Category Archives: the essential pandaness of being

“I love the sounds deadlines make, as they go whooshing by”

That’s a quote from one of my favorite writers of all times, the late Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and many other books. And alas, I have missed a self imposed deadline. 🙁

I had hoped to be ready to launch the next series of pins and patches today, but one thing an another (I lost 2 weeks due to an unavoidable and unexpected trip) has kept me from this meeting this deadline. I’m trying very hard to get everything up and running for Thursday June 27th instead, so stay tuned! I’m close to ready, with a few more things to do, and get my project approved by the Kickstarter folks.

Read on after today’s ‘toon to get a sneak peek at the designs for the pin and patch designs!

And now…who are YOU calling a snowflake?

I’m not a snowflake. You are a snowflake!

Thanks to all who alerted me to this very important story about an albino panda caught on the panda cam in China, in the Quinling region! (You know it must be true if the Smifsonian reported it!)

And now, a little sneak peek at the next pins!

The Wu self! Final size will be about 1 1/4 inch wide

The Panda Kindergarten Keychain! Huzzah! Final size approx. 1 3/4 inches wide

The Wu the Pirate patch! approx size 3.5″ tall

Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda

Be sure to stay tuned here or over at Fezbook on the Your Brain on Pandas group (ask to join!)

The end of something wonderful…

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Did I scare you? I didn’t mean it was the end of The Panda Chronicles or anything like that. I meant that it is the end of boo shoot season, the favorite season of pandas everywhere. I read that Zoo Atlanta had announced the end of the season, when the wonderful fresh bamboo shoots were no longer available.

I imagined myself to be a fly on the wall of Six and Sebben’s hammock room…

Let’s listen in, shall we?

Will these two ever get along?

Be the bear!
Bob T Panda

The panda is political…

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Every once in a while, someone will send me a message or comment saying that they can no longer read my ‘toons because “it’s just too upsetting, how political they have become.” I try to take a deep breath and calmly explain the history of cartoons (political), the rights of the artist to determine the content and style of our own work, and then we get to pandas….

And I have to remind/inform/exclaim that pandas are the most political animal, and most politically used animal in existence. Panda loans (and before them gifts of pandas) are used to curry favor, or reward the recipient. It’s really a pretty simple concept. You are nice to us? We will let you have a couple of pandas. Oh, but all the kids are ours, and that will be $1M a year to rent them, bamboo and cuppycakes not included.

But could pandas be up to something more sinister?

Bwahahahaha!

Speak into the flower pot!
Bob T Panda

BTW: “President” Mittens is visiting the UK again. I hope he behaves himself this time!

Yep, that old Mittens…he’s SUCH a charmer!

We’re Sorry, So Sorry! (Heh!)

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What can I say? I’m an undisciplined naughty panda who drew an obnoxious Faux News “host” getting nailed by 300 pounds of elephant poo. So far, there is not a law against that. I’m not saying that there won’t be a law sometime (soon!!!!) in the future when drawing unflattering pictures and situations of all the “president’s” men won’t be punishable by prison, but for the moment, I think I’m safe!

We solemnly swear, by all that is Pinky, that we will never (well, hardly ever) write or draw anything this tasteless again.

Um…we might have had our fingers crossed behind our backs.

Be da Bear!
Bob T Panda

More from the Wu Self’s Adventure!

Meanwhile, back to Wu’s adventure, when he ran off with the Panda kindergarten to join the circus!

A circus of Pandas! (and a cat!)

Will Inspector Panda find a clue?

Wu follows Bee the Bear…into the air!

What does the fortune teller tell Mr. Wu?

Tune in Next Sunday for the exciting conclusion of our story!

Panda On!
Bob T Panda

Join the Moooooovement!

Who doesn’t love a good bovine bon mot?

Moove over! You’re crowding me!

For those (panda) history buffs among you, you should know that this weeks marks the 47th anniversary of the Nixon Pandas arrival in Washington DC. I count myself among those who saw these labeled bears in person (bearson?) in the late ’80’s, a few years before the passing of Ling Ling.

As such, it is the custom here at the Panda Chronicles to replay the cartoon I wrote, commemorating the 40th anniversary of their arrival. Enjoy!

The first “official” pandas that came to live permanently in the USofA

Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda

PS: you still have time to visit the Bubba Pin Kickstarter project, Don’t Call Mee Boo Boo! Don’t be the only panda fan without Bubba, Pinky, and Ping Ping’s commemorative pins!

Huzzah Huzzah! Bubba is on the move!

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Allow me to pontificate a little schmoopilly here…

While there is a lot of work and planning in putting together a crowd funding campaign, there is also a LOT of fun involved too. I love designing little things from my drawings, but what I love most is interacting with you all!

When I see names that I know from Fezbook and Twidder, and even from real life, I get a little thrill. It’s almost like we are having a conversation: Hey! I like what you’re doing here! I wanna make sure you can keep doing it!…Chatting back and forth in the messages makes me feel a little less isolated in my studio. And to all the new people, whose names I don’t recognize, thank you for climbing aboard the panda bus!

Bubba’s pin! Funded in just over 3 hours!

So very Bubba, right?

And since we funded so quickly, I thought we should up the ante with a little stretch goal…visit us at Kickstarter today and climb aboard!

It’s not a party if you didn’t bring cuppycakes!

Because without Ping Ping, Bubba would only have his big zizzy Pinky to play with!

By the way, there were still a few Pinky pins available as of Tuesday afternoon!

Meanwhile, things are heating up in the other Washington…

Devin’s Cow goes to Washington

Panda on!
Bob T panda

Fight the Humor Deficit! Make fun of people on Twidder!

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I have to admit that I have come to like Twidder more than I do Fezbook. Maybe it’s because Fezbook has come to seem kind of unwieldy. I can’t easily find all the comments from people that are actually relevant to a discussion I am having with them, because Fezbook seems to want to give me hundreds of obscure notifications for every one that is part of an ongoing discussion with friends.

Meanwhile over on Twidder, I get a healthy (um…maybe not) dose of news, connection with other panda fans, and connections with other people in the kid lit and writing communities at large. And then there are the snarky parody accounts…

We must fight the humor deficit with every pun at our disposal!!!!

What’s that you say, Bob? He has responsibilities?

And meanwhile, we are about to launch the next phase of the Panda Pin Project over at Kickstarter! If you’ve been following along, you’ll see that it’s going to launch at noon (PDT) today!!! So get ready…get set…not yet…this link is just a preview until the project launches at noon!

Be the (Bubba) Bear
Bob T Panda

We R (still) Endangered! (Join the #Mooooovement!)

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While the Endangered Species Act is NOT a popularity contest, parody accounts on Twidder definitely are. If you are a Twidderer, do check out and follow Devin Nunes’ Cow! People are having a ball with bovine bon mots while Devin Nunes is having a..um…cow over this and has (allegedly) filed lawsuits against both Twitter AND his own cow! Devin’s Cow is gaining followers at a rate of about 20K per hour and ironically, more people follow Devin’s Cow than voted for him in the last election. Don’t you just love irony?

Update: Devin Nunes’ Cow has surpassed Devin Nunes’ in followers. Isn’t that mooooving? #JustSayMoo

Meanwhile, in the endangered species sector….

The endangered species act is not a popularity contest!

Be the Bovine!
Bob T Panda

My Checkered Past…

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Sometimes folks ask me where my ideas come from. They come from all over the place TBH. They come from the news, they come from actual pandas, and they are all at least tinged with my own past history. Today’s Sunday Funday takes a trip down memory lane….

Here’s how it works:

Panda satire explained for you!

The origins of Panda Satire…well, it started with cats!

Ever wondered where all these pandas came from?

But my years in the coffee mines of Starbucks have inspired more than one ‘toon over the years. I have mostly repressed the long ago memories from my days at the roasting plant. And before you ask, no I did not get rich on stock options: that happened after I left, after Howard “don’t call me a billionaire” Schultz bought it from the actual founders. (Want to read the low down on this man who would be president-or more likely help HWMNBN re-elected? Read This. I was able to supply some choice quotes.)

I hope Howard comes to think of me as the annoying splinter that gets stuck in your sock, that keeps poking your foot, and no matter how often you take off your sock, you can’t find it and it sends a sharp pain with every step you take. Don’t make Pinky mad!!!!!

This was way too much fun. :o)

Can I have EXTRA extra whipped cream?

But who knows what is floating around in my brain?

What’s that stuff getting all over my paws? Oh…it’s frosting!

Panda on
Bob T double binkacchino with extra whippy cream Panda