Goodbye, Gretchen

A little over a week ago, the pandas lost one of their fans. We all have these ever widening circles of friends and acquaintences ( like Rabbit's friends and relations). Gretchen was not in my closest circle of friends, but we had lots of overlapping circles of friends and interests. We are both artists, we both adore cats, and now I find we are both pandaphiles. (And yes, I would fondle a panda if given the opportunity.) Life is too busy and too short to know well all those we meet in our travels. I always enjoyed running into Gretchen at the grocery store where we would talk about art or our cats or what was blooming in the garden.

Some religions believe that your journey to what ever afterlife there might be takes 7 days. I'd like to think that there was a panda guide to lead her on her passage, and a great host of pandas waiting to welcome her and offer her a "little something" to snack on till lunch time.

Panda on, Gretchen. We'll miss you.

Miz B

Voices in My Head

Generally speaking it's not a good idea to admit that you hear voices in your head, but I'm going to go public with this dirty little secret. The voices are usually attached to animals, like my cat Mehitabel, or the pandas. Mehitabel's voice is very sultry and rather cynical. Think Lauen Bacall in "The Big Sleep". The pandas have two different voices. The small pandas are kind of high pitched and exuberant and the big pandas sound a lot like Tony Soprano. It's not that I sit around ALL the time, listening to these voices, but it does make life more interesting.

Panda On!

Miz 'B'

Unfairness to Cats

In my quest to become a widely successful cartoonist, I have been doing alot of "research". As a painter, my early studies included studying the great masters of painting throughout the ages. So, I reasoned, If I want to expand my understanding of cartooning I must study from the masters. Now, you've most likely already gathered that I have a very healthy sense of the absurd. After all, I'm making cartoons about cats and pandas. Therefore, it would not be a suprise that my studies have focused on other masters of the quirky and absurd. My all time favorites are Gary Larson, Nicole Hollander, Bill Watterson, and my current favorite, Scott Adams of Dilbert fame. In a recent book he revealed the 2 of 6 rule, which states that in order for something to be funny, is must include at least 2 of the following 6 concepts:

1. cuteness

2. meaness

3. naughtiness

4. bizarreness

5. recognizability

6. cleverness

Is this guy a genius or what?

So, thanks, Scott, and all the other cartoonists out there who are making me laugh and helping us all to get through the days ahead as the new powers that be try to get us out of the mess we're all in.

Panda On!

Miz B

Panda Kindergarten

March is coming in like a ....panda? Well, I don't know what this March is coming in like, but the weather sure is wierd. One day it's 65 degrees and the next day its in the low 20's. I don't know whether to shed or go blind. (I hope that got past the censors.) I'm glad cats don't have to go to school like pandas do. Of course if there was some possibility that I would get a tuna fish sandwich in my lunch, I might just reconsider. On the other hand, it might interfere with my busy schedule of napping and scratching the couch.

Panda on!

Mehitabel

True Crime or the Case of the Missing Tortoiseshell

Last summer my companion cat, also know as the "back up kitty" disapeared one afternoon. If Pandas were in charge, something like this may just possibly have happened, don't ya think? Personally I can't watch one of those PBS mystery shows without thinking of this any time some one refers to "Panda Cars".

Panda On!

Mehitabel

The Right to Arm Bears

Stay tuned for more about bears with guns.

cheerio,

Mehitabel

Any time I have to get on an airplane, I'm always amused and annoyed by all the new fees and restrictions on what you can bring on the plane. What will they think of next?

Cheers, Miz B