Pandas and Koala’s and ice picks Oh my!


Propaganda Panda a Panda of Propaganda. The panda speaks with a slight panda accent…

I found a review of a children’s book in the paper and it had a lovely illustration from the book that now graces my office door:

The book, on not very close inspection, seems to be about a Zen Panda. I didn’t know pandas were Zen. I figured that Koalas would be Zen like; they chew a lot of leaves and end up kind of high all the time. What is the sound of one paw clapping? I could see koalas thinking about that up in the tree cover as they munch leaves and study their paws. They probably have all kinds of good ideas about things. I hadn’t thought about where pandas are spiritually. Are pandas stoners too? Would an aardvark be an aardvark of agitprop? Would pandas be down with agitprop or are they too mellow for agitation? Do pandas agitate? Do they get agita from stress? Do pandas feel stress? propaganda panda a panda of propaganda the panda speaks with a slight panda accent…. After awhile you could hypnotize yourself with the word “panda”, you could make yourself unconscious if you spent time wondering what a panda accent would sound like.

Pandas have been in the news lately because the pair of pandas (pandi?) at the National Zoo managed to successfully get one of them pregnant and the offspring so far as lived longer than other pandas born in captivity at that zoo. A pregnant panda. A pregnant propaganda panda - which in theory those pandas actually are as they are a loaner pair from China. The current pair are successors to the original propaganda pandas that China sent over in the wake of Nixon’s visit there.

I just went to Amazon to learn more about the book and as it turns out, there isn’t a mention of the Propaganda Panda! The picture from the review isn’t there of the propaganda panda and in the book there are other animals and they seem more important then the panda! That is outrageous!

The book is an illustrated children’s version of a story by Tolstoy so suddenly the red kite the kid carries has more meaning then just “Hmmm. What color should we paint the kite? Hmm, what would blend well with the other colors? What would be a nice compliment? I have some red here. How about red? Red is nice”.

Coincidentally, redness aside, the ice pick used to kill Tolstoy (or actually, TROTSKY, the guy who was killed with the ice pick in question if I had actually RTFA) may have been found. The woman who has it, wants to sell it, while at the same time, the museum in Mexico dedicated to Tolstoy and run by one of his descendents isn’t so much excited about paying for the murder weapon that may have killed his ancestor. The woman who has the alleged weapon says no one values what they don’t pay for. The revolution is official over. Somewhere all the old revolutionaries are rolling over in their communal graves.

Anyway. Think Happy Thoughts. I suggest Happy Thoughts about pandas. Propaganda pandas. What would a pandas speaking voice sound like if pandas could speak? How pronounced would their panda accent be? Think on that. Try counting pandas. one propaganda panda, two propaganda pandas, three propaganda pandas…Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.