Thoughts on Pandas

Pandas are complex, multifaceted creatures, but always we act in harmony with the world. Humans can take many lessons from Pandas. That is my most important mission, to teach Panda culture to the world.

Panda News

China's Pandas Face an Uncertain Future After Quake (click for link)

"And while the immediate plans...aim to rebuild communities and captive panda facilities, they do not, to the chagrin of some conservationists, include sufficient measures to restore or protect the surrounding bamboo forests that provide refuge for endangered wild pandas."

As if my oppressed people do not have enough problems, now the hastily implemented solutions to the earthquake that devastated my birthplace (The Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan) are found to be poorly thought out. The Chinese government cares only about using my people to make the rest of the world think they are interested in the environment and conservation. They don't actually care about my people.

Here are some pictures (click for link) of my people back home.

Rob Rob's Meditation of the Day

Hello,

As the countdown to the Superbowl winds down and the pre-game hype builds up, I'd like to remind you all of the words of the Buddha:

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path...Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.

Our hype and talk means nothing. The players actions are all that matters. Think about that, and about how your own life is similar.

Namaste,

Rob Rob

Updates...

Congratulations to my pal Evgeni Malkin for winning the accuracy shooting competition at the NHL All Star Game Skills Competition, this past weekend!! Click here for the video.

Bunny and I flew to Montreal (after we finished up with the Steelers) on Saturday to watch the skills competition on Saturday night, after which we took a red eye back to Philadelphia. Rob picked us up at Philly airport late Saturday night. Bunny gets really annoyed at the pretentious stuck-up French Canadians. He tried to buy some weed off of a guy who would only speak French, who kept acting like he didn't understand Bunny, but then Bunny whipped out his retractable baton just to scare him a little, and the guy was like "Please don't hurt me!!" and Bunny was like, "Oh, so now you speak pretty good English, don't you bitch?" Thank Buddha I have diplomatic immunity in Canada, too, or else we might have been arrested if someone would have seen that.

Even so, we still should have stayed in Montreal for the game, where Malkin scored a wicked goal from between his legs (click for video).

In other news, Karla returned from Canada. It is nice to have her back. I thoroughly scented her before she went away so that no other pandas would try to claim her as their own, and it must have worked, because I didn't smell any other panda scents on her when she got back.

Bunny and I have been doing a lot of traveling lately, and it's kind of catching up to me. The lack of availability of quality bamboo (for me) and quality hash (for Bunny) on the road is terrible. Mike Tomlin offered to fly us down to Tampa, but I think it is better if we stay in Philadelphia and watch the game here. After all, we've done all of the work we can do, and now it's up to the players. It is the players work that got them where they are, and now it is their work that has to bring home the championship. Bunny and I can only facilitate their efforts.

Some pictures from this week...

Here's a shot of me working with Troy on his hand-eye coordination.


This is me strategizing with Mike Tomlin during practice.

Here we are watching them run through some new plays down at Heinz Field.

We've all been pretty busy this week watching game films and planning plays, but I think it's all going to pay off when they go down to Tampa.

Pens-Rangers

Congratulations to the Penguins, who set the tone of yesterday by beating the NY Rangers 3-0 at home yesterday. Marc-Andre Fleury (above) stopped 33 shots for the shut-out, possibly aided in part by the amazing power of the Terrible Towel he wielded before and after the game.

"The terrible towel is poised to strike!!"

Here we go Steelers! Here we go!!

Congratulations to all of the Steelers players and coaches. Now the real work begins....

Mike Tomlin has it right: We didn't start this drive just to get to Tampa. The real goal is to go to Tampa and walk away with the title.

Go Steelers!!

I just off the phone with Mike Tomlin. I'm very excited about the Steelers game-plan, but that's about all I can say right now, as it is confidential. Go Steelers!!

cocktail of the day

Cocktail of the day!! (click for link)

My cocktail of the day is the "Jack Rose," with instructional video provided by Dr. Rachel Maddow.

Have a nice weekend,

Rob Rob

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen's Walmart Exclusive (click for link).

I don't know about this. I'm going to have to call Bruce and ask him what the hell's up.

Bunny tells me that he knows Bruce from way back when Bunny was a roadie for the E-Street Band, and he's shocked that Bruce would let this happen. I'll call New Number 1 and order a carrot stir-fry with fried rice for lunch (and bamboo-shoot stir-fry for me). That always cheers Bunny up.

Urgent call for bamboo!

Panda's at the National Zoo need bamboo!! (click for link)

They may not have enough to last the winter!

If you own a bamboo forest in the continental US, please contact my cousin Tai Shan in Washington, DC. Thanks!!

peace and enlightenment,

Rob Rob

As this is my first blog post, I'd like to welcome you all as fellow travelers on the path to self-discovery and enlightenment. Here you'll find some comments on my impression of the world as it looks to a young Panda living in a foreign land. My views may be a bit different from your own, as I am from both a different country as well as a different species.

I would like to say how excited I am for the Steeler game this weekend!!! Go Steelers!!!

Check out this video from Keith Olbermann last night about the puppy (temporarily) killed by a Wii-mote (don't worry, the puppy is fine). This actually happened to my good buddy, Bunny (that's both his name and his species; as an aside, Bunny wants me to comment about how excited he is about the "tobacco paraphernalia" shop now operating Baltimore Ave., here in Philly, near where we live). Bunny was playing BoomBlox at our friend Rob's place, and Bunny totally got excited and whacked our other friend Duke on the head with the Wii-mote and knocked him out cold (Bunny can be kind of a spaz). Thankfully our other friend Man-E-Faces was more than happy to give Duke mouth-to-mouth, and he saved Duke's life.

On a more serious note, Sidney Crosby was injured during the Penguins-Capitals game last night, and we are yet to know the extent of this injury and/or whether it will mean he will miss game time. It could be nothing. It could be serious. I'll be following this story closely. Until then, we're left with Evgeni Malkin as the Penguins sole savior. Note that almost 1 year ago to the day, Crosby got hurt last season, and Geno picked the team up on his back and carried them into the playoffs as he battled for the NHL scoring title until Crosby once again got healthy. I talked to Malkin on the phone this morning, and he said to me "I play hard, Rob Rob. If no Sidney, I try play harder."

Amen, Geno. Amen.