Category Archives: Fabulous Furry Fridays

Fabulous Furry Friday Celebrates Panda Birthday Season

It is that most blessed time of year, panda birthday season!!!!! For the American born pandas, the season kicked off this week with America’s darling, Tai Shan, who has moved to his ancestral homeland a few years back. He turned 9 on the 9th. I’m sure that must be significant in some way, not that I know what. This week also marked the first birthday of Yuan Zai, better known as “Dumpling”, the great granddaughter of Bai Yun of Pandiego.

Coming up next week on the 15th, the Meihem twinkies, Mei Lun and Mai Huan (known here as their fictional counterparts Bert and Ernie) celebrate their first birthday. I thought I would revisit some of their early feature cartoons to celebrate the occasion.

The first appearance of the twinkies on The Panda Chronicles

Atlanta twin panda cubs Mei Lun and Mei Huan and older prother Po

Huzzah! a guest appearance by little Po!

Of course this last episode took place before we knew that not only the twins, but big brother…um…sister, Po had been misidentified, gender wise! It is kind of hard to tell with pandas.

Of course, Princess Pinky took the credit for that one.

Sweet dreams, little bears!

And lest we forget Mr Wu’s reaction to the announcement of twins:

Mr Wu speaks out!

Let there be cake!

Huzzah for Panda Birthday season!

I hope you’ll hop over to read VSomethingSpeaks as Vicky relates her journey into the world of panda…um…obsession. So many people find pandas in answer to difficult times in their lives, and Vicky is no exception.

Have a great weekend, and don’t forget to have some cake!

Be the Bear,
Bob T. Panda

It’s Fabulous Furry Fourth of July Friday

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I love watching movies where things blow up (OK, now you know my dirty little secret) but I really wish that fireworks displays were limited to professionals that (mostly) know what they are doing, and hardly ever burn down stuff (like my house) that isn’t supposed to burn down.

Did I mention it’s hardly rained in the last month? And Mehitabel doesn’t like them either. At least Guy Fawkes Night is in November when everything is nice and soggy. And now, The Panda Chronicles tribute to the Fourth of July!

Just saying.

uh. oh.

Huzzah for Rumpy Dog!

Thanks to Rumpy T. Drummond for making a guest appearance at The Panda Chronicles!

And lest I forget, the answers to the art history quiz! #1 is, of course, John Singer Sargent’s Madame ‘P’, #2 is Edgar Degas, That pesky number 3 is Mary Cassatt (and yes, in the Boston Museum’s version of A Cup of Tea, there are two women, but there was not another panda to model available to Ms. Cassatt .) #4 is Claude Monet’s Panda with a Parasol, and of course, everyone’s favorite in #5, James Abbott McNeill Whistler’s Arrangement in Black, White, and Gray.

I will be contacting the winners forthwith.

Be the Bear,
Bob T. Panda

Reflections of My Kickstarter….

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Yes, it’s Fabulous Furry Friday, here at The Panda Chronicles, The offices of The Institute for Contemporary Panda Satire, here in our high rise office tower, are shutting down for the weekend, as we prepare for…

How about a nap? Wait, you say. Pandas do not hibernate. Yes, but what about a really, really, really long nap?

…if I were a panda, yadda dah dah da- da- da- AAARGH! I can’t stop!!!!!

I just finished packing and sending out all of my Kickstarter rewards, and now I am going to pause (or is that paws?) and pat myself on the back, and attempt to take most of the weekend off.

But besides all the work involved in putting together and executing a crowdfunding campaign, there is something very special about the process in addition to getting help funding your project.

That special something (Oh crikey! she’s going into schmoopy mode! get out your handkerchiefs!) is all of you, who donated to my campaign and cheered me on, and shared my project with your panda and art loving friends. As people have been posting pictures of Pandamorphosis and the prints of artwork from the book, not only do I think, hey! there’s my book, there’s my art, out in the world, I think, hey, I’ve made a connection…I have a friend. It may be a friend I will never meet IRL, but they are friends all the same.

All I really need are my friends…and maybe some cuppycakes!!!

Some of the connections that were made while bringing Pandamorphosis into the world will be fleeting ones, but some will result in projects still to come. Some, I hope will be lifetime friendships, and every once in a while we will meet in the company of pandas. Huzzah! Cuppycakes and bootinis all around!

Stay tuned to this station (National Panda Radio) to keep up with the latest panda nooz. Sign up for my newsletter (which I really plan to write another one one of these days) up in the upper right hand column of this very blog.

And of course, your panda satire library won’t be complete without a copy of Pandamorphosis (hint, hint) (Amazon, hint, hint)

Huzzah!

Thanks again to those kind folks who invited the pandas over for a visit. I hope we can come back again!

Kirby Larson’s Kirby’s Lane: Friday June 13, 2014
June 9th on Cordelia Calls it Quits, and
June 11th on Cordelia’s Mom, Still
Pandamorphosis was reviewed by Henry Nicholls, author of The Way of the Panda, on his Animal Magic blog at The Guardian.

BTW, Henry and I connected early on in The Panda Chronicles’ journey into panda satire. I think he even coined the phrase panda satire, if I remember correctly. I am grateful that he has been a supporter and cheerleader for The Panda Chronicles, and I am grateful for all my readers, and pandas…well now I’m just getting schmoopy again.

Have a great weekend, watch some panda videos, and have a (couple or three) cuppycakes! See ya next week.
Be the Bear
Bob T. Panda

An Art Historical Interlude

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Inspector Panda’s mysterious client, Babette de Panda, is weaving a tale about an alleged inheritance from her great-great-great-great-great-great grandmama. The Art Historical Division at The Institute for Contemporary Panda Satire has recently uncovered documents that support her claim that pandas emigrated to France in the late 1880’s, and posed for many of the artists of that period.

Portait of the mysterious “Madame ‘P’ “

Portrait of Madame ‘P’

By John Singer Sargent

In the late 19^th century, Japanese prints were not the only novelty from the Far East to create a stir in the London and Paris Art scenes. The recent discovery of pandas by westerners had artists scrambling to find pandas to model for paintings.

James McNeill Whistler employed one very popular model for his painting, Arrangement in Black, White, and Gray, as did several other artists, including John Singer Sargent.

Sargent did a number of preliminary studies for his famous portrait of Madame Pierre Gautreau, also known as Madame X. One of these less well-known minor studies portrayed one of Sargent’s favorite models, known only as Madame ‘P’.

November 8^th, 1883:
Madame Gautreau has taken leave of Paris for a month, so I am not able to continue working on her portrait. I have completed several studies, but I need her presence in order to work on the final commission. I am most vexed.

November 10^th, 1883:
Great fortune! One of my favorite models has just finished sitting for that horse’s ass, Jimmy W. I am exceedingly fond of Madame ‘P’, as she likes to be known. She has only recently come to Paris and I have done my best to make her “most welcome.”

November 12^th, 1883:
My study of Madame ‘P’ is going well. I hope to be able to complete a life size portrait of her for the next Salon Exhibition. There is a slight problem, in that she requires many naps throughout the day and has a prodigious appetite. She is the most amazing woman, able to crack large stalks of bamboo with only her teeth!

November 26^th, 1883:
That rascal Jimmy W. has unveiled his portrait of Madame ‘P’, calling it Arrangement in Black, White, and Gray, and has done so before I have been able to finish my portrait. I am most vexed. Madame ‘P’ came round the studio and was extremely apologetic, so what could I do but forgive her?

“Arrangement in Black, White, and Gray” by James A. McNeil Whistler

December 18^th, 1883:
Madame Gautreau has returned at last, but we had a terrible row over the state of her dress, which I had allowed Madame ‘P’ to wear during her sittings. I thought she looked quite the Parisian sophisticate in it. I had no idea Madame ‘P’s “personal habits” left so much to be desired.

The fragment of the diary ends here, but I believe that this does lend some credence to Babette’s claim that her great-great…um, whatever, grandmama did model for a number of the impressionists.

Hope you have a Fabulous Furry Friday, and the rest of the weekend as well.

Be the Bear,
Bob T. Panda

Fabulous Furry Friday Salutes…

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…the panda kindergarten!

What could be better for this Friday the 13th than a look at the panda kindergarten, those rascally, recalcitrant, ruffians? They are the inspiration (well one of the inspirations, anyway,) for my newest book, Pandamorphosis!

The first appearance of the panda kindergarten, in much (MUCH) more innocent times…

And BTW, we’ve been making some guest appearances around the interwebs: hear just where all these pandas came from on Cordelia’s Mom, Still, and how Pandamorphosis finally got published on Cordelia Calls it Quits. There will be some more guest appearances over the next couple weeks, which I will be sure to alert you to!

Meanwhile, back to the pandy kindy:

panda on rocking horse

The panda kindergarten’s hit game show, wheel…of…pandas!!!!!!

And of course, who could forget the panda kindergarten in their first appearance in the Panda Olympic Games?

Huzzah!

Going for the …um…chocolate chip.

But the panda kindergarten may be best known for leading some of the newer and younger pandas astray…Sigh….I’m sure they are trying to be good…

“You are right and Wu is wrong…I’ll never do it again, mommy.”

And while we are thinking about Friday the 13th, (We were? Isn’t that kind of scary?) be sure to stop over to VSomethingSpeaks for this interesting look at the myths and mystery of Friday the 13th, which this very day is paired up with the full moon!

See you on Sunday for the exciting conclusion of “Pinky and the Meihems take a Hostage” (there is a panda scout merit badge for hostage taking, isn’t there?) and the return next Wednesday of Inspector Panda and the Case of the Picturesque Panda!

Keep Being the Bear!
Bob T. Panda

and yes, it’s now available on Amazon!

Literature of the Panda: From Fabulous Furry Friday

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Pandas have long had a presence in literature. The prestigious BamBooker Prize in panda literature is one of the coveted awards by the panda literary establishment. (I bet you didn’t know there was a panda literary establishment, did you?)

While panda literature has often been overlooked by the world at large (read: overbearing cats), it is, in fact, one of the most loved genres in many parts of the globe. From autobiographical works, to novels, and poetry, pandas are on the forefront of creative writing. Or was that “creative accounting”? Well, no matter, today, Fabulous Furry Friday celebrates,

The Literature of the Panda!

Bob’s well received autobiography

It all started here…..

What do you mean by “was?”

The Life of PIE….get it? *chortle chortle*

The cake abides….

Editors note: And of course, since this month is Pandamorphosis launch month (the real one, not Bob’s version of it) I had to stick in another plug for Pandamorphosis. You can find it on Amazon, or if you happen to live on Whidbey Island, Moonraker Books has copies in stock! (yay! Independent Book Stores!)

Huzzah!

Well, that’s all from Fabulous Furry Friday! Keep Being the Bear, Panda On, and Pass the Cuppycakes!

Bob T. Panda

Fabulous Furry Friday Salutes Pandamorphosis

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It’s finally here, launch weeks for my wordless picture book, Pandamorphosis! From a germ of an idea in one of my early cartoons, Pandamorphosis grew into a wordless picture book that took more than four years to complete. I’m so pleased to say that Pandamorphosis is now ready for panda (and cat) fans everywhere to enjoy.

Here’s the cartoon that started it all:

It all started here…..

…and ended up here….

I’ll be doing some guest posting around the interwebs in the next couple of weeks, and I’ll let you know where all those places are as they are posted. I am also scheduled to talk about Kickstarter and Pandamorphosis on Whidbey Air Radio’s Isle of Arts show this coming Monday. Stay tuned for more details on that!

Huzzah!

Till next week,
Be the Bear!
Bob T. Panda

From the Fabulous Furry Friday Archives….

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Spring has come and gone in the Pacific Northwest, as we slosh toward the month here known as “June-uary” and the (brief) visitation of balmy days in the 60’s and low 70’s become just a distant memory, just in time for Memorial Day weekend here in the US of A.

We need funny, we need pandas, and we need it now!

I’m ready for my close-up…um..I am, aren’t I?

Are we laughing yet?

Mei xiang and bao bao try to cover up highway-gate

Inspector Panda is on the job!

As we prepare for an Inspector Panda Mystery, let’s reacquaint ourselves with this superior sleuth….

“Hello, Bai Yun? this is Lun Lun…about that detective you suggested…”

…of course Boo-mints are pretty good too.

Will the twins get a merit badge for their road trip? Will Lun Lun fess up to where the girls are? Will Inspector Panda get a clue, or at least more twitter followers? Stay tuned!

That’s it for Fabulous Furry Friday’s visit to The Institute of Contemporary Panda Satire archives!

By the way, Pandamorphosis is now available from Amazon. Check it out on our The Panda Chronicles: The Books page today!

Keep Being the Bear!
Bob T. Panda

Fabulous Furry Friday returns!

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Today is the day when we revisit cartoons that have relevance to items in the news. Since this is the “Panda Season of Love” and we have been focusing on our Scottish pandas, I thought a glimpse of the early days of pandas in Scotland would be in order.

Enjoy!

What could be more scottish than Pandas?

Save some pie for me!

Pand-Air…it’s the only way to travel

Be the bear!

Bob T. Panda

Fabulous Furry Friday is back in town

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Yes, panda fans, Fabulous Furry friday is back, after all the hoopla and rigamarole of the A to Z Blog Challenge.

While we gear up for the new adventure of Inspector Panda, (what will it be? Will it be the case of the missing fruitsicle? The case of the purloined cuppycakes?) we leave you to head off into your weekend with some stories of the panda kindergarten.

The panda kindergaten knows where you live.

Bob explains daylight savings time to the panda kindergarten

spring back, fall forward?

What makes a panda run? Cuppycakes, of course!!!! I smell frosting!

Have a great weekend everyone!
Keep being the bear.
Bob T. Panda