Category Archives: the essential pandaness of being

The Poot Has Hit the Fan!

Oh my! What is going to happen now? This is getting kind of scary and I know I am going to get all kinds of flack for this, because I have put those adorable little munchkins, Six and Sebben in the path of Pinky’s ire, (not to mention her magical wand!!!!) But can you blame me? I mean this is a fairy tale for crying out loud! If there is a wicked witch, there has to be a handsome prince who comes and saves the day, right? Or in the case of Wonder Woman, a really kick-ass goddess warrior who comes right up against evil and attempts (and maybe even succeeds) to vanquish it! Oh Poot on you Pinky! Your evil plan will NEBBER succeed!

Or will it? Did you really think I would give away the ending already?

She who must be obeyed…

Panda On!
Bob T Panda

The Panda is Political

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You know the saying, “The Personal is Political?” You can add to that “All Art is Political” because making art, at it’s core is a political act, no matter your subject matter. Some might even say subversive. If you don’t believe me, look up the paintings of Artimesia Ghentileschi and tell me these paintings don’t make a powerful political statement.

Not that I am putting panda satire, or even my serious paintings in the same technical class as Ghentileschi. But you know…just to make the point…

In celebration of our temporary victory on retaining healthcare for the many that gained access to it through the Affordable Care Act, I thought I’d share some of our more political ‘toons in this Friday’s round up. Is it too much to hope that the R’s and D’s will now work together and make access to healthcare better and more affordable? I’m such an optimist.

But now, here are pandas at their most political!

Are you now, or have you ever been a panda?

Pinky’s career as a spokes panda and icon begins, with a different president.

Remember how it all began????

It is too much to BEAR!

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Today is a good day to be the bear.

Just don’t call Bob a loser. He feels bad enough already.

“You are all Losers!” – Mittens the Cat

Pinky is beginning to look positively presidential!

“This is not a loser tail!!!!!”

Poof!

Is it just my imagination or does Mittens look even more crazed than before?

I have to say, it’s a little frightening to see how close the satire comes to what has actually been happening. Stay tuned, folks. I think the bumpy ride is far from over.

Panda On!
Bob T Panda

You know where this is going, don’t you?

6 Replies

Oh yeah…just look up fairy tales 101, in your guide to children’s literature handbook. Although, of course, Grimm’s fairy tales in their original form would give any one nightmares, not just children.

You know how this story line goes: Big party/royal christening/panda naming day is happening but the evil fairy/witch/panda princess is not invited because of past misdeeds/evil intentions. Evil fairy/witch/panda princess shows up anyway, chaos ensues, fair princess(es) are saved by gallant prince/knight/guy just walking by that turns out to be a deposed prince.

Yada,Yada, Yada.

Meanwhile, let’s see who has arrived at the naming day party…

You know where this is going, don’t you?

Panda On!
Bob T Panda

It’s Mr Wu’s Birthday Week

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Huzzah, Huzzah! We are taking a little time out from Pinky’s latest adventure story, in order to celebrate the birthday week of one of our favorite (one might say NO 1 Favorite!) young pandas. Xiao Liwu, nicknamed Mr. Wu by his keeper nannies, is the last of Bai Yun’s six cubs. He was born in 2012 and turns five years old and he is still here! (Don’t tell! Maybe they will forget he is still living in Pandiego and not in China!) I have read reports that he will be here until sometime in 2018, but one never knows!

Meanwhile, I thought I would celebrate his birthday week with a brand new Wu ‘toon!

Happy Birthday week Mr. Wu! I’m sure your mom won’t do anything to embarrass you on the internet!

It’s so hard to be cool when you still live with your mom.

Panda on!
Bob T Panda

(and if you want to see the video that so embarrassed the Wu Self, see it here!) And as Mr. Wu said, “wif all dat measuring, you would fink da wu self would get a tux or somefing.”

And so begins our Tale (or is that “Tail”?)

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I can hardly focus my mind on pandas, what with various members of a certain family claiming innocence because something turned out to be nothing, when really what matters is that you thought it was something! And so begins our tale …

But first! Last week I had a visit from my previously unmet-in-real-life friends from the other side of the globe. Despite several flight cancellations just in order to get here, they finally arrived and what a wonderful time we had! Let’s just say that cuppycakes and PIE were involved!

Did someone say cuppycakes?

While normally, I try to promote blogs that I find interesting or are written by people I know, I must tell you that you should definitely NOT read this post about making two lonely little cuppycakes and you most definitely should NOT make this little bite size batch of peanut butter frosting and if you DID make this petit batch of peanut butter frosting, you should definitely not add a little bit of dark cocoa powder OR eat the whole thing with a spoon.

Ahem…or whip up a batch with no intention of putting it on a cuppycake…

but now, so begins our tale ….

We call our liddle tale, “Being Endangered is Such a Curse!”

Yes, it’s another YBOP Fractured Fable! Huzzah. And like many fairy tales, there are wicked…um…witches, and fair maidens, not to mention a gallant prince who saves the day. And of course, everyone is a panda, more or less.

Panda on everyone!
Bob T Panda

The Panda Kindergarten Presents…

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Yes, we are getting close to another one of our fractured literary classics, where we ~~make a shambles of~~ re-write for pandas, a beloved tale of our childhood! Huzzah! But first, the panda kindergarten has a song for Pinky and the Meihems!

Be quiet, Pinky! The panda kindergarten is about to sing!

How about that!

Panda On!
Bob T Panda

Who’s in charge here, anyway?

10 Replies

I hope everyone had a happy fourth of July, ate lots of grilled items of your choice and did not expire from potato salad that was sitting out too long. Also that you did not…um…let the panda kindergarten take fireworks IN to the house and that everything is still standing in your neighborhood. As in Washington DC, as well as The Institute for Inner Panda Studies summer camp, the question remains: Who’s in charge here, anyway?

Could it be?….

C’est Moi?

Oh, yes, it will be a very long summer, I think.

Panda On!
Bob T Panda

Memorial Day

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We’ve all been there. On the bus, on the train, standing on the street, waiting for the light to change. And that guy…you know the one, that guy with the vaguely threatening air starts ranting. Maybe he’s just ranting. Maybe he is being aggressive towards someone. And we quietly edge away, hoping he won’t direct his venom at us, hoping that the light will change, that he’ll move on. But this Memorial Day…this day when we honor those who lost their lives in the service of our country…

This Memorial Day, we watch in horror as one Democratic norm after another gets thrown under the bus.

On this day, when we learn that one of the men who lost his life defending a stranger on a Portland Oregon streetcar, was an Army veteran, we learn a new meaning to the phrase service to our country. Neither he, nor the other two young men who stepped up to defend two teenage girls who were being harassed on the streetcar, turned their backs and said this is not my fight.

The young man who was killed by this attacker had just graduated and was at the start of a promising life. He stepped up to protect two young women, one African American, the other wearing a hijab, who were being verbally attacked by that guy, he made it his business to defend people he did not know. A third defender is still in the hospital in critical condition. I am sending light and healing his way.

In the face of seemingly state sanctioned hatred, love and compassion still exists.

A GoFundMe campaign for the families of the three victims has raised over $700,000 in less than 48 hours. There is still good in the world. I will have to hold on to that.

And meanwhile, back in the land of Panda Satire….

Don’t be endangered, be dangerous

Panda On!
Bob T Panda

What Pinky did on her summer vacation Part 2

8 Replies

Who even knew pandas took summer vacations? Or that they attended classes at The Institute for Inner Panda Studies? Here in the Pacific Northwest, it is suddenly acting like summer, even though it is still May. But June-uary is just around the corner, and just because we are having nice weather this week, is no guarantee that it will continue through, say, late June and early July, in case anyone happens to be in the area then.

But Meanwhile, Pinky is beginning her summer vacation adventure!

Mei is certainly ready for summer vacation, but maybe Bubba needs some summer duds!

In a little more than two weeks, I’ll be launching my Kickstarter campaign to travel to China (and visit PINKY! – and the panda kindergarten). There’s lots you can to do to help, besides donating money. (Although that’s nice too!) Sharing my project with your social networks is one of the most helpful things you can do to help it succeed. Stay tuned! I’ll let you know when it goes live!

Panda ON!
Bob T Panda

We R Endangered

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Well, wouldn’t you know it…today is Endangered Species Day! A day when people gather around the table and invite pandas to have as many cuppycakes as they want…and…no? That’s not what endangered species day is all about? Okay, smarty pants…why don’t all you folks down at the Pan Diego Zoo tell us what the day is supposed to be about if it’s not about giving pandas cuppycakes.

We R Endangered, for crying out loud!

This was way too much fun. :o)

Artists are also on the threatened species list…

But it’s not just pandas and..um…a bunch of other animals that are endangered. As an artist and a writer, I have been feeling kind of endangered myself these past few years, and one of the effects of that has been that at times (only at times, mind you) I have felt like I was losing my creative focus.

I have often mentioned, from time to time, people from whom I have taken inspiration. I include my favorite painters, as well as those writers and cartoonists who have helped to shape The Panda Chronicles, even if they didn’t know they were doing it. One of those people is Jessica Abel, who along with her husband Matt Madden wrote Drawing with Words and Writing with Pictures. Along with Scott McCloud, who wrote the Understanding Comics series, these books helped to make the Panda Chronicles become what it has today.

The discovery of the terrible crime in the pandas’ house…

Most artists and writers stumble from their path. They endlessly refresh their Twidder feeds, or they play computer solitaire when they should be painting. Goodness, ha ha! I don’t know anyone who does that…it’s just something…um…I heard someone say once, in passing. So, it was with great interest when Jessica started writing in her newsletter, about a book she was writing on creative focus, and how to get out of your creative rut. It’s called Growing Gills: How to Find Creative Focus When you’re Drowning in Daily Life.

I’m still working my way through the book, but I’m already finding it inspiring and helpful. Each chapter ends with an exercise to help you first, to see where you are sliding off the rails, and secondly take positive, concrete steps to re-jigger your behavior, to get back on track. It’s available on Kindle Unlimited (if you have that) for free! But I think when I do my next book purchase, that the paperback copy will make a nice addition to my reference library.

My goal is to read a chapter a week, and do the exercises at the end of each chapter. Maybe I’ll even report on my progress here, every once in a while. If you’d like to know more about Jessica and her work, please visit her website here. She’s also offering a 5 day free mini course called Creative Compass starting this very next week! Check it out here.

In the meantime…let’s have some more ‘toons! And while we are talking about creative pursuits, here’s some pandas being creative!

You say sumi-e, I say Tsunami

After all, the playings the thing….

You left the panda kindergarten alone with my house?

sweet!

Schmoop!

Can you calibrate the cuppycake?

Remember, without pandas, there can be no panda satire!

Here’s hoping that you have had a wonderful Endangered Species Day! Makes a nice change from obsessing over the West Wing soap opera, right?

And don’t forget, in a few short weeks, we’ll be launching our next Kickstarter project, for an extra special art and pandas trip to China!!!

Panda On
Bob T Panda