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.
It means it’s time to make some New Year’s resolutions! Or is it?
I don’t know…is it really productive to look at all the ways you failed last year and say you’re going to fix those things, except you’ve been making the same resolutions for…oh, I don’t know…50 years and you haven’t done any of them yet?
Maybe I need to resolve more achievable goals. Like: Eat more cake Take more naps Don’t sweat the small stuff Embrace your inner Panda
What are you going to do next year? Who’s with me? Join the Cake Party!!!
I tried to get a new ‘toon done for today…I really did.
But I decided it was a better thing for me to spend some time painting and then a little time outside in the garden, and there might also have been a nap. Mebbee. Our story will return next week and we will find out just who was causing Mommee Mei’s landline dial phone to ring.
I want to say a few things about our beloved, fetid hellsite Twidder. I have gotten to know so many of you there and after a couple years of bumbling around there, I finally figured out how to use it in a way that made sense to me. I really hate starting new things and trying to figure out how not to lose any of my friends from the different groups I gravitate towards.
There is of course, the most beloved PandaTwitter.
That’s where I will find most of the people who dearly love our black and white bears. These are the folks that I can revel in a bit of panda improv, a fun way to get a little playfulness into our lives. Those who live close to DC generously share the photos and videos that they take when visiting our favorite pandas. If I did not have those daily reminders of how much I love the pandas and the community that has sprung up around them, it would make me sad.
Then there are my friends from the world of writing and illustrating for kids. what I’ve learned from you could fill an entire bookshelf. I know that at least some of us will find each other as we wander the internet diaspora. To @markeology, creator of the infamous #cookiepitch, I say to you, never before have I had so much fun coming up with crazy ideas for books that dare not be written.
Then there are the people I follow who are tweeting about the things I think are important.
The journalists and the legal community and other writers who are saying the things that need to be said, about fairness and inclusion and corruption and just plain evil. Twitter has been where I find those people and subjects that I need to explore further.
But with the takeover of Twidder by He Who Must Not Be Encouraged by Naming Him, I see dark times ahead. I think about my cousin Ruth’s husband Bill, whose family sent him and his sister to live in England as children in the 1930s. They left Austria while they still could. I believe some of his family was not so lucky. The tyrants and thugs who smashed the windows of Jewish merchants in 1930’s Germany have their contemporary counterparts today. HWMNBEbNH plans to let those whose transgressions on Twidder were so bad that they were suspended, back on as early as next week. He has already invited TFG back on.
As vulnerable people begin to suffer assaults by these trolls, can I really sit by and try to hide in my pleasant little corner of Twidder? I kind of don’t think so. So in the not too distant future, I will be packing my twitter posts and heading for kinder lands. Some of us have already landed on Mastodon. You can, of course, still find me here. You can even subscribe and get your panda ‘toons sent directly to your email inbox. (Signup is on the upper right of the main page, and maybe on the bottom if you are reading this on your phone.) You can also read my weekly blatherings on Substack.
I hope we don’t lose touch. Know that your support means a lot to me.
And hey! Don’t you want to find out who called Mommy Mei?
Here we are, almost two years into Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s 1st term in office, and the news is still Mittens Mittens Mittens. I can only hope that indictments are on the horizon, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
But meanwhile, here is a little good NooZ!
The book illustrated by yours truly, and written by author Beth Bacon officially hits the stands next week! One of the things that helps get books seen and read (besides buying it) is requesting that your local library buy it.
Most library websites have a page where you can request them to purchase a book for their collection. Here is the information you need to make a request:
Title: The Panda Cub Swap Author: Beth Bacon Illustrator: Anne Belov Publication Date: September 6, 2022 ISBN-10 : 1592111645 ISBN-13 : 978-1592111640 Publisher : Histria Kids
And in additional exciting nooz, the book has already won one of the numerous minor awards that are a regular thing in the children’s book world. The book has won the Mom’s Choice Award, which means we get to display the nifty little badge on the upper right corner (looks nice with the blue, don’t you think?)
You can also request that your favorite book store order it, if you don’t want to give more $$ to Amazon. Always buy the book with the cheerful baby panda on the cover saying “hi hi hi hi!”
Here’s today’s ‘toon. I promise I’ll get back to our favorite pandas next week!
This Saturday is the birthday of Six and Sebben, so I guess we’ll have to let them on the set of the Panda Chronicles for the Sunday Funday Archive ‘toon episode. Hold onto your wallets and your cuppycakes. and mebbee tell them the Panda Swap book is about them.
Be the Bear Bob T my floor usually does look like an FBI crime photo Panda
Stories have a way of regenerating as new s**t comes to light! But for now, we are going to call this story done, with this episode.
So Let’s get to it!
It looks like Bikkie made a new friend! Call the building contractor, Tian! We might need to make an addition on to Bikkie’s room. And who does this cub belong to? I guess we’ll find out eventually.
A Little Bit About My Process:
Some stories start with an idea that is floating around on the internet. These nooz stories enter my brain, slosh around a bit, colliding with existing characters, melding with preconceived ideas, and finally plooping out onto the page.
For instance: Where did Frank and Mikey come from?
In the fall of 2018, when it became apparent the the current SCOTUS nominee was even more awful than we thought he was, the thought crossed my mind, wouldn’t it be funny if he was eaten by bears on the steps of the Supreme Court?
Naturally, Mehitabel (being the savvy journalist that she is,) invited the bears for an interview on ZooNooZ. To be completely candid, their personalities emerged with little intervention from me. Honestly, sometimes I think I am merely a conduit through which the various cats, pandas, and other animals that appear in these pages, and speak their own thoughts.
Once here, I could not get the bears to leave, despite very pointed glares coming from Mei Xiang as she dealt with her ever expanding household.
And so it is with all the other characters. Sometimes, they don’t have much to say to me, so I let them just wander around in the background, until they have pressing business with me.
Process:
For those who might be interested, here is how my ‘toons come into being:
Idea > scribbled post it note > write script, seeing if I can fit the action/dialog/cast into a 4 panel strip > rough pencil sketch in my sketchbook to figure out layout > light editing of placement, text > redraw the toon on smooth Bristol paper > ink in panel lines > ink in text> ink in all characters > erase pencil lines when dry > Scan > clean up scan in photo editing program > post on The Panda Chronicles
Whew!
Be the Bear Bob T I have no classified documents 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.
Let’s get this panda party started!
Remember when Mr Wu got a present from da panda kindy?
Will the panda kindergarten get it put together before Bai Yun gets home?Mr Wu finds out that the Meihems were born in PandalantaAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!Triple Trouble indeed!What are Pinky and her minions getting up to?
And then, of course, there is Princess Pinky Junior, aka PPJ. Here, to celebrate her birthday, is the entire story of her arrival in the Panda Chronicles, “Someday you’ll have a cub just like YOU” aka Pinky’s nightmare.
This isn’t a dream…it’s a nightmare!
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.
Oh my, TFG’s multi-shirted cretin is fresh from his contempt of congress conviction and still is promoting additional insurrectionist activities. Will we ever get any relief from this mob?
Let’s step into the Panda House for a little relief from reality!
Pinky is full of surprises!
I hope everyone is getting their cakes made and presents bought, because as I was reminded the other day, not only is it Mr. Wu’s birthday this Friday, it is also PPJ’s birthday and Pinky’s minions! (aka the triplets!)
Thanks a lot, Leslie. I think you gave Pinky this idea.
I can’t believe we need to remind people not to do this. There is more and more information that invading the personal space of a wild animal is a really bad idea. It can endanger the wild animals, not to mention, they might decide to eat you.
Frank and Mikey have generously agreed to deliver this year’s warning about this dangerous practice.
Do as we say, not as we do!
More to come from our exclusive ZooNooz coverage of the hearings about Mittens Coup attempt! Be there or be the bear!
Sorry for the late posting. I’ve been burning the midnight oil, the dawn coffee, and all the hours in between as I get ready for my painting show in July. where oh where did the time go?
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!
