Tag Archives: zoonooz

The Not So Affordable Care Act

To be completely honest (unlike certain politicians I could name, but won’t, since they’re all lawyers) I didn’t plan for this cartoon to be scheduled right after the **New Improved** (NOT!!!!) Affordable Care Act substitution proposal was announced. It just worked out that way.  I’m not going to go into a rant here (okay maybe just the teeniest, tiniest cute rant) because you can go read all the details in the news or on Twidder and FezBook. Let’s just say that it is not a whole lot better than what’s coming up in today’s ‘toon.

We might already be tired of how great everything is becoming.

affordable care act

How easy is it going to be to stay healthy with no EPA or food safety regulations? Asking for a friend.

Panda On (And let’s be careful out there!)

Bob T Panda

PS: have I mentioned that my new book is out???

The seventh book of The Panda Chronicles Series

 

Being the Bear

In recent years I have maintained a somewhat strict policy as regarding those awards that other bloggers hand out to recognize their compatriots in the bloggosphere. And that policy is this: DON’T DO IT!!!! But recently, someone who obviously did not know this policy gave me one of those darn awards. Being the bear that I am, I’m making an exception on my zero tolerance policy for a special reason. I’ve known Becky, over at Dark Food to Die For, since she was a teenager. I know her sister. I know her parents. I know all their dogs. I know the dogs they had before they had these dogs.

In other words, we have some history, and it’s been a really fun one. Anyone care for some Potato Dilly Bobs? (Okay, that was an inside joke and I’m not going to explain it, but, Kate, if you’re reading this, I hope you didn’t spew coffee all over your phone.)

being the bear

Because, after all, pandas are pretty neat!

The other reason I have decided to accept this award, if maybe not complying with ALL the requirements is this: Becky is smart, talented, and creative. She’s worked hard to perfect several creative careers in a world where the rules of engagement keep changing, and yet she keeps going. Plus she’s cute as a bug, like the rest of the members of her family. So, go check at her blog at Dark Food to Die For. Who knows what you may be inspired to do in your kitchen?

But before I comply with some of the rules, (because pandas are rebels, you know) Here is today’s panda-toon, because I know you are going, okay…can we dispense with the warm fuzzy memories of you and your little friends and get on with some panda satire????? 

“Be yourself – Everyone else is already taken”
-Oscar Wilde

The Portrait of Dorian Grey is probably the most parodied trope in literature, probably because it’s so irresistible. My favorite is in The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde, which I have read countless times. Go read it. I’ll still be here.

Okay, so back to this award thingie.
Rule #1: Acknowledge the blogger that inflicted bestowed this award on you. Thanks a bunch Becky…no really! Check!
Rule #2: Answer the 7 questions that they have provided for you: Okay, here goes:

  1. What is the most recent food photo you took with your phone and why? : Um…I don’t do that. I think it’s weird when people do that. So sue me.
  2. Tell me about your most vivid dream.: I had a couple vivid dreams this past week and I am TOTALLY not going to tell you about the first one, but the second one had a tiger roaming my neighborhood and I had to get myself and my cat (the lately departed Mehitabel) into the house, before it ate us. I realized that my phone was in a different house, so I could not call for rescue. I have no idea what this means, but I remembered the tiger when I woke up. Also that the litter box needed cleaning, but there was no way I was going out there with a tiger running loose.
  3. What is your favorite monster movie?: I don’t really have a favorite monster movie, but there were some really scary monsterish villains in Kung Fu Panda 3. does that count?
  4. Tell me about your best summer ever.: Boy, this is kind of a hard one. If I can count the spring that went before it, (and why the heck can’t I?) It would be the year I spent spring semester at the Delaware Water Gap National Park at an independent art program with 8 other students and various visiting faculty. I think that was the experience that solidified my dedication to painting. Second favorite summer was my first time at Jack Beal and Sondra Freckelton’s workshop in Oneonta NY with about 25 other phenomenally talented painters.
  5. If you were trapped on an island for a year and could only have 3 things with you…what would those 3 things be?: Obviously an inexhaustible supply of cuppycakes, a permanently charged iPad, ( with internet connection) and a panda to keep me company.
  6. Quick:  Cats or dogs?  Why?: Aren’t pandas and option? If not, then cats. And if you have to ask why, you don’t know cats very well.
  7. What do you know now as a blogger that you wish you knew when you first started?: Well, I’m not sure what I wish I knew, but I can tell you what really surprised me: that I would make so many genuine connections with people who read my ‘toons, and that some of them have become actual in real life friends. That is completely awesome and amazing.

Pandas are no stranger to winning awards!

So before I get around to naming names, here are my seven questions:

  1. If you could be an animal, which one would you be?
  2. What kind of cuppycake are you, and why?
  3. If you could change any event in the history on people on earth, what would you chose?
  4. What is your favorite city (other than the one you live in) that you have visited?
  5. What children’s book did you read as a child that you still love?
  6. If you knew you only had one year to live, what would you do?
  7. What do you wish you had done in your life that you have not?

So, before I list the blogs that I am saddling with all these things to do bestowing this award and my admiration upon, let me just say that any of these bloggers may not wish to participate in the whole award thingie, and that’s fine by me. I just want to recognize some of the blogs that I read regularly and think that you might enjoy them too.

https://vsomethingspeaks.wordpress.com/ Vicky is a fellow pandaholic that found me through Pandas International. We’ve been working on a project together for a while, and while it is as yet unrealized, I hope it will be published someday.

https://wronghands1.com John Atkinson writes hilarious one panel comics that are smart, funny, with puns that make you groan in admiration. He follow my blog early on, which is how I discovered his comics. I don’t know if he still checks in on the pandas, but I think he’s one of the best cartoonists working today.  He really doesn’t need this award, because he has lots of people following him,  but I just wanted to say, “You’re swell, John!” Plus he’s Canadian and…um…I might need to go there.

http://www.savagechickens.com is another really widely read comic, with chickens, and sometimes cats, doing funny,  snarky things. I love these ‘toons.

http://justoutsidetheboxcartoon.com/apples-and-oranges/ Another last minute I just remembered addition. I knew there was someone else I wanted to include on this post! Good thing I was checking my email! More smart, funny stuff from the land on the other side of the globe!

http://theartofnotgettingpublished.blogspot.com One of the things I love about this blog and blogger, is that like me, she’s one of the no longer a spring chicken who is trying to get traditionally published in the kid-lit arena. I also like that she is smart and funny and…um…politically on the same side of the fence as I am. So sue me. Wait, don’t!  Because she has a responsible grown-up job, she doesn’t always blog on a regular schedule, but I’m always excited to see one of her posts in my email box and always read it.

https://booksaroundthetable.wordpress.com This blog is the forum for five writers and/or illustrators of books for children. It’s always interesting and has shown me some great art as well. Not to mention I learned that I could go see original drawings from Winnie the Pooh at the Victoria and Albert Museum, from a series of posts here.

http://mynameisyeh.com Okay, Molly Yeh definitely does NOT need my endorsement, and with her schedule certainly does not have time to answer my dumb questions. But I have a serious fan girl crush on her and her life, (not in a creepy way, of course) or maybe it’s just all the CAKES she bakes and takes photos of for her blog. I’m not really sure how I first stumbled on her blog, but if you are a fan of food blogs and goshwejusthavesuchafunlifeandlook!here’saCAKE!!! kind of photos, you will fall in love with Molly and her blog. Did I mention CAKE? She also has a new cookbook out, with recipes that I can actually make and also liberal use of the “F” word, which may be a first for any cookbook I have ever seen. And oh yeah, CAKE!!!! You know how pandas feel about cake.

The Four Panda Kindergarteners of the Apandalypse!

Well, I think that’s it for me and this whole award thing. Just don’t do it again.

Panda On
Bob T Panda

 

 

 

 

 

 

What could be more fabulous …

…than the panda season of LOVE!!!!!? I know these are hard times: Bao Bao has gone to China, as have the Meihems; Bei Bei no longer gets to romp and roll with his mama. And you know who is in the White House. But wait! There is hope! Mei and Tian may yet do the Pandy Tango, and then we may get a bouncing baby panda or two. Wouldn’t that be fabulous in the extreme?

And not only is it the beginning of the Panda Season of LOOOOOOVE, we have a new book out! Now! It’s here!

The seventh book of The Panda Chronicles Series: don’t call mee boo boo!

So, while you are logging in to your Pandazon account, here are some ‘toons celebrating the upcoming panda season of love!

I hope people haven’t had enough of silly love songs!

it’s the panda, the panda season of love!

The Scottish pandas have had a few disappointments…

I am only making some of this up. copyright 2012 -A. Belov

A panda by any other name, would smell…well, they would just smell…

The Panda Season of Loooooove does not always go smoothly, so panda nannies must be prepared for “Plan B

“It was dark….there were men in masks….”

Well, why are you just sitting there chortling to yourself? Go buy my book!

Panda On!
Bob T Panda

More Alternative Facts

Here at the Panda Chronicles, we are never satisfied with the status quo! Join us in welcoming a new character to the cast, KittySue Conjob. Okay, maybe not welcoming, precisely…because let’s face it, if you think Pinky bends the truth and can be just the tiniest bit annoying, you ain’t seen nothing yet. While creating alternative facts left and right is part and parcel of standard operating procedure here at The Panda Chronicles, that is nothing compared to the whoppers KittySue and her real life inspiration (can you guess who that is? I bet you can!) roll out day after day. But we’re fictional, remember?

But let’s put our paws together for a big pandy welcome to…

alternative facts

Hey! Why are you making another character of questionable ethics a CAT???

Panda on!
Bob T Panda

Voting While Dead

You Know Who swears that this is a thing. Voting while dead. Massive voting fraud. He heard it on Foxy News, so it must be true.  Um…no, it’s not. Enough verifiable sources have said voter fraud on this scale is near impossible, especially in the ways you know who said it happened. When is this election going to be over???? OH….it is? Then why is HWMNBN still campaigning?

But, if people are going to vote while dead, they should at least follow some rules.

voting

This isn’t Nam, man! There are rules here!

Panda on!
Bob T Panda

My opening farewell

No, I’m not going anywhere, so you can stop hyperventilating right this minute. But the real life inspiration for Princess Pinky, that American icon of the Smithsonian institute, out there in the OTHER Washington, Bao Bao, daughter of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, has to leave for China next week. So, devastated as we are, we must say farewell to that adorable ball of fluff that we love so well. All this month, Fabulous Furry Friday celebrates her royal self. So here’s today’s plethora of Pinkys!!!!

Pinky is a STAR!!!!!

Princess Pinky helps with new years resolutions

You say you want a resolution, well, you know, it is hard to change a bear….

Bao Bao is unhappy

Could Mama Mei Xiang really be contemplating letting Pinky loose on the pandy kindy?

Sochi Winter Olympics, Pandas

I keep hearing the song “bears on the Run” going through my head…the ski run, that is!

Never say “No” to a Pinky!

Those girls are a force to be reckoned with.

Tune in again on Sunday for the rest of the Book 7 cover reveal!

Panda On!
Bob T Panda

 

Alternative Facts

You know I couldn’t let this one go by without comment, didn’t you? The Institute for Contemporary Panda Satire strives to be the LEADER in the purveyment of alternative facts.  Also alternative words. We make up have the best words here!

Our words are the best!!!!!!

Alternative facts

We have the very best facts

Meanwhile, I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of a proof copy of The Panda Chronicles Book 7: Don’t call mee boo boo! And as promised, here is a PARTIAL cover reveal.  Heh!

And who might that be, trying to sneak onto the cover of Bubba’s book? Tune in soon for the answer and more of the cover.

I hope you notice the very calming blue, bordering on periwinkle, background color. I thought we all needed to calm down just a little bit.

A small housekeeping detail for all the very generous folks who have contributed to my “support a worthy organization of my choosing and get panda stuff” campaign. I just finished the first batch of printing and doing a small drawing on the first group of goodies. I plan to get them in the mail by week’s end. Any one who donates to either Planned Parenthood or the ACLU between now and the end of February, your prints/drawings will go out in early March. Don’t know what the heck I’m talking about? Check out the information HERE!

And I also want to give thanks to my friends Deborah and Leslie, for making donations in honor and memory of the dearly departed Mehitabel, to their favorite cat charities. I can’t think of a better way to honor my sweet kitty. Well, other than having her remain here on The Panda Chronicles as the voice of reason and authority. Someone has to keep those pandas in line!

Keep Being the bear!

Panda on!
Bob T Panda

There has been a disturbance in the force

It was bad enough that we lost David Bowie, Alan Rickman, and so many other great talents last year, including Carrie Fisher (and her mom, Debbie Reynolds!) but the final insult to injury was the loss of my beloved cat, Mehitabel. She has been a part of my life and a part of my art since before I can remember, well…at least for the last 20 years. The force was strong in that cat, and she pretty much had me wrapped around her dainty little paws.

Because she was such a part of my life and such an important member of my cast of characters here at the Panda Chronicles, I decided that she would remain here. After all, I am not letting go of Pinky or the Meihems, despite their recent (Meihems) and impending (Pinky) departure to China. So Mehitabel will remain, in a somewhat metaphysical state. After all, SOMEONE has to keep all those pandas in line!

Hey, it’s my cartoon, I can have anyone I want in it, okay???

force

Sorry I’m “late”

Panda On
Bob T Panda

I just read of a cartoonist who has found a way to use her talent to contribute to some of her favorite non profits. It really is pretty brilliant, and so I am going to say a big, pandy thank you to her, and then STEAL HER IDEA!!!!! I have been feeling the pain of not having the resources to donate meaningfully to these organizations, and this is a way to see if I can make a difference.

So here’s the deal:
Donate $50 to either the ACLU or Planned Parenthood and get a signed copy of a cartoon, with a hand drawn sketch on it.
Donate $100 to either the ACLU or Planned Parenthood and get 2 signed cartoons with a hand drawn sketch on them.
Donate $500 to either the ACLU or Planned Parenthood and get an original hand drawn cartoon of my* choice (unframed) (* you can tell me who your favorite panda characters are and I will make a selection based on that info)

Just send me a screenshot of your donation receipt dated between January 31st and February 28th, along with your mailing address, and I will send them out as I receive them. US addresses only, please. Send info/receipt to yourbrainonpandas@gmail.com. Let’s see if we can raise some $$ for these organizations! Pandas are standing by!

 

 

 

There’s Something Happening Here…

...what it is ain’t exactly clear.…Things are happening very fast and I don’t think it is a good thing. When you are steering a ship of state, which is much bigger, than say, the Titanic, it seems like you would want to chart your course carefully, lest  you, ya know, run into an iceberg.  Not just barrel on ahead, because you like the sound of your own voice that much.

Heh.

Meanwhile, there is no such thing as an alternative fact, unless you are talking about speculative science fiction. Are we still allowed to use the word “science”? It’s good to remember that not everything is as it exactly appears in any particular snapshot (or screenshot!) But that doesn’t mean we should not pay attention. Or talk about what we’ve read or heard. Question everything, and let your representatives know how you feel, good and bad.

Our Future is at stake. Let’s treat it like it means something. Keep the conversation going.

Are all these paper clips mine?

Panda On!
Bob T Panda

The Million Panda March

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were a million pandas available to march? I know they would all be ready to go! Because pandas are not strangers to protests! I attended our small, (comparatively speaking) local march, because I did not feel comfortable going into Seattle, where they were expecting 10’s of thousands of people. At 4 PM on Saturday, the day of the march, estimates of attendance was at about 200,000. That’s people, not pandas. We don’t have any pandas here.

At our own event in Langley, I was expecting maybe 50 old hippies wearing tie-dye t-shirts, but lo and behold, when I arrived at the starting point, I could see maybe a couple hundred people milling around. I was waiting with one friend, who was waiting for her daughter, and after chatting with her for about 15 minutes as people filed past, I decided to hop in when I saw some other friends who had joined the march. As we turned onto the route, you could see that the entire street was full, with 10-12 people across, going all the way down to the corner, and already turning the corner, with almost as many people behind us. Unofficial estimates of attendance are at around 2,000. There aren’t that many people that live in town!

But pandas are no strangers to protest!

Pandas aren’t dopes!

The early days of panda rights groups….

panda bites man who hugged him

“I felt so violated!”

And here is a photo of our gathering in Langley. Huzzah! It didn’t rain, and I marched, picked up my mail, and was home in under 2 hours. You can’t beat that!

March

Women’s March, Langley edition!

Panda On!
Never give up working for peace and human …um…I mean panda rights!
Bob T Panda