Poor Bubba. What a shock it was to find out that people had been watching him ALL. THE. TIME. on the panda camera. Are they really allowed to do that? I’m afraid so, Bubba, and what with your sister’s presidential aspirations, not to mention your Cubby of the Year Award, you won’t have a moments privacy during your entire residence at The Pinksonian Zoo.
Between Apps on mobile devices, 24 hour panda cams, and all the videos and photos taken by visitors to the zoo, your EVERY. SINGLE. MOVE. will be recorded and commented on. Not to make you self conscious or anything.
Add to that, the time honored tradition and privilege of older children to tease, torment, and generally one up their younger siblings. Not that I know anything about this. HAHAHAHAHA! For the record, I am the put upon younger sibling. But we are all done with that, right?
I has no sekrets!!!!
Meanwhile, over on Kristen Lamb’s blog, she has been taking to task those online news sites that make a practice of not paying writers. C Hope Clark, over at Funds for Writers (one of my favorite and always read newsletters) has also addressed this extremely disturbing trend. As a writer, painter, and cartoonist, I have come up against this idea that “if you love doing something, you should do it for free”. Phooey on that! As both Kristen and Hope have both so eloquently said, creative people have the same bills everyone else does. We have rent, mortgages, doctor bills, need food, clothes, you name it.
Now, I post this blog for free, and you can search the archives at will. I do this willingly. You can walk into the gallery that shows my paintings and see them for free. You can even see them online. The only way I make any income is if someone buys my paintings, books, or reproductions. If that truly is not in your budget, come visit here often; visit your public library. I’ve been there and I am a great fan an user of public libraries. But if you have the wherewithal to buy books or paintings, be they mine or any of the thousands of great writers and artists out there, please do. It will be appreciated and is the only way we keep from living in a cardboard box. Visit my book page or Pandas Love Links page. And don’t support sites that make money from the work of creatives without providing compensation to those who create the content.
Be the (slightly preachy) bear!
Bob T Panda
I drew some crayon masterpieces on the inside walls of my cardboard box. Wanna come see?
I’m decorating my box with egg tempera. Crayon might hold up better in wet weather, though.
Oh, Pinky !!! what sweet little face she has in all these vignettes, smiling … liddle princessssss is adorable and unresisdibel. Ebbribuddy loves her :-)))
#Vote4Pinky #Pinky4Prezydent
Sigh, it is a little disconcerting to see what Pinky gets away with, just by being cute. Bootini, anyone?
All Pinky did was tell her brother the truth! Since when is telling the truth a naughty thing?
BTW, this notion that writers don’t really need to be paid for their work is a frequent topic on the mystery writers’ listservs I belong to. More and more, we’re expected to be satisfied with the “exposure” — but, hey, you can’t eat exposure!
Every time I read one of these articles about how writers are not being paid, my blood starts to boil. Artists have been dealing with this issue for a long time as well, mostly over the practice of charitable organizations holding fundraising art auctions. Once I questioned the person who was soliciting a donation from me (“We’d like a major piece, please.”), offering only “exposure” in compensation. Exposure is needed when you are just starting, but to offer that to a full time practicing writer or artist is just plain ridiculous.
As for Pinky, um…while what she said IS true, it is her delight in yanking Bubba’s chain that Mei objects to. I’m thinking that soon Bubba will be on to his sister’s tricks and starts to get his own back. THE SMALL BEAR STRIKES BACK!!! …coming soon to a theater near you!
Glad you are starting to feel better! I am counting on your recovery, as is Inspector Panda.
Don’t some blogs get advertisers? I don’t know how they really make money doing blogs. But,thank you for letting us see these precious pandas for free. I wish i had extra money to buy the books, but like most of us, don’t have a lot to spend sadly.
Thank you again, for posting these because they make so many people happy!!
I have thought of that, but really don’t want to muck up my pages with advertisements. I guess I’m a little like NPR (without the fund drives) I like to present commercial free material, and ask those that can, to support me by buying books and such. Also, I don’t really have the traffic to be attractive to advertisers, but even if I did, I still wouldn’t want to do it. My rule of thumb is don’t do anything that annoys ME, because it’s bound to annoy others as well. (this doesn’t mean that I refrain from writing cartoons that might annoy someone, because if they amuse ME, I’m all for them!)
I am happy to have people come here to read my work whether they can afford to buy stuff with pandas or not. That’s the bottom line for me. You have value to me (sorry to put it in those terms, but I think you know what I mean) by being a faithful reader and commenter. The best advertisement an artist/writer can have is people who love their work.
I started drawing pandas because I needed something to cheer myself up when the painting market went to hell in a hand basket, and given that it cheered me up, I want to do the same for others. Karma all works out in the end. I hope those who CAN, will buy my books, and those who can’t will keep coming here so they can keep smiling (and spreading the word of panda satire helps too!)
Thanks for being one of the panda faithful! Be the bear!
Love Bubba’s expression when he gets the idea of an agent…he is Pinky’s baby bro for sure! Yes, everyone expects artists to starve, like in Puccini’s opera La Boheme.
Giving the pandas expressive faces is one of my favorite accomplishments. It has been fun for me to look back at my earliest work and see how that skill has developed. And yes, I’m afraid Bubba is truly Pinky’s little brother and disciple. Poor Mei. Better make that bootini a triple.
And yes…. The idea of starving artists is extremely overrated.
Love Pinky’s expressions!!
I’m with Mei – I need a Bootini – or three 🙂
Bootinis all around! Huzzah!
I hope you know that “coming here” and buying are not mutually exclusive. I “come here” since I am fortunate enough to have your wonderful blog come to my inbox, but I also have all 6 volumes of The Panda Chronicles . . . and maybe a mug or two. I consider myself doubly blessed!! Thank you for all of the smiles!
You are da bear! Thank you for supporting me, thinking I’m funny (you do, right?)and for coming around to read the newest ‘toons. Sometimes my heart just swells with all the love and support. I get here. Plus….fun with pandas!!!!!
I feel like we all at this virtual party, drinking bootinis and having many (many!) cuppycakes! Thank you for being one of the panda faithful.
Altho Pinky does “sometimes” tease little Bubba, it’s not malicious….how could it be ?? Pinky definitely loves Bubba !! Pinky has such a big heart, look how she even bought her Daddy a sweatshirt so he wouldn’t get cold rolling around in the snow, he can even wear it on chilly mornings while eating his breakfast !! Whatta Gal !! For sure I’m voting for Pinky for President !!
Yes, I think Pinky truly does have a good heart and loves her little brother. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to tease the heck out of him. And as you mentioned, what a loving daughter she is to give her daddee a nice warm sweatshirt for those frosty mornings they’ve been having in DC!
But are you sure you don’t want to vote for Bob instead? #Had2Ask