The 50th Pandaversary celebration of all things PANDA would hardly be complete without an examination of every thought that has ever passed through the magnificent brain of the most important panda that ever resided at the Smifsonian National Zoo!
Oh sure, you might think Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing were those most important pandas, since they were the first to reside in Washington DC. Or maybe you might think that the well loved Tai Shan (aka #1 son), being the miracle cubby who arrived in 2005, is that most important panda.
But only 1 panda was VOTED an icon in a national campaign by the Smifsonian! Guess who!!!!!
A tip of the tiara to Pinky’s twidder typer for this idea!
Soon to be available on my Redbubble shop as a T-shirt and some other things!
Yesterday one of my pandemic ‘toons popped up in someone’s time line, so I thought I would revisit the pandas experience of the Panda-demic.
It’s nothing that a little cocoa can’t fix!You can’t get more socially distant than sending everyone to their room!Is FEMA stealing marshymallows too?Well, bless her heart!Here comes Meihem!
There is always excitement in store when Six and Sebben show up. Mei must have been desperate to suggest this. I bet she won’t make that mistake again!
I just sent a check for $500 off to the Whatcom Humane Society, thanks to everyone who ordered a felty support kitty! There are still 6 more available, so check out the Felties Revisited page for information on ordering!
Till Tuesday (when I WILL have a new ‘toon) Be the Bear! Bob T Panda
I just came home from a small memorial gathering for a friend who died earlier this year. He was a sweet man who definitely should not have gotten cancer and died, because he was one of the nicest men I ever met, and his wife is a lovely person who did not deserve to lose her best friend.
As you might imagine, I have quite a list of people who definitely would not be missed should they vanish from the face of the earth. I suspect you could guess who at least some of those people are. I suppose it is not very charitable of me to have this list, but after the last 5 years, I am not concerned with the justice or fairness of my list.
I thought of this ‘toon, made for a dear departed friend 8 years ago…
This one’s for you, Jude.
It’s hard not to think about justice or fairness when you watch even a little bit of the hearings for the SCOTUS nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. I admit to wishing that a piano might fall on the head of some of her interrogators. Why is it that an eminently qualified and compassionate individual like Judge Brown Jackson should be rudely condescended to by people who have less integrity than something I scraped off my shoe? To quote (with a slight paraphrase) the SNL parody of the Justice Beer Keg hearing, “You give her a damn robe and let her do what ever she wants, and put her on the court NOW!!!”
I hope that when she returned home each day from this circus, that she was met at the door by her husband and daughters, with a pitcher of martinis, confetti and balloons, and a stack of plates to smash on the back patio. I will be so proud when she takes her place on the court.
And if we need a reminder of what we have endured these last 5 years…
Remember the song “The Eve of Destruction”? That’s what today feels like.Whats a protest without pandas?Hey, save some cuppycakes for me!Clear as mud!
I’m about to send a nice big check to the Whatcom County Humane Societybecause you, the panda (and cat!) fans have supported my Felty Cats for Actual Cats project. Thank you for all who have chosen a little felty companion (and helped to make a little more space on the windmills in my felty studio). I still have 10 kitties left if you were waiting (for some reason). If you order before the end of March, you will get an extra surprise!
Sometimes I have ideas, and sometimes I don’t necessarily know where they are going. In the way of pantsers* everywhere, I will just start writing and drawing and see where it goes. (*Pantser: a writer who writes with no plan or plot in mind)
Over on #PandaTwitter Six and Sebben are on the loose! Who knows what they will get up to, or where they will turn up. Mama Lun Lun bought them around the world tickets, paid extra for their passports, turned up the music and locked the door. Not necessarily in that order.
Sometimes Twitter #PandaImprov turns into ‘toon story lines. Sometimes we are just having fun!
But meanwhile, Babette de Panda has turned up like a bad penny!
As I mentioned on Sunday, (did you read Sunday’s post? No? I’ll wait…) this April is the 50th anniversary of the arrival of pandas at the Smithsonian National Zoo. Long time panda fans remember the excitement of their arrival. And with the birth of Tai Shan to the second pair of pandas (also our current panda family) at the zoo, it seemed that the pinnacle of happiness had been reached!
And then in 2013 there was another arrival…
#ClapLouder for Pinky!
In 2015 bouncing big boy Bubba came along, and in 2020, one of the darkest years of the last several decades, our little miracle Bikkie arrived to cheer us all up!
Technical Trevails
I’m happy to report I finally got more ink cartridges for my printer. I never did figure out how to print with just the black and white ink when a color cartridge was empty. There are days when I really hate technology!
This means that little felted kitties will be headed out into the world this week! There are still 12 kitties remaining! Check out the Felties Revisited page for ordering information!
It was 50 years ago in April when when the Nixon Pandas came to live in DC. They were not the first pandas to arrive in the US…that honor goes to Su Lin the first, who lived for several years at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago.
40) Su Lin the first. From a a personal photograph that found it’s way to me.
But 50 years of pandas at the Smithsonian National Zoo is a big milestone to celebrate. The arrival of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, after the deaths of Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing was cause for celebration. The pictures of Mei Xiang as a demure cubbie make my heart sing.
Who would have imagined the bounty of cubbies, from Tai Shan to our beloved miracle, Xiao Qi Ji (aka Bikkie), who arrived when we thought all hope had flown.
The actual Olympics may have ended weeks ago, but time has no meaning here! Here with the final event, are our favorite pairs of twins, The Meihems and their…um…”differently behaved” younger zizzies, Six and Sebben!
Let the games begin!
We will now bid the Panda-O-Lympics a fond fare the well, for another 2 years. Who will the torch bears be this time? Perhaps Fleur and Snowy? Stay ‘tooned in to find out!
Be the bear! Bob T Panda
Don’t forget the felty kitty project! Still 19 kitties available for their forebear homes!
