Riposte Card No. 4: Passed-out Panda!

Or, Louis XV by Linda Yi

June’s Riposte Card — an illustrated quip mailed in limited quantities to paying subscribers — is by Linda Yi, crackerjack culinary cartoonist and founder of Panda Cub Stories. Linda shares Sichuanese recipes and techniques via cartoon recipe cards, so it was natural that she’d choose a culinary quip. Happily, she selected one that blends a love of coffee with just a dollop of ennui:

“What would life be without coffee? But then, what is life even with coffee?”
— Louis XV of France

She began by putting her panda cub on a punishing deadline:

But then we agreed to cut the little guy some slack:

And here’s Linda’s Riposte Card Questionnaire:

What’s your go-to item in a well-stocked stationery store?

Hmm... sticky note. SO MANY multi-colored sticky notes. And also 0.38mm (or skinnier!) ball point pens. I love writing tiny:)  

Where do you go for inspiration and/or information?

I have a handful of quotes I go back to, time and again. Lot's of these come from my favorite children's books! One of my go-to's is from Madeleine L'Engle:  "Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it."

Is there one joke, witticism, or aphorism you live by?

Lately, I've been writing the Chinese idiom “顺其自然 (Shùn qí zìrán)” in my journal a lot, to remind myself to “go with the flow.” It literally translates to “Go along with that which feels natural.” Mostly because my natural state is a ball of anxiety and I constantly feel like I need to do a lot of work to make sure things don't go wrong (which actually results in me doing a lot of unnecessary “fluff” work and procrastinating on deadlines). 

So I'm trying to be more chill, and go with the flow. Progress over perfection you know? (Ed. note: I 110% know!)

What’s the best thing to put on toast?

Honey! 

What work are you most proud of, and how can people support it?

My illustrated recipe card project! This is really the project where I've gotten to indulge my love for drawing adorable and delicious things, along with my love for Chinese food, and, exploring ways to cook that work better for my ADHD brain. I finally bit the bullet and launched a crowdfunding campaign for it, and I'm so excited to keep going with it! I have a total of 100 illustrations and 24 recipe cards planned, and I'm about 1/2 through :) If folks are interested, they can check it out on my indiegogo site!