happy Birthday, Meihems! And a reminder, the book about the real life Meihems written by Beth Bacon and illustrated by yours truly is available for pre-order through Amazon and maybe even your local book store! (Not sure about distribution yet). Order your copy of The Panda Cub Swap today!
Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda
Really, if you want to know the future, read The Panda Chronicles. Everything happens here first.
Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda
It’s the 3rd of July here on Whidbey Island. I’m happy to say, that it has been raining all day and the temperature has not topped 60. What’s that you say? Shouldn’t I wish for warm summer weather?
Well, as last year, most of June was in the 80’s, with some temps above 90, even out here on the island (Seattle went above 100 several times, even before July arrived) AND as Island County has not seen fit to put provisions in place banning fireworks when fire danger is high, last year at this time I was completely stressed out in fear that some moron would burn down my neighborhood and me along with it.
So, this year, as we have had a very cool start to summer, I was happy when I woke up to rain, which has continued through the day.
The show of my (serious non-panda) paintings opened last night, with a well attended reception and a few sales. If you’d like to see it (and you don’t live within range of Langley) your can see it here. I got a very nice comment form an artist friend who had come into see the show. I hope she won’t mind me sharing it here: ” …the light feels brave, like something fighting the darkness that is trying to overtake us…”
That is exactly what I have been feeling these past 8 months as I worked on these paintings. That I am desperately clinging to some shard of optimism in the face of the evil that still is trying to take us down.
There are glimpses of hope: people speaking up for the January 6 committee that we might not expect, testifying to events we feared and now are confirmed. While it is true that we haven’t gotten everything we want from those we have elected, I can pretty much guarantee that we won’t like ANYTHING the republicans inflict on us should they regain power.
I would point out that this ‘toon was drawn in 2019, and take no credit (or responsibility) for giving the idea to attack the Capitol to Mittens and his band of thugs.
Panda on, no matter what!
Bob T Panda
I have many thoughts and maybe some of them should come out of my mouth, but for right now, I am exhausted. All I will say is this:
Solutions like SCOTUS expansion should happen, but can’t happen quickly to relieve this assault on women/pregnant persons
Filibuster reform is also needed, but again, it’s not going to happen with the Senate we have at this moment
Tell your Senator and Congressional reps what you think. Clearly, concisely, and as often as you can
Vote for Democrats up and down the ballot
Don’t listen to the naysayers or give up hope
We won’t get everything on our lists from a Democratic Congress & president, but I can GUARANTEE we won’t like ANYTHING we get from a Republican one
His attitude is still unenlightened.
Bob T Panda